Page 17 of Just One Fake Date

He had been waiting for her. Despite herself, Shannyn felt a little glow of pleasure. It was obvious what the right answer had to be—and just as obvious that she had to decline. Agreement headed directly to the slippery slope she was determined to avoid.

“No, I’m fine, thanks.” Shannyn lied and picked up her coat, realizing that she hadn’t asked one important question. “Just to confirm: do you need a fake date because you’re not seeing anyone, or because you don’t want to take the person you’re seeing to meet your family?”

Tyler looked surprised. “Because I’m not seeing anyone.”

Shannyn should have asked that sooner, but she’d been...distracted. “Why not?” she asked before he could ask her a question.

“I don’t have time for a relationship.”

“Why not?”

His eyes narrowed slightly but he answered her. “Because I still have a day job, as well as my partnership in the club. I don’t have a lot of spare time.”

Shannyn couldn’t hide her surprise. “You have a day job, too?”

He nodded. “I’m a financial adviser at Fleming Financial.”

“Why?” she asked, genuinely curious. “You must be financially secure.”

Tyler put down his phone and fixed her with a look. Shannyn guessed that she was supposed to back down, so she didn’t. “Because it’s risky to start a business. Four of the partners are financially dependent upon the success of the club. I thought it would be better if there wasn’t a fifth.”

“But it’s got to be established now.”

“There are always plans for expansion and change.” That sounded evasive to Shannyn.

“But you’re the money guy. Can’t you make that work?” She didn’t mean it as a slight against his skills, but she saw that he took it that way.

“I like my job. I like my life.” There was a thread of steel in his tone. “I’m not ready to have a serious relationship so I don’t have one. Is the Inquisition over?”

Shannyn knew she should have let it go and walked out the door, but it was too satisfying to provoke him. “No,” she said and his eyes narrowed slightly. She shrugged into her coat as if she hadn’t noticed but her heart skipped a beat. “You used to study all the time, too. What’s changed in twelve years?”

“You have,” he replied. “I would never have expected the woman who called me out to suggest a deal like this one. Why the change?”

Shannyn spoke quickly, not wanting him to follow that line of reasoning. “I told you I wanted to know what I was missing.”

“I doubt that.” Tyler was watching her closely and his intensity made her simmer. What was it about his steady gaze that shook her up so much?

He waslistening. That was another thing she hadn’t expected.

“Life happened,” she said, keeping her tone light. “Since that ill-fated night, I’ve realized that you aren’t that special.” She shrugged, hoping her choice of words would annoy him and terminate his curiosity. It would be much easier to keep their deal to the agreed terms if Tyler wasn’t trying to charm her.

“How so?”

“Most men are assholes. Mostpeopleare assholes. It’s not such a distinguishing trait as I once thought.”

His gaze hardened, right on cue. “Thank you very much.”

Shannyn should have stopped talking but it seemed she couldn’t. Tyler’s attention compelled her to open her mouth and confess more. It was evidently his superpower. “And when I came to this conclusion, my friend Kirsten—who is one of the few gracious souls in the world—insisted that I define my terms. She’s a math teacher. She likes everything to be precise.”

“And?”

“And I realized that when I thought someone was a asshole, that person really was just self-motivated.”

“Thus everyone is an asshole.”

“Pretty much.” She picked up her bag, feeling disheveled that she’d told him so much, and tried to have the last word. “Not all of them are smug, though. That is a bit special.”

Tyler’s mouth tightened to that line, the one that tempted her to run her fingertip across his lips. Shannyn held her ground with an effort. “What’s wrong with going for dinner?”

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