Page 139 of Just One Fake Date

She smiled, knowing exactly where she was.

Tyler’s bedroom.

The sun had risen and was shining through the large windows, flooding the room with light. She was alone in the bed, and there was no other indentation in the pillow beyond her own. There was a throw on the chair in front of the fireplace, but no sign of Tyler.

Shannyn had a headache and her stomach was unsettled. She dropped her face to her hands, remembering the burn of that tequila. She’d been so relieved that Cole’s hold over her was gone. She’d wanted to dance and drink and make love all night long, but instead, the tequila had hit her like a brick wall—and she didn’t remember anything.

Not one thing after that first shooter.

Shit. Shannyn halfway didn’t want to know what she’d said, whatever it might have been. But she was at Tyler’s place, so it couldn’t have been that bad.

Could it?

Her clothes were folded over a chair and she realized she was wearing a man’s T-shirt. She had no doubt who owned it, given that it was black and had the Flatiron Five Fitness logo on it.

He’d stripped her naked, tucked her into bed, and slept elsewhere.

That wasn’t a good sign.

Shannyn went into the bathroom, acknowledged that she looked worse than she felt. She took a deep breath of the scent of cologne and the humidity from the shower, savored the combination, then cleaned up and dressed. She refused to note that the bathrobe was still tied up with its ribbon and high on a shelf, out of her reach.

Just as she had once before, she stepped out of the bathroom and found Tyler in his kitchen. Just like before, he was checking his phone and glanced up at her appearance. He didn’t smile and he didn’t straighten. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a rugby shirt, his hair still damp on his collar.

“Hey,” he said, watchful but unreadable.

“Hey.” Shannyn smiled at him.

“Okay?”

“A lot better, thanks. That tequila really hit me hard.”

“You didn’t eat much dinner.”

“And I didn’t have time at lunch. I should know better than to touch that stuff. Do you have any aspirin?”

He indicated a plate with a bagel on it, two aspirin beside it. He offered her one of the cups of coffee, but she had water instead. Silence filled the room as she ate.

Shannyn knew she had to ask. “What did I say to you this time?”

Tyler glanced up. “Don’t you remember?”

She shook her head and finished her bagel. “I never do. That’s why I don’t drink.”

“When was the last time?”

“You might remember that party.”

He didn’t smile. “I actually do.”

Their gazes locked and held. “What did I say?”

“Nothing I shouldn’t have already known.” He straightened then and put his phone away. “I talked to Aidan last night. He called your phone, wondering where you were, and I called him back on the landline.” He gestured to his laptop. “I just approved the budget request from Cassie, so you should hear from her tomorrow. It’ll probably take a year, if not more, for me to transition over from Fleming Financial, if I can make it happen, so you don’t have to worry about running into me at the club, if you take the position.” He sounded so official that Shannyn feared the worst.

“Why would I worry about that?”

“I’d give you a ride home, but the car is at the shop.” Tyler checked his watch. “I need to go pick it up.”

“Well, I should be going anyway. Thanks for breakfast and for guarding my stuff.”

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