Page 128 of Just One Fake Date

“Of course, but I don’t see what this has to do with that.”

“There comes a point, Colleen, that you can’t hold their seats and run behind them anymore. There comes a point that you have to let them go. And maybe they’ll fall, but maybe they won’t. All you can do is teach them as well as you can and be there if they need you to help them get up later. Don’t make Ty choose.” He toasted her with his mug and continued into his office, that whistle echoing through the house.

Colleen sighed and glared at the phone again. Jeffrey’s instincts about Tyler were always exactly right, no matter how much she’d prefer otherwise.

Maybe it would just run its course.

But Tyler, she knew, had been resolute from the cradle. He didn’t hurry to decide, but once he did, his choice might as well be carved in stone.

And maybe, just maybe, time would change Shannyn’s opinion about children—although it wouldn’t do anything for that tattoo.

Colleen decided to stay in her lane and hope for the best.

By the timeTy reached his apartment—and commiserated with Marcus over the state of his back bumper—he was ready to reconsider his priorities. He’d been convinced for years that he didn’t have time for a relationship. What if that had changed? Shannyn had been right—he was financially secure at this point. Maybe he had enough money saved by now.

Maybe Flatiron Five Fitness could afford him.

Maybe it was time to make space for a relationship in his life.

Maybe it was time to shake things up in a bigger way and prove that he wasn’t so predictable as everyone seemed to believe. It was time to shake things up and add some spontaneity to his life. He spent Sunday evening online, looking at tattoos, then found Imagination Ink online and made an appointment with Chynna for Thursday night. It was time to commemorate finding some yin for his yang.

When he got to Fleming Financial on Monday morning, Ty opened a new spreadsheet, He began tallying costs and comparing scenarios, doing the math and calculating the possibilities—which was what he did best.

The math, though, didn’t cooperate with his goals this time. The club would be a little too strapped for cash if he transitioned to full-time there, and he couldn’t see their sales and profits growing quickly enough to cover that anytime soon. They needed to grow to the next level, but Ty wasn’t sure how. He spent two days wrestling with the numbers, dreaming of them, thinking of other possibilities, knowing that he was missing one last piece of the puzzle.

In the end, he found it in the most unlikely of places.

Shannyn presented it to him on Wednesday night.

Sixteen

Shannyn had never been sonervous in her life as when she found herself waiting in the offices of Flatiron Five Fitness at five to six on Wednesday night. She’d never liked public speaking and she hated auditioning or asking for work. The fact that Tyler would be watching her—sitting in judgment on her performance—didn’t help one bit.

Would he keep his promise not to fix this for her? Shannyn hoped so, even though she knew she could probably use all the help she could get.

Lisa had knocked on Shannyn’s door that morning to give her notice. She and Mrs. P. were moving to Florida at the end of July, where her brother and his wife lived. They were expecting another baby and Mrs. P. wanted to be closer to her only grandchildren. Lisa had gotten a teaching job down there, so they were on their way. Shannyn was happy for them both, but didn’t love that she no longer would have a reliable tenant.

First issues first. She had to nail this presentation.

Tyler strode into the office at one minute to six and barely spared her a glance, which Shannyn figured was a confirmation that he was staying out of it. He was impassive, polite, and as remote as the moon. She wished she could have possessed just a bit of his easy confidence. He was wearing a different suit—this one was navy—and its dark color made him seem more stern. Sonia indicated that Shannyn was waiting and Tyler nodded to her, all business, and gestured to the board room.

“You’re first on tonight’s agenda,” he said so coolly that they might have been perfect strangers.

“Great. Thanks.” Shannyn stood up and forced herself to take a steadying breath. She knew she was good. She knew the idea was excellent. She also knew there was nothing to stop the partners from thanking her, then going ahead and using her idea without her being involved.

Too bad she stunk at trusting people.

She stepped past Tyler, chin high, and plugged her laptop into the projector on the conference table. Tyler introduced her and the partners and Meesha, who was joining them for her presentation.

The lights were dimmed at her request and Shannyn felt as if she’d stepped into freefall.

Here went nothing.

The thumb ring was new.

Cassie eyed Ty’s new ring with suspicion. She’d noticed it the week before and still couldn’t reconcile it with his usual style. It wasn’t going away, though, which meant there was probably a woman behind his choice. Previously, he’d indicated that he knew a photographer, and now Shannyn Hawke was making a presentation to the partners. She was a photographer and Ty had been the one to add her to the agenda.

He was also treating Shannyn with extreme politeness, like they’d never met.

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