Page 120 of Until You

Tyler slammed the door shut behind him, but Randy didn’t flinch. “You found out.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“I couldn’t tell you, Tyler.”

That was the shittiest part of it. Randy was right. He couldn’t warn Lanie, and by the time Tyler had come on board on the case, Randy had no idea he was involved with Lanie.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Tyler said.

“How’s Lanie doing?”

“Not good.” He wanted to comfort her, but why would she want his comfort when he was the one who had caused her pain?

“Maybe I should call Britt.”

“That’s a good idea. Lanie needs someone to talk to.” Tyler started to pace. “She’s going to hate me when this is all over.”

“I think she just needs time.”

“I don’t have time. She’s moving to Atlanta next week.”

“What? She took the job with her friend?” he mused.

“Yeah.” Tyler headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Randy asked.

“To win Lanie back.”

***

A few hours later, Tyler sat in a restaurant, waiting. He’d texted Lanie and told her he needed to talk to her so he could explain his side. She’d waited so long to respond that he was sure she was blowing him off, but she finally texted that she could meet him for lunch. When he offered to pick her up, she said she’d meet him at Houston’s at noon.

He’d gotten there first, so he saw her when she walked in. His heart leapt into his throat, and he stood as she approached. He wasn’t sure what to expect when she saw him, but he hadn’t expected her to wrap her arms around the back of his neck and bury her face in his chest.

He held her close, laying his cheek on the top of her head. He couldn’t lose her.

She looked up at him with sad eyes, and all he could think was that he was the one who had hurt her. “Lanie.”

“Shh.” She lightly kissed him on the lips. “Let’s sit down.”

She slid into the booth across from him. “Thanks for meeting me,” he said as he sat down. “I didn’t know if you would.”

“Tyler, I love you. Of course I wanted to see you.”

“You don’t hate me?”

“Did you set out to purposely hurt me?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why would I hate you? It could be argued that you have a reason to be upset with me, since I knew your firm was involved and I didn’t tell you.”

“No. You’re the innocent party here.”

The waitress walked over and took their drink order. Tyler was tempted to order wine, but he wanted a clear head, and he noticed that Lanie skipped the wine as well.

“You called Aiden?” he asked as soon as the waitress left.

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