Page 52 of Until You

Lanie gave him an appraising glance, then motioned to a concrete picnic table. “It looks really taped on. Why don’t you let me take it off?” When he started to protest, she added. “It’s the least I can do, since I caused it.”

He nodded and followed her to the table, letting her gently push him down on the seat.

“Did you and your brothers enjoy the game?” she asked quietly as she started to gently pick at the tape on his forehead.

“Yeah. Did you enjoy the game with your…?”

She smiled. “Aiden and I had fun.”

He’d purposefully made the question leading, and he swallowed his frustration that it hadn’t worked.

“Do you go to Royals games together very often?” she asked.

“No. A guy I work with has season tickets.”

“An attorney?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Never been to a Royals game. I’m not a baseball fan,” she said, slowly prying off the bandage. “But Aiden insisted, and I hated to tell him no.”

He stifled the question he was begging to ask: How could she go on a date with another guy after the mind-blowing sex they’d had the night before? If she hated telling Aiden no, did that mean she’d told him yes when he’d wanted to sleep with her? Because there was no way in hell Aiden hadn’t wanted to sleep with her.

But then a new thought hit him, making the blood rush to his feet. What if last night hadn’t been as good for Lanie as it had been for him? What if she’d faked it?

Oh, God.

Was he that out of practice?

He jolted on the seat, making her brush his stitches. He grunted from the pain.

“Tyler,” she grumbled, “I know this hurts, but you need to be still.”

“I can take it,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Of course you can,” she said with a grin as she removed the last of the tape.

She wasn’t being awkward, so why was he? She was like a dream come true—they slept together, and she wasn’t clinging to him like a dryer sheet. He would have killed for a woman like her before Nina. What was different now?

He didn’t have time to dwell on it because Celesta stood in front of him and gasped as she pointed to his forehead. “Oh my God!”

“What?” he asked, trying to stay calm. Was the wound infected? Was it oozing with pus? Was an alien trying to escape? But Lanie was staring at it and not freaking out.

“You have a huge white patch on your forehead!” Celesta said in horror.

He looked up at Lanie for reassurance.

She gave him a hesitant smile. “You obviously got a little sun, but it’s not that bad. I promise.”

Holly walked over and cringed. “I’m sure that can be Photoshopped.”

“Pretty soon they’ll just have to Photoshop your entire head,” Rowdy teased.

“Very funny,” Tyler grumbled as he stood and moved away from Celesta.

“Okay,” Holly said. “Let’s get started. Now that we know what we’re doing, hopefully this will go faster.”

Tyler pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the camera app. Sure enough, there was a two-inch-square white spot on his forehead where the bandage had been.

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