Page 99 of Until You

“So how do you know Tyler?” Victor asked.

Tyler’s hand tightened on her hip and he tugged her closer. “We’re both in Randy’s wedding.”

“I’m surprised you have time to date right now,” Victor said with a sneer. “I figured you’d be burning the midnight oil with your new case.”

Oh, shit. Surely Victor wasn’t stupid enough to mention the name Margo Benson. His carelessness had already cost him the case and earned him a five-day suspension for shooting off his mouth. Not that Tyler was worried about Victor jeopardizing his career. But with all the other complications of their relationship, Tyler didn’t want Lanie to find out that all the extra hours he was putting in at the office was his attempt to shut down the new Margo Benson Boutique. She didn’t seem like the type of woman to freak out over a clothing store, but he kept hearing that this wasn’t just an ordinary boutique. Women had been known to send death threats to attorneys who had tried to stop a previous opening. He wasn’t taking any chances. “You of all people know I work hard but find the time to enjoy myself.”

“Yeah. The golden boy,” Victor sneered. “You get it all. Including Lanie. Lucky you.” Victor studied Lanie with an outright appraisal that had Tyler’s hair on end.

The way Lanie’s body stiffened clued him in that she didn’t appreciate it either. Ignoring Victor, she took a step toward the theater. “Tyler, we better go or we might not get good seats.”

“Yeah, you two go enjoy the movie,” Victor said bitterly. “I’d hate to ruin your evening.”

Tyler steered Lanie away from his colleague, muttering under his breath, “Stupid bastard.”

“What was that about?”

“Victor’s a screw-up who likes to blame everyone else for his issues. Me included.”

Lanie looked up at him with a guarded expression. “It sounds like you know him pretty well.”

Tyler tilted his head. “We work in the same firm, but we’re not really friends. Why the interest?” He couldn’t ignore her reaction when she’d seen him.

“Just curious.”

No. It was more than that. There was guilt in her eyes. Why? “What happened at the barbecue?”

“I met Victor,” she said, looking nervous. “And I could tell he was interested in me. I didn’t feel like dodging his advances, so I told him I had a boyfriend. Unfortunately, we women do it all the time, but given our current situation, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.”

“So you told him that Aiden is your boyfriend? Is he an attorney?”

She pushed out a huge sigh and raked her teeth over her bottom lip. “I can’t remember how the conversation went, but he asked if I liked attorneys, and I said yes and ended up telling him that my boyfriend was an attorney in Atlanta because he said he might know you.” She shook her head. “I mean him. My boyfriend. I had to throw him off.”

“Wait.” He paused. “You were talking about me?”

She looked up with pleading eyes. “Please don’t read too much into this. You and I just started seeing each other, and given the fact that I was at Randy and Britt’s house and that you work with Victor, I couldn’t very well tell him that I was seeing you. So I told him my boyfriend was in Atlanta. And then later Britt and I had our fight, and she was grilling me about my relationships, and Victor volunteered about my boyfriend in Atlanta. Britt put two and three together to make four and now Aiden’s invited to the wedding.” She ran a hand over her head. “It’s such a mess.”

The relief that washed through him was almost palpable, but damned if he knew why. “You were talking about me.”

“Please don’t think I’m another one of the crazies you’ve dated. I know exactly what this is.”

He wished she’d tell him what this was, because he didn’t have a clue. All he knew was that she was right—she was unlike any other woman he’d dated. “So you and Aiden…?”

“Are friends.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “I told you that, and I won’t lie. I’m not ashamed of my dating past, and I see no reason to lie about our current situation.”

His lips twitched as he fought a grin. “Except to Britt and Randy.”

Amusement filled her eyes. “Well…they’re the exception to the rule.” Her smile faded. “You agree with me, don’t you? About not telling them?”

“I agree.” Especially after Randy had acted so weird when he thought Tyler might be interested in Lanie. For whatever reason, Randy didn’t approve. It hurt more than Tyler cared to acknowledge, but it only confirmed that Lanie was right. With all the wedding activities over the next few weeks, it was better to hide that they were seeing each other and then reevaluate their plan after the wedding.

Then a new horror hit him—what if this was much more casual for her than it felt for him? He had to know.

“Britt said you’ve called every man you’ve dated a friend.” He suspected he was going to regret this question. “And how do you classify me?”

She gave him a teasing grin and tugged on his arm. “My leased lover. Now, let’s go find our seats.”

He reluctantly conceded, and the movie started soon after they sat down, but Tyler kept running their encounter with Victor in his head. Had Lanie acted guilty because she’d let everyone think Aiden was her boyfriend and now he was invited to the wedding?

---