Fucking Chance. Ty was going to kick his ass. Why the fuck had he lied about that?
“Did you mention wanting to go on the Eye?” he asked, and she laughed.
“Oh, my God, he really is the biggest gossip, isn’t he? Bella mentioned that it’s something I’ve always wanted to do—I think she was hoping Teddy would suggest he and I go—but Pete messed up her plan by saying we should all go together sometime. While Teddy—” She laughed, and her eyes invited him to laugh with her. “—guess what Teddy said?”
Ty groaned and guessed, “He’s afraid of heights?”
“Exactly right,” she giggled. “Chance got the facts all confused. He’s not a very good gossip, is he?”
Chance didn’t get the facts “all confused” as Vicki so innocently assumed, the asshole had deliberately twisted them. Probably to gauge Ty’s reaction. Ty had played right into his devious hands by revealing exactly how much he hated the thought of Vicki and that Teddy fucker growing closer.
He shoved the distracting thoughts aside and focused on the woman standing in front of him.
She said she’d missed Ty. She was still giving him flowers. She was tempted to give their arrangement another chance. And—best of all—she wasn’t seeing Teddy. Ty could barely keep the grin from his face as that final thought registered.
Ty had another chance with her. He had to find a way not to fuck it up this time. And that meant some serious soul searching. He needed to change the way he approached this, the way he was with her. He didn’t know how it had happened, but right now he didn’t even care about breaking the rules.
He wanted her back in his bed, back in his life…and—if she would have him—he was going to find a way to make these last few weeks together a transcendently positive experience for them both. He was going to make her happy. He never wanted her to feel grubby and small again. He wanted her to feel treasured, appreciated, special. Because she was all of those things to him…and so much more.
“So, dinner?” he prompted her. She gnawed her lower lip, her eyes huge and uncertain. “Just to talk.”
“Okay. I’d like that.”
His chest expanded, seeking to accommodate his rapidly tattooing heart. He felt almost giddy with relief, and he sank gracelessly back into his chair, hoping she wouldn’t realize that he did so only because his legs no longer seemed to function.
Dinner. Tonight.
This was going to be a long-assed day.
“I brought beer,” Vicki announced that evening when she showed up on Ty’s doorstep at seven-thirty sharp. Ty had escorted her straight to the penthouse after work today. He had left her there after confirming their dinner date for seven-thirty.
And now that she was here, he wasn’t entirely sure what his plan of action was. Like an idiot, he could do nothing but stare at her. Throat locked and feet frozen in panic.
“Are you going to let me in?” she asked after a moment. She looked nervous.
He felt his cheeks heat and hastily stepped aside. He unintentionally didn’t give her enough room to clear the threshold, which meant that she was forced to brush against him as she stepped into the apartment. He nearly moaned when her familiar fragrance wafted up to him. God, he had missed her scent in his home.
Once inside, she turned to face him—still looking uncertain—and Ty clumsily reached for the six-pack.
“Hugh only drinks this posh craft stuff,” she explained apologetically. “But I figured it’s better than nothing.”
“You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“It’s the neighborly thing to do,” she said with a wide smile.
He stared again, unsure how to respond to that. Her smile faded, and she fiddled with the long, gauzy silk scarf draped around her neck. Her eyes were huge and uncertain.
He was fucking this up, and he didn’t know how to fix it. Great start to their so-called new beginning.
“Thank you for coming,” he said, his voice stiff and polite.
Her smile made a fleeting reappearance. “You’re joking, right? Like I would pass up this opportunity to see the enigmatic Tyler Chambers’ home?”
Her words and tone were playful, but the comment confused him.
“You’ve seen my place before.”
“Ty, if you thought I saw anything between the front door and your bedroom when I was here before, you’re sorely mistaken,” she said with a laugh and a delightful blush. “You were always in an indecent rush to get me from point A to point B in the shortest possible time. All of this—” She gestured expansively, indicating the large open-plan living and dining area. “—was just a blur. And I was in no condition afterward to notice anything.”
His face went hot again. He toed the edge of the rug beneath the coffee table like an awkward teen.
“I was…” He cleared the hoarseness from his throat before continuing. “I was an ass. I should have…”