Chapter 8 #3
“No, I don’t mind,” she said as she set her fork down again. “He got a dream job in London. I didn’t love him enough to give up my life here in Oliver Heights, and he didn’t love me enough to stay, so we went our separate ways.”
“That sounds pretty healthy, I guess.”
She nodded. “In all honesty, I wasn’t devastated.
I should’ve been, but I wasn’t. Sad, yes, but not the way that I would’ve been if he’d been the love of my life.
” She touched her fork again but didn’t pick it up.
“I heard from a mutual friend that he’s been dating someone for the last six months. I actually think they’re engaged.”
He frowned. “That seems fast.”
She shrugged. “I guess when you know, you know.”
“You’re not upset? Not even a little?”
She shook her head. “I’m truly not. I love my life just the way it is. I hope he loves his, too.”
“Good for you.”
“Thanks.” She fiddled with the edge of her napkin. “So, you don’t date at all?”
He shook his head. “Dating in my line of work is rarely successful. I have a friend with benefits thing with one of the agents I work with, but she and I are both so busy that it’s probably better to say that we’re friends who have seen each other naked a few times.”
She laughed. “Well, don’t let our imaginary relationship get in the way of your arrangement. I promise I will not be your friend’s cockblock.”
He laughed, enjoying the hell out of her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She chuckled. “Our conversation took quite a turn.”
He shrugged as he still smiled. “It’s certainly been interesting.”
She took his empty plate, stacking hers on top of his. “Dinner was really good, Ty. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We’ll have to think of something else to do. We can’t just keep eating together.”
“I imagine you’re right.”
He took a drink of his water. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since our conversation at lunch.”
“About?”
“This entire situation. About how we’re figuring this out as we go.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“I think if we want this to work, we need to enmesh our lives. We need to find plenty of ways to be involved in each other’s day-to-day.”
She nodded again. “That makes sense.”
He nodded this time. “My job right now is to get to know you—for us to make things feel less forced and more natural.”
“Finding that rhythm you were talking about.”
He nodded again. “Pretty much.”
She added their silverware and dirty napkins on top of her plate. “I was going to—I’m planning to go to Movie in the Park tomorrow night. It’s the first feature of the summer.”
He perked up. “That sounds fun.”
She nodded. “I think they’re playing The Goonies.”
“That sounds even better.”
She nodded again as she smiled. “I usually pack a picnic and bring some snacks.”
“You don’t mind if I tag along?”
She shook her head. “I feel like that’s something that a boyfriend would do. Movie in the Park is definitely couples friendly.”
“It sounds like it to me, too.” He stood, taking their dirty dishes, feeling like they were on the right track for the first time since he showed Lydia his badge. “How about I help you clean up. Then I’ll get out of your hair for tonight.”
She smiled again as she gained her feet. “Sure.”
Lydia stood in her doorway, tossing Ty a wave in the fading light as he drove away. Closing the door, she frowned as she twisted the deadbolt into place.
She and Ty had just cooked a meal together in her kitchen and talked on her porch for more than an hour, and it hadn’t been awful. They’d also made a date for tomorrow night—or sort of, anyway, which was odd, even though it wasn’t.
Ty was still a stranger, but not entirely. He was her boyfriend, but not actually. She definitely found him attractive, but she didn’t want to. He was her enemy, but maybe not.
She sighed as she leaned back against the solid wood, staring at the floor as she shook her head.
He told her this morning that he wasn’t the bad guy, and a part of her believed him. He was an FBI agent investigating her family, yet she couldn’t deny that he’d been nothing but kind—a little pushy at times—but kind, nevertheless.
She exhaled another long breath because everything felt so confusing. Everything about her current situation was surreal. But she remembered Ty mentioning friendship and mutual respect—that things would be easier if they could achieve both.
A friendship with Ty seemed like a bit of a stretch, but sharing a mutual respect was a starting point that she could live with. They were certainly stuck together for the next several weeks, so it made sense to cautiously make the best of it.
“I guess we’ll see,” she whispered to herself as she headed toward the porch to close the windows for the night and shut off the lights before she went upstairs.
She moved through her bedroom to the bathroom, eager to complete her nighttime routine and get lost in a book for a while instead of constantly thinking about the crazy turn her life had taken.
“I guess we’ll see,” she said again as she picked up her toothbrush and toothpaste because at this point, there was nothing else she could do.