Page 86 of Until You

“Yeah,” he said through a cough as he tried to clear his airway. “Went down the wrong pipe.”

“Does that mean there is or there’s not?”

“I really can’t believe we’re having this conversation. You know I haven’t dated since Nina.”

“This is serious, Tyler. I need to know. Do you like her?”

Jesus. What was the right way to answer that question?

He shrugged. “She’s all right. Seemed a little flighty on Saturday night at the art museum lawn, you know, with the drunken entrance and the shoe thing.” Feeling like a traitor, he shrugged again and grabbed a couple of tissues.

Randy’s eyes bugged out. “She was drunk?”

Shit.“No. I don’t think she was drunk. I think maybe she’d come from having drinks with someone. I could smell alcohol on her breath. But she took an Uber, right? So it wasn’t like she endangered anyone.”

Randy grinned. “Except for you.” He pointed to Tyler’s forehead. “Since that happened over the weekend, you must have gotten a lot of questions today.”

“Why do you think I’m hiding in my office?”

Randy turned serious again. “You’re sure nothing’s going on between you two?”

“You must be drinking Britt’s Kool-Aid.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

This was more than idle curiosity. He hated to lie, but he’d promised Lanie. “No. Nothing’s going on between us. Why are you so relentless about this?”

Randy stayed in the doorway, pausing as though he was considering his words carefully. “Britt’s worried about her.”

Tyler forced a grin. “Britt’s worried about everyone.”

Randy’s mouth lifted into a small grin. “True, but she can’t help worrying about the people she cares about.”

“I feel lucky to be included in that camp.” He started mopping up the water droplets, then, before he had time to think it through, he asked, “Why is Britt worried about her?” If Lanie was in trouble, he wanted to know.

Randy walked back into the room and lowered his voice. “Her job situation is shaky…But it’s more than that. After Britt quizzed her about you, they had an argument.”

Tyler’s throat tightened. Lanie hadn’t mentioned an argument with Brittany. She hadn’t mentioned anything about the party at all. “What about?”

“Lanie’s job.” He hesitated. “She moves around a lot, and Britt hates it. She wants her to stay here. But then Britt dragged out a bunch of shit about Lanie’s past relationships, and all in our backyard. During the party.”

Dammit. Why hadn’t Lanie told him? But then, why would she? They didn’t really share their personal lives, but he wanted to change that. “That doesn’t sound like Britt.”

“It’s not. The only thing I can attribute it to is wedding stress.”

“She’s not the first woman to be hit with a touch of Bridezilla. But it’s Britt. She’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” Still, he hesitated.

Tyler stood and looked his friend in the eye. “Something’s bothering you. What’s going on?”

“I think I did something I shouldn’t have.” Then he turned and walked out the door.

What could Randy possibly have done? But after hearing about Lanie’s argument with Britt, Tyler was more worried about her. He picked up his phone and texted.

Have lunch with me.

What would she think? Would she blow him off? He decided this would be a good gauge to what she was looking for in their relationship.

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