“But,” I added, tilting my head, “you know what this means now, right? Since the secret is out?”
“What?”
“I finally get to take you on a real date.”
“Arealdate?” she echoed, her lips twitching as she tried to suppress a grin.
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve always wanted to—God knows I asked you enough times. Then you decided to jump my bones in DC, so my plans got a little… derailed”
“Hey!” she laughed, swatting my chest.
“Not complaining by the way,” I said, grinning. “But I want to do this right. It’s not just about sex, O. Not for me. Never was”
She stilled, eyes searching mine.
“I want to show you how good I can be,” I said quietly, my voice dropping an octave. “Maybe even prove I already am.”
Her hand found my chest, right over my heart. “You don’t have to prove anything. I already see it.”
That undid me.
“Maybe,” I murmured, kissing her temple. “But you deserve the proof anyway.” I drew back just enough to meet her eyes. “I’ve got media at two. Be ready by six. Wear something sexy. I’m taking you out.”
She bit her lip, trying not to smile. “Deal.”
And just like that, my whole face lit up. Orla Sheehan had finally agreed to go on a date with me.
She had no idea what she was in for. Tonight, she was getting the full Tyler Reed boyfriend experience. I wasn’t sure what exactly that meant, but I knew I wanted to give it to her.
Chapter 34
Orla
I’d checkedmyself in the mirror at least twenty times, changed outfits nine times, and swapped my bra three times. I’d moved operations to my own room because, to be fair, Tyler liked things neat and orderly. So did I, usually. Right now, though, it looked like a hurricane had torn through the suite.
Why was I so worked up?
He’d already seen every inch of me, felt every curve, kissed every freckle. But this felt different. This wasn’t about sex. This was a date. A proper one that you went all in for, a moment that might actually mean something.
He was fighting to be more than the headlines and the toxic rumors; he was trying to be the man I needed him to be. He was letting himself become something bigger than his own reputation, stripping away the "bad boy" armor one piece at a time.
I’d tried to tell him I’d already seen it. I saw it that day at Wimbledon, when I stopped him spiralling. I saw it the night he took care of me when I broke down over too much Jack Daniel’s and that stupid bloody Instagram post. When he’d slept on thesofa so that I wouldn’t feel the weight of my shame spiral in the morning.
I’d been seeing it over and over, in the smallest ways. The way he looked at me, listened, waited. But maybe tonight was for him. Maybe he needed this, to prove it to himself, and I wanted to give him that.
I wasn’t like the girls he was usually papped with—I knew that. I wasn’t the flirty influencer with airbrushed skin and a practiced pout, the kind who lingered in hotel bars like a predator hoping to land a shiny sports star. I knew I was attractive, I’d never doubted that and I was glad I wasn’t like them. I knew I was worth more than that, and more than anything, I wanted Tyler to see that he was too.
Which was why I had my secret weapon on.
If Tyler Reed could barely keep his hands off me when I was swallowed by an LTA polo and standard-issue leggings, he was going to lose his fucking mind when he saw me in this.
The dress was a slinky, midnight-green silk that flowed over my curves like liquid. It was cut dangerously low at the back, leaving a vast expanse of skin for him to obsess over, and just enough at the front to keep him guessing. My boobs weren’t huge, but they suited my frame perfectly, and in this silk, they looked—to put it bluntly—fucking phenomenal.
I’d blow-dried my hair into big loose waves, gone heavy on the mascara, and picked my best strappy heels.I looked like a woman who knew exactly what she wanted, and exactly how to get it.
Yeah. He was gonna die.
When the knock came, my stomach dipped. He was early. Of course he would be for this. I hovered at the door for a moment, palms pressed flat against the wood, drew a steadying breath and whispered one last,fuck it, before I opened it.
