Spark (Heat #2)(13)

I know he feels badly for what happened between us the other night. I can tell that he genuinely wants to put it behind us, but his piercing words were like a slap across my face and until I can push them into the recesses of my mind, I need to keep my panties on.

"I can't stay but maybe we can have dinner together again soon?"

"You tell me when and I'll cook ." He leans forward to brush his lips across my cheek. "I'll take every minute with you I can get."





CHAPTER 11


"So you're telling me that Brendon has given up?" Sophia pins the hem of a red dress that she asked me to try on as soon as I woke up. "I find that hard to believe."

"Believe it. I think he finally got the message." I lean forward to look at the skirt of the dress. It's pleated and pretty but the hem is short and Sophia keeps raising it. "Do you expect me to wear this somewhere in particular?"

"I just need this one for my portfolio." She taps my knee. It's become a silent signal for me to inch forward. "You can wear it almost anywhere as long as you don't bend forward."

I laugh. "I'll just where it when I'm here or when I go over to Tyler's place."

"Things are better between you two?" She rears back, her eyes squinting as she surveys the hem. "I think it looks straight."

I don't make a move to look down because I know it will throw the skirt askew and she'll give me shit for it. I've learned how to be the perfect human mannequin for Sophia. I stand still when she's eyeing the hem. If I don't, I'll get yelled at. It's as simple as that.

"Things are good between us," I say quietly. "Tyler wants to make amends for what happened. He feels like a jerk for what he said to me."

She looks up. "What happened between him and that Neely girl?"

"Neela?"

She doesn't pay any mind to the subtle correction. "Why did they break up?"

I shrug. "We haven't talked about her."

We haven't. It's been two days since I had dinner at Tyler's apartment. I'd left after we ate, strong in my resolve not to climb back into his bed. Since then we've talked on the phone twice and shared a few dozen text messages. He's busy, working on the details for the rebuilding of the restaurant.

"What do you know about her?"

If I'm going to answer my best friend honestly, I know a lot about Neela, including her last name. Neela Norman is twenty-six. She's a senior chef at a restaurant in Boston. She's beautiful, just as I expected she'd be. We couldn't be more different physically. She's petite, with black hair and almond shaped blue eyes.

There were dozens of images of her online. Some of her in a chef's jacket, but many of them were taken when she was vacationing in the south of France with an A list actor a couple of months ago. Neela has definitely moved on judging by the way she was clinging to the man in the pictures.

"She works in Boston and she's dating an actor." I glance down at her. "I don't need to know any more than that."

"Dating is good," she says softly. "I'm glad she lives in Boston. The farther Tyler's ex is away from him, the better."

I don't disagree even if I've never viewed Neela as a threat. "She's obviously established there. She's got a great job."

"Let's hope she doesn’t pull a Brendon and decide that she suddenly wants him back." She laughs.

I smile, unable to even bring a chuckle up from my knotted gut. I don't want her to ever come back. There were only two pictures online of her and Tyler together. They were both taken at a restaurant opening here in Manhattan more than a year ago. His arm was draped around her waist, her eyes turned up to meet his. The expression on his face said it all. He loved her when those photographs were taken and judging by the diamond engagement ring that was on her left hand then, she loved him too.

***

"Isn't that Tyler's tablet?"

Maribel's voice breaks through my daydreams about Tyler. I was thinking about the way he looked the first time we made love. I look up at her. I hadn't heard her come into Nova's new location. I look around, suddenly aware that the space is filling up with people. "It's his tablet."

"Why do you have it?" She scratches the back of her head. "Chef guards that thing with his life."

I smile softly. "I'm just holding it for him. I'm giving it back to him today."

"He's not here yet?" She assesses the space, letting her gaze circle the room. "I thought he would be here by now."

I did too. We're scheduled to go live in less than thirty minutes with Percy and Pamela.

Tyler called me last night to remind me to get to the location on time. He was exhausted. I could hear it in his voice. It's not surprising. He's been working alongside Hunter from dawn until dusk every day trying to ready Nova for the grand re-opening.

Their hard work is paying off. The space has been framed and drywall now separates the dining room from the rest of the restaurant. The kitchen is where most of the work has been done.

I could see Tyler's touch in every aspect of the new design. The appliances are all high end, the prep stations relegated to one area. It's not a mirror image of what Nova used to be. This kitchen is crafted to help all of us do our jobs efficiently and comfortably.