Paris
I WAS STUCK in A Christmas Carol.
And Tyler was the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future.
“Why are we here?” I asked, looking at the posh restaurant on the cliff overlooking San Francisco Bay.
His arms spread wide showcasing the majestic view. “This, Love, is the place for your engagement party.”
I burst into full-out laughter. “My what?”
Sneaking his arm around my waist, he squeezed me to his side. “You heard me,” he said. “Your engagement party, and the guests are waiting.”
Pushing myself from his heavenly heat, I looked up at him. “Please, no champagne or toasts.”
“No promises,” he murmured as he held my chin with his finger. “I make no promises. But I will give you a quick rundown on the guests before we go in.”
“That would be great.”
“Okay, it’s pretty simple. Julian and Darcy recently started dating. They’re both doctors at the same hospital and both of them are very busy.” Tyler stopped and released his hold on my chin and then he air quoted, “so they are keeping things casual.”
The way he did it made me laugh. The silly side of him had always been a side I could get lost in.
Actually very interested in what he had to say, I prompted, “And what about Christian and Lane?”
His lips twisted in a rueful grin. “They are the power couple.”
Trying not to pry too much, I tipped my head in question. “I’m not sure I understand?”
After glancing around almost conspiratorially, he leaned down and whispered, “Let’s just say Lane is the perfect wife for our state’s next governor.”
My brows kissed my forehead. “Theirs is a political marriage?”
The shrug he presented me with was all cool and casual. “Love isn’t always what makes the world go round, Paris.”
Pondering that statement would take some time.
I didn’t realize I’d frowned until he said, “Smile, gorgeous, I meant them, not us.”
Tyler and his flirty ways.
There was no time to discuss the idea of him letting up a bit because all of his friends were rushing out in the cold to greet us.
After hugs and kisses, the girls wrapped their arms around me and walked me inside. They treated me like I was a long-lost friend who’d come back to join the tribe, and I had to say, I felt more than warmed.
Being a part of something wasn’t a bad thing.
“You’re going to love this,” Tabitha assured me as we entered the building.
And yes, I was awed, and yes, maybe even a little wooed as I took my first step inside.
The place was kited-out with the most elegant decorations. Everything silver and gold, even the guys’ ties. And the girls were all wearing variations of the metals, too.
Darcy was beside me, chatting about something, but I was busy sweeping the room, searching for Tyler among the crowd. When I spotted him, I smiled, and when he smiled back, I glanced away.
A server stopped and offered me wine, and I took one of the elegant, long-stemmed glasses. As I put it to my mouth, I thought, this really was a party. A place where the room belonged to us, and us alone. No outsiders. No intruders.
There was caviar, champagne, and all kinds of finger sandwiches, not to mention the carving station and pasta station over in the corner.
Music started to play and corks began to pop. Tyler snuck up behind me and switched my wine glass for a flute of champagne.
Everything about this seemed so right, but I knew it wasn’t real. That didn’t mean somewhere deep inside me I didn’t want it to be.
Being someone I wasn’t was something I was used to, so pretending to be the happy fiancée seemed fitting.
We were standing beside a table when Tyler picked up a spoon and clinked it against the crystal glass he was holding.
Oh, God.
Raising my hand to grab his arm, I tried to stop him. “I said, no toasts,” I whispered.
“Too late, Love,” he said, clinking the glass even louder despite the grasp I had on him.
Everyone turned to face us and I noticed Wilhelmina and Grayson’s parents and a few other people had joined us.
Tyler raised his glass. “To the future.”
Everyone repeated what he said, even me, because that toast wasn’t so bad but then I realized he hadn’t taken a sip yet. That he wasn’t finished.
“And to Paris,” he cheered. “May she see that although I don’t always react the way I should, or play by the rules, that doesn’t mean I can’t be a good husband.”
Grayson clinked his own glass. “To being good husbands, even when we’re in the doghouse.”
“Cheers,” the crowd toasted.
I smiled a little then and felt him creeping even further into my heart, into my spirit.
God, I hoped I was doing the right thing.
“Let’s party,” Tyler said, and grabbed my hand. We circled the room and he flirted with me. It was fun. Eventually I excused myself to go to the ladies room.
When I returned to the party, I roamed around talking to the guests like this was real, and I found myself believing it was. Like it wasn’t all for a temporary marriage to a man who I doubted could stay married.
I was talking to Tabitha about the new house she and Grayson were building and their new baby, when I got the strangest feeling. They seemed truly happy. And I wondered if that’s what I wanted out of life?
To be happily married?
Be a wife.
A mother.
Have a baby?
Own a house?
Have a home.
All things I hadn’t thought about in a very long time. I shoved my confusion aside and focused on the conversation. “How old is your baby?” I asked.
Tabitha smiled. “Emerson was three months yesterday, and can you believe she still wakes up every three hours?”
My eyebrows shot up. “Wow, that must be exhausting.”
The sigh she gave me conveyed that it was. “How did you know?”
“I just assumed.”
“Well, you’re right. And since I’m not working, I usually get up with her. I pump, though,” she raised her glass, “like tonight will be a pump and dump night,” she lowered her glass, “so sometimes Grayson does the feeding for me.”
Ouch! My mind was still on the word pump and I tried not to shiver at the very idea. “That has to help.” I smiled, seriously not having any clue about any of it.
Tabitha leaned forward conspiratorially and cupped the side of her mouth with the hand not holding her champagne. “Well, not so much because when he does, he usually wakes me up after he’s done for sex.”
I grinned. “Such a man thing.”
She waved her hand and laughed. “Right?”
Grayson was standing beside her talking to someone else, but he must have heard her because he coughed, and then choked on a laugh. “Tabitha, you’re not supposed to kiss and tell.”
Getting on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the lips. “But it’s so fun.”
“We can stop the feeding and benefits thing anytime.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”
“Good, because I know you do,” he smirked, pulling his wife against his body. He was a good-looking man and his hair really worked for him. It just went with the pinstripe suit and swagger he had going on.
Tabitha started to blush at her husband as he put his hands over hers, and it was cute.
They continued to discuss the merits of sex after baby feeding, but my attention was on the man who looked like sex on a stick.
Talk about swagger.
And talk about a suit.
The air in the room seemed to thicken as my soon-to-be husband started to approach me. His hands were stuffed into his pockets but his shoulders were still wide and strong.
The closer he got, the quicker my pulse zoomed around my body looking for a proper home. Eyelids, throat, chest, ankles, even. It didn’t matter. I could practically feel the energy crackle around me the minute he stopped in front of me and gave me that million dollar grin. He tipped his head at Tabitha and I, “Ladies,” and then clapped Grayson on the shoulder with an, “Asswipe.”
Grayson released his hold on his wife and gave Tyler two palms in surrender. “Hey, man, chill. I got a little upset about the Tesla, but I’m over it now.”
Tyler shook his head and his hair moved with him. “That’s because I had it cleaned and it looks like fucking new again, like I told you it would.”
I was guessing Grayson was out of the car loaning business for a while, and I’d stupidly returned Tyler’s keys to him, which meant I once again, had no vehicle.
Tyler leaned toward me and whispered, “I’m going to assume asking to borrow the Tesla again is a no go.”
Glancing at his handsome features, I nodded in agreement. “I have to say I agree. No worries, I’ll figure something out.”
His mouth was back at my ear. “I’d be happy to give you a ride every day, but since we’ll be sleeping in different locations, it could be a bit difficult.”
Placing a hand on his shoulder, I got up on my toes, playing along. “I said separate bedrooms. Not separate houses. I’m expecting you to move in with me tonight. We have repairs to make and some rooms to clean out.”
He shook his head. “Not what I had in mind for our wedding night, Love.”
I shrugged. “Marital responsibilities can suck. It’s probably best you learn that now.”
The comeback I was expecting never came because just then the song changed and, “Dreams,” by Fleetwood Mac began to play.
This song. Him. It was a lot to process. Tyler didn’t let me get in my own head though because he snagged my wrist and tugged me to him. “Dance with me.”
My heart softened a little more, but I knew better than to let him in too far, so I gave him a nod and reminded myself that this was temporary. We were temporary. This was business.
It didn’t feel like business, though when I was pressed up against him. We weren’t naked but we might as well have been by the way our bodies reacted to each other. His hands anchored my hips and we moved slowly to the beat of the music, to the rhythm of the song I once thought I’d live my life by.
Was I a bird in flight?
I wanted to think I was.
His feet moved and he guided me with perfection as we glided around the floor, and his friends, or maybe now they were our friends, all watched with an awed look on their faces.
“You’re a good dancer,” I said.
“I know.”
I laughed and swatted him.
“Harder,” he growled in my ear.
I shook my head and then rested it on his shoulder.
We stayed on the dance floor until the sun started to set and then the eight of us went outside to watch as the giant yellow ball faded into the orange and purple horizon.
It was beautiful.
Romantic even.
But Tyler Holiday didn’t do romance, I reminded myself . . . he just did destruction.
That I knew all too well.