Chapter 6
Ty circled the vacant massage table, assuring that the fresh sheets were set just right. The window coverings Andie picked out provided ample privacy while allowing natural light to filter through the windows. Soft pipe music played gently from the nearby speakers, while the soothing scents of vanilla and lavender fused in the air.
It might only be her second day, but Ty was becoming quite comfortable at The Homestead Inn’s new spa already. Not only did the inn itself have a charming appeal and comfortable feel to it, the Duran family were so warm and welcoming that Ty felt right at home.
Speaking of the Durans, Maverick Duran was her next client, and he should arrive any minute. Yesterday, she’d focused on his upper body. Today, she’d work on his lower back, legs, and feet.
She considered their first interaction. Maverick, Memphis’s twin brother, was thenightto his brother’sday. Or so it seemed. Ty had overheard his sister, Andie, warn Maverick that flirting of any sort would be highly inappropriate. The warning gave her a few inclinations. First, Maverick must be a major flirt. Second, he’d exercised his best behavior with her yesterday. She hoped he’d do the same today.
Still, Ty couldn’t imagine that any such warning would be necessary with Memphis. This morning, he’d again been a perfect gentleman as he’d picked her and Lucas up from her apartment, took Lucas to school, and brought her to work at The Homestead just as he promised.
Yesterday afternoon as they were saying goodbye, he insisted on taking her to the auto body shop to get the battery as well. She’d been very tempted to turn him down and have Margo take her after dinner, but he promised that it would be no added trouble to stop and get it. The crazy thing was, she sensed he was earnest.
It was just one of the things she liked about him so far. Memphis was polite, but not to the point that he was too serious or dull. And while he was persistent where his generosity was concerned, his manner wasn’t imposing. Had his offer to help come from someone else, Ty would have felt extremely uncomfortable accepting it not only yesterday, but today as well. She wondered how the car battery was coming along.
Ty could picture him now, bent over the open hood of her car, covered in grease as he studied one Youtube video after the next. She couldn’t help but admire how very much he wanted to rise to the occasion of fixing it himself.
Her thoughts were distracted as Ty overheard a greeting from the spa’s receptionist at the front desk. Maverick must be there. She stepped into the hallway, prepared to tell Maverick to head into the room and prepare for his appointment, when he caught her attention with the wave of his arm.
“Hey,” he said. “I was just telling Jackie here that I’d like to talk to you out front really quick, if you don’t mind.”
Ty’s brow furrowed. “Um, sure. Of course.” She moved swiftly down the hallway, shot Jackie a nod, and stepped through the door as Maverick tugged it open.
“We’ll be right back, Jackie,” he said to the redhead behind the counter with a wink.
Ty couldn’t help but notice the blush that swept over Jackie’s cheeks.
The contrast between the air-conditioned spa and the warmth outside was substantial. Yet as she inhaled, Ty detected crisp scents of fall in the air.
“I felt like it was better to ask you this…outside of the massage room,” Maverick said as he took a pained-looking step. It was then she noticed he hadn’t brought along his walking device.
She ran a concerned look down the length of his legs. “Where’s the walker? You’re not done using it already, are you?”
Maverick shook his head and tucked a hand in his pocket. She couldn’t escape the physical qualities he shared with his brother. The thick, dark hair that hung carelessly past his eyebrows. Their complexions were similar—a tanned or olive-color tone—and they each had the same strong jawline that gave them a masculine appeal. This, she realized, was similar to Emmitt and Richard as well.
“I’m supposed to take a few hundred steps back and forth without the walking aid, so I figured coming here without it was close enough.”
Ty nodded, though she sensed he’d ditched it for a different reason.
“Anyway, with the injury and all, and being fairly new to town as I was when the accident took place, it’s been a long time since I went on a date.” And there was the look that set him apart from Memphis. Not in the color—Memphis’s eyes were just as blue—but there was a gleam. A gleam Ty had seen in every bad boy player she’d known. That, along with the laid-back slouch of his posture as he gazed into the distance, said he was used to hearing yes and he rarely ever heard no.
A dose of dread stirred within her as he continued with the click of his cheek.
“I hoped maybe you’d be willing to help me break my dateless streak. Allow me to take you to the drive-in this weekend. I heard they have one the next town over. We can load up the flatbed with blankets, stock up on movie treats, and soak up some starlight.”
She wasn’t even going to touch the fact that he’d actually asked her to a drive-in on a first date. She also had no intention of reminding him that he probably shouldn’t be driving just yet. What was the point when she had one foolproof answer that would put it all to rest?
“Thank you for the offer,” she said, “but I have a firm policy about not dating any of my clients.”
“That’s an easy fix,” Maverick said.
Ty’s face scrunched as she tried to dissect what he meant. But then a dart of fear shot through her. “You don’t mean…I’m fired, right?”
“Of course, not. I’m no tyrant. That’s my brother Richard’s role.” His face was turning a shade of pink. “I’m sayingI’llquit being your client.” He cleared his throat and tossed his hair back with the flick of his head.
“That’s really not necessary,” she assured. “Look, why don’t you just come on in and get settled onto the table? I’m afraid you could injure yourself walking around like this without the walk—”
“I call it a walking aid,” Maverick interrupted. “Walker makes it sound like I’m eighty.” He broke out in a smooth smile suddenly, looking more at ease than he had since he showed up. “You want to go ahead and give me the massage we have planned today?” he confirmed.
