Page 56 of Until You

He paused.

“Okay…let me rephrase that. Any other crazy exes I need to worry about in the foreseeable future?”

“No.”

She grinned up at him. “Good. Just wear a condom and we’re good.”

He looked surprised, but she laughed. She might worry about his exes if they were going for something long term, but this would last a few weeks tops, because she was leaving Kansas City by the first week of October. The question was where she would end up.

She and Aiden had left the baseball game early and gone to Gates Bar-B-Q. Between Aiden’s complaints that Kansas City barbecue had nothing on South Carolina dry rub, he’d laid out an impressive plan for his company and Lanie’s part in it.

“I can’t match Margo Benson’s salary,” Aiden had admitted, “but I can give you a percentage of the company.” Then he grinned. “And a great dental plan.”

She’d studied the figures on his laptop, and a knot had formed in the pit of her stomach.

“What’s holding you back?” he asked. “Are you worried about us working together?”

She’d looked into his face. “No. I think I’d love working with you. But it’s change, which makes it scary.”

“From everything you’ve told me about your new VP, your days might be numbered anyway, so you’re smart to turn in your notice. Have you got any other leads?”

“No. Honestly, I haven’t had a chance to look.”

“You might want to put a few feelers out.”

Or just take his offer. It was a great one. She could afford the pay cut, but something was holding her back. She just couldn’t put her finger on what.

But her career options could wait until tomorrow. She was going to focus on the distraction next to her.

Holly seemed thrown off by the police officer’s appearance and soon told them they were free to leave after reminding them to meet at a specific location in front of the Royals’ stadium for the next set of photos on Thursday night.

“Since Aiden dropped you off,” Tyler said with a lazy grin, “you probably need a ride home.”

Her eyebrows rose playfully. “Are you offering to make the sacrifice?”

“I could be bribed.”

She resisted the urge to kiss him. It was a good thing she only had a few weeks left or she could see herself possibly falling for him, which would be a disaster of epic proportions. She was sure the two women she’d run into from his past were just the tip of the iceberg. Tyler Norris had a shelf life. “Good,” she said. “But I need to talk to Randy first…alone.”

He looked momentarily surprised but said, “I’ll help Holly load up her car.”

“Great.” She made a beeline for Randy, who was deep in a conversation with Holly and Britt.

“I still can’t believe that policeman,” Britt said, shaking her head. “Did he really think I was fishing wearing a wedding dress?”

“He was a little overzealous, but we worked it out,” Randy said.

Britt noticed as Lanie stopped next to them, and grabbed her arm. “Okay, I need to know all about the total cutie who dropped you off.”

Randy squirmed. “I’m going to help Tyler.”

“Actually, Randy,” Lanie said, “you’re the one I need to talk to.”

Understanding filled his eyes, and he tilted his head, gesturing over to a picnic table about twenty feet away from the group.

“You’re not getting out of giving me details that easily,” Britt said in warning.

“I’ll tell you after I talk to Randy,” Lanie said. “Although I suspect you’ll be disappointed.”

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