Chapter 22—Blown Coverage

Lavender sipped wine and swapped stories with Derek’s wife, Rachel. They’d become fast friends after meeting in the bleachers earlier in the day. Nearby, Tyler and Derek stood together, drinking beer and making small talk with the athletes and media gathered in the reception room following the Seattle area sports awards. For the second year in a row, Tyler won Athlete of the Year. He mustered up his expected panache and gave a rousing speech thanking his teammates, namely his offensive line and his receivers. Then he accepted the award on behalf of his defense, christening them as the real heroes of the season.

Lavender swelled with pride for him. It’d been a tough weekend, but he’d survived. Zach Murphy might be a thorn in his side, but the guy would goad Tyler out of his self-induced indifference or die trying. She couldn’t hate the man for wanting the old Tyler back on the field even if she didn’t agree with his in-your-face methods.

Between the awards and last night’s plane ride, the weekend wasn’t a total loss. Sex at a few thousand feet above sea level exceeded even the high expectations she’d set when it came to sex with Tyler Harris. Her man delivered once again.

Lavender froze. Her man? When had she started considering him her man? They weren’t a couple. They couldn’t be. They had too many strikes against them. They’d never be the type of couple that friends and family mentioned in the same breath as if they were one unit.

Just to torture herself, she tried linking them together in her mind.

Lavender and Tyler. What a mouthful. El and Ty. Much better.

Yeah, she liked the sound of that. Too much. Their situation blurred her firmly held line between sex with a jock and a relationship with one. She’d be a fool to blur it even further in her mind.

Tyler interrupted her introspection by moving to her side and claiming her hand. He seemed relaxed and content for once. Rachel slid next to Derek, who hooked an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. An unexpected twinge of jealousy shot through Lavender. She wanted what they had with a powerful surge of longing that set her back on her heels. Heaven help her if she fooled herself into thinking she’d have an emotional connection with Tyler.

“Having fun?” Tyler grinned down at her. He wrapped a lock of her hair around his big finger.

“I would be if the man of the hour asked me to dance.” She gazed up at him, and her insides turned weird, all soft and sticky, like a great caramel chocolate bar left too long in the sun.

“It’d be my pleasure.” He offered her his tuxedo-clad arm, and the man did look fine in his formfitting tuxedo that emphasized his broad shoulders and hugged his fine ass.

Derek elbowed Tyler and caught his attention. “Hey, don’t look now, but Coach Gerloch is headed our way.”

The smile dropped off her lips. Cold fear sliced through Lavender. She snapped her head around in the direction Derek was looking.

Her father.

Tyler had promised her he wouldn’t be in attendance. “Did you plan this?” So much for the chocolate bar. She glared at him, reeling from the hurt and betrayal.

“No, I promise. I was told he wouldn’t be here.” His apology was cut short as his college coach’s long strides ate up the distance between them. Her father’s unfathomable eyes never left her face. Tyler stepped in front of her in an instinctual protective gesture.

Oblivious, Derek’s face broke into a grin at the sight of their old college coach. The two shook hands vigorously then Derek introduced him to Rachel. Expectantly, they turned to Tyler and Lavender.

Coach nodded at Ty and stuck his hand out. Tyler snubbed him, refusing to shake it. He stood taller, chin jutted out in stubborn defiance. Lavender stepped to his side, not allowing him to fight her battles. She’d handle her father.

“Good to see you, Ty.” Gerloch’s brow furrowed as he regarded Tyler with wary watchfulness. He turned to Lavender, the moment of truth. She’d give anything for a glass of water as her mouth dried up like a pond in a drought. She twisted her ring, the one he’d given her for her fifteenth birthday, and the only item from her father she’d kept. His quick glance downward indicated he noticed.

Brian Gerloch clutched a wineglass in his hand and swallowed. The pulse in the side of his neck throbbed. He’d gotten older since she’d last seen him, but the lines on his face and gray in his hair didn’t diminish his good looks. Her convictions caved slightly at the sadness in his eyes, but she shored them up and braced herself.

“Lavender, honey, how are you?” He made a move to hug her, but Tyler pulled her against his body, coming to the rescue.

As much as she wanted to call him Brian, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “I’m fine, Dad, but you wouldn’t know that, would you?” All of the hurt and anger she’d kept bottled up for years bubbled to the surface. Like a volcano building to the big eruption, the emotions had festered inside her. Derek and Rachel swapped shocked glances.

“Honey, I’m sorry. Maybe we could talk.” He slumped slightly, seeming lost and vulnerable, his expression at odds with the strong, fearless man she’d known.

Emotions clogged her throat and threatened to reduce her to a blubbering mass of sobbing, weak female. Exactly what she didn’t want to do. Instead, she’d get the hell out of there before she embarrassed herself and gave her father a clue as to how much he’d hurt her.

“I have nothing to say to you.” She turned on her spiked heel and ran from the room before she did something stupid, like forgive him.

Not waiting for the elevator, she ran down the stairwell, out the door of the hotel, to the sidewalk. The rain pelted her body, drenched her evening dress, and wilted her carefully styled hair. She hailed a cab and was opening the door by the time Tyler caught her. He pulled her into his arms.

“El, where are you going?” His blue eyes brimmed with concern as he gazed down at her.

Dumb question, Harris. “Back to the island.”

“I’m coming with you.” The determination in his eyes didn’t allow argument.

She argued anyway. “Please, Ty, I need to be alone. Let me go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her voice cracked. He raised a hand and wiped her face with his finger, even though it was damn difficult to know where the tears ended and the raindrops started.

“Are you sure?” He didn’t look convinced in the least. “I can’t leave you alone.”

“Please. If you care even a little bit for me, give me space. Besides, if you leave in the middle of the party, that’ll start more rumors.”

“I’ll deal with it.”

“Ty, please. Stay for me. Okay? I’ll be all right. I’ve been through this before. I appreciate your concern, but take care of yourself.”

“I can’t—” He clamped his hands on her shoulders.

“You can. I’ll see you tomorrow. I want to go home to the island and get away from this city. You need to stay here and show the world Tyler Harris is still a force in Seattle sports.”

Tyler’s mouth covered hers. For a moment, she forgot what she was running from. Lavender wrenched away from him and slipped into the back seat. He let her go. “See you soon.”

Tyler bent down and handed the taxi driver some cash then gazed back at her. “Do you need airfare?”

She shook her head and forced a grin. “I still have your credit card.” On that note, she signaled to the taxi driver to take off. Lavender looked over her shoulder. Tyler stood in his tux on the sidewalk, rain pouring down around him. He stayed there as the taxi drove out of sight.