Chapter Thirteen
Mae
There was something that had come over me with the realization that Tyler wasn’t staying long on Marigold Island. The mere thought freed my heart and soul and allowed me to tell him exactly how I felt because we both knew nothing could come of it.
Or so I told myself.
Tyler’s gaze lit up as my words washed over him. He softly cupped my chin in his hand and slowly tilted my face up.
“Mae, I can’t tell you how much better you’ve made this trip for me.” He rested his forehead against mine, and the connection felt surreal. I couldn’t fathom how holding onto a crush for years had resulted in a moment like this.
My heart raced, and my pulse jumped as his eyes dipped to my mouth. Closing the gap between us, his body pressed tenderly against mine as his other arm looped around my waist. Feeling him against me made my entire body light up with a jolt of desire. Every sense heightened with a craving I couldn’t understand.
I didn’t want to believe a kiss could happen, but when his gaze caught mine, I saw the heat behind his beautiful blue eyes.
His mouth pressed to mine as my eyes closed, memorizing every single second of this kiss and fully aware that it might never happen again.
Tyler’s hands moved along my spine as I kissed him back. The softness of his lips did little to hide the heat and rawness of our connection.
Warmth quickly swarmed my body, melting me into him as he pulled me tighter. His fingers trailed along my hips as I parted my mouth, his head tilting slightly.
Tyler playfully kissed me, nipped at my bottom lip, and flitted his tongue with mine. Things had changed since that awkward day in the treehouse, but the playfulness remained.
I gripped his shirt, falling into him more as our kisses consumed us.
Feeling his body next to mine, the way I tucked in completely, made it impossible only to imagine kissing him.
A little moan escaped my lips as he kissed me harder, and I kissed him back to match. There were no words as his fingers tangled into my hair, and our breaths collided with one another’s with every passing second. We both wanted more, but he slowed our kisses, breaking us apart while still cupping my head in his palms.
My gaze fell to his mouth, and I tried to calm my breathing.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have crossed that line.”
My eyes flashed to his. “What? No. I wanted it.”
His pained expression softened slightly.
“I promised your brother years ago that I’d never do that, and I broke it once, vowing to myself not to do it again.” He stepped back and let out a deep breath. The fire still danced behind his gaze.
Shock pummeled through me as my brows knitted together in confusion.
“What do you mean, you promised my brother?” My hands flew to my hips. “What does he have to do with anything about who I kiss or, furthermore, who you kiss?”
His lips curled slightly, and he closed the distance between us again. “You’re right.”
Tyler’s mouth touched mine softly, but this time, the need was almost painful as a little moan of frustration and pent-up desire erupted from me, but I couldn’t shake his revelation.
This time, I slowed our kiss and stepped back.
“What do you mean, my brother didn’t want you kissing me?”
Tyler briefly chewed his bottom lip before letting out a sigh. “Back when he caught me calling you Mayflower, he asked if I had a thing for you.”
My brows flew up. “And?”
Tyler grinned. “Well, I couldn’t exactly confess everything I wanted to do with you as a teenage boy, so I lied.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I didn’t have the hots for you.” He laughed, scratching his chin.
I chuckled. “Were those your exact words?”
“Something like that. Anyway, I felt awful for lying to Brad, but I didn’t want to lose seeing you or lose Brad as a best friend.”
All these years, and Brad had never mentioned he’d ordered Tyler to stay away from me.
Interesting.
“I needed you guys in my life more than you could ever know, so I pretended you were nothing more than my best friend’s sister.” He shook his head. “But any second I could be around you, I tried.”
“Really?”
He nodded, and I felt my heart skip a beat. “Mae, I just can’t explain what you and your family in my life made possible for me. Kindness and support are things that I never felt at home. Anyway, I fell pretty hard for you, but I knew it was a line I couldn’t cross.”
I suddenly didn’t feel so crazy for pining over a guy since high school… well, junior high, if I were to get technical about it.
“I had no idea Brad told you that,” I said softly, feeling my heart twisting into a knot. “It probably wouldn’t have changed anything. We were both kids. Tons of hormones.”
He smiled and nodded. “Maybe. I don’t know… that night in the treehouse was pretty special.”
“It wasn’t exactly night. It was early evening, technically still daylight.”
Tyler laughed and brought me into him, skimming his lips on top of my head as I closed my eyes and remembered back to that time so many years ago.
“You were my first kiss,” I whispered.
His arms loosened, and he stepped back with a smile. “You were the first kiss that mattered.”
I eyed him with a smile. “Yeah? What was your second?”
“This. Right here.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re smooth, Mr. Grant. Now, let’s go finish dinner so we can get to the beach before sunset. It’s really special.”
Tyler chuckled and followed me the few steps back to the kitchen where I finished slicing peppers, mushrooms, and onions while he sauteed some chicken I’d diced.
Everything with him was so easy, and I couldn’t understand how quickly we had a rhythm. Trying to cook with my sisters was a nightmare. We’d be falling all over one another, squabbling about ingredients and cook times, and elbowing each other out of the way.
I glanced at Tyler as he shook some salt and spices I had already measured into a bowl. He looked good at my stove.
Tyler looked over at me and smiled. “What?”
“Just noticing how cute you are.” I shrugged. “No big deal.”
Tyler smiled and rolled his eyes. “Are you going to tell me what this recipe is called?”
“It’s my own version of something called smothered chicken.” I poured the veggies into the skillet and went to the fridge to grab the shredded cheeses I had combined.
He didn’t skip a beat as he sauteed the chicken and veggies while I went to the rice cooker and scooped the rice into a glass pan.
I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that my brother had warned Tyler away from me.
Would that have changed anything, or would Tyler have kissed me, made me his girlfriend, and then dumped me? Or would we have been that couple that went to all the dances together, and then he dumped me when he left for college? Or would we be in secret since he was a little older than me, and then he dumped me?
Why did I always wind up dumped in my scenario?
“Should I pour this over the rice?” His eyes caught mine.
I nodded. “It will look horrible, but I promise it’s delicious.”
He laughed, transferring the mixture over the rice as I spread the cheese and shoved the dish into the oven.
“You seem quiet suddenly,” he said softly, putting the pan in the sink to rinse. “Everything okay?”
“I’m just fascinated by analyzing things that never happened.” I laughed with a shrug. “It’s a bad trait.”
He walked over and leaned against the counter in front of me. “Explain.”
“Well, what if Brad hadn’t told you to leave me alone?”
Tyler nodded slowly. “I get it. I’ve rehashed just about every scenario possible.”
Surprise darted through me. “Really?”
“Of course. I mean, you were my dream girl from my dream family. You came with a built-in best friend.” He smiled, touching my chin. “I can’t help but wonder if things had been different, what our lives would look like now.”
“That sounds so normal.”
His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
I giggled. “I’m over here playing out every single way you could have dumped me.”
Tyler laughed and shook his head. “I wouldn’t have dumped you, Mayflower.”
My brows rose. “You don’t know that.”
“The honest truth is that you are too good for me,” he said softly, touching my chin. “As you’ve seen, my family is a nightmare. I’m sure I’ve managed to absorb some of that toxicity, which is why I’m just not boyfriend material. But I wouldn”t have dumped you if I had been lucky enough to date you.”
My stomach clenched as I looked into his eyes.
“What do you mean, you’re not boyfriend material?”
“Can you imagine me bringing home the woman I want to marry? They’d eat her alive.”
The woman. Her. Not me.
Don’t be silly, Mae. It was merely a kiss.
“Yeah, but she wouldn’t be marrying your parents. She’d be marrying you, and you seem pretty wonderful.” I let out a sigh. “Anyway, all I’m saying is that I’m surprised Brad never mentioned this to me.”
Tyler shook his head. “Why would he?”
My cheeks flushed, and I looked at the wood floors. “It’s been a running joke about me.”
He looked confused. “What has?”
“All of my siblings think I haven’t dated much because I’m stuck on you.” I lifted my shoulders. “Or the idea of you. So, it would have been nice if Brad had mentioned the feelings weren’t all one-sided at some point.”
Tyler’s expression turned serious, and he let out a slow breath. “Mae, I don’t want to lead you on.”
His words were like a million daggers to my heart.
This was my problem.
I had one kiss, and suddenly, it felt like the world was my oyster.
One kiss.
That was it.
We weren’t dating. We hadn’t slept with one another.
But one kiss was all it took to let myself wonder.
I cleared my throat and nodded. “No, I totally get it. You’re just here for a few more days. It wouldn’t make sense.”
My stomach tightened so much it burned, and I instinctively touched my earrings, wishing I wasn’t born with such a good imagination.
Because with that kiss, many great, imaginative things came to mind.
“Your parents don’t scare me,” I said, keeping my gaze on his. “I just want to set you straight on that. If you need any other help while you’re here, I’m game.”
Tyler nodded, but I saw something lingering behind his gaze.
Disappointment?
Desire?
“Thanks.” He smiled and looked at one of the bottles of red wine. “Would you care for a glass?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Oh, my gosh. I didn’t offer you anything to drink when you got here.”
Tyler grinned and reached for one of the bottles. “We got a little carried away.”
I nodded in agreement as I handed him two wine glasses. “Yes, we did, but don’t worry. It won’t happen again.”