Chapter 18 #2
Tyler would never, ever be like him.
“Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m glad I didn’t stay at home and let you have all the fun. Or all the donuts,” came a familiar voice from beside him, and Tyler’s smile became a full-blown grin as he turned toward his mother.
Speaking of family. “It wouldn’t have been a party without you,” he said, his heart squeezing at her laugh in reply.
“Something tells me you would have managed. But it was nice of Ryan and Addison to include me. I hope you haven’t been hiding over here by yourself for too long.”
Her words were far more gentle teasing than accusatory, and he was careful to answer the same way. “Best man duty. Just making sure everyone’s still having a good time.”
There was a solid hour and a half of party time left, but now that the food had all been served, the merriment was definitely in full swing.
His mother smiled. “Wonderful food, beautiful setting, and the very best company. It’s exactly what a celebration should be.
” She sipped from her mason jar full of lemonade, her eyes moving over the crowd.
“Which, according to Lou and Carleen, you had no small part in planning. You and Chloe really did a wonderful job putting this party together.”
Although they’d both been busy handling logistics and enjoying the party with the dozens of people in attendance, Tyler had been painfully aware of Chloe all night, and he zeroed in on her in less than a second now.
Her dark blue and cream-colored dress draped over her curves, baring one shoulder and hugging her ass just enough to make his pulse kick.
Long, thin strands of gold dangled from her ears, flashing in the soft light.
Her hair spilled down her back in loose auburn waves, the laugh she’d just let out at something her brother, Miguel, had said illuminating her entire face, and for just a second, Tyler felt like he was a satellite and she was the brightest star in the whole damn sky.
Which was not only fucked up, but incredibly inconvenient for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which was that he was standing next to the one person who could read him like a New York Times best seller.
“Thanks,” he said, smothering the thought and the feeling that had accompanied it. “But I can’t really take a ton of credit. Most of it was Chloe’s doing.”
“That’s not quite the story I heard, but however it happened, you two make a great team.”
Tyler saw the segue and didn’t hesitate. “Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you for a favor.”
His mother’s blond brows lifted in surprise. Bingo, attention diverted. “Me?”
He nodded. “Chloe’s been mentoring a thirteen-year-old girl in foster care. Esme. She actually helped me with all these lantern thingies earlier today. Good kid.”
He gestured covertly to the spot where Esme stood near Chloe, her eyes moving over the crowd with caution and just the slightest bit of curiosity.
She’d given him the same treatment when they’d hung party decorations earlier—mostly quiet, with a handful of sentences and a couple of small smiles toward the end, but that had been okay by him.
He didn’t blame her for being wary, and he’d meant what he’d said when he’d told both her and Chloe he was there to help. He didn’t mind proving it.
“Carleen told me,” his mother murmured, then added, “Not the details, of course. Chloe said they’re confidential. But I know the girl hasn’t had an easy life. How can I help?”
Here, Tyler paused. The case files were as confidential as Esme’s personal information, and he had to tread with care, no matter how much he wanted to help her. “Esme’s had it pretty rough, especially recently. She’s starting to warm up, but…”
“She’s thirteen?” his mother supplied, making him huff out a laugh.
“That, and she’s struggling in English class. Pride and Prejudice,” he said, and his mother gave a knowing nod.
“Ah. It gets the best of us.”
“I was kind of hoping you’d be willing to meet with her a few times, just low key, and walk her through the book. If Chloe can get her to agree to it.”
“You know me,” his mother said. “I never pass up a chance to talk about Jane Austen. I’d be happy to.”
Warmth spread out in Tyler’s chest. “Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate it.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart.” Her eyes crinkled at the edges, and Tyler knew she meant it, just like he knew the feeling was one hundred percent mutual. “Now, why don’t you introduce us so we can chat for a bit? I’d love to say hi to Chloe, too.”
His heart committed mutiny by beating faster at the mention of Chloe’s name, then faster still as they made their way through the room to the spot where Chloe and Esme stood. But really, it couldn’t be helped. That dress was her ass’s best fucking friend.
“Hey,” he said, metering his voice to its most casual setting.
Chloe’s stadium-bright smile in response? Did not help. “Oh, hey! There you are. And Miss Beverly.” She paused to give his mom a warm hug. “I’m so happy you were here tonight. It wouldn’t have been a true Dempsey celebration without you.”
Tyler shot his mother a non-verbal “I told you so”, and she waved both of them off with a laugh. “Well, I wouldn’t miss it. You two put on a fantastic party.” Looking at Esme, she said, “Hello. I’m Beverly Gates. I’m Tyler’s mom.”
Esme’s eyes widened, landing on his. “I didn’t know your mom would be here.”
“We’re family,” Tyler said by way of explanation, and after a long pause, Esme gave the tiniest nod.
“I’m Esme. Not family or anything. Just, you know. Doing mentoring stuff with Chloe.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Esme.” Tyler’s mom extended her hand. Tyler and Chloe both opened their mouths at the same time—shit, he should have given his mom a heads up about Esme’s aversion to physical contact—but Esme shocked the crap out of him by stepping forward, not back.
“Sorry,” she said, seeming to register her movement only a beat after she’d made it, then tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans just shy of contact. “I, um. Your friendship bracelets are kind of cool.”
Tyler blinked at the trio of beaded bracelets on his mom’s wrist. She, however, didn’t skip a beat. “Thanks. I was a teacher for a long time and one of my students made them for me when I retired. I have to admit, they’re pretty special to me.”
“I always wanted to learn how to make them,” Esme said, and Chloe took the opportunity to slide into the conversation.
“We could go online and see if they make kits,” she said. “Maybe find some colors you like.”
“Really?” Esme asked, her eyes going bright, the glimpse of pre-teen happiness tugging at Tyler’s chest. “I mean, I guess that would be cool. Sure.”
“I know it’s not quite the same as friendship bracelets,” Tyler’s mother said, “but Chloe’s sister, Grace, and Tyler’s friend, Declan, are doing paper crafts with some of the smaller kids who are here.
I bet they’d be grateful for a hand, especially from someone skilled enough to have helped with all these beautiful lanterns.
I can take you over there, if you’d like. ”
Esme gave a single-shouldered shrug, but she answered fast enough to call out her nonchalance. “Okay, yeah. As long as there’s time?”
She looked at Chloe, who nodded an enthusiastic approval. “Plenty. Tom’s not picking you up for another forty-five minutes. Go, have fun. Come find me if you need anything.”
Tyler mouthed “thank you” at his mother once Esme’s back was turned, and she winked in reply before guiding Esme to a large table in the corner.
Declan Riley, whose wife, Tess, headed up the emergency department at Remington Memorial Hospital, sat at the table with his four-year-old son beside him and his daughter in a highchair on his opposite side.
Maxwell’s daughter, Isla, brightened as Esme sat down beside her, happily showing off the pink and purple paper she’d been folding into a fan, and Tyler turned to Chloe, grin in place.
“I’d say that’s a success,” he said, and her smile in return was total perfection.
“Your mom is a saint. Thank you so much for putting her up to this.”
Tyler lifted his shoulders, keeping his shrug easy. “What makes you think I had anything to do with it?”
Chloe’s laugh had him dead to rights. “Oh, I don’t know.
Maybe because I know you well enough to know that you totally did, you’re just not taking the credit?
I hate to break it to you, Tyler.” She arched a brow at him, and man, she was the most beautiful brand of fierce.
“But deep down underneath all that cyborg stuff, you’re a nice guy. ”
His pulse hitched. Flared hotter. Pushed his laugh right out. “I’m no angel.”
She laughed again, wrecking even more of his composure.
“Well, there’s your mistake. You don’t have to be an angel to be a nice guy.
You just have to be a good person. I mean, look at my brother.
” She gestured to Ryan, who was now talking with Dallas over by the fireplace, both of them laughing.
“He’s the biggest hothead in at least three counties, and he’s definitely no angel, either.
But he’s still a great guy. So are you, whether you want to admit it or not. ”
“I don’t think you’d still be calling me a nice guy if you knew what I was thinking right now,” he said. Her lashes fanned up, her lips parted just slightly in surprise, but she didn’t pull back.
Instead, she set his world on fire with nothing more than a smile. “Try me.”
Something not in his control had him moving closer to her, his heart hammering a hot, steady beat of yes, yes, yes in his ears.
Whether it was the celebratory mood of the night or the way she’d been killing him in that dress for hours, or—hell, the pure ease he felt whenever she was anywhere near him, Tyler couldn’t tell. More to the point, he didn’t care.
He wanted Chloe. He’d wanted her again since the minute he’d kissed her goodbye at her apartment last week. The minute he’d seen her at the Thirty-Third two days later. The minute he’d seen her walk in the goddamn door tonight, and every minute in between.
And in this minute, he was finally tired of fighting it.
“I’m thinking of the way you shiver when I kiss the spot where your neck meets your ear,” he said with gravel he didn’t even try to curb.
“How your whole body trembles with how good you feel, and how hot it is that you’re not afraid to show it.
I’m thinking of the sound you make right before you come, like you’d chase your pleasure to the end of the world.
But most of all, I’m thinking about how badly I want you again, and that I was a fucking fool to believe that one time with you would be enough. ”
They stood in complete silence for a minute, her eyes on his and his chest loaded with far too much heat.
But then, she smiled, and Tyler didn’t have a single regret. “You have one hour to see everyone you need to see and make up a believable excuse to leave. I’ll meet you at my place in an hour and fifteen minutes. And Tyler?”
The look Chloe sent him over her shoulder would’ve made him fall just a little bit in love with her, if his damaged, fucked up heart were capable of such a thing.
“I hope you weren’t planning on getting any sleep tonight,” she said before walking her perfect peach of an ass away from him.