Tyler's Undoing (Gloves Off #1)(20)

Rolling my eyes, I pushed him out of my bedroom and chuckled. “No, I can promise you I’m not that kind of girl.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Opening the front door, I walked Tyler out to his truck in silence, my mind a jumbled mess. What was I doing getting involved with him? It was the stupidest thing I’d ever done. Yet, it was the one thing I wanted more than anything at this moment.

If my brother found out about this, he would make it his life’s mission to keep Tyler away from me. He would ruin everything.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked, pulling me closer. “Are you having second thoughts?”

I shrugged. “Kind of. It’s just, there’s a lot you don’t know about me. If you knew what my life was like, you’d run as far away from me as possible.”

He chuckled. “The same could be said about me, but you seem like a tough girl. I have no doubt that whatever it is we’ll be okay.”

“Do you honestly believe that? What if it’s something really bad?”

“Trust me,” he murmured, bending down to kiss my lips. “Whatever skeletons you have in your closet probably don’t come close to the ones I have. Have a little bit of faith in me, okay? I’d rather not divulge our deepest, darkest secrets on only our second date.”

“Okay, but as long as you have faith in me . . . wait, did you just call this our second date?”

He kissed me one more time. “Just think, the next time we get together will be our third date,” he wiggled his eyebrows and slapped my ass.

I giggled as he walked around his truck. “In your dreams, buddy,” I called out.

Laughing, he said, “Just don’t forget me tonight.”

That wouldn’t be possible. I really wanted to go to his fight, but there was a huge possibility my brother or his friends would be there. I couldn’t take that chance . . . at least, not yet.

Not until I tell Tyler who I really am.





ONCE INSIDE, I quietly opened the door to my grandmother’s room and noticed her queen-sized bed was empty. Her white, quilted comforter was folded down perfectly on her bed like it was every day after she got up from a nap.

“Nana?” I called, opening her door the rest of the way. I found her sitting at the desk, scribbling away on a piece of paper. She hadn’t sat at that desk in months.

“Nana, what are you doing?” I gasped, strolling into the room. “I thought you were asleep?”

She slid her papers to the side and turned around, her warm chuckle making me smile. “Oh, dear child, no. I was never sleepy to begin with. I pretended to be so you and your friend could have some alone time.”

“Nana,” I shrieked. “It’s not like that with him. I only met him a couple of days ago.”

“That doesn’t matter. I met your grandfather one day, and then the next—”

I held up my hands, stopping her. “Okay, I don’t need to hear about your escapades with Granddaddy.”

She was trying to get up out of her chair, so I helped her by quickly grabbing her arm and leading her over to the bed. With as weak as she’s been, I’m thankful she hadn’t fallen and broken any bones.

“I’m just saying, honey, that you can’t put a timetable on love. Some people fall in love after one day, and for others it doesn’t happen for months or even years. Once you get over your fears, it’ll happen.”

“You don’t understand, Nana. Tyler knows who Kyle is . . . they don’t get along at all. Once Tyler finds out who I am, he’s not going to want me anymore.”

My grandmother reached over and patted my cheek. “You have to have faith, Kacey. You’re not like your brother. Good things happen to good people. Tyler will see it in you and it won’t matter. He’ll still love you.”

“It’s a little too soon for love, Nana,” I teased. “Besides, other than you and daddy, no one’s ever loved me. I wouldn’t know the first thing about it.”

Smiling, my grandmother laid back in her bed and I covered her up. This time she wasn’t pretending. She took my hand and held it over her heart. “It comes naturally, sweetheart. There’s no handbook telling you how to love someone. Soon, you’re going to have your own life and I need to know that you’ll be okay. Let him in, Kacey. Can you do that for me?”

My eyes burned but I refused to cry. I always tried to stay strong for her. “I promise,” I whispered. “I’ll be okay. Now get some rest. I’m going to finish cleaning the kitchen.”

Tugging on me, she placed her cold, frail hands on my cheeks and gently kissed my forehead. “I’m so proud of you and the woman you’ve become. I love you so much.”

I smoothed my hand over her dry skin and let the tears fall; I couldn’t hold them back anymore. “I love you too, Nana.”

She smiled at me once before closing her eyes and falling asleep. This was probably the last time I’d speak to her until the following morning. Maybe I could get Tyler to have breakfast with me again . . . she’d like that.





“I can’t believe you’re going out with that other guy when you could’ve come with me on a road trip with Tyler and Cole,” Bree scolded. “Just think of all the fun we’d be having right now.”