When the clerk called his name for their order, Tyler winked at Nevvie. She involuntarily gasped when that simple, playful gesture made her quiver.
On the drive back to the house, Tyler decided to probe a little. “Alex is an…interesting fellow.” Still not totally certain of her feelings for the arse, he carefully weighed how he said it.
She turned bright red again. “He seemed like a good idea at the time.” She paused. “I’m sorry. I guess I don’t have a good track record.”
“He’s older than you.” A statement, not a question.
“Eighteen years. I met him in New Orleans, when I worked at the hotel. He worked in maintenance. I was training to work in the office.”
“What attracted you to him?”
She shrugged and stared out the window. “When he moved in I could pay the rent again.” She finally looked at Tyler and her voice dropped. “Like I said, I don’t have a good track record.”
Tyler patted her thigh and left his hand there, sensing he shouldn’t push more on the topic at that moment. She took his hand and held on.
He changed his approach. “You know, I’ve always meant to ask about your name. It’s beautiful. What does it mean?” Of course he knew this, or suspected he did. He’d spent an hour Googling it when she first started working for them.
“It’s ‘heaven’ spelled backwards. My mom came up with it when they adopted me.”
“You’re adopted?” Tyler hoped his surprise didn’t show. He didn’t know that about her. In fact, he didn’t know much about her history. She rarely mentioned her background.
Nevvie’s voice developed a bitter edge. “I didn’t know until I turned fifteen, when my mother and stepfather turned me over to a cousin. My dad—adopted dad—died when I was eight. I hated my stepdad, and the feeling was mutual.”
Tyler’s brain whirled, a lot of pieces fitting into place in Nevvie’s puzzle. He didn’t need to push her any further right then.
“Well, sweetheart, you bring a slice of heaven to Thomas and myself every week.” He squeezed her hand and smiled. When she smiled in return, it lifted his heart.
She would be theirs. Now he knew exactly how to approach it.
“Uh, wow. You guys did have a party.” Nevvie paused at the front door and surveyed the debris.
It went against every fiber of Tyler’s being to allow their guests to make a mess, but he’d choked back the urge to clean up.
Thomas leaned against the kitchen counter. At least he was vertical. “Yeah. The First Annual Kinsey-Paulson Pulled Pork Poker Party was a success.”
Nevvie laughed. “Try saying that five times fast.”
“Don’t worry about the grill,” Tyler said. “Thomas and I will clean that.” He put the bags on the counter and handed one to Thomas. “Things for your hangover, love.” Tyler set out bagels and cream cheese and made Nevvie eat before starting her chores.
Tyler watched Nevvie throughout the day. Thomas, practically useless and still suffering from a headache, grumpily went to lie down after lunch. Tyler noticed how Nevvie slowed as the day progressed, not from exhaustion, but deliberately stretching her time with them.
He walked to their bedroom and closed the door behind him. “Thomas, are you conscious?”
Thomas nodded from the bed. “I’m awake, but I’m not in the mood.”
“You stupid sod. We need to talk to Nevvie this afternoon.”
Thomas sat up. “What?”
Tyler dropped his voice. “Before I take her home, we’re going to proposition her.”
He focused on Tyler for a moment. “You’re talking the job, not sex?”
“Yes, Thomas, and would you like ‘Even More Reasons Not to Drink’ for five hundred?”
He collapsed to the bed. “I’m going to kill Eddie.”
“Not his fault you got snockered.” Tyler sat next to him. “I’m serious. We need to ask her today, move her in as soon as possible.”
“What’s going on, Ty? What did you see this morning?”
Tyler studied his hands. “Let’s just say we need to act sooner rather than later.” He met Thomas’ now-steady gaze. “We’ll ask her to be our full-time housekeeper, to be my personal assistant, and to work at your office part-time.”
Thomas rubbed his head. “That bad, huh?”
“Let me do the talking, love.”
“Duh.”
Nevvie didn’t want the day to end. It was after four, and Alex had called her cell once already. She’d let it go straight to voice mail, not wanting him to ruin her day. He probably wanted to come pick her up now that he’d seen Tyler and the truck, to show his ass and try to intimidate her boys.
If she didn’t know any better she’d think Tyler drove the Ridgeline on purpose to goad Alex. Tyler never drove Tom’s truck, preferring his elegant Lexus sedan.
Tyler insisted she stay for dinner. After washing the dishes, they all sat at the table, Tyler on her left and Thomas on her right.
They were cute, like mismatched bookends you knew were perfect for each other. Tyler’s sandy brown hair bordered on blond and held the barest traces of grey at the temples. It was smooth and looked silky soft, neatly styled and just long enough to run your fingers through and have enough to hold on to. He looked thirty, not nearly forty. Thomas kept his wavy dark brown hair trimmed shorter than Ty’s, and she imagined if he let it get long it would be a hideous mess. He kept it at the perfect length, just long enough the texture allowed him to wash and run his hands through it.
Tyler took her hand. Jesus, those blue eyes. Deep and sweet like the Caribbean Sea.
“Nevvie, we need to talk with you about something serious.”
Her heart sank. Oh please, don’t fire me!
He glanced at Thomas and squeezed her hand. “We would like to discuss a new arrangement with you.”
Huh? “What? You’re not firing me?”
Tyler’s face went blank, then the men laughed. “Fire you? Are you mad? We would never fire you, sweetheart!”
He hugged her. Her relief was so strong and piercing she nearly cried.
Still holding her hand, he paused as if composing his thoughts. “Nevvie, we are very fond of you, if you haven’t already guessed. We truly consider you part of our family. Thomas and I are in need of a full-time personal assistant. It takes too much of my time for the day-to-day things around here, and write and take care of email and phone calls. His assistant at work is preparing to go on maternity leave, so he’s short-handed as well.”
She nodded, not quite following him. She only cared that they weren’t firing her.
“What we’d like to suggest is this. We feel very comfortable with you. We trust you, you respect our privacy, and your personality matches ours. We love you, Nevvie. You mean the world to us. Frankly, we hate seeing you leave every week.”
He glanced at Thomas. “Now, you don’t have to give us an answer today. If your answer is no, we still want you to come in on Thursdays, that wouldn’t change. There’s no pressure to say yes. If you say yes, we’d want you to start immediately with your new duties.”
She tried to absorb what he said, still stuck on, “We love you.” She knew what Tyler meant wasn’t what she felt, but who cared? She looked at Thomas. “Personal assistant?”
Thomas took her other hand, and now his big brown eyes had her soul impaled. Jeezus pleezus, he was a cutie pie. Freckles peppered his cheekbones, and since Thomas spent lots of time on construction sites he had more of a tan than Tyler.
“Nevvie,” Thomas said, “please move in with us and be our personal assistant.”