During the first tea-break, Tyler had suggested that they cancel one driver and drive back home together.
She’d agreed but now as they left the conference room, she started feeling anxious. What were they going to talk about for three hours? Should she bring up what happened last night, or did the deal preclude her from talking about that as well?
He carried her bags to the waiting car outside the hotel and after dropping them in the trunk, he opened the back door for her. She had never really noticed it before, but Tyler was a real gentleman. It was so ingrained in him that it didn’t seem forced or out of place. Brian, the douche-face, didn’t even get out of the car when he picked her up for a date. He’d just honk in the street and expect her to rush out. She was no lady but she appreciated the sentiment.
She slipped into the backseat and shifted to the other side so he could get in too. The first few minutes were quiet and more and more questions came to lips. She just couldn’t find a way to actually ask them.
“Jordan,” he said, breaking the silence.
She turned to look at him but said nothing in response.
His eyes met hers and he continued. “I don’t want to lead you on. I’m notthattype of guy. I don’t do flings. I don’t do one-night stands. I don’t do…boo…booty calls.”
He looked so uncomfortable using the phrase that she had to pull her lips in to stop a laugh.
“I want you to understand something. It’s not that I’m not attracted to you. Last night proves that I amveryattracted to you. But I don’t want to lead you on. I was in a relationship for three years and…there’s a lot of things going through my head right now. This is—”
“I get it,” she cut in.
That made a lot of sense and she felt stupid that she hadn’t been able to figure it out herself. He and Trisha had broken up only four months ago. How could she have possibly thought he was ready for another relationship? The rebound-girl wasdefinitely not a title she was chasing. She wasn’t hurt, just disappointed. She wasn’t looking to get into a relationship with him, but a fling would have beenreallynice. Ah, well. At least he was honest.
“Are you mad?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not mad. But if you want me to respect this professional relationship, you’re gonna have to stop being so hot…and adorable.”
He smiled, so wide it reached his eyes. Was it possible that she’d made Tyler Evans feel uncomfortably…shy? Just when she told him to stop being adorable. Unable to keep eye contact, he turned and looked out the window. This was probably the most unbelievable thing she had ever seen. Here was this rich, sophisticated guy, who was voted sexiest man of the year by a few tabloid magazines. He dominated boardrooms and commanded respect with his presence and yet he couldn’t take a simple compliment.
A by-product of his long-term relationship was that he was completely oblivious to the women who drooled all over him, but it was still pretty unbelievable.
He waited a few seconds before turning his attention back to her. “Therein lies the problem, Jordan,” he said, still trying to hide that goofy grin. “Charm like this can’t be turned off. It’s not my fault I have the ability to make them good girls go bad.”
Her giggles came out so hard she almost choked. “Did you just quote Cobra Starship? How do you even know that song?”
“I told you I have a wild side.”
“Total bad-ass,” she agreed with a nod.
They continued chatting for the next three hours and she felt it, that gooey, icky feeling inside her. Mush mixed with sludge mixed with complete, disgusting soppiness. Ugh! Barf!
She had to force herself not to feel it because whatever she’d shared with him had ended before it even began. She madea vow to herself during that drive that she would absolutely, positively, under no circumstances, fall for Tyler Evans.
August
Shit’s starting to get real
Tyler groaned. It was the first day of a new month and yet he couldn’t wait for it to be over. He had a headache of mammoth proportions and Barbara’s dying cat re-enactment was only making it worse. Thank God it was Friday.
It had been exactly three weeks since they’d returned from the conference and things were different yet still the same. They had transitioned back into a somewhat professional relationship. Jordan was still Jordan. Witty and sarcastic, though now she was a little more flirtatious…a lot more flirtatious. And with each passing week he was finding it more difficult to stick to the arrangementhehad put in place.
Some days were easier to get through than others. Some days he managed to bury himself in enough work to keep his thoughts from drifting back to him almost ravishing her on the bed, with her long legs wrapped around his waist, her soft thighs beneath his hands. Some days he could keep himself busy long enough to not think about how cute she looked when she did something silly, how his chest tightened every time he heard her laugh.
But then there were those days, those off days, those days when he woke up in the morning and he couldn’t wait to see her, those days when he would make up stupid excuses just to be around her. Today was one of those days.
He’d been fighting every urge to talk to her since he got in this morning and now he was tired of fighting. The same thing had happened at the conference. His plan was to stay as far away from her as possible and after multiple internal debates, he’d found himself sitting across from her at the dinner table.He couldn’t stay away from her. There was something about her, an aura that drew him to her each and every time. He felt comfortable around her, so comfortable that he’d actually opened up about his mother, something he rarely discussed.
This was becoming a problem, this exchanging of personal information, this constant craving for her company.
Tuesday was the fourth time he’d tried something new from Margo’s tray. Even though it ended up in his handkerchief every week, he still hadn’t complained because it afforded him a few minutes alone with her each week. And her giggling all the while was just an added incentive.
