When they weren’t having sex, they were watching movies, talking, laughing, or cooking dinner together. It was a small, necessarily insulated world. Venturing outside, would naturally place Ty back on duty and thereby dispel any possibility of intimacy between them.
It was a fine line that they trod, but they had managed to keep anything remotely personal between them from seeping into their professional lives.
“I know what I’m doing, Hugh,” she now told her brother, wanting to reassure him. Even though she knew his concerns were valid. Vicki was going to be left with a huge void in her life and—yes—in her heart, once she and Ty ended this thing between them. She had always known that. She was prepared for it.
But she had no regrets about the decisions she had made. She was happy. She knew it wouldn’t last. But she wouldn’t trade this fleeting happiness for anything in the world.
“Okay, Swish,” Hugh said, his eyes warm. “I’ll be here if you need to talk. Or a shoulder to cry on.”
“Thanks, Hughie,” she said, feeling teary-eyed after his sweet offer. “And while we’re on the subject of love interests…how’s Stephen? You’ve been home a lot lately, and he hasn’t been around much.”
Hugh grimaced and glared into his coffee mug. “He chews with his mouth open. It’s driving me mad.”
Oh, man.
“Hugh,” she whispered, unable to keep the gentle admonishment out of her voice.
He winced. “I know, all right? I’m well-aware of how messed up I am.”
“You dumped Charles because he snorted when he laughed.”
“He sounded like a pig feeding at a trough. It wasn’t sexy.”
“I thought it was cute. And what about Becker? You didn’t like how short he kept his nails.”
“He rarely had them manicured, just kept them clipped and ruthlessly short. And his cuticles were repulsive.”
“Hugh, come on, they were all great guys.”
“I know that,” he admitted on a defeated sigh. “I’m the problem. I get it. Every time I start a relationship, I think I can push through the OCD. Make it work. If I love someone enough, I have to make it work, right? And if I can’t, then maybe I just don’t love them enough, so it’s pointless to keep trying.”
“I’m sorry it’s not working out with Stephen.”
“Yes, for a while there, I really thought…” He shook his head in clear frustration.
“Well, then I reciprocate the offer of a shoulder to cry on.”
Hugh smiled. “A fine pair we are. But I suppose…if Miles could find someone to love, we can too.”
“Oh, my God, yes,” she laughed. “At least there’s some glimmer of hope for us.”
“What do you want to do tonight?” Vicki asked Ty the following evening, a suggestive glimmer in her eyes. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. If not for the fact that he seemed as insatiable for her, as she was for him, Vicki would have been embarrassed by how very much she always wanted him. She couldn’t get enough of him. He was like a drug that she simply could not flush out of her bloodstream. But that was okay, because she loved the way he made her feel.
She was also very aware that in just a few short weeks this would be over. She wanted to savor and take full advantage of every moment she had left with him.
Ty grinned in appreciation when her hands went straight for his belt buckle. He evaded her grasp, instead taking her hands in his.
“I was thinking we could go out to dinner?”
Her smiled faded, and her head tilted in curious confusion.
Go out? Those were words she had never once expected him to utter.
Imagine that…
Going out with him. In public. Would they hold hands? Would he wrap his arm around her to keep her warm and shield her from the crowds?
She wasn’t sure what to expect from this.
“But…how would that work?”
“It’s my weekend off. I’m free to take you out to dinner.”
“But if you’re off duty, wouldn’t I still need…”
“Yeah, to—uh—keep up appearances, Chance will escort you out. I’ll meet you at the place.”
“Chance?”
“Right here,” the jovial Australian accent called from the kitchen. Where Chance stood sipping from a bottle of Coke, his eyes alight with humor as he watched her face go bright red.
“Oh, my God, how long have you been standing there?”
“Did I see you make a grab for my boy’s crotch, you mean?”
Ty laughed, and Vicki groaned in abject humiliation.
“You could have warned me he was standing right there,” she moaned and ducked her head to hide her face.
“How was I supposed to know you were going to go straight for the cock?” Ty asked, his teasing undertone meant only for Vicki’s ears. She went even redder.
“Because I always do,” she hissed back. He laughed even harder.
“You don’t. Last night you dragged your top off first.”
“Oh God, what if I’d done that tonight?”