Room-maid(25)

It was meant to be an insult, but that meant Tyler had told her about me. And that based on his description she thought I would be attractive.

And if I followed that through to its logical conclusion, that meant Tyler thought I was attractive.

The words flitted through me, leaving me feeling happy and light. He thought I was with Brad and he had an evil girlfriend and thanks to his rule we couldn’t be together, but Tyler thought I was pretty.

I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I drifted off to sleep.



The next morning that smile was still there. I got up, showered, and got ready for my car-buying trip. I went out to the kitchen to grab some cereal. While I was sitting at the island eating, I heard Tyler greeting Pigeon and my heart skipped a beat.

He came into the kitchen with a “Good morning!” His hair was still wet; he must have just gotten out of the shower as well. He had on a dark-blue T-shirt that lovingly showed off his muscled arms and made me wonder about the muscles I wasn’t seeing.

I so wanted to leap over this counter, tackle him, and make out with his face. I decided to use polite words instead. “Morning! Welcome back.”

Then I almost choked on my cereal when he reached up for his coffee mug, exposing an expanse of skin that showed me exactly what the shirt covered. I was so glad I was already sitting down as I lost all feeling in my knees.

“So I have a question for you,” he said, and every part of my body tensed in anticipation. He knows. He knows I replaced the pan! “Does the kitchen smell like, I don’t know, dishwashing soap to you?”

Oh crap. It kind of did. I thought I’d done a better job of cleaning it. I grimaced slightly in response. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Huh.” Thankfully he didn’t say anything about the cast-iron pan. Instead he asked, “Do you have any fun plans today?”

“I’m going to buy a car.” I couldn’t keep the glee out of my voice, and it made him smile. “I’ve never bought a car before. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“That does sound . . . well, I don’t know if fun’s the word I would use. Having the car is fun. Buying it usually not so much.”

“I’ve been adequately warned. And my friend Shay is supposed to be here in a few minutes. I’m hoping to get to the lot before it opens so I can get the car I want.” This was the dealer’s busiest day of the week and I was afraid the car would get sold. My phone buzzed with a text from Shay. “Speak of the devil.”



“Oh no,” I said.

“Everything okay?”

“Not really. Shay had to cancel. I’m going to try one of my other friends.” I called Delia and she didn’t pick up. Which was unlike her. I tried texting her and waited.

“No answer?” Tyler asked.

“She didn’t reply,” I confirmed, a sinking feeling settling in my stomach. “Which means I’m going to have to take an Uber to get to this dealership.” It wouldn’t be cheap.

“I can drive you.”

“What?” Had I heard him correctly?

“I can drive you,” he said, repeating his offer. “I don’t have much going on until later on this evening, so if you want, I can go with you.”

He’s not interested in you. He has a girlfriend who looks like a Russian Barbie come to life. He is just being your friend. Stop being so excited.

My pounding heart didn’t listen.

Something in my expression made him laugh. “Is that a yes?”





CHAPTER EIGHT

Um, obviously the answer was yes. Because I might have been a lot of things, but stupid was not one of them. It was, in fact, an overly enthusiastic “Yes!” It made him laugh again. So even if I was embarrassing myself, it was worth it to hear his reaction.

“From what I’ve read online, you’ll be even better backup than Shay,” I told him. “Because you’re a man. And you’re tall.” And hot.

Thankfully, my lips refrained from uttering that last part.

“You don’t know any other tall men?” he asked.

“We did discuss this as a friend group, and no, we didn’t have anybody else to ask that we thought might do it. Delia did offer to send along her giant cardboard cutout of Edward from Twilight, but I passed.”

“Good choice,” he said with a grin. “Are you ready to go?”

“Let me grab my purse.” I’m spending the day with Tyler Roth! I felt like a teenager again, giddy over her first crush. Not to mention that I hadn’t forgotten what Oksana had inadvertently told me and not only did it add a spring to my step, but it filled me with a confidence that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Tyler was holding the elevator open and I grabbed my coat from the wall. It was sunny outside, but the weather had dipped down into the fifties.

We walked to the parking garage and Tyler showed me where my parking spot would be. It was right next to his, where his car, a classic red Mustang, sat. His choice surprised me. I thought he’d be more of a sleek-sports-car type of guy. “This doesn’t seem like you,” I said.

He opened the passenger door for me. “It doesn’t?”

I shrugged one shoulder as I got in. To be fair, I didn’t really know much about him. A guy who dated Oksana should be driving a Porsche or a Lamborghini. He seemed full of contradictions and I wanted to figure him out.