Needing You Close (Ex-Con Duet 2)

Tyler smirks. “Because I’m not really Ruby’s cup of tea, if you catch my drift. Everleigh would be, though.”

Furrowing my brows, I let his words sink in as it finally hits me. My cheeks heat as I replay the way I’ve acted every time she was around, and the stupid things I’ve said to him, regarding their relationship. “Now, I feel really stupid,” I admit. “Why didn’t you tell me when I called her your girlfriend!” I scold Tyler, but he just shrugs with a smirk. “Well, at least it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. She’s gorgeous and into working out like you are.”

“The Blackwoods don’t date, Gemma,” Tyler states. “I mean, take Everleigh for example, who spends her nights alone drinking. And well, my history is bleak.”

“Hey!” Everleigh grimaces. “That’s not fair. There aren’t any decent single guys in this damn town.” She pops a shrimp in her mouth. “But there are single women.” She waggles her brows, taunting Tyler as he groans.

“Great, so you’re in on Ruby’s joke too.” He rolls his eyes, sipping his wine. “Can we not have your sexless life be the topic of conversation tonight?”

Everleigh snorts. “As long as yours isn’t either.”

They glance my way, and just like that, the attention is back on me. “Or mine.” I chuckle.

“So what’s your plan?” Everleigh asks. “Has Robert contacted you since yesterday?”

“Yesterday?” Tyler snaps his eyes to mine. I hadn’t gotten that far in the story.

“He sent me flowers. I threw them away, and he texted me afterward and asked me why.”

“What the fuck? He’s watching you again?” Tyler asks, setting his fork down. “You need to get a restraining order against him, Gemma. He’s gone too far, and who knows what else he’ll do. I don’t like the idea of him watching you, especially at work,” Tyler admits, sounding more tense than before.

I shake my head. “That’s not the solution to this problem. It’s a lot of paperwork and court orders, and even if I tried to get a temporary one, he’s padded everyone’s pockets already. The judge, the sheriff, hell, he’s probably paid off the whole town. The corruption runs really deep,” I explain.

“After seeing how crazed he was that night, I’m afraid it would only cause more issues,” Everleigh adds.

We eat in silence for a few minutes, all of us deep in thought. “You have to do something,” Tyler finally speaks up. “Robert doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’s gonna give up on getting what he wants, and you can’t be the type of woman to give in to his demands.”

“He’s not. Trust me when I say I won’t be crawling back to him. I’ve been thinking about it, and I dunno if this will work, but if I tell everyone the wedding is off, no one would expect us to be together. Once the gossip spreads, people will start talking, which is exactly what he doesn’t want. It’ll get back to him, and maybe then he’ll finally stop and move on. He’s too concerned about his reputation to retaliate once it’s public knowledge. If anything happened to me, every single person would point the finger at him. It’s kind of like an insurance policy if he came after me.”

“You should text the wedding planner yourself and tell her it’s no longer happening,” she suggests. “I bet he’s still moving forward with everything, based on the note attached to those flowers.”

Tyler sits and listens to us go back and forth with different scenarios. “That’s not a bad idea. Telling people would make it official.”

I take a few more bites until my plate is clean. Sitting back, I suck in a deep breath, feeling full.

“You want more? I made extra,” Tyler offers with a smile.

I smile at the sweet thought. “No, thanks. I’m stuffed to the brim and not sure where I’d put it.” Meeting his gaze, I blush at the way he’s studying me. “Thank you so much for dinner. It was amazing. The wine tasted good, too. The company is even better.”

Everleigh’s done eating too and helps clean Tyler’s mess in the kitchen.

“Gemma, maybe you should come over every night for the rest of eternity so Tyler will make dinner like this on the regular.”

He chuckles. “Nice try.”

For a brief second, when Tyler and I exchange a look, that familiar electricity streams through me. I think he feels it too because his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. Too many unspoken words flow between us, and I force myself to turn and focus my attention on Everleigh.

“Where’s Sassy?” she finally asks.

“I took her for a walk after work, and after she devoured her food, she went to bed. She’s in your room,” he says.

“Ahh, okay. Gonna go check on my baby now.” Everleigh shoots me a wink when Tyler looks away, then walks down the hallway, leaving us to ourselves.