“Let me explain it one more time,” Holly said in a controlled voice, cluing in everyone but Celesta to the fact that she was about at her wit’s end.
Holly wanted Celesta to stand in front of Alvin, then have the boy dip Celesta backward and to the side, while Celesta kicked up a foot.
“Now try it again,” Holly said.
The scrawny teen struggled to hold Celesta upright in their practice of the pose.
Celesta jerked out of his hold. “I need a new partner! I need Tyler!”
Holly’s mouth pinched, and Kevin, who had been standing in the background, took a few steps forward. “Just switch the poses. Have Tyler and Lanie try it, and Celesta and Alvin do the other.”
“What?” Celesta shrieked.
“Sure,” Tyler said, then wrapped his arm around Lanie’s back and dipped her backward. He grinned down at her. “You’re supposed to kick up your foot, but I humbly request you keep it away from my groin.”
The group chuckled, and Lanie felt herself flush with embarrassment this time.
“Perfect,” Holly said after Lanie complied.
Tyler set her upright, and Holly moved on to Britt and Randy’s pose, but Tyler’s hands lingered on her hips. She should shrug him off—it was pretty obvious this wasn’t a casual pose—but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. His touch felt right.
He leaned close to her ear. “You just got three calls in a row.”
Like a bucket of cold water, that brought her back to reality. Stephanie. “Crap.”
“It’s obvious that you’re dealing with something that needs your attention. I can be the bad guy and end this thing if you want.”
She glanced back over her shoulder at him. “Why?”
“Why end it? Maybe it’s not all about you, killer. Maybe I’m dying from a head wound.”
“Killer?”
He winked. “You did try to kill me…twice.”
She rolled her eyes. “If I’d tried to kill you, you’d be dead. Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
Appreciation filled his eyes. “You quote Star Wars.”
“Return of the Jedi, to be more precise.”
Chapter Ten
At nine thirty, Lanie and Stephanie sat at a table for two in a crowded bar on the Plaza. Lanie couldn’t help wishing she’d just gone home. It had been a stressful day and evening, and the chaos of the bar scene was the last thing she needed, but Stephanie had insisted and Lanie couldn’t tell her no after her assistant gone above and beyond to cover her ass the last couple of days.
Lanie lifted her vodka tonic and clicked it into Stephanie’s cosmo. “To kick-ass women getting shit done.”
“Hear, hear,” Stephanie said with a huge grin.
Lanie had been like twenty-seven-year-old Stephanie once, she thought, full of energy and ready to take on the world. But she was only thirty-two years old, for God’s sake. She was too young to be so jaded.
“You’re brilliant,” Stephanie said. “FaceTiming Eve at eight forty-five to personally walk her through the report, line by line, was a nice touch.” She laughed. “Especially when you pointed out that, given how important it must be—since she needed it at an unusual time in the middle of the weekend—you thought it best to walk her through it so there weren’t any questions.”
Lanie’s mouth lifted into a wry grin. “I can be a bitch when I need to be.”
“I still say you should have worn your purple bridesmaid dress during the call.”
“Nah.” Lanie laughed. “It would have been overkill.” It had been a damn good thing that she’d had a spare skirt and blouse at the office in case of disaster. She glanced down at the grass-stained lilac pumps. Too bad she’d never foreseen needing shoes.
Stephanie clicked her glass into Lanie’s. “To being bitches.”
“Damn straight,” Lanie said before she took a sip. But she’d realized something else during that call. She didn’t want to work for people who didn’t value her opinion and her expertise. She was going to turn in her notice.
A wave of terror had washed through her, but a wave of excitement quickly followed. She was going to change careers.
But how was she going to tell Stephanie?
“So how did the photo shoot go?”
Tyler’s profusely bleeding forehead came to mind, then the way he’d set her body on fire followed quickly after.
“Oh!” Steph exclaimed in excitement. “There’s a story behind that look, and I want to hear it.”
Stephanie knew Lanie’s modus operandi when it came to dating, so she wouldn’t be all that surprised if Lanie was interested in a sexy groomsman. Since she and Lanie rarely spent more than six months in any location, a serious relationship was pretty much off the table. A year ago, Steph had fallen in love in San Francisco. But she’d quickly gotten her heart broken when her boyfriend had insisted she quit her job when it came time to for her to move on to Seattle. It had been a tough choice, but Steph had chosen the job.
For Lanie it was never a choice. She always chose the job. Even before she said hello to the guy. But she wondered if she was being too black-and-white. From what she could see, Randy was a great guy who loved and worshipped Brittany. Even as cynical as Lanie was, she knew there were good men still out there. Maybe when the dust settled with her career, she should consider looking for one.
Steph leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. Her eyes lit up with excitement. “I want all the details.”
“About?”
“That look. The guy who incited it.”
Lanie told her about Celesta and the poses, carefully skirting any mention of Tyler.
Stephanie shook her head. “You’re holding out on me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The guy who put that look on your face…I want to know about him.”
Fighting a grin, she took a sip of her drink. “There’s not much to tell. I scarred him for life. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
“I know you can be intimidating…”
“No, Steph, I mean a literal scar. On his face.” She pointed to her own forehead. “I took your advice and drank before I went, but I drank straight from the bottle, and then Aiden called and I got distracted while I was searching my apartment for these damn shoes—bottle in hand—and by the time I’d found them, I’d almost drunk the entire thing.”
“Oh my God! You drank an entire bottle of wine?”
“No.” She shook her head with a frown. “Just half a bottle. And when I got there, I struggled to walk across the lawn in my three-inch heels—”
“I’m sure the fact you were drunk didn’t help.”
“I was holding my own—until my heel sank in the dirt. I stumbled, and when I righted myself, I kicked off my shoes, and one of them hit a groomsman in the forehead.”
Stephanie burst out laughing. “Are you serious?”
“The wedding planner and her husband looked him over, and the husband patched him up with butterflies to get him through the photo shoot, but then he was going to the ER for stitches.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish to God I was.”
“But what about the photos? Didn’t the bandages show?”
Lanie frowned. “The wedding planner said the photographer could Photoshop them out.”
A grin spread across Stephanie’s face. “So you like this guy?”
“The wedding planner’s husband?” She shrugged, and her mouth lifted with a mischievous grin. “He seems okay. They make an attractive couple.”
“Ha, ha,” Stephanie teased. “You do realize the less you reveal, the more curious I become. Not because I’m desperate for details—”
“There’s a first,” Lanie interrupted with a laugh.
“But because the fact you’re not sharing is very telling,” Stephanie continued. “Guys never get under your skin. But then, I guess you did put a gash in his.”
“Very funny.”
“So why the hesitati
on? Oh! There’s something wrong with him.” Stephanie’s eyes widened. “He’s married.”
“What? No!”
“Then he’s sixty years old and rich.” She grinned. “I always knew you were a gold digger underneath that feminist exterior.”
“He’s not old.”
“Homeless?” Stephanie tilted her head. “I can do this all day.”
“You’re acting like a five-year-old.”
“He’s a polygamist.”
“Okay, okay.” Lanie downed the rest of her drink. “He’s…funny. And he’s…” She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “Sexy.”
“Funny looking, or he has a sense of humor?”
Fighting a grin, Lanie pretended to be offended.
“Sorry. Couldn’t resist. But if he’s sexy and has a sense of humor, I don’t see a problem.” Then she added, “Unless he’s one of those practical joke guys.”
“Not that I know of.”
“Again, I fail to see the problem.”
“He’s Britt and Randy’s friend. And I’ve told you that she likes to play matchmaker. If we started something, and she found out…she would be ruthless.”
Stephanie seemed to give it some consideration. “I can see how that could be a problem. But what about seeing him on the sly?”
“Trust me, I’ve considered that.”
“Is he scared off because you injured him?”
“He doesn’t seem to be, which should be a warning sign. Any sane man would run.”
Stephanie shrugged. “Sanity’s overrated.” She bit her lower lip, then said, “I bet the problem is that you’re rusty. It’s been over a year, but the longer you wait, the harder it will be to hop back on and ride that horse.”
Grinning, Lanie shook her head, but she couldn’t help thinking Stephanie was on to something. Lanie was just off her game. “Okay. The next time I see him, I’m going to invite him over to my apartment.”
“That’s right. Hop back on.”
This conversation was making her squirm. Lanie finished off her glass. “I’m going to get another drink. Do you want another?”
Stephanie lifted her half-full glass. “No. I’m good.”
Lanie pushed her way through the crowed to get to the bar. The noise and the chaos were beginning to give her a headache, and she wondered how long Stephanie needed to hang out before she was ready to call it a night. She ordered a vodka tonic then scanned the room, envious of the tables full of people having fun. How long had it been since she’d hung out in a bar with friends who didn’t include business associates?
The bartender placed her drink in front of her. “Eight dollars.”
She started to tell him to put it on her tab, but a man slid up to the bar next to her and said in a deep voice, “I’ve got it. And I’ll take another Boulevard IPA. Put them both on my tab.”
“That’s not necess—” she said as she spun to face him, then gasped.
Tyler.
It was time to get back on that horse.
Chapter Eleven
Hey,” she said with a grin that lit up her brown eyes.
She was gorgeous. He’d dated a long string of beautiful women, but none had intrigued him like Lanie. Maybe his five months of abstinence were getting to him. If he was going to move back into dating, Lanie was definitely the woman to start with.
Her gaze drifted up to the bandage on his forehead. “Did you go to the ER?”
“Three stitches.”
She grimaced. “Sorry.”
He laughed. “Hey, it’s not every day I get attacked by a shoe. Great war story. Kevin did two tours in Afghanistan, so I need all the help I can get.” He winked. “But he got married this summer, so now I don’t have to worry about the competition.”
“For what it’s worth,” she said, running her index finger up and down her glass as she looked up at him with a smile, “you were doing just fine before the war wound.”
His gaze drifted to her finger. Jesus. He was getting turned on just watching her rub the condensation from her drink. Then he focused his attention on her mouth. He’d had a few fantasies about that mouth after watching her drink from the beer bottle in the garage.
Down, boy. If he came on too strong, he was going to scare her off. And he definitely didn’t want to scare her off. “Did you get your business taken care of?”
“I did, thanks to you. You’re still wearing your tux,” she said in a sultry voice, setting her glass on the bar and giving his tie a tug. “It looks good on you. I particularly like the half-knotted-tie thing you’ve got going on.”
“And you changed.” Tyler’s gaze drifted from her face down to her body. Her silky blue blouse clung to her generous breasts, and the gray skirt hugged her hips in all the right places. She looked better suited for a board meeting than a Saturday night at a bar. A grin tugged at his lips when he saw her purple bridesmaid shoes at the end of her long, sexy legs. “But I see you’re still wearing your weapons.”
She laughed and leaned her hip into the bar. “A girl should always be prepared to defend herself from predators.”
“Do you have any predators on the radar?”
She picked up her glass, and her eyes twinkled. “The jury’s still out.”
The bartender brought his beer, and he picked up the bottle and took a long pull. Other than the night in the garage, he hadn’t had this much fun with a woman in ages.
“So who are you here with tonight?” she asked. “Your girlfriend Marshmallow?”
He rested his elbow on the counter. “Nah, you blew my night with Marshmallow. She thinks I’m spending the night with you.”
“Is that so…?” Her grin suggested she had a secret.
Lust flooded his veins and shot straight to his groin. Jesus, he wanted her.
“So you’re just out trolling the bars?” she teased.
“I’m here with friends. What about you?”
“My assistant.” She lifted one shoulder into a half shrug. “But we’re friends too.”
“What do you do?” he asked. “I think I remember Britt saying you travel with your job.”
She hesitated, and her smile wavered for a moment. “That’s right. I’m a retail time management consultant. What about you?”
“An attorney, but we’re a dime a dozen.” He leaned closer to her. “I’ve never met a time management consultant before. Tell me how that works. People pay you to come in and evaluate their business?”
She took a sip of her drink. “I’ve had enough business talk today. I’d rather talk about you. Where are these friends you’re with?” She glanced around the bar, then grinned when she spotted Kevin at a table across the room.
Tyler wasn’t surprised Matt and Kevin were watching with interest. He hadn’t said a word when he’d seen Lanie at the bar. He’d just taken off and headed straight for her.
Wearing a grin, she waved at them, and they waved back, Matt with a look of confusion that faded as Kevin said something to him.
“I figured out that you knew Kevin at the photo shoot,” she said. “But who’s the other guy?”
“Matt. The three of us have been best friends since we were kids.”
She grinned. “That’s cute.”
“Cute?” he asked with a chuckle. “Cute is for little boys and I’m definitely not a little boy.”
Her voice turned husky. “No. You definitely aren’t.”
His hand was itching to touch her, but he told himself to let her take the lead.
She glanced over at his table. The amusement left her eyes, and her smile softened. “I think it’s amazing that you guys are still close. Brittany and I used to be best friends, until I moved away.” When she saw the questioning look on his face, she added, “I grew up in Lee’s Summit, before I left and went to school out east—Columbia University—and then I got a job and got busy…” She looked down, and her finger drew a line through the condensation on her glass, then she shrugged and glanced back up at him. “You know the story.”
“Kevin left after college and joined the Marines. He drifted from us for a while, but then he came back home this summer. You’re here now. It’s not too late.”
A sly grin spread across her face. “I’m only here for another month, and then it’s time to move on to the next city. Unencumbered.”
“And where’s that?”
She lifted the glass. “Not sure yet.” Then she took a drink.
He thought that was unusual, but she didn’t seem concerned. But the way she’d looked up at him when she’d said she was only here for a month and was leaving unencumbered was definitely a signal that she had no expectations.
Could she be any more perfect?
He was about to ask her how long she’d been back in Kansas City when someone bumped into his side.
“Tyler Norris?” a woman squealed. “Is that you?”
“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath. Nina.
Lanie’s eyebrows rose, and she looked amused as she turned to face the woman next to him.
He had to get her to leave without creating an incident. “You’re not supposed to be here, Nina,” Tyler said. “In fact, you’re supposed to be fifty feet away.”
The perky blonde tossed her hair over her shoulder. “It’s a free country, Tyler.”
“Actually, Nina, it’s not when you have a restraining order.”
Nina gave him a sweet smile. “Can’t we put all of this misunderstanding behind us and start over?”
“Nina,” he groaned. While she really was harmless, she was like a cockroach—impossible to get rid of.
Lanie turned to face Nina and wrapped her hand around Tyler’s bicep, leaning into him. “Tyler’s currently not on the market.”
Nina’s face hardened. “And who are you?”
“Tyler’s girlfriend.”
Nina started to laugh and cast a quick glance to Tyler. “Tyler doesn’t do girlfriends.”
Tyler slipped an arm around Lanie’s back, and snugged her against his side. “I do now. I guess I was just looking for the right woman.”
Lanie cupped the side of his face and turned him to face her, then her lips covered his, soft and gentle. Although she took him by surprise, it took him less than a second to catch up. He turned so that she fit between his spread legs, and he slipped his arm behind her back, pulling her close as he took over. Then he remembered who was watching.
Until You Page 8