Truly Mine (15 page)

“Sure. Twenty-five years happened. Twenty-five fucking years. That’s a long damn time, Tyler. We’ve just changed. She’s changed. Ali got prettier, and I got uglier. She got smarter, and I’m still the same dumbass I’ve always been.” He looks at me for the first time since I got here. “Tyler, I swear, she’s getting younger, and I’m getting older. What the fuck is that? How the fuck do women do this shit? They get better with age and leave us in the dust.”

I’m speechless. He looks away again, and I look down at my beer. I know what he’s talking about though. All three of my sisters are more beautiful and more intelligent than they were twenty years ago. They are stronger women and more confident in whom they are. Every year, they pick up a new interest or hobby and nail it like they were born to do it.

I look over at Katie, and she’s listening to everything Cory’s saying.

Cory and I don’t make it a habit to talk about our relationships in too much detail, at least not on purpose, but I could tell that something’s been wrong for a while now. He’s been spending more time at the bar and less time at home.

Ali and Cory have been together since high school, and I hate to think of a day when they wouldn’t be married. I’m the least knowledgeable person when it comes to relationships, but I want to say or do something to help him out.

“Can you leave us alone, Katie?”

She’s pouty and in no hurry to leave.

“Listen, I’ll find you, and we’ll talk when I’m done here. Okay?”

She’s satisfied with that, and she smiles before bouncing off to a group on the other side of the room. She isn’t going to like what I have to say to her.

Right now though, I want to let Cory get this shit off his chest. “What’s going on with the girls?”

“Fuck, who knows? Not me. They’re never home. Never. I haven’t seen them all week.”

“Are they giving you and Ali a hard time?”

I would find that hard to believe. They’ve always been good girls.

“According to Ali, everything’s fine. Just great. She says they are just normal teenage girls who would rather be with their friends than their parents. Like I said, I haven’t seen them all week.”He holds his finger up to alert the bartender that he needs another beer.

“Have you told them that you want to see them? Maybe have dinner with them or something? I mean, look at us, Cory. We were the same way at their age.”

He turns and looks at me. “I haven’t said shit to them. If they don’t want to take time out to see me, then I don’t care either.”

That’s obviously bullshit. He cares. I contemplate for a moment about whether or not I should say what I’m thinking.

What the hell?

I throw it out there. “Kinda hard to see them when you’re at the bar almost every night.”

He glares at me, not amused with the comment. “You might like sitting alone in an empty house, but I don’t.”

Fair enough.

“Where’s Ali?”I ask.

“Oh, I don’t know. Running. Yoga. Book club. Photography class. Or maybe fucking some guy. Fuck if I know.”

My head snaps his way. I have never heard Cory talk about his wife that way. “Whoa, man. Come on now.”

“I’m just fed the fuck up right now. I’ll talk to you later.” Cory stands up and walks away from me.

“Cory, wait.” I follow him out of the bar. “You good to drive? Why don’t we go into town and grab some food?”

He holds his hand up and waves me off.

“Come over to my place, and we’ll throw some burgers on the grill.”

He jumps in his truck. “I’m good. I’m going home to go to bed.”He roars away, barreling down the street.

I feel like shit. I wish I could call Ali and find out her version of what’s going on. We don’t really have that kind of relationship though. I wish I could believe that Cory is just having a bad day. I know better though. He’s been in this same mood for months now. I don’t know what I can do to help the situation. I’m not exactly experienced in the relationship department.

After my mess with Rion’s mom, I swore off commitment. I had never felt so alone with someone at my side before, and I never want to feel like that again. This is one of the many times I do believe that ignorance is bliss.

Even though I knew something has been up with Cory, knowing what it is has my stomach in knots. I turn to walk to my car, almost wishing I hadn’t stopped in here to talk to him.

Before I can make a clean getaway, Katie is at my side, appearing out of nowhere. “You wanted to talk to me?”She giggles.

“Uh, yeah.”
Shit.
“Listen, Katie.”

She’s smiling, and for a brief minute, I feel bad.

“Nothing is going to come of what happened. You get that, right?”

“Well…here’s the thing.” She steps closer to me and places her hands on my chest. “I’m about to be a single woman.”

Her eyes are gleaming with unrealistic hope of something that will never happen. I really, really wish I had not come here tonight.

“Katie, listen to me very closely.” I take her hands off my chest and place them at her sides. “I don’t care about your relationship status. I don’t want you to call me baby. There will never be anything between us. Ever.”

Her jaw drops, and she appears injured. “What the hell have I done?”

“Nothing. You’ve done nothing. What happened last weekend should not have happened. So, that’s where it ends.”I leave her standing on the sidewalk the way Cory just did to me. There’s nothing else to be said.

With Cory’s info dump yesterday and the fact that I haven’t spoken to Truly once this week, I’m not looking forward to this trip to New York at all. I texted her last night to remind her of my visit but received no reply.

I managed to make my flight though.

Now, we’ve just landed, and we’re sitting on the runway. It’s nine a.m. and far too early for me to be stuck on a plane with all these people.

I send Truly a text to let her know that I’m in New York and can meet with her anytime. It looks like it will be a quick trip after all. I gather my carry-on and join the others filing off the plane.

Entering the terminal, I head for baggage claim. I check my phone for a message from Truly. Nothing.

I head toward the exit to catch a cab when I notice her big inviting smile. She’s standing near the exit doors, looking as beautiful as ever. Her hair is down but held off her face by her sunglasses, and I swear, she glows. She appears happy to see me. She waves me over as if I didn’t see her.

Acknowledging that I notice her, I nod and walk quickly, nearly plowing down a few people who cross my path. I’m not sure what to do when I reach her, but she doesn’t leave me to wonder for long. She closes the gap between us and wraps her arms around my neck. The perfume that I now love consumes me for a moment. She must have more. Good thing for her because I have no intention of returning the bottle I have.

“How was your flight?” she asks softly against my ear.

“It was fine. I didn’t know you’d be here. Thank you.” I slide my hand across her back and rest it on her opposite hip.

She leans her head back and looks at me. I focus on her sweet lips. I want to kiss them again.

“Of course I’m here. I got your text last night.” As if she can read my thoughts, she slowly leans in and presses her lips against mine.

This is unexpected. I’m learning quickly that nearly everything about Truly is unexpected. I want to ask her why she didn’t respond. Instead, I slide my hand up the curve of her hip to her shoulder and pull her close. After a few seconds, she kisses the corner of my mouth and then slides her lips over my cheek before burying her face in my neck.

It might be wishful thinking, but it seems like she’s relieved to see me. Her body relaxes against mine, and her breathing slows. Her hand moves to the back of my neck, and her fingernails gently rake across my skin, back and forth.

Resting her head on my shoulder, she smiles up at me. “It feels so good to touch you again.”Her eyes close for a moment.

I smile but take note of her tone. “Everything okay?”

She nods her head and pops up, meeting my gaze. “Perfect.”

I’m ready to be alone with Truly. Now.

pronunciation
mas-kuh-reyd

(n.)
under fake pretenses; façade; false show

I
haven’t talked to Tyler since last weekend. I didn’t even tell him I’d be waiting at the airport.

Foolishly, I’d hoped I could convince myself that I don’t care for him. All week, I’d tried to brainwash myself. Apparently, one cannot brainwash oneself because the minute I saw Tyler walking toward me, my knees went weak. Even though he seemed a little distant, I didn’t waste any time in sliding into his arms.

I wish it didn’t feel so good when he was near me. It’s blowing my bitch cover. It’s a little hard to keep up the facade around him when he knows the real me.

This weekend, I’m not even going to try. I’m going to let the walls down and enjoy every minute. Because this weekend will be the last time I’ll ever see Tyler Burke again.

“There’s a driver waiting out front for us.” I wrap my arm around Tyler’s waist, nuzzling my cheek against his soft gray T-shirt. Either this is the softest material I’ve ever felt, or just being in Tyler’s arms feels better and better every time. Maybe a little bit of both. Either way, I can’t wait to get him back to my apartment.

Once we’re in the car, Tyler and I are on the same page.

He pulls me close to his side and lifts my chin. “I missed you, Tru.” He ever so slowly presses his lips against mine.

I open willingly, and he slides his tongue past our lips to find mine. Our tongues dance for a moment, and then he pulls back, sucking my lip as he goes. My heart is beating so fast that it might jump right out of my chest.

Once I’ve regained my composure, I ask Tyler, “What would you like to do while you’re in New York?”

“I haven’t thought much about it. I’ve been here several times. There’s nothing in particular that I had planned.”

“Well, how about if we drop your bags off and then go to my office to sign the papers? I want to introduce you to my friends while we’re there.”

He glances down at me. “Sounds good. I’m staying at The Mark.”

I sweetly smile up at him and place my hand low on his stomach. “Uh…I thought maybe I could return the favor, and you would stay with me.”

Nodding his head, he leans forward and kisses me again. I hope that’s a preview of what’s to come.

Previously, I arranged for Perry, the bellman, to take Tyler’s bags to my apartment. When the car pulls up to my building, the driver pops the trunk, and Perry retrieves the bags. I roll down the window and thank him as I hand him a tip.

“Wait. What’s he doing with my bags?”

“He’s taking them up for us.”

“We’re not going in?” Disappointed that he’s not getting what he wants, he pops his lip out like a child.

“Not yet. But it’ll be worth it when we do.” I lean toward him and kiss his shoulder.

“Okay then. I’ll hold you to that.” His eyes burn me.

Anxiety creeps up on me as we get closer to my office building.

Marie scheduled around Tyler’s visit so that no clients would be in today. Anything that would clue him in on what I do for a living is not in plain sight. Our time here will be brief anyway. We’ll go over the paperwork, and Lissa or Marie will witness as Tyler notarizes. Then, the ordeal with my mother’s estate will be over.

When we pull up to the curb, Tyler exits the car, and I slide out, following him. I grab ahold of Tyler’s proffered hand. We proceed into the building, hand in hand. Entering, I quickly lead Tyler to my office and close the door.

“Have a seat, if you’d like.” I point to a sitting area across the room.

He looks around. The room appears as ordinary as anyone’s office. When he reaches the seating area, he lays the folder of paperwork on the round coffee table in front of the chairs.

“I’ll be right back.” I leave Tyler alone to find Marie and Lissa.

I find them both standing behind Lissa’s desk, hunched over, looking at her PC monitor. Smiling and ogling at the screen, I know exactly what they’re looking at. All of us belong to a Facebook group full of fellow readers, and we all post photos of delicious men that fill the descriptions of the sexy men we read about. I have no doubt that there’s a fine specimen to be seen.