Memphis chuckled. “Forceful.”
Ty couldn’t help but laugh as well. It wasn’t as if she was dealing with a drunk here. In fact, in her experience and, according to his own family, Memphis rarely touched the stuff, which is why he was in the predicament he was in now. Having underestimated the amount of hard liquor he’d consumed in Holly’s harmless tasting drink. Maybe he’d been dipping into the wrong crockpot the whole time. There was a virgin batch right beside it, after all.
“You know, I am so careful with you,” he said as he brought the tall glass to his lips. He shook his head, laughed, and tried handing it back to her without taking even a sip.
Ty pushed it back to him. “Drink.”
He glared at it, then brought it to his lips and tipped it back. He gulped once, twice, three times. Once the glass was half-empty, Memphis set it on the coffee table and belched.
Ty fought back another grin as he apologized.
“That wasn’t me.”
Now the grin escaped with a laugh. “Who was it then?”
“Itwasme,” he said. “I meant that wasn’t what me…whatImeant to do. I don’t think it’s nice to burp like that in front of a lady. Unless we’re having a burping contest.”
She lifted a brow. “And have you had many of those? With women?”
He shook his head. “Only a few. They lose every time.”
“Ah.” She tipped her head back. “Why don’t you finish off that water?”
But Memphis turned an intent gaze on her. “But I have to tell you,” he said, his voice quiet but serious.
For a moment, Ty felt as if she shouldn’t encourage what he might share. It seemed alcohol was some type of truth serum for him. But she very much wanted to hear what he had to say. So she leaned in, brought her lips close to his ear, and whispered. “What is it that you have to tell me?”
Memphis followed suit and brought his mouth to her ear in return. “I want you,” he said. “I mean, I want to go…the whole way with you when we’re together. But I’m waiting so that you know I’m really in love with you and not just pretending.”
Ty gasped, and a ripple of goosebumps rose over her skin. There was too much in his confession to unpack it all at once. Parts of her were affected by what he’d first shared. That he wanted her. Wanted to go…allthe way, she assumed he’d meant to say.
They were usually careful about the predicaments they put themselves in. Ty had purposely not taken him into her bedroom, knowing it’d be much too easy to get carried away in there. But once, she’d come back to the lodge with Memphis to see where he and his brothers were staying until the new additions were finished. There, they’d started making out on his bed. His brothers were at the Pub & Grill, and Lucas had been staying the night at Holly and Margo’s. It was Memphis who’d put a stop to things that night. And thank heavens he had. She wasn’t ready to complicate things with that.
Her mind drifted to the other tidbit he’d shared—that he wanted to be respectful so that she knew he wasin lovewith her.Wow!
She was sure this wasn’t how he planned to tell her how he felt. And as much as she lovedhearing it, Ty felt a little guilty for prying it out of him when he was…not in top form.
“Maybe you should drink the rest of your water,” she managed as she lifted the glass from its spot on the coffee table. Or maybesheneeded to drink it. He’d said he was in love with her and he hadn’t even meant to.
Ty had just spent one of the best months of her life with Memphis. She’d wondered, over the last week or two, whenthe L wordwould make its appearance, but she never imagined it’d come out in some sort of drunken stupor.
“It just sucks that you wish you had Eric back so Lucas could have hisrealdad.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Ty shook her head, confused by the off comment. “That’s not true, Memphis. That’s not my wish at all, okay?” She set the glass down and brought her hands to either side of his face until he locked eyes with her. “You’re the only one I’m dreaming about now, all right? You’re enough. You’re the one Lucas and I want.”
But it was a futile attempt. Already Memphis was shaking his head no. “I remember what you said when we talked.”
“Then you misunderstood.”
“If I got with you and he came back…I’d be toast,” he insisted.
“That’s never going to happen.” Ty could feel herself getting heated, but this was hardly the time or place for a conversation like this. If Memphis really did have these types of concerns, she’d need to address it when he was sober. And, she mused as she looked over her shoulder, when the two of them were alone.
She sighed. Memphis was really going to beat himself up for this later. He’d been planning to drive her and Lucas home after the party, which went to prove that he really hadn’t realized how much he was drinking until it was too late.
Of course, it’d be easy to catch a ride with Margo and Holly. And Memphis’s brothers could see to it that he got to bed in one piece. She glanced back to see that he’d sunk further into the couch and closed his eyes.Good.
Every part of Ty longed to move in and kiss him. To smooth a hand over his head and tell him he’d misunderstood what she’d said about Eric. But it would have to wait. A lot had been brought to the table tonight, and Ty needed to think about how she would address it with him. An odd spark of fear flared hot in her chest, spreading uncomfortable heat through her body like a rash. It took her a moment to figure out what had caused it, but as Ty considered Memphis’s concern about Lucas’s father, she wondered if that concern would cause him to pull back completely.
Ty didn’t want to lose Memphis, especially over a misunderstanding about her ex. Eric might be a part of her past, but if she didn’t clear things up, he threatened to affect her future.
