Until You

by Denise Grover Swank

  She cracked a small grin. “It’s just after ten. They must have gotten an early start.”

  “Yeah. I guess so.”

  “What are we doing standing here? We need to go.”

  He blinked in surprise. “You want to go with me?”

  She put a hand on her hip. “I thought we were spending the weekend together.”

  “We are, but—”

  “You can’t ditch me that easily.” She snagged his hand and dragged him a few steps. “I see how it is. You get your stitches out and now you think you can do better than me. You planning on trading up?”

  She was teasing and they both knew it, but he couldn’t handle her suggesting she wasn’t good enough.

  He pulled her to a halt. “Just you, Lanie. Only you.”

  Emotion filled her eyes, but then she forced a smile. “Me too. Only you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  They found Eric sitting alone on a picnic table at Lake Jacomo.

  The twenty-five-minute drive had been understandably tense, but Lanie saw the tension fall from Tyler’s shoulders the moment he saw his brother was okay.

  Eric hopped off the table and walked toward them in a slightly wavy path.

  “How much do you think he’s had to drink?” Lanie asked.

  “Enough.”

  It took Eric three tries to get the back passenger door open, then he fell into the car, reeking of beer and cigarettes.

  Tyler leaned over the back of the seat to look him. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” The boy sounded embarrassed, then he glanced up at Lanie with interest. “Hey, you’re Lanie.” He turned to Tyler while pointing at her. “She’s Lanie, isn’t she?”

  Tyler shot Lanie an annoyed look. “I change my answer to ‘Too much.’” He backed up and headed out of the parking lot.

  But she laughed and turned around in her seat to face Eric. He looked a lot like his brother, only leaner and not as tall. She suspected he’d catch up. “So you know me?” she asked.

  “Oh, yeah…”

  “How?” she asked. “I’m curious.”

  Eric flopped back in the seat and held up a finger to count with. “First, when I saw you at the baseball game.”

  “You saw me?”

  He nodded. “Tyler kept making goo-goo eyes at you. During the seventh inning, he didn’t even know the score.”

  “Is that so?” she asked.

  “Blatant lies,” Tyler mumbled.

  “I thought he was gonna beat up that guy you were with. Adam or Alvin or something like that.”

  “Aiden?”

  “Nah,” he said, he face scrunching up as he tried to concentrate. “That’s not it.”

  “So when else did you hear about me?”

  “On Monday. He was mopin’ around without you.”

  “I object!” Tyler shouted.

  Lanie shot him a grin. “Overruled.” She turned to Eric. “What did he say?”

  “He was sad that you didn’t want him at that party. So he picked me as second choice. I’m always second choice. Always.”

  Did Tyler really think she didn’t want him to go to the party? Guilt and sadness seeped into her blood, and she wasn’t sure who to deal with first. But Eric seemed the most distressed. “Eric, are you hungry?”

  His eyes narrowed “Why?”

  “Because I’m starving and I’d like for you to come eat something with me.”

  “What about Tyler?” he asked with heavy eyelids.

  “He can come too, if you want. Or not.” She grinned at Tyler then turned her attention to his brother. “It’s up to you.”

  “Yeah. He can come.”

  Tyler’s glare suggested he thought this was a terrible idea. Was it because Eric was divulging his secrets? Or because Eric had a fifty-fifty chance of barfing?

  “Let’s go to IHOP,” Lanie suggested.

  “Yeah,” Eric mumbled as he closed his eyes. “IHOP sounds…”

  She turned back around, and it was apparent Tyler wasn’t happy. “He needs to sleep it off.”

  “Where he’ll either wake up alone with a massive hangover, or we’ll sober him up and take him home, and he’ll wake up knowing two people gave a damn about him.”

  His mouth parted.

  She grinned. “You’re good with helping me work through big decisions. I’m good with the touchy-feely stuff. We make a good team.”

  He reached over and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers and squeezing. “We do.” He looked at her. “But have you given any consideration to what we’re going to do when he throws up his guts?”

  “One problem at a time.”

  That problem was solved when they parked in the IHOP lot. Tyler opened the passenger door, and Eric leaned out of the car and threw up all over Tyler’s shoes.

  Lanie alternated between giggling and gagging on her own urge to vomit.

  “It’s not funny, Lanie,” Tyler said as he shook off his foot.

  “Sorry, man,” Eric said. Then he threw up again.

  Tyler looked at Lanie over the top of the car. “We need to call this.”

  “No. Let him get it out of his system, then he needs to drink water. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of drinking binges. You know the drill.”

  Tyler helped Eric out of the car and walked him around the parking lot, and when they met Lanie on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, Eric didn’t look as pale and sweaty.

  “Ready to get some pancakes?” Lanie asked.

  Eric nodded, then threw up in the bushes.

  “Lanie.”

  “Fine,” she said. “I’ll walk him.”

  But Tyler grimaced, then hauled him around again. Eric was ready to go in when they returned, but when the waitress led them to their table, she scrunched up her nose at the smell on Tyler’s shoes.

  “Can we get our waters right away?” Lanie asked as she sat down.

  “Yeah.” The hostess seemed in a hurry when she walked away.

  Tyler still stood next to the table and thumbed toward the restrooms. “I’m going to perform an act of public service and wash off my shoes.”

  A sheepish look washed over Eric’s face. “Sorry.”

  “No harm, no foul.” Tyler cracked a grin. “At least they weren’t my new shoes.”

  He took off, leaving Eric and Lanie alone.

  Eric folded in on himself, hanging his head in embarrassment “You must think I’m an idiot.”

  “Please. Everyone gets drunk and pukes at some point in their life.” She smiled. “Hopefully this is your one and only.” She knew that was unlikely. He was a seventeen-year-old boy. He had lots of drinking in his future. But the difference was that most teens and college students drank with their friends. They didn’t end up alone.

  What was the story there?

  “Once, when I was in college, I got drunk off this Kool-Aid punch my friends had made after I’d eaten several pizza slices. Let’s just say I’ve never had drinks with red dye since.”

  He grinned.

  “I can assure you that even your cool drinking friends puke their guts out when they drink too much, but they must not be very cool if they’re driving. They could kill themselves or innocent people. At least you had the good sense to be responsible.”

  “They don’t see it that way.”

  She shrugged. “Obviously, they’re idiots. But you’re not. Tyler told me you’ve been an A student until this year.”

  His gaze jerked up. “He’s talked about me?”

  “He’s proud of you. How smart you are. How you have your head screwed on straight.”

  “He probably doesn’t think so now.”

  “Hey, everyone screws up. Even me. Even Tyler. But too many people don’t learn from their screw-ups. They just keep repeating them.” She looked him in the eye. “But you’re smarter than that. I can see it in your eyes.” She hesitated, worried she was about to push him too far. “Why are you hanging out with the guys you were with tonight?”

 
“Kids think they’re cool. I need to up my status at school.”

  “Why?”

  “I did something…embarrassing this summer.”

  “Everybody does stupid things,” Lanie said in a soft voice. “When I was in high school, I walked into homeroom with my dress tucked into my underwear. It doesn’t get much worse than that.”

  He hesitated then said, “I wrote a poem. To a girl I liked. She showed it to everyone and now I’m a huge joke.”

  “Wow.” Lanie was being generous. She wanted to say that bitch, but it didn’t seem appropriate.

  “And now…I just want people to like me again.” He closed up, and Lanie could see he was done talking. But at least it was a start. Hopefully, Tyler could get him to open up more.

  When Tyler came back, Lanie and Eric were discussing their favorite music artists, and Lanie promised she’d check out a group called Hands Like Houses.

  Eric recovered enough to eat a giant stack of pancakes, and even though he refused to talk about what had happened with his so-called friends, he talked about his classes and his favorite teachers. Tyler kept sneaking glances at Lanie, and the look in his eyes—a mixture of contentment and happiness—confused her.

  It was nearly midnight by the time they dropped Eric off at his house, and Lanie felt better that he’d sobered up.

  “I hope I see you again, Lanie,” he said as he got out of the car.

  “Yeah,” she said feeling guilty. With three weeks left, it didn’t seem likely. But then again, if she took the VP job, maybe she would. She smiled. “Yeah, me too.”

  Tyler waited until Eric was in the house before he pulled away from the curb, then he reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

  “Why? I love your brother.”

  “Eric likes you too.”

  “He talked to me while you were in the bathroom. Something embarrassed him this summer—he wrote a poem for a girl and she showed it to everyone. I think kids are giving him a hard time. He said he was hanging out with those kids tonight so people will like him again. I suspect he’s so upset by it he’s not doing his work.”

  “Dammit.” He turned to her. “How’d you get that out of him?”

  She shrugged. “I just talked to him. Maybe he felt comfortable talking to me since I’m just a friend.”

  She thought about Tyler’s life—his friends and his family and how lucky he was to have them. She barely spoke to her parents. The only family she had was Britt, and she wanted what Tyler had. The thought of moving to Atlanta brought tears to her eyes.

  “Lanie?” Tyler asked. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m going to turn down Aiden’s offer. I’m going to stay here.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. As long as I meet my deadline, I can stay with my company and open an office here in KC.”

  He pulled into a parking lot and put the car in park, then turned to face her. “You’re going to stay in Kansas City?”

  “If I get my project done, then…yeah.” The stunned expression on his face made her stomach sink. “Look, Tyler. You don’t have to worry. I’m not staying for you. Hanging out with your brother made me realize I don’t want to miss out on any more time with Britt.”

  A grin lifted the corners of his mouth. “And am I a fringe benefit of staying?”

  She smiled. “It’s like you’re my own special benefit package.”

  He laughed. “If you come back to my condo, I’ll be more than happy to share the details with you.”

  Lanie was falling for him and, for once, she wasn’t tempted to run.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  As Tyler drove to Union Station where he and Lanie would meet the wedding party for their final photo shoot, he couldn’t help but see the worry coming off of Lanie in waves. She was convinced Britt would finally figure out they were a couple.

  They’d been together for several weeks, and Tyler had expected his feelings for Lanie to have cooled off by now, but they’d only heated up even more. He and Lanie had used their erratic schedules to take turns begging off wedding activities so that Britt wouldn’t see them together, but there was no way either one of them could get out of this one.

  “You have to promise to try to keep your hands off me as much as possible,” she said. “Otherwise Britt is sure to figure it out.”

  “So let her.”

  “Tyler. We’ve discussed this.”

  “No,” he muttered in frustration. “You’ve talked about this. I’ve been ready to tell her for over a week. She’s an intelligent woman, and she realizes that we’ve been taking turns skipping her forced wedding fun. She’s bound to have figured out something is up.”

  “You had a legitimate excuse last time,” Lanie said. “Even Randy backed you up at the wine-tasting party. He said you were working on your big case. And besides, I had lunch with her a couple of days ago, and she never mentioned you at all.”

  “Nevertheless,” he said, “this is your last week at your current position. Have you heard anything more about your promotion?”

  “You know I won’t know until after the wedding.”

  He turned to look at her. “I’ve never heard of a corporation holding off a promotion until after an employee quits.” His brow furrowed. “You have a contract, right? Why don’t you let me look at it?”

  “What?” she asked. “Why?”

  Why was her reaction so strong? “I specialize in contract law, Lanie. I can see if what they’re doing is covered in your contract.”

  “No. That’s okay…”

  He gave her a sly grin. “Besides, if I’m your attorney, you can break your NDA with my client privilege.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. My only excuse is that you’ve driven me to temporary insanity.”

  She turned to look out the window. “No. I think it’s better this way.”

  His smile fell. “Are you serious?”

  “Tyler.”

  He turned into the Union Station parking lot. “Why won’t you let me review it? Don’t you trust me?”

  She turned to him with a pleading look. “Of course I do.”

  “Then why won’t you let me see it?”

  “I just can’t.”

  Her refusal hurt more than he’d expected. “What are you hiding from me?”

  “You know I have an NDA. I’ve never made that a secret.”

  He pulled into a parking spot and threw the car into park. “I’m giving you an opportunity to get rid of that secret. Why won’t you take it?”

  Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t.”

  Disappointment made his shoulders sag. “You mean you won’t. There’s a difference.” He gripped the steering wheel and shook his head. “Are you even planning on staying? Because I have to tell you that this promotion story is beginning to sound dubious.”

  “I want to stay,” she said, her voice quavering. “But I won’t know until next week.”

  He took a breath, asking himself if he was being fair to her. He didn’t understand why she wouldn’t show him her contract, but he needed to respect her boundaries. “Okay, if there’s a chance you’re staying, then let’s start making plans with that in mind. You don’t even know where you’re going to be living in two weeks. You mentioned looking for an apartment. Why don’t you just move in with me?”

  She shook her head, staring at the dashboard. “No. We’ll discuss this once I know I have the promotion.”

  “Fine,” he said, starting to get pissed. “So then let’s discuss what happens if it doesn’t come through. Will you go work for Aiden?”

  “If he’ll still take me.”

  “You won’t look for something here?” he asked in dismay.

  “There’s nothing here, Tyler,” she said, finally turning to look at him. “I checked in with my headhunter on Friday, and there’s nothing.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Then we can—”

  “I can’t talk about this now,” she said, her voice full of em
otion. She opened the car door and practically fell out onto the pavement in her haste to get away from him.

  He intercepted her about ten feet from the car, in full view of the wedding party. “Lanie, stop.”

  “What are you doing?” she asked, with tears in her eyes. “Britt’s going to wonder what in the hell’s going on.”

  “Then let her!” he shouted.

  Her mouth dropped, and she took a step back as fear washed over her face. “I’m not ready to tell her.”

  He took several breaths as he turned his gaze to the now gawking Britt and Randy. “Why do I think you never will?”

  She looked down at the ground.

  “I love you, Lanie.” His voice broke as the truth hit him. But the next part broke his heart. “But I don’t think this is going to work.”

  Her gaze jerked up, and she stared at him with tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. “Tyler…”

  “I’m all in, Lanie. I’ve been all in since the minute I saw you in the garage, but you’re holding back, and I don’t understand it. The only thing I can come up with is that you don’t feel the same.”

  * * *

  Lanie watched Tyler stomp off toward the wedding party, her mouth still open in shock.

  Tyler loved her. He loved her.

  But he’d also just broken up with her.

  Oh, God.

  Did she love him too?

  Britt’s gaze went back and forth between the two of them, her confusion evident.

  What was Lanie going to tell her? What was she going to say to Tyler?

  Maybe she should start looking past the opening. Her life went on whether the store opened or not. Especially since things were looking good with the store. Weeks had passed since she’d overheard Victor at the barbecue, and nothing had happened. The store would open a week from tomorrow, and she’d be able to take the vice president promotion and set up an office in Kansas City.

  Maybe she could start thinking about the future.

  She really needed to talk to Tyler.

  He’d bypassed Britt and headed straight for Kevin. And Britt was headed straight for her.

  “What’s going on with you and Tyler?” Britt asked, blocking her path.

  “Nothing,” she said, darting to the left, but Britt blocked her again.