Knowing he couldn’t avoid it any longer.
“Seriously, Tyler. Take a fucking break.”
He sighed, reaching for the cup of lukewarm coffee he’d been nursing for half an hour. “I can’t. There’s something about the numbers that isn’t adding up, but I can’t tell if I’m just not reading them right or there’s something I’m missing.”
“You don’t tend to miss too much.” Greg shifted forward as he sat across from Tyler’s desk. “What’s the problem?”
With a disgusted exhale, Tyler shoved the file across the desk and sat back to scrub at his eyes. “The problem is I feel like I have to do this. I feel like it’s what my grandfather wanted. And, God damn it, I want the damn thing.”
Greg’s eyes widened. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you say that. Why the sudden change of heart?”
“It’s not a change of heart. I’ve always wanted the chair. I just . . . I didn’t think my dad was going to retire this soon and I don’t like feeling forced into it. Jesus, I sound like Jed, don’t I?”
Greg smiled. “No, you sound like a guy who’s got a shitload on his plate at the moment. Haven, the spa, a new girl. Now this.”
A new girl. It sounded so juvenile.
And yet, it was true.
Kate was on his mind all the time, whether he was working or not. He’d taken to carrying his grandmother’s ring, the one Kate had found at the flea market. He liked having it in his pocket, the weight of it comforting somehow.
But every time he thought about the ring, he thought about Kate and everything else became secondary.
He wanted her here. Wanted her to be waiting for him in his bed when he finished whatever the hell was left on his to-do list.
“I don’t have time for her right now.” It sounded cold, and he felt like a bastard saying it out loud, but it was the unvarnished truth. “I should stop stringing her along.”
This was the absolute worst time for him to fall for a woman.
A new relationship required time. It required commitment and a willingness to compromise. Neither of them had those luxuries at the moment.
What they had was lust. And that wasn’t enough on which to base a lasting relationship.
“So that’s what you’re doing? Stringing her along?” Greg snorted. “I think that’s one sorry-ass excuse. At least admit it. You’re afraid.”
Tyler barely managed to control his grimace. Greg would see it as a sign that he was right.
“I’m not afraid of anything except raising her expectations and then not being able to meet them.”
“And I think you’re going to use all the rest of this shit as an excuse to not get close to her.”
“Why the hell would I do that? I like her. Jesus, Greg, I really like her. She’s smart and driven and— Why the fuck are you smirking at me?”
Greg shook his head, not losing the smirk. “Because you’re an idiot if you let her get away. You’re right about everything you just said, but you didn’t add that she’s willing to bend for you. Are you willing to work a little harder for her?”
“You think that’s all I need to do? Work a little harder? If I work any harder, I’m going to end up in the psych ward because I won’t have a brain left.”
“And that’s the underlying problem, right there, isn’t it?” Greg shook his head. “How long are you going to let that fear rule you? You’re not your mother.”
No, he knew he wasn’t bipolar. But he did have issues. “I know that, Greg. That’s not what this is. There’s just so much shit that requires my attention right now and I don’t want to give her less of me than she deserves. I know I can’t have everything—”
“Why not?” Greg shrugged. “My parents both had careers. My dad coached my little league team, and my mom volunteered at the school and the local theater where my sister and I acted. And they still love each other after all these years. You’re getting too old to let opportunities pass you by, Tyler.”
Something about Greg’s tone made Tyler bite back a sharp response. Pushing aside his own shit for the moment, he looked at Greg. Really looked at him. Something was up. Something he’d missed because he’d been so damn preoccupied.
“What happened?”
Greg’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah, you do. What’s going on?”
Greg shifted his gaze out the window. “Let’s just say I’ve had a crash course in missed opportunities recently.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes as Tyler considered everything Greg had said. And hadn’t said.
“Do you mind if I abandon you tonight? I feel like taking a ride.”
Greg’s wry smile finally made an appearance. “No problem. I’m sure I can find some way to amuse myself for a few hours.”
Thirteen
“I’m sorry to call you out so late, Sabrina. I totally appreciate your help and your willingness to come over.”
Sabrina Rodriquez waved a hand as she took Kate’s apartment by storm Thursday night. The five-foot-two part-time coffee shop worker had a personality that didn’t need the stimulant of caffeine to keep her at a constant bubble.
“No problem, chica. It’s not really that late and it’s not like I had any plans. The men around here are dumb as stumps, I swear. Did I tell you about . . .”
Sabrina launched into a story about one of her many cousins, not needing Kate to do more than nod at the appropriate places as Kate had Sabrina get up on the stand in her workshop and stand there with her arms out while Kate got to work.
The twenty-two-year-old was taking classes toward an associate’s degree in hotel-restaurant management and worked as the assistant manager of the catering service Talia used for most of her weddings. She also filled in at the coffee shop down the street.
Sabrina had been modeling for Kate for the past couple of months when one of the burlesque companies had asked her to make a costume for a performer who almost perfectly matched Sabrina’s measurements of thirty-eight, twenty-two, thirty-two.
After Sabrina had stopped laughing, she’d said she’d be happy to model, as long as Kate supplied her with panties that didn’t creep when she spent long hours on her feet.
Worthwhile trade, considering it only took Kate an hour or so to make the panties now that she had the pattern and Sabrina had to stand, sometimes for several hours and get stuck with pins.
Most people couldn’t believe the two women were friends, mostly because no one could figure out how either got a word in edgewise. Kate admitted it could be a little nerve-wracking for anyone listening.
Tonight, Kate let Sabrina hold up most of the conversation. Apparently her younger cousin had stolen one of another cousin’s boyfriends and that was making for some interesting family dynamics.
Sabrina’s stories about her four brothers, three sisters, and nearly twenty cousins usually made Kate happy to be an only child. There were times, though, when she wished she had a clan to visit and drive her crazy.
Annabelle had added Jared to her admittedly small clan. Kate wondered if she’d ever be able to include Tyler in hers.
“Kate, you know I don’t know a damn thing about sewing. But shouldn’t the shiny side of the material be facing out?”
Kate sighed and removed the piece of satin she’d been about to pin into place wrong side out.
“I’m sorry. My brain’s just not into this tonight, but I need to get this finished.”
“You wanna tell me where exactly your brain is tonight? Maybe with that hunky guy you’ve been seeing?”