Page 37 of Until You

Chapter Eleven

Hey,” she said with a grin that lit up her brown eyes.

She was gorgeous. He’d dated a long string of beautiful women, but none had intrigued him like Lanie. Maybe his five months of abstinence were getting to him. If he was going to move back into dating, Lanie was definitely the woman to start with.

Her gaze drifted up to the bandage on his forehead. “Did you go to the ER?”

“Three stitches.”

She grimaced. “Sorry.”

He laughed. “Hey, it’s not every day I get attacked by a shoe. Great war story. Kevin did two tours in Afghanistan, so I need all the help I can get.” He winked. “But he got married this summer, so now I don’t have to worry about the competition.”

“For what it’s worth,” she said, running her index finger up and down her glass as she looked up at him with a smile, “you were doing just fine before the war wound.”

His gaze drifted to her finger. Jesus. He was getting turned on just watching her rub the condensation from her drink. Then he focused his attention on her mouth. He’d had a few fantasies about that mouth after watching her drink from the beer bottle in the garage.

Down, boy.If he came on too strong, he was going to scare her off. And he definitely didn’t want to scare her off. “Did you get your business taken care of?”

“I did, thanks to you. You’re still wearing your tux,” she said in a sultry voice, setting her glass on the bar and giving his tie a tug. “It looks good on you. I particularly like the half-knotted-tie thing you’ve got going on.”

“And you changed.” Tyler’s gaze drifted from her face down to her body. Her silky blue blouse clung to her generous breasts, and the gray skirt hugged her hips in all the right places. She looked better suited for a board meeting than a Saturday night at a bar. A grin tugged at his lips when he saw her purple bridesmaid shoes at the end of her long, sexy legs. “But I see you’re still wearing your weapons.”

She laughed and leaned her hip into the bar. “A girl should always be prepared to defend herself from predators.”

“Do you have any predators on the radar?”

She picked up her glass, and her eyes twinkled. “The jury’s still out.”

The bartender brought his beer, and he picked up the bottle and took a long pull. Other than the night in the garage, he hadn’t had this much fun with a woman in ages.

“So who are you here with tonight?” she asked. “Your girlfriend Marshmallow?”

He rested his elbow on the counter. “Nah, you blew my night with Marshmallow. She thinks I’m spending the night with you.”

“Is that so…?” Her grin suggested she had a secret.

Lust flooded his veins and shot straight to his groin. Jesus, he wanted her.

“So you’re just out trolling the bars?” she teased.

“I’m here with friends. What about you?”

“My assistant.” She lifted one shoulder into a half shrug. “But we’re friends too.”

“What do you do?” he asked. “I think I remember Britt saying you travel with your job.”

She hesitated, and her smile wavered for a moment. “That’s right. I’m a retail time management consultant. What about you?”

“An attorney, but we’re a dime a dozen.” He leaned closer to her. “I’ve never met a time management consultant before. Tell me how that works. People pay you to come in and evaluate their business?”

She took a sip of her drink. “I’ve had enough business talk today. I’d rather talk about you. Where are these friends you’re with?” She glanced around the bar, then grinned when she spotted Kevin at a table across the room.

Tyler wasn’t surprised Matt and Kevin were watching with interest. He hadn’t said a word when he’d seen Lanie at the bar. He’d just taken off and headed straight for her.

Wearing a grin, she waved at them, and they waved back, Matt with a look of confusion that faded as Kevin said something to him.

“I figured out that you knew Kevin at the photo shoot,” she said. “But who’s the other guy?”

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