Page 6 of Until You

Chapter Three

On Wednesday morning, Tyler was supposed to be preparing for a deposition, but his mind kept wandering again to the mystery woman in the garage. He’d seen her talking to Brittany when he’d brought out the ice to Holly. She’d left soon after, and he’d never found out who she was—not that he’d tried very hard. He hadn’t dared asked Britt, and the few people he’d questioned had no idea.

It hadn’t stopped him from thinking about her. In his bed. And in his shower. And even on his kitchen counter.

And it bothered the shit out of him.

Of course he’d had his share of daydreams and fantasies, but he’d never had so many of just one woman. Tyler was an equal-opportunity fantasizer. But then, he’d never gone five months without sex either. Maybe the two were related.

“Hey, Tyler.” Victor Minecroft, one of the associates at Goldman, Taylor, Hughes, and Evans, stood in his doorway. “What can you tell me about your case a few years ago, the one about the real estate contract.”

Tyler gave him a sardonic grin. “That narrows it down to about twenty.”

“The one with the noncompete lease.” When Tyler continued staring at him, Victor added, “The case with the hot blonde.”

“Oh.” Tyler nodded with a grin. “That one.”

“You totally screwed her, didn’t you?”

Leaning back in his chair, Tyler picked up his pen and clicked the top. “I would never hook up with a client.” Then he grinned. “But after I won, we might have had a celebratory evening.”

“You’re the man, Norris.”

He used to be that man. He’d slept with a lot of women, never forming any deep attachments. And that’s exactly how he’d preferred it. Then last spring, he’d decided he was thirty-three and it was time to settle down. So he’d found a woman who had seemed normal, if not boring. He’d been so wrong.

As though Victor could read his mind, he asked, “Hey, what ever happened with your crazy ex?”

Tyler tried to hide his unease, shifting in his seat. “Which one?”

“You know, the one who tied you to your bed naked.” Tyler didn’t respond, but Victor didn’t seem to get the hint. “Didn’t she have a shrine with your pictures and your underwear in her apartment?” He chuckled. “I heard she hung a few condoms around it, too.”

Everything but the condoms was true, but Tyler didn’t care to get into the specifics. He narrowed his eyes. “Do you have a point?”

Victor had never been a very perceptive guy. God only knew how he’d gotten this far in their competitive, four-partner, twenty-associate law firm. Tyler was sure it had something to do with the fact that his uncle was a founding partner. But Victor seemed to finally understand this was unwelcome territory. “Was she convicted?”

“Probation…and a restraining order.”

“That’s all?”

Tyler had been the one to push for probation and a psych evaluation. He was certain she wouldn’t have hurt him. She was just looking for someone to love her. He just hadn’t been that person. He was pretty sure he was incapable of loving anyone. He was too damn selfish.

Tyler cleared his throat. “Back to the Carothers case. What exactly are you looking for?”

“What precedent did you use to get the tenant kicked out?”

“Higgens versus Clark.”

“Thanks,” Victor said as he turned to leave.

“Is it a commercial space?”

Victor glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah. A retail store on the Plaza.”

Tyler was about to ask him for more details—while he’d used the precedent, the Carothers case had been tricky, so he’d used it in an unorthodox way—but his cell phone rang with a number he didn’t recognize. And Victor was already halfway down the hall.

“Tyler Norris.”

“Tyler, this is Principal Carter at Blue Springs High School. I’m not sure if you remember me.”

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