If there was to be any physical contact, it was up to her to make it happen. The thing was, she was terrified that if she did such a thing, she would cross a line that would push her past the point of no return. The point where she was falling for Tyler. The point where her heart would be crushed when it was time to say good-bye.
No. She couldn’t take that step. His family would just have to buy their act without seeing any kissing or touching or…
“What’re you thinking about?” Tyler said.
Without Brielle noticing, Mia had gotten up and Tyler had taken her place, had moved his chair so that the arm of his chair overlapped the arm of her chair. Startled, Brielle met his gaze. He was leaning towards her. Only a few inches separated them. She could smell the scent of the soap he’d used, could see flecks of brown in his hazel eyes. Could feel herself being drawn to him.
“Uh,” she stammered as she tried to come up with an answer. “About the hike?”
His lips slowly curved into a smile, making his eyes sparkle and his face even more handsome. “Is that a question?”
With a quick glance at Tyler’s family to make sure they weren’t watching them, Brielle focused on Tyler. To think a week earlier she hadn’t met him, and now she was camping with him. And falling for him. She admitted it. She’d already passed the point of no return. How was it possible that she’d fallen for him so hard and so fast?
“No,” she said in reply. “I am thinking about the hike.” Technically she’d only started thinking about it the moment she’d answered him, but that counted, right?
“What about the hike is on your mind?”
“I’m curious what’s so awesome about it.” That was true.
He leaned closer, closer, so close she thought his chair might tip over. “Anything else?” His voice was low and soft.
What were they talking about again? She knew she’d been thinking that she wouldn’t have the nerve to kiss him, but with him so close, with his lips so close, she couldn’t focus on anything else. His lips were right there. So tantalizingly close. All she had to do was lean towards him just a bit and their lips would touch. She should kiss him. Should just get it over with. Take away all the mystery, all the nervousness. What could be more natural than a girlfriend kissing her boyfriend? It was just a job, right? Just a job.
Her eyes were locked on his. And then she felt his hand brush against her arm. Electricity danced along her skin. Had he meant to touch her? Didn’t matter. All that mattered was that his touch propelled her forward. Just far enough for her lips to feather-touch across his.
Sparks flew, and then Brielle sat back, eyes wide, stunned that she’d actually done it.
That had been completely unexpected. What about her no touch policy? Tyler sat back in his camp chair, his eyes still on Brielle. She looked as surprised as he felt. With a quick glance at his family—parents still engrossed in their books, Rob focused on his phone, Mia nowhere in sight—he didn’t think anyone had seen the kiss. Not that it would have mattered if they had. He and Brielle were supposed to be in a relationship. Kissing was normal in those.
Wait. Was it a kiss? It was so brief, so barely-there, did it actually count? Yes, their lips had touched, but even when he was wolfing down a meal, the food lingered on his mouth longer than her lips had.
Regardless, he’d learned one thing. Brielle was into him.
“I think you broke your rule,” he murmured so softly that only she could hear.
Her eyes were still wide, like she couldn’t believe what she’d done. Amused, Tyler waited for her reply.
What have I done? Now he thinks I’m crushing on him. Never mind that I am. I didn’t want him to know. He’s my employer, for heaven’s sake. Not good. Not good at all.
Dragging her gaze from his, she scrambled to come up with an explanation.
“Well,” Ann said, closing her book with a thud. “I don’t know about anyone else, but my tummy’s rumbling.”
Saved by hunger.
“I’ll start the grill,” Jeff said as he stood.
“Good idea,” Ann said. “We need to be done and cleaned up so that we have plenty of time to go bear hunting before the sun sets.”
“Bear hunting?” The words flew from Brielle’s mouth.
Rob laughed. “Yep. You’re gonna help, right? We’ll even let you shoot.”
Fear pushing out all other thoughts, she turned to Tyler, but when she saw the lazy smile tugging up the corners of his lips—lips she’d just felt against hers—all bear-related concerns vanished from her mind.
“Don’t worry,” Rob said, but with her focus on Tyler, Brielle barely heard him. “We’re only going to shoot them with our cameras.”
“You never answered my question,” Tyler said as if no one was there but the two of them.
Trying to buy time, she forced a nonchalant expression onto her face. “What question is that?”
Smirking as if he saw right through her, Tyler shook his head. “We can talk about it later.”
Leaping to her feet in relief, Brielle turned to Ann. “How can I help?”
Ann smiled at her, then looked at Tyler with raised eyebrows, like she was emphasizing her comment from the day before. The one where she told him that he’d better hang on to Brielle.
Flattered, Brielle ventured a peek at Tyler. His eyes went from his mother to Brielle. Then he winked.
What did that mean?
Trying to decipher his message, Brielle thought it could mean one of two things. First, that his family was buying their act. Or, second, that he agreed with his mother and that he shouldn’t let her go.
Desperately hoping it was the second option, but realistic enough to think it was the first one, Brielle suddenly knew how to answer his question about why she’d broken her own rule.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Leave it to Rob to only give you half of the story,” Mia said as they all sat around the picnic table eating burgers.
Brielle had asked her about the bear hunting, repeating what Rob had said.
Rob laughed. “I told her enough.”
“Hardly,” Mia said with a roll of her eyes. Then she turned to Brielle. “Basically, we drive through Hayden Valley and look for wildlife. More of them come out at dusk so our chances are better to see bears and such.”
That made her feel much better. They’d be in the safety of the car. Which brought up another question. “Are we all going in the same car?” She looked at Tyler for the answer.
“It’d be more comfortable if you and I drive separately.”
That meant she wouldn’t be able to put off talking to him about their kiss. Maybe that was a good thing. She’d sleep better tonight if she wasn’t worrying about it.
“We can use the walkie-talkies,” Ann said.
Brielle must have looked confused, because Tyler said, “That’s how we communicate when we’re in two cars.”
“Oh.”
An hour later they were on their way. And minutes after that, Tyler turned to her and asked, “Now that we’re alone, you owe me an explanation.”
She knew he was talking about their kiss, but she played dumb. “An explanation about what?”
He looked her way, his eyebrows raised. “Why you broke your own rule.”
Ready for this, she waved her hand like it was no big deal. “Oh that. I was just, you know, playing my part. Of being your girlfriend.” And loving every second of it.
Frowning, he said, “I see.” Then his eyes narrowed. “Hold on. You were the one who said a boyfriend and girlfriend didn’t necessarily have to touch.” He turned his head and lasered in on her.
Oops. She hadn’t thought that part through. “Well…they don’t.”
“You’re contradicting yourself,” he shot back.
Dang it. Maybe it was time to come clean. At least a little bit clean. “You want the truth?”
He cocked his head and frowned. “That would be nice. Yeah.”
“Maybe I just wanted to f
ind out how it would feel.” Why was her voice so high-pitched all of sudden?
He looked at her, a smirk on his lips. “How what would feel?”
He was going to make her say it. “To…kiss you.”
He laughed. “I hardly think that kiss—if you want to call it that—lasted long enough for any kind of evaluation to be satisfied.”
Now that he mentioned it, her satisfaction was nowhere near one hundred percent. More like sixty-five percent. “What are you suggesting?”
One of his eyebrows arched. “If you want to know what it feels like to kiss me, I’d be happy to show you.”
The butterflies in her belly went into an uproar. “No. I mean, that’s okay.” Shut up, would you? He’s offering to kiss you. Why would you want to shut that down?
His head tilted. “Are you sure?”
No! “Uh, maybe?”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “When you decide, you let me know.”
Like that was going to happen.
The walkie-talkie on the dashboard crackled to life.
“Elk on the right,” Mia’s voice said.
Brielle’s head swiveled to the right, her gaze shooting in all directions. “Where?”
“There,” Tyler said, his voice calm as he pointed.
Brielle looked where he was indicating and saw an elk with a magnificent pair of antlers. “Oh,” she breathed.
“We’re gonna pull over,” Tyler said into the walkie.
Tyler couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun in Yellowstone. Yes, he loved it every time he came, but bringing Brielle had brought a magical quality to it. It was like seeing everything for the first time.
But he knew that wasn’t the only reason he was having such a fabulous time. This flirting they were doing, it was something he hadn’t done in years. Not like this. And not with someone who didn’t have an ulterior motive. Namely, to get close to an NFL player. Brielle was completely different from all the other women he’d dated. Not that they were dating.
Suppressing a sigh at their convoluted relationship—employer and employee, boyfriend and girlfriend, whatever the heck it was—he stopped in a pull-out, then looked at Brielle. Her window was down and she was leaning out, her complete focus on the elk. He thought about kissing her—a proper kiss, a kiss he would initiate—and his pulse pounded a little harder.
He had a feeling she was going to end that no touch protocol. But just for fun—and maybe because he knew it would torture her a little bit—he decided he wouldn’t be the one to make the first move. She would have to come to him.
“Do you see it?” she said, her eyes bright as she turned to him.
Dragging his gaze away from her and to the elk, he nodded, “Yeah.”
“Do you think we’ll see a bear?” she asked when they were back on the road.
“It’s possible.”
They followed his parents’ truck, pulling over when they did, stopping to view a herd of elk high on the hillside.
“No bears tonight,” Mia said when they got back to camp.
“We’ll see one eventually,” Rob said as their dad got the fire going in the fire pit.
Tyler was sitting beside Brielle, itching to put his arm around her shoulders while determined to force her to make a decision on whether they should be allowed to touch or not. Her earlier almost-kiss seemed to prove that she was fine with touching, but then, in his SUV, it was less clear.
“Let’s take a walk,” he said to her now, standing.
She looked at him in surprise but stood as well. “Okay.”
Sitting together in his SUV hadn’t been good enough. And tomorrow they’d be with his family all day. If he wanted to give her a chance to let him kiss her, they would have to be alone, and they would have to be out of the SUV.
And he wanted her to let him kiss her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Why were they taking a walk? And why had she agreed to go with him? The sun had set and the only light came from campfires here and there. Weren’t wild animals lurking in the area?
Walking past campsites, Brielle stayed close to Tyler’s side. If a wild animal appeared, she would make him shield her.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked as they strolled along a paved road where campsites branched off.
Once the sun had gone down, a definite chill had filled the air. “Yeah.” Then she gave him a sidelong glance. “Why are we on a walk? Wasn’t our hike this morning enough exercise for one day?”
His eyebrows rose. “That was only a two miler. Tomorrow’s hike will be, like, nine miles. Is that going to be too much for you?”
“No.” At least she hoped not. She looked at his face. “You didn’t answer my question.”
His lips curved upward. “Maybe I want to be alone with you.”
That’s not what she’d expected him to say, and at his words, her heart skipped a beat. Then she pointed out the obvious. “We were alone in your car for an hour.”
He tilted his head. “We can go back to the campsite if you want.”
No. She didn’t want that. She liked being alone with him.
“No?” he said, his eyebrows raised.
They passed a loud group of campers. Brielle looked their way before answering. “I like walking.” She almost added with you but stopped herself in time. No need to admit more than necessary.
Tyler chuckled.
Brielle met his gaze. “What did that mean earlier? When you winked at me.”
He looked her way. “Hmm. A wink could mean a lot of things.”
That was less than helpful. Pursing her lips, she stared at him a moment. “Yes, I suppose it could. But what did you mean?”
He softly chuckled. “Don’t remember. That was hours ago.”
Rather annoyed at his vagueness, Brielle stopped in front of him, forcing him to stop as well. She needed to know what he was thinking. Between his holding her hand when there was no need to pretend, his comment after she’d made him wait while she showered, and his offer to kiss her—her heart pounded at that memory—she couldn’t help but wonder if he was as attracted to her as she was to him. She had to know.
“What?” he asked when she just stared at him. Then his lips slowly curled into a smile. “You’re ready for that kiss now, aren’t you.” It came out as a statement.
Her eyes went wide, her lips parted, and her pulse raced. His gaze slid to her mouth then went back to her eyes.
“No,” she whispered.
One of his eyebrows rose the tiniest bit. “Are you sure about that?”
“No.” Did she just say that out loud? “I mean…”
He smirked. “What do you mean, Brielle?” His voice was low and sexy.
“Are we still pretending?” She hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but now that the question was out there, she was glad she’d asked it.
He stared down at her. “I’m not pretending.”
That didn’t exactly answer the question she was after—how did he feel about her? Although the way he said it and the look in his eye told her volumes. “Then what are you doing?”
He smiled in that way that made her want to slide her arms around his waist and lay her head against his chest, to let him wrap her in his strong arms and hold her against him.
“I’m offering to show you what it feels like to kiss me.” Smirking, he added, “That’s the reason you gave me for that little butterfly kiss earlier. That you wanted to know how it felt.”
She did want to know how it felt. Badly.
Her phone began to ring in her back pocket. Kind of glad for the interruption when things were getting so intense, she smiled an apology and took her phone out of her pocket. It was Cara. “Let me just tell her I’m still alive, okay?”
Tyler frowned, but he nodded.
Taking several steps away, Brielle swiped to answer. “Hi, Cara.”
“Hey, Bri. So, you survived your hike?”
“Yep.” She glanced at Tyler, who was watching her. “I
t was actually really fun.”
“Good. So, the fake girlfriend thing is going okay?”
Not wanting Tyler to know what they were talking about, she kept her gaze away from him. “Yeah.”
“He’s not asking for anything physical, is he?”
Brielle’s eyebrows jerked together in consternation. That’s exactly what he was doing. Right that very minute.
When she didn’t answer, Cara said, “Bri. Tell me you’re not letting him take advantage of you.”
Was that what this was all about? Was Tyler trying to take advantage of her while they were pretending to be in a relationship? Was it just fun and games to him? Was his attempt to kiss her just a ploy to liven up his vacation?
“No.” Her answer came out sharper than she’d meant it to, but she was embarrassed that he’d been playing her.
“Good. Remember, he’s paying you because he hired you for a job. Don’t let him try to twist it into something else.”
“I’ll remember.” How could she forget now?
“Good. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Cara.”
She slipped her phone into her pocket and walked back to Tyler, determined not to let her growing attraction get the better of her.
Tyler watched her as she walked toward him, a determined expression on his face. What was that about? What had Cara said to her?
“Everything okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
Thanks to the phone call that had interrupted them, the moment they’d been having was gone. Now what? Tyler was kind of at a loss. Typically he was fighting off the women who approached him. Not Brielle. Instead he’d been eagerly waiting for her to take the bait, to agree to a kiss. Something it appeared she had no intention of doing. Especially now.
Not at all what he was used to.
He had to remind himself that just because he wanted nothing more than to claim that luscious mouth didn’t mean she felt the same.
Game On (Fair Catch Series, Book Six) Page 11