Chapter Twelve
Sweetheart. Not Tie-Dye.
A lump so large had formed in Heart’s throat, pushing away all thoughts of lust, all thoughts of how incredibly beautiful this man’s body and face had been when he’d let himself go and had fun like a boy without a care.
He’d reminded her, in one single remark, about all her faults, about why it was easier to go through life depending on no one, finding the smiles in every moment. It eased the sting of hardship and tears. Monica hadn’t walked away from the accident so long ago. Her parents had never recovered. Heart had rebelled against that darkness. Chosen to celebrate Monarch’s memory and incredible talents and face her biggest fears head-on instead of mourn the loss. And her parents just couldn’t.
She continued brushing back Ty’s hair, began picking at his shirt as if flecks of dust clung to him. Gone was the carefree smile. Gone was the dimple crease. Replacing that light-heartedness that had given her a peek at the layers within the man, was severe, strict, disciplined Tyler who needed to know what her problem was so he could solve it.
He couldn’t solve her problems the way he apparently did with the rest of his family, though, and her secrets were far too personal to discuss for a couple who didn’t want relationships.
A couple? They weren’t a couple.
A twinge of guilt niggled. His thumbs kept caressing her belly. He’d given an inch and opened up, under the unspoken agreement that she’d open up to him in return. That knot twisted harder. Giving up a guy like Tyler at the end of the week might be harder than she realized. But his confession hit too close to home.
Don’t feel for him.She was a coward. Don’t let him in. No-strings.
“I’m starving.” She pivoted.
His hands tightened on her, his dark eyes shimmering with a thousand thoughts went dull, as if considering her pivot and then, seemingly conceding. But wariness lingered, giving her blood an unsettled edge. He was too smart to fall for what she was doing. He was concerned for her, and he seemed like the kind of guy who got answers when he wanted them.
He cleared his throat, loosened his hands that had seemingly tightened again.
“Okay.”
Relaxing back into his touch when he didn’t press her further, she caressed his cheeks instead, wishing she could convey through touching him that she cared about what he’d said and she knew she was being shitty by chickening out. But she’d never told a soul about Monica. Had never told anyone that the accident was all her fault and she wasn’t going to start now. He seemed to harbor animosity for his ex about her role in that car accident that had threatened his children’s lives, and he probably wouldn’t like her if he knew how she’d gotten her scar.
“Guess I should have eaten lunch and breakfast.”
Tyler grimaced at her, then shook his head. “You ate nothing but Clif Bars today?”
She laughed, throwing the remaining heaviness of the preceding moments off like a mustang being saddle broken. “I mean, I didn’t starve to death, and now I’ve got wheels again to go get some food.”
“Woman, I told you to grab whatever you wanted to eat.”
Woman.Odd that in a weird way, she was beginning to like the way he said that word.
But his simple acts of generosity bore a new context now. He’d said she was his responsibility and so far, in spite of his brooding demeanor and promises that he didn’t want a girlfriend, he was taking his declaration seriously. He’d noticed she hadn’t eaten. He’d flipped her truck, salvaged her belongings, charged her phone, given the poor soul from the dealership the third degree to make sure she wasn’t getting a raw deal. He’d taken a back full of glass for her. He seemed principled. It was probably engrained into the fabric of who he was. When she was nothing but a speck of pollen floating through his life on a current, unable to germinate.
She flashed him a contrite smile. He smirked. He so didn’t buy that she could be contrite.
“I don’t know… I need to pay you or something.” She picked invisible lint off his shirt, then hoisted herself off him and settled back into the passenger seat before she grew sentimental. “It feels weird to eat out of someone’s fridge when you barely know them.”
He frowned, gazing out the windshield as he adjusted the driver’s seat forward, jeans still deliciously unzipped as if he didn’t care in the least how carnal he looked. A look of…something akin to hurt whispered in the pleating between his eyes, as if it insulted him for her to say she barely knew him after he’d opened up about something so personal. Maybe she knew him better than she’d thought.
“You ain’t paying me for kindness. Mi casa es su casa…” His eyes sliced sidelong. “For the week,” he tacked on with a tick to his jaw.
Ouch.
So he was still firm in his desire to end this when it was time for her to go. And it stung. But maybe that was her payback for the inch of distance she’d just inserted between them.
She chewed her lip. “Let’s grab dinner.”
Tyler flashed a tight smile at her. “Gotta get back to my guys. Then hit my office to go over some documents—”
“Your foreman kicked you out. I heard him,” she said knowingly.
“Yeah, he told me I was supposed to have fun or something.” He harrumphed.