Page 117 of Until You

He walked toward her, loosening his tie. “I was worried about you.”

She sat up, the water and bubbles dripping down her breasts, completely oblivious to the effect she was having on him. “I told you to stay with your friends.”

He sat down on the edge of the tub and cupped the back of her head as he leaned over to kiss her. “Funny thing. When I asked myself if I’d rather be with a group of drunken attorneys or you, it was a shockingly easy choice.”

“They were drunk already?”

“Well on their way.”

She frowned. “I don’t want to be that girlfriend, Tyler.”

“Which girlfriend?” His hand trailed down her cleavage. “The gorgeous, sexy girlfriend? Because, sorry, babe, you’re that girlfriend.”

“No, the clingy girlfriend. The one you think expects you to spend every spare moment with her and never lets you hang out with your friends.”

He sat up and unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt. “Lanie, you are so not that woman, and if you became that woman, I’d wonder if you’d been replaced by your evil twin. Now tell me what’s going on.”

She gave him a sad smile. “I’m just tired and I have a headache. I’m sorry you rushed home for nothing.”

While she did look tired, he knew there was more she wasn’t saying. Nevertheless, he wanted her to tell him on her own. “Why don’t you stay in here a little while longer and relax?” He glanced around. “Do you want a glass of wine?”

“No. I’m good.”

She emerged fifteen minutes later, dressed in pajama shorts, a spaghetti-strap cami, and no bra. Her hair was still piled on top of her head, and she’d taken off her makeup. “Sorry,” she said with a warm smile. “I know it’s a little early in our relationship for me to be slacking like this, but this is what you get.”

He’d been sitting at the island working on his laptop. He closed the lid and walked toward her, pulling her into his arms. “You’re absolutely perfect. You must feel better from your bath.”

“Much better. Now let’s eat.”

***

Lanie overslept the next morning, so she took a quick shower, finding it difficult to brush off Tyler’s attempts to make it more leisurely.

“You know, it’s next to impossible to tell you no,” she said, as he pretended to wash her breast for the fifth time.

He lowered his mouth to her neck. “That’s what I’m counting on.”

The night before, she’d decided she was done with secrets. She was going to talk about her work, NDA be damned. She was getting fired anyway. What did it matter? “I have to get to work. We have our first run-through today, and I can’t be late.”

He lifted his head. “Run-through?”

She turned around to face him. “I want to tell you everything, but I know you’ll have questions, and I don’t have time to answer right now. Tonight, okay?”

He smiled. “I’ve waited this long for you to tell me about your job, I can wait until tonight.”

“No more secrets after this,” she said, then grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower.

“Secrets?”

She didn’t miss the momentary fear that flickered in his eyes. Of course he’d be worried about secrets after the crap his mother had pulled. Would he be upset when he found out his firm’s connection to the store? Would he be even more upset that she’d known and hadn’t told him? She leaned over to kiss him. “Nothing to worry about. Just my NDA stuff. I’ll tell you tonight.”

She hurried to his bedroom and grabbed a dress out of his closet, thankful he’d insisted she keep several outfits at his place in case of mornings like this.

He usually dropped her off at her office but she needed to go to the store, so as they drove toward the boutique, she decided to skip the usual routine. “Don’t drop me off at the office. My store’s just down the street.”

Tyler shot her a surprised glance. “One of the stores you work at?”

“The only store I work at.”

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