Page 48 of Tempting the Heart

Because with that kiss, many great, imaginative things came to mind.

“Your parents don’t scare me,” I said, keeping my gaze on his. “I just want to set you straight on that. If you need any other help while you’re here, I’m game.”

Tyler nodded, but I saw something lingering behind his gaze.

Disappointment?

Desire?

“Thanks.” He smiled and looked at one of the bottles of red wine. “Would you care for a glass?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Oh, my gosh. I didn’t offer you anything to drink when you got here.”

Tyler grinned and reached for one of the bottles. “We got a little carried away.”

I nodded in agreement as I handed him two wine glasses. “Yes, we did, but don’t worry. It won’t happen again.”

Chapter Fourteen

Tyler

That wasn’t supposed to happen last night. Even though I wanted to kiss her from the morning I ran into her, I'd promised myself I wouldn’t.

But I hadn’t been great at promising myself much lately, or I wouldn’t have returned to Marigold in the first place.

I took a sip of coffee and sat on the bench overlooking the water while I waited for Brad.

Dinner last night with Mae was amazing. We caught up a bit more after we both got over the kiss. Spending platonic time with her was fantastic.

I rubbed my hand over my face and laughed. Who was I kidding? I hadn’t gotten over anything. The entire time we talked last night, all I could think about was taking her in my arms and kissing her again.

“Damn,” I muttered under my breath just as I heard Brad’s voice behind me.

“Should I come back? It sounds like a great convo,” Brad joked as I handed him his coffee. I’d managed to swing by the coffee shop this morning, but Mae was at the bank while I was grabbing coffee.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t ask.”

Brad laughed.

“Thanks for meeting me.”

“Absolutely. Did you need some more help at your folks’ house?”

I shuddered at the thought. “No. Thankfully, the contractors are there and should be finished by Saturday, and the dumpster is getting picked up later today since I couldn’t convince my parents to let me purge anything else.”

Brad grimaced. “That’s such a safety hazard.”

I nodded, stretching my legs in front of me. “Tell me about it. I understand the sentimental value, but that’s not what we’re dealing with here. They were the first to throw out all the stuff Paul and I brought home over the years. Keeping old, empty shoe boxes and stacks of outdated newspapers isn’t exactly what I’d call having an emotional attachment.”

“You never know. Those Nikes might have done a lot for your mom.”

I chuckled, shaking my head and remembering how she became unglued as Brad took the empty box to recycle. It was one of many incidents yesterday. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

Brad took a seat and sipped his drink. “No problem, man. That’s what friends are for.”

“Well, you’re a better friend than most.” I cleared my throat and looked over the lawn to where the water met the rocky beach. “And so is Mae.”

Brad nodded. “She sure is excited having you back on the island.”

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