“And I do,” I said, running my fingers through his hair. Leaning my forehead on his, I closed my eyes. This moment was so much more than I expected. Words couldn’t accurately convey the depth of emotion I was feeling from being back in a place that once held painful memories of what I thought to be my biggest mistake. Now I had a new memory…a happier one. I was so grateful Tyler knew enough to realize I needed this.
Lost in the moment, I instantly felt an emptiness. Flinging my eyes open, I saw that Tyler had pulled away from me and was fishing money from his wallet.
“What are you–”
Returning his blazing green eyes to me, he reached for my hand and raised it to his lips. “It was wonderful to meet you, Serafina. I do hope our paths cross again.”
With a heated stare, he released my hand. I remained dumbfounded, confused as to why he was so abrupt to leave. I thought we had just made so much progress.
Finally snapping back to reality as his chiseled backside walked out the door, I leapt from the barstool and stormed out of the restaurant, spotting Tyler as he was about to hop into his Jaguar.
“That’s it?” I shouted.
He halted and looked over his shoulder, meeting my eyes.
“Seriously? After all that, you’re just going to walk away from me?”
Signaling the valet to give him a minute, he strode toward me. Each step he took was slow, determined, his gaze fierce. “I’m not walking away. I’m just…”
“You’re what?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest and leaned against the brick of the building, quickly transported back to that night all those months ago once more.
“I had a plan for how tonight was supposed to go, and…” He trailed off, avoiding my eyes. The dominant man I once knew was nowhere, the guilt he was still living with covering his body. I didn’t want him to live with that guilt. I wanted him to finally feel like he was in control of his life again. I wanted to give him back that control.
“And what, Tyler?”
“And it hurts, all right, Mackenzie? Looking into your eyes, I can’t stop being reminded of your face when you learned the truth. It cuts me open and, no matter how many times you say you forgive me, I will never be deserving of it. I’ll never be deserving of you!”
“So…what? You put on this whole act, you come back from wherever you were to win back my heart, but now that you have it, you don’t want it because of what you did to lose me in the first place?”
“That’s not it at all, Mackenzie, and you know it,” he growled, catching me by surprise. It was as if he flipped the switch, had become more self-assured, more passionate, more…himself. “You want to know the truth?”
I nodded, unable to find my voice.
“I’m fucking scared, Mackenzie. This,” he said, gesturing between our bodies, “scares me more than anything. I’m worried if I make one wrong move, say one wrong thing, you’ll leave and not look back. So, yes, I had a plan for tonight, one to try and help you see who I really am, and–”
“And I told you! I know who you are! Some things can’t be planned!” I exclaimed in complete exasperation, surprised at my own words. “Some things just happen, Tyler.” I softened my voice. “Sometimes the best things in life are those that are unplanned, unexpected.” I looked down, my hands settling on my stomach. “Please… Let me in. Don’t give up on us.”
His breath caught and he mouthed us as he stared at me. Before I knew what was happening, he had his hands on my hips and lifted me up, forcing my legs around his waist. His eyes met mine, my heart racing at the feel of his body against mine. “Say it again,” he growled.
“Us,” I whimpered, turned on by his dominance and power.
“Again,” he said, his voice still firm, as if the only thing that could chase the demons away was my voice saying that one singular word, assuring him there was hope.
“Us.”
His stature relaxed slightly as he leaned in and pressed his mouth against mine. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to pull him closer. His tongue forcefully met mine, as if my kiss alone could soothe his fears. I knew he needed this, needed this physical connection to me. The truth was, I needed it just as much as he did. I needed to know he was real, he was here, his love was real. It was euphoric, his mouth covering mine, his hands supporting me, letting me know he would never let go.
“Again,” he murmured against my lips.
“Us,” I whispered.
He groaned. “Again.”
“Us. Us. Us.”
He exhaled, the unease and torment that had plagued him seconds ago leaving him with each instance of me saying that word. And each time, it gave me the same thing it gave him… Promise.
He trailed soft kisses across my cheek, down my neck, lingering on my collarbone. I threw my head back, a surge of electricity washing over me with each nip of his lips, each brush of his tongue. With each kiss, he was saying “I love you”, “I cherish you”, “I treasure you”. I didn’t need to hear his voice say those words. I just knew. Instead of simply declaring his love to me with mere words, he did what he had always done. He proved it with his benevolence, his passion, his desire.
A loud throat clearing sounded, startling both of us. Reluctantly, Tyler pulled away from me, helping me lower my feet to the ground. He smiled mischievously as he glanced at Brayden and Jenna standing just off to the side.
“Get a room!” Brayden joked.
“Brayden,” Tyler said, nodding at him, shaking his hand. “Thanks for going along with everything tonight.”
I looked between Tyler and my two best friends, who had guilty, yet satisfied expressions on their faces.
“This was planned?”
Tyler shrugged. “Yeah. I wanted to make sure I had a few minutes alone with you.”
“We were a bit hesitant at first,” Jenna added, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “After everything, we didn’t want to see you get hurt again, but Brayden took care of that.”
“How?”
“I told him I have ties to the gay mafia.” He winked.
“Gay mafia?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yeah. Seriously, Mack. We’ve stood by your side through everything, but this schmuck made you happy for those two weeks. Then, when we saw the look of remorse on his face early this morning, well… I couldn’t help but get a good feeling about this time around.”
Tearing my gaze from my friends, I met Tyler’s eyes. “Me, too.”
He smiled back at me, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. It was the most innocent of exchanges, but that didn’t stop those butterflies from erupting within my stomach at the feel of his warm lips on my skin.
Too soon, he pulled away and retreated toward where the valet attendant still stood next to his Jaguar. “Enjoy your evening, Mackenzie,” he crooned, his eyes dark and full of longing.
“You’re not going to stay?” I could hear the disappointment in my voice.
“No. It’s girls’ night.” Returning to me, he grabbed my hand in his. “You need time to catch up and you can’t do that with me around.”
“When am I going to see you again?”
“Why? Missing me already?”
“No.” I rolled my eyes in fake irritation.
Brushing a wayward curl behind my ear, he caressed my face.
“Okay, maybe a little,” I admitted.
“Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?”
“On a date?” I asked coyly.
He nodded. “Yes. A proper date. No expectations for anything more. Just two people getting to know each other.”
“I’d like that.”
“Does seven work for you?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Yes.”
He grinned. Bringing my hand to his lips, he murmured, “Until tomorrow, mi cariño.” With that, he hopped in his car, leaving me completely satisfied and feeling as if things were going to be okay.
“You were totally eye-fucking him,” Jenna commented as she pulled me into the restaurant, Brayden right on our heels.