Page 1 of Until You

Chapter One

Tyler Norris…This is the last place I ever expected to see you.” The blonde was eyeing him like he was the last margarita on ladies’ night at La Fuente Bar and Grill.

Tyler leaned back in his patio chair and sipped his beer, hiding his annoyance with a smirk. This was the fourth woman to approach him tonight, and while he was used to women hitting on him, this seemed to be a bit much given that he was a single man at a couple’s wedding shower.

“How’d you get roped into it?” she asked, her right hand on her hip.

Theresa Fink. He hadn’t seen her since high school, but the look in her eyes told him she was very happy to see him. She lifted the wineglass in her left hand, spotlighting her bare left ring finger, even going so far as to slightly wiggle it to catch his attention.

She continued studying him with lust-filled eyes, apparently expecting an answer. He finally shrugged his nonchalance. “Turns out being groomsman means the bride can strong-arm you into anything she wants.” That wasn’t entirely true—he had a soft spot when it came to Brittany—but no need to tell Theresa that.

Her eyes lit up. “Maybe she can spill some of her secrets. Your legend precedes you, Tyler Norris.”

Chuckling, he took a drag of his beer. “And which legend is that? I hear there are many.” He winked. “And the ones about my size and endurance are all true.”

Theresa flushed, pressing her hand against her chest and fluttering her eyelashes.

Jesus.Why did he tell her that? Old habits were still hard to break, but now she looked like a barracuda ready to gnaw off his leg. Or more specifically, another body part in very close proximity.

“Tyler,” a deep voice said behind him. “Holly needs your help with the ice.”

Tyler tried not to look relieved when he jumped to his feet and turned to face Kevin Vandemeer. “Yeah. Be more than happy to.”

Disappointment washed over Theresa’s face, but he ignored her as she called after him, “Want to get drinks later?”

Tyler walked through the suburban backyard, feeling like he was about to break out into hives just being here, let alone sitting outside in the hot and humid Missouri August evening for the last hour. He tugged at his collar, regretting his decision to wear a tie.

“Thanks for the save,” he said as he followed Kevin to the back deck, then stopped to grab another beer from a bucket of ice water.

“The save comes at a price,” Kevin said with a chuckle. “You’re refilling the drink tubs with ice.”

“Me?” Tyler asked, standing upright and turning to face his friend. “Shouldn’t that be your job since your wife is in charge of the party?”

Kevin’s wife. Damn, that was hard to spit out. Not that he had anything against Holly, he actually liked her, and if Tyler was honest, she was a good fit for his friend. But of his two best friends, Kevin had been more like Tyler when it came to women. Lots of girlfriends that never lasted. So when Kevin had moved back home two months ago after his last tour in Afghanistan, the three friends had commiserated on their extremely unlucky love life and decided to give up on marriage, imposing a ban on women and forming the Bachelor Brotherhood.

Kevin Vandemeer had lasted one fucking day.

“My wife,” Kevin said in a warning tone, “was the one to suggest I save your ass, you dickweed. So get out to the garage and grab a couple of bags of ice out of the freezer or I’ll tell Theresa Fink that you want to leave the shower and go out for a candlelight dinner. Just the two of you.”

“You suck, Vandemeer,” Tyler grumbled.

Kevin’s answer was a shit-eating grin.

Tyler would have loved to kick his friend’s ass right then and there, but Brittany would have killed him. And while he considered doing it anyway, instead he went into the dark garage, deciding this wasn’t such a heinous task after all. It had to be ten degrees cooler in the two-car garage, and he was alone. Maybe he could hide in here for ten minutes or so, then tell Britt a work emergency had come up and he needed to go.

She’d see right through it and call his assistant to verify. And since her fiancé worked at his law firm, she definitely had the number.

Shit.He was stuck.

Tyler had been at Randy’s house enough times to know the garage refrigerator was stocked with beer, some of which were Randy’s precious import beers. Tyler opened the door and grinned. Jackpot. He grabbed a Stella and popped off the top using the opener attached to the wall, then took a long drag, letting the cold beer coat his dry mouth.

“I see you found Randy’s stash,” a woman said in the darkness.

Caught off guard, he choked, spitting beer down his shirt. He spun around and found her sitting on Randy’s workbench with her own bottle. Unlike every other guest at the shower, with the exception of him, she was still dressed in business attire—a sleeveless, light gray dress that ended just above her knees. Her legs were crossed, and she bounced one black, three-inch pump as she watched him, lowering the bottle from her mouth. She wore her long, dark hair down, and he couldn’t help but notice the strands that lay over her shoulder, brushing the tops of her breasts. He forced his gaze to rise to her face.

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” she said, her dark eyes dancing with amusement.

She was gorgeous, and damned if he wasn’t intrigued. “I didn’t see you over there.”

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