“How did you know—?”
“It’s a small town. Word travels.”
Clearly, it did. Was that why he’d come? To ask about Frank? She approached the porch, trying without much success to get a read on his mood. As usual he exuded calm and his expression gave nothing away.
“Frank’s okay. Mismanaging his diabetes landed him in the ER, but if there’s a bright side to a night in the hospital, he seems to be taking his disease seriously. Also, he joined AA.”
Her voice held steady, but her heartbeat refused to normalize. The weight of everything she wanted to say threatened to crush her.
“Good. I hope he follows through.”
“Me, too.” Holding his clear, steady gaze, she found herself diving clumsily into an unrehearsed topic. “He told me about the ‘options’ you gave him.”
Those green eyes flashed. “I’m not going to apologize for stepping in.”
“I’m not asking you to. I’ve been trying to convince him to stop drinking for years and never made any headway. You succeeded in getting him to meetings with a single conversation. Obviously—” She swallowed and concentrated on unlocking her door because tears stung her eyes. “Obviously, I should have asked for help a long time ago.”
He placed a hand on her arm. “I had the right hammer at the right time, that’s all, and I don’t mean threatening to have him arrested. What really shook him was thinking I might actually convince you to cut him loose if he didn’t get himself together. He wants you in his life, even if his pride won’t allow him to say the words.”
Twenty-four hours ago, she would have argued to the contrary, but after her father’s apology last night, and his statements about making amends, she had to admit he seemed to be trying to repair their relationship. Not sure she could speak to say thank-you, she nodded and motioned for him to come inside. He picked up his computer bag from the porch step and followed her.
“Speaking of asking for help, you could have called me to drive to Lexington with you last night. I guess I haven’t made this clear, but I’m here for you as more than just some sex tutor. You don’t have to do everything by yourself.”
She nodded and turned to face him. This side of him no longer surprised her. He stood up for people, supported his friends. “The call came so suddenly, I honestly didn’t think about contacting anyone. Besides, you had the meeting with the bank to prepare for. I hope it went well.”
“The meeting went fine. Junior dazzled them and we got the loan.”
She grasped his hands before she could stop herself. “Congratulations. I know what this meant to you, and I’m glad they made the right decision.” But now it occurred to her that he might be on her doorstep for reasons other than Frank, and she forced herself to loosen her grip on him. “I guess…I guess you’re going to be pretty busy now, adding the Browning project to your slate.”
“I am,” he agreed. “Along with the Browning rehab, another priority arose—something I hadn’t planned on and never saw coming. It requires I shift my focus immediately.”
A lump wanted to form in her throat. She swallowed hard and nodded. She knew what was coming. Expected it. “I completely understand if you need to bow out of our last lesson.”
Tyler gave her a small grin. “I was hoping you’d let the last one slide. There’s nothing I can teach you anyway. You drive a man to his knees just fine as is. And, like I said, I’ve got this new priority.”
His words pulled a strangled laugh from her. The only man she cared to drive to his knees stood before her, about to finalize his escape. “You went above and beyond the terms of our deal—one I never should have forced on you in the first place. I leveraged your loyalty to a friend for my own benefit, not to mention completely abused the doctor-patient relationship. I’m so sorry.” On an uneven breath, she raised her eyes to his and added, “I hope one day you can forgive me.”
“Shoot, Doc. You’re making things awkward for me. I was kinda planning to tu
rn the tables and ask for your help with something.” His smile stayed in place, but his eyes went dark and serious.
She twisted her fingers together. “Anything, but what could I possibly help you with?”
“This new priority I mentioned involves my heart. I could really benefit from your expertise. I hoped to convince you to give me five lessons.”
Air rushed from her lungs. Oh, God, a cardiac problem. Without conscious thought, she flattened her hand over his chest, her palm unerringly finding the steady, measured drum of his heart. He felt so strong, so vital. “What’s the matter with your heart?” The question tumbled out in a harsh whisper.
“It’s a little hard to explain, and I wasn’t sure exactly what help I’d need, so I took a cue from someone I know who recently found herself in a similar situation. I consulted the experts.” Before she could ask which specialists he’d seen, he reached into his computer bag and pulled out a book with five little green flags sticking neatly from the side, marking chapters. “Here,” he handed the volume to her.
She turned the book over in her hand and glanced down at the cover, not really absorbing the words, then looked back at him. “Whatever diagnosis you’ve received, we can…” Wait, what was the book’s title? She looked down again. A Hundred and One Ways to Make Her Love You Forever. “I don’t understand.”
“Simple, Doc. When you wanted to learn how to drive a man to his knees, you got yourself a book and a tutor. I need to figure out how to win a certain girl’s heart and make her love me forever, and I want you to coach me. In fact, I consider your participation essential.”
Her heart turned to lead and dropped straight into her stomach. She deserved this, undoubtedly, and silently congratulated fate or karma or whatever on the painfully ironic payback. So much for convincing Tyler she loved him. During the weeks she’d wasted ignoring and subjugating her feelings for him, he’d gone and fallen for someone else. Unfortunately, all the cosmic justice in the universe wouldn’t help her pull off his request. No way.
Blindly, she thrust the book at him. “I can’t. I’m sorry. Ask someone else. I know I said I’d do anything you needed, but when you said you had a problem with your heart, I thought you meant a health problem.” She stared at the buttons on his white shirt and took a moment to get herself under control before adding, “Besides, you don’t need any help winning hearts. Any girl would be lucky to have yours.”
He tipped her chin until she met his gaze. The corner of his mouth crooked into a half-smile. “Apparently not. I’ve been trying to win yours for a while now and I don’t seem to be getting the job done.”