A Family for Tyler

by Angel Smits

  Ron looked like someone had farted. “Hockey?”

  “Nah, baseball. Preseason.”

  Despite her declaration to keep her distance, Tess slid onto the next stool. “Feliz is pitching. They’re checking out his arm after rehab.”

  The man smiled at her.

  God, his smile was good.

  No, not good. Sexy. And not just sexy but up-against-a-wall-naked sexy. Tess was certain she’d seen such a smile only twice...and the aftereffects had resulted in its moniker. Though up-against-the-wall-naked sex wasn’t as hot as it sounded. Required a lot of balance.

  “Ugh, baseball?” Ron groaned but lifted the remote. “The only thing good about baseball is the way the players look in those tight pants.”

  “I’ll concede that point,” Tess said, dragging her purse over, telling herself she moved closer to the man only because it gave her a better view of the TV.

  “That’s what all the ladies say,” the stranger said. So was that a message to Ron? Or to her? “And, uh, I guess some guys.”

  Ron found the right station. Texas was up 5–2 in the third inning. The Rangers’ designated hitter was at the plate, swinging and missing at low and inside.

  “Shamburg’s gonna throw that pitch at him all night,” Tess said.

  “A lady who knows baseball.” The man looked pleased at the revelation. But, really, there were lots of girls who liked baseball. Okay, maybe not lots. But others.

  “I’m not obsessed but I watch.”

  Ron nodded. “Yeah, she keeps stats.”

  The stranger raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “I like the Astros best,” she said, tugging a notebook out of her purse. “I’ve gotten into a habit of studying batting averages and making predictions. My brother was a bookie during his college years and paid me to help him. Old habits die hard...and now I like the whole challenge of dissecting the game.”

  “Bookie? Does he still—”

  “Nah, he’s a priest.”

  The man’s laughter made her stomach twitch. He looked even better laughing and the bar lights caught the rain droplets in his dark hair. Her hand rose to wipe them away, but she caught herself in time and instead lifted the pen, jotting down the starting pitcher and his ERA.

  “I’m Graham.” Hotness extended a hand.

  “Tess.” She tucked the pen and pad into her purse and took his hand. It was damp but warm. “Nice to meet you.”

  Now that they’d introduced themselves she definitely wanted to keep the conversation flowing, but couldn’t come up with a topic. Maybe more baseball?

  “Hey, there. I’m Angela,” a woman drawled from behind Tess.

  Graham spun on his stool. “Oh, hi.”

  The woman who’d earlier tucked her hair and put on lip gloss stood behind them with a gleam in her eye. Like a predator.

  Graham pulled at his tie.

  “Would you like to join me and my friends? We’re celebrating a promotion, and we’ve ordered stuffed mushrooms and smoked oysters.” Angela gave Graham a come-hither gaze that made Tess shift on her stool. Jeez, the woman was good.

  Graham looked ambushed and his eyebrows lowered a fraction. Tess could almost hear the wheels creaking, turning, churning, trying to figure out how to respond to the overt invite.

  “Well, I’ll take some of those stuffed mushrooms,” Tess joked.

  Angela shot her “the look”—the one that said something needed to be stuffed, and it wasn’t the mushrooms.

  Graham looked like a man who had swallowed a lemon. Okay, maybe not that uncomfortable or sour, but Tess could tell he didn’t want to go with Angela and couldn’t say so without being rude.

  Aw...he was a sweet guy. Tess should help him.

  “Actually Graham and I have been catching up,” Tess said.

  A few seconds tripped by and finally her handsome stranger nodded. “Yeah, it’s crazy and such a coincidence, but Tess was my blind date to Sadie Hawkins back in ’97.”

  Tess rolled her eyes. She had been eleven years old in ’97, but she wouldn’t correct him. If Graham said they went to Sadie Hawkins together, they went to Sadie’s together. “Small world, huh? All because he asked Ron to turn to the Rangers’ game.”

  Graham gave Angela a small regretful shrug and then gave his attention to Tess. “You know, stuffed mushrooms would be good before we go to dinner.”

  Dinner?

  Well, all righty then.

  “Perfect,” Tess said, with a sunny smile.

  Angela stood there for a moment, looking unconvinced. Graham turned back to her. “Thanks for the offer, Angela, but I don’t want to crash your girls’ night out. Go celebrate, and I’ll send a round of drinks for you and your friends.”

  Angela gave a shrug and fake smile. “That’s sweet of you.”

  “The least I can do after that nice invite.”

  “Send the waitress. She’s been on break for fifteen minutes and we’re empty,” she said to Ron before sashaying to her friends.

  “You’re the nice guy my mom’s been begging me to find,” Tess cracked, admiring the way Graham’s dark hair brushed the collar of his white dress shirt. The tugging at his throat had loosened the striped power tie and he’d unbuttoned the top button showing gorgeous tanned skin at his throat. His five o’clock shadow gave him a rakish air. “But you don’t have to feel obliged to take me to dinner.”

  “Of course I don’t. But come to think of it, you do remind me of Ainsley Braddock, my Sadie’s date.”

  Huh. What did that mean? He wasn’t taking her to dinner?

  Disappointment stung her. Which was crazy. She didn’t know this man from Adam. Which she always thought a stupid saying because she didn’t know Adam. Okay, she had a cousin named Adam, but—

  “I would love to take you to dinner. That is, if you’re free.”

  Tess nodded, wondering if it was a mistake to look so eager. Her stomach growled and she decided dinner was dinner. And if it were with a handsome stranger, she’d have news to share with Gigi when she called her later. There was something appealing about being spontaneous, something exciting about having dinner with Graham of the power tie and wing tips. “A friend was supposed to meet me after work but couldn’t get off. I haven’t eaten yet so...that sounds fun.”

  Graham lifted his glass and clinked it against the one she held in her hand. “Then it’s a date.”

  They both drank and Ron shook his head. “How do you do it? Any time I go to a bar, I go home with a tab and that’s it.”

  Tess laughed. “Joanne would be pissed if you came home with anything other than a bar tab.”

  “Pregnant women are such downers. She used to be fun,” Ron grumbled.

  A perplexed expression gathered on Graham’s face.

  Tess helped him out. “Ron isn’t gay. He’s just an indiscriminate flirt. Always chasing that tip.”

  Ron lifted a shoulder. “I never said I was gay.”

  “You implied it,” Graham said.

  “No, you made an assumption based on my comment regarding men in baseball pants.” Ron’s eyes danced with laughter. He loved flipping stereotypes.

  “Ron has a twisted sense of humor,” Tess said, finishing off her gimlet. The crisp taste and slight buzz made her feel invincible. Or maybe that was due to the fact she’d picked up a hot guy in a bar. Okay, only for dinner, but even so, she felt better about her crap day with Granny B who had ended it by declaring Tess would never see a single piece of jewelry in her will. “Do you want to order stuffed mushrooms? If so, we better put in an order. Daryl’s slow.”

  “Hey, good food requires patience,” Ron said.

  Graham centered his attention on her. “Let’s roll. I’m hungry for more than an appetizer.”

  “Meow,” Ron pur
red, before moseying toward a customer at the other end of the bar.

  Tess’s cheeks blistered even though she knew it was a joke.

  Graham’s gaze slid over her, lingering particularly on her mouth. Tess licked her lips before she could catch herself—and he definitely noted the movement. “I’m not familiar with the Marigny area so I don’t know any restaurants close by.”

  “I’m not dressed overly nice, so we better stick to casual.” Tess glanced outside. “Looks like the rain is gone and the stars are out. Why don’t we walk toward the Quarter? It’s not far and you know there’s something there to tickle the fancy.”

  Tess hopped off the stool, tossing a ten and five on the bar to cover her drink and give Ron a decent tip. Joanne had only a month to go until she delivered their first child, and money was tight for the couple.

  “I’ll defer to the local.” Graham withdrew a credit card and drummed his fingers on the bar while Ron slid the card through the machine. Then he stood, lifting an attaché case. “Let me lock this in my rental and we’ll head out.”

  “Have fun, you two,” Ron called holding up his bar towel and giving it a wave.

  And so Tess walked out of Two-Legged Pete’s with a good-looking man and the expectation for good food, good wine...and maybe something more.

  Or maybe she wanted it to be more than what it was.

  Either way, it was better than watching The Bachelor.

  Copyright © 2014 by Amy R. Talley

  ISBN-13: 9781460326077

  A FAMILY FOR TYLER

  Copyright © 2014 by Angel Smits

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