Until You

by Denise Grover Swank

  “That didn’t look like nothing. And if it was nothing, then why are you trying so desperately to get to him?”

  Lanie stopped. She was getting damn tired of all the lies, but she needed to speak with Tyler before confessing all to Britt. “We had a fight in the car. I got pissed because he had the air too cold and wouldn’t turn it up. Now I really need to go apologize.”

  “It looked like more than that.”

  Lanie lifted her shoulder into a half-shrug, fresh out of cover stories.

  “I knew we should have picked you up. Something happened the night Tyler took you home from Loose Park. The two of you have been avoiding each other ever since.”

  Remembering when he’d brought her home that night brought fresh tears to her eyes. What was she doing? Was she really letting him slip away?

  But her hesitation and her tears gave Britt the wrong message. “What did he do?”

  “Nothing, Britt. He didn’t do anything wrong.” No. He’d been perfect.

  She was an idiot.

  “Then why are you so upset?”

  Because he loved her, and somehow she’d broken his heart.

  “Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll find out myself.” Britt spun around and stomped off toward Tyler.

  “Britt!”

  Lanie started to run after her, but her left heel snapped off and she stumbled, nearly falling on her face. She didn’t have to worry about witnesses this time, because everyone was gaping at the furious bride who was storming the clueless groomsman. She bent down and slipped off her shoe, but the heel was caught on her hem.

  “What happened with Lanie?”

  Tyler turned to Britt, his eyes wide.

  “Well?” Britt demanded, both hands on her hips. “What happened?”

  His face became an expressionless mask. “You need to ask Lanie.”

  “She won’t tell me, so I’m asking you.”

  Celesta hurried to Tyler’s side, clinging to his arm. “I have no idea what your cousin has done, but I’m sure Tyler’s the innocent party.”

  Britt turned her glare to Randy’s cousin. “Stay out of this, Celesta. It doesn’t concern you.”

  “No. I won’t let you attack him when it’s so obvious that Lanie’s the one to blame.”

  “Celesta,” Tyler said in a warning tone as he brushed her hand off his arm. “Let it go.”

  “No!” Celesta said. “This is so unfair. Why are you blaming him when he’s the one who’s obviously upset?” She pointed toward Lanie. “And she’s obviously drunk again, weaving around like that.”

  Everyone turned to face Lanie, and their scowls suggested they believed Celesta. Not that she blamed them. She was bent over, still working on her heel, bobbing around like a boxer in a prizefight.

  “I’m not drunk,” Lanie shouted, then blew out a puff of air to move the strand of hair hanging in front of her eye.

  No one looked convinced.

  Kevin grabbed Tyler’s arm and pulled him about six feet away in front of the fountain. “We’re burning daylight, and some of us actually want to go home. Let’s do this.”

  Since this was their fourth photo shoot, everyone seemed to know where their places were, so they were all ready and waiting for Lanie as she hobbled to her spot and balanced on one foot, thankful her dress mostly hid her feet.

  Tyler didn’t look at her, keeping his gaze turned instead on the street behind Holly and the photographer.

  “Tyler,” she whispered.

  He gave his head a slight shake. “Don’t.”

  By the time they’d made it through several poses, Lanie began to panic. Tyler was stiff and silent, and she wasn’t sure how to fix this. She couldn’t let him see her contract. She had to protect him from conflict of interest. But what could she do?

  “We’re going to try something else,” Holly said, moving toward them. “I want the bridesmaids to stand on the edge of the fountain and the groomsmen to stand in front.”

  Lanie was struggling to stand on the concrete with one heel, let alone on a one-foot-wide ledge next to a fountain.

  She started to climb up, leaning sideways, when Tyler grabbed her elbow and steadied her.

  “Thank you.”

  He looked into her eyes. “I can’t let you fall in.” A half hour ago, that statement would be filled with innuendo, but now it was cold and aloof.

  “Tyler.”

  “Will you just leave him alone?” Celesta snapped from her position on the ledge next to Lanie.

  “This is none of your business, Celesta,” Lanie said, trying to get her balance.

  “You’re obviously drunk.” Celesta turned to Tyler. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she doesn’t hurt you when your back is to her.”

  “I’m not going to hurt him!” Lanie exclaimed.

  “The scar on his forehead is proof that you’re capable of it.”

  “Celesta,” Tyler growled. “Lay off.”

  “I don’t even know why you’re interested in her. She is so not your type.”

  “And you are?” Rowdy asked.

  Celesta lifted her chin. “As a matter of fact, I was.”

  Britt spun around. “Wait. Was?” Her eyes widened. “Oh my God. You slept with Celesta?”

  “Why do you say it like it’s a bad thing?” Celesta huffed.

  But Britt had turned her attention to Tyler. “I can’t believe you! I thought you’d changed!”

  “I slept with her years ago!” Tyler shouted. “Before I even knew you! Not that it’s any business of yours.”

  Randy’s face turned red. “Don’t shout at my fiancée, Norris.”

  Tyler ran his hand over his head in frustration. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to stand here and let her insult me for some mistake I made four years ago. We all know I was a total fuck-up back then.”

  “Mistake!” Celesta shrieked.

  Tyler cringed and looked up at her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said ‘mistake.’”

  “Your only mistake was letting me go! I’m your type, not Lanie.”

  “Lanie?” Britt said in confusion.

  Celesta tried to ease past Lanie to get closer to Tyler, and Lanie lost balance on her one foot, falling backward into the fountain and landing flat on her back in the water.

  “Lanie!” a chorus of voices shouted.

  Lanie sat up and realized that she wasn’t alone—Celesta had fallen in too and she looked furious.

  “You pulled me in!” Celesta shouted.

  “Have you lost your mind?” Lanie asked as she tried to get to her feet. “You’re the one who pushed me in.”

  Tyler stood at the edge of the fountain. “Lanie, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. My pride is bruised more than my butt.”

  “Why are you asking about her?” Celesta shouted. “Why aren’t you asking about me?” She got to her feet, making a production of her wet skirt clinging to her legs.

  Tyler reached out a hand to help Lanie out of the water, but Celesta shoved Lanie’s hand out of the way and grabbed Tyler’s hand instead.

  “Celesta, what are you doing?” Britt asked in shock.

  A look of determination covered Celesta’s face. “I’m claiming what’s mine.”

  Tyler tried to pull his hand free, but Celesta held tight and jerked, causing Tyler to lose his balance. As he fell forward, he lifted one foot to the ledge to gain some balance. While he tried to right himself, Celesta refused to release his hand, and he fell into the fountain, landing on top of her.

  Suddenly, the entire group was shouting and moving in to help. Lanie sloshed over to Tyler and reached him first. He’d landed face-forward, with his face buried in Celesta’s chest.

  “Tyler!”

  He jerked up and turned to Lanie in horror. “That was an accident. I didn’t mean to do that.”

  Celesta had released his hand, so Lanie helped him to his feet while Celesta floundered around in the two-foot-deep water as though she were drowning.

  “Are you
okay?” Lanie asked. She was relieved he hadn’t pulled away from her.

  He grinned. “My pride hurts more than my shins.”

  The sight of him smiling at her brought tears to her eyes.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, worry replacing his amusement.

  “No. I was just scared,” she whispered. “You said…”

  “I was an idiot,” he said, dropping her hand.

  She missed him, even though he was standing a foot away. She didn’t want to hide this anymore. She wanted to touch him anytime she wanted. She turned to the group.

  “Tyler and I are together,” Lanie said. “We’ve been sleeping together since the night I tried to kill him.”

  Brittany’s mouth dropped. “What? I thought you were with Aiden?”

  “Two men!” Celesta shouted. “She has no shame!”

  Brittany started shouting that it wasn’t any of Celesta’s business how many men Lanie slept with at one time, then Celesta started shouting at Randy for marrying a bitch.

  Tyler stared down at Lanie in amazement. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  She grinned and lifted her shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “I was tired of Celesta trying to take my man.”

  He laughed. “Your man?”

  She scrunched up her nose. “That sounds so wrong. I hope you enjoyed that, because I doubt I’ll ever call you ‘my man’ again.”

  He laughed. “I can live with that, I think.”

  She rested her hands on his shoulders while the shouting continued behind her. “I’m sorry I’ve been so stubborn. I love you. I was just too stupid to admit it.”

  “Say it again,” he said.

  She laughed. “The stupid part or the ‘I love you’ part?”

  His face lit up with a grin. “Take your pick.”

  “I love you.” She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  He slid his arm around her back and pulled in close. She shivered.

  “You’re wet and cold. Let’s go home,” he said against her lips.

  Home. Yes. Tyler felt exactly like home.

  He lifted his head, and when he smiled at her, she nearly melted with happiness. She’d been looking her entire life for him, and now that she’d found him, she was never letting go.

  Things turned to chaos. Celesta stomped off, threatening to boycott the wedding. Holly threatened everyone with torture if they upstaged the wedding. Britt was shocked, then happy about Lanie’s announcement, but Randy looked worried.

  He found a way to pull Lanie to the side and said, “You can’t tell Tyler that you know anything about the Margo Benson case.”

  “That fight we were having when we got here?” she asked. “He’d asked to see my contract.”

  “You told him who you work for?” he whisper-shouted.

  “Why are you so freaked out, Randy?” she asked. “Of course not. I told him no. Why do you think we were fighting? But I promised to keep your involvement a secret and I meant it. I take my promises seriously.”

  “You have to promise not tell him anything that links you to…you know what until after the opening.”

  She shot him a glare. “I also take my NDA seriously. And Tyler realizes that. That’s part of the reason he suggested looking over my contract—so he could claim client-attorney privilege, and I wouldn’t have to break my nondisclosure.”

  “You can’t show him, Lanie.”

  “Good Lord. We’ve already established that ten times over. But I’m tired of keeping secrets from him.”

  Randy held her gaze. “Then maybe you should take a break from him until after the opening.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”

  “It’s not a bad idea.”

  She put a hand on her hip. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to be working long hours this week, and Tyler has some big case he’s getting tons of pressure about, so we’ll hardly see each other until the wedding.”

  Guilt filled his eyes. “Lanie, there’s something you need to know.”

  “What?”

  “Tyler—”

  Britt snuck between them and pulled Lanie into a hug. “I’m so happy for you, Lanie! I wish you’d told me sooner, but I kind of understand why you didn’t.”

  “Thanks. It’s been hard to keep this from you.”

  A breeze blew over them, and Lanie shivered. Tyler noticed, wrapping an arm around her back. “I need to get her home and into dry clothes.”

  “Yeah,” Kevin said. “Into clothes.”

  Tyler pointed at him. “Watch it.”

  Kevin turned to his wife. “I told you. He’s a goner.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  On Thursday afternoon, Lanie was happier than she’d ever been. They were opening in four days, and things were right on track. The construction was complete. Almost all the clothing had been delivered. The employees had been hired and were almost finished with their training.

  For the first time, Lanie believed not only that the store would open without a hitch, but that she and Tyler could have a future together.

  Lanie had been right about barely seeing Tyler this week, but she hadn’t felt panicked about it since she knew she’d be there next week to spend time with him.

  Part of her increased workload was because Stephanie had flown to Phoenix for a couple of days to check on the retail space for the next Margo Benson Boutique, but she was due back this afternoon. Lanie had missed her more than she’d expected. It wasn’t unusual for Steph to take off for a few days, and Lanie was used to her absences, but this one felt different—maybe because after the opening, Stephanie was moving on without her. The thought made Lanie pause and worry that she’d made the wrong decision when she’d turned in her resignation, but deep down, she knew it had been the right move. Still, she felt like she was losing her best friend.

  She was about to head back to the office and wait for Stephanie. But as she grabbed her purse, she heard a persistent rapping at the front of the store. She considered ignoring it—they were used to curious passersby trying to get a look inside—but this sounded different than usual. Scowling, she walked to the front and opened the door, shouting through the tarp, “I’m sorry, but we’re closed.”

  “Ma’am,” a deep voice said, “this is official business of the Jackson County courts.”

  Lanie’s heart lodged in her throat. She quickly unlaced the cords holding the tarp shut and pushed it aside to face a man in a dress shirt and tie who shoved a folded stack of papers at her. “Have a nice day,” he said in an apologetic tone.

  Not anymore.

  She locked the door, then slowly walked to the sales counter and opened the packet.

  Dinah Pettier, owner of Dinah Fashions, had filed a lawsuit to block the opening of the retail store owned by Montgomery Enterprises, and an injunction had been ordered to keep the store from opening until the matter had been resolved.

  This was bad. It wasn’t the temporary stay that Victor had filed weeks ago. She was no attorney, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that her opening was destroyed.

  She walked the block to her office and scanned the pages. After she sent the document to the corporate attorney, she waited for the call that came ten minutes later, confirming what she already knew. This injunction was more serious and would likely keep them from opening.

  No opening. No promotion. No job in Kansas City.

  No Tyler.

  No, she couldn’t think about Tyler right now.

  She sat in her chair, staring at the papers on her desk. She needed to figure out what to do about her career. She’d called Aiden a couple of weeks ago and turned down his offer. Would he let her change her mind? Or maybe she could—

  What was she going to do about Tyler?

  Tyler had deep roots here in Kansas City—a successful career, his brothers, and his best friends. He couldn’t move somewhere else, and she couldn’t handle a long-distance relationship.

  When Lanie was little, her fathe
r had taken sporadic trips for work, but a year after her mother started working again, her father was offered a job in Dallas. He’d begged her mother to move, but she’d taken a job she loved and refused to give it up. Her father had taken the job, commuting back and forth on the weekends, but when he was home, he was angry and bitter at her mother for separating their family. Two years later, he gave it up and moved back home, but the damage had been done—her parents’ marriage had been irreparably broken.

  If Lanie moved to Atlanta, she’d rather leave with warm memories of her time with Tyler than have their relationship disintegrate into something ugly and bitter.

  She should have been prepared for this new legal development. Since nothing legal had happened immediately after the barbecue, Lanie had mistakenly believed that they were in the clear. She’d trusted it so much that she’d planned to start moving her few belongings to Tyler’s condo the day after the wedding.

  What was she going to do now?

  The door opened and Stephanie walked into the office, rolling her carry-on suitcase behind her. She dropped her purse on her desk, and her eyes widened when she glanced at Lanie. “What happened?”

  “It’s over.”

  Stephanie froze. “Did something happen with Tyler?”

  Tears burned her eyes. She’d deal with the Tyler issue later. She needed to focus on her job. Lanie picked up the legal papers and handed them to Steph. “It’s a new injunction. And legal thinks this one will stick.”

  Stephanie sat in her chair and quickly flipped through the papers. “But they’re going to fight it, right?”

  “Of course, but we have to prepare for the worst.”

  Stephanie leaned her head back into her seat. “We won’t be able open,” she said in defeat. “This has never happened before. How does this work? We stay here and open at a different location? Or we give up and move on to Phoenix?”

  “I don’t know, but I know I won’t be part of it.”

  Stephanie looked confused. “But won’t you be part of that decision if you’re the new VP?”

  A lump filled Lanie’s throat, and she took a second to clear it. “No. I won’t be the new VP. I won’t get the promotion if we don’t open.”