Page 22 of Simply Irresistible
I cleared my throat and released the iron grip I had on his hand. “Sorry.”
The elevator bell dinged and the doors opened to a stark white hallway with black marble floors. Tyler tugged my hand again, leading me off the elevator and towards the double doors at the end of the short hallway. We were about ten feet away when the doors opened and a beautiful woman with Tyler’s blue eyes appeared, smiling at us.
“Ty!” she said, pulling Tyler in for a hug.
“Han,” he greeted. “This is Melanie. Mel, this is my sister, Hannah.”
“It’s so great to finally meet you!” Hannah said, surprising me by pulling me in for a hug. “Tyler has been talking about you non-stop. I feel like I already know you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I said when she released me.
“She’s more gorgeous than you let on, Ty,” she said.
“Jesus, Han. Lay off.”
“Am I being too much?” she asked, giving me a wink. Tyler was blushing now, and I knew she was teasing him. “It’s just that he’s never brought a girl home before. There are years of pent up big-sistering I have to get out.”
“That’s not a thing,” Tyler said.
“It’s not?” she asked.
“I definitely think itisa thing,” I contributed.
Tyler scowled at me. “You’re on my side.”
“Am I?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Yes. You two have just met, you don’t get to start ganging up on me in the doorway. At least wait until after dinner.”
“Okay. Truce,” Hannah offered.
Tyler put his palm on my lower back and guided me farther into the penthouse.Penthouse. There was so much to take in. Everything appeared so clean and white, but also homey, in a strange way. Tyler guided us into a room to the left of the front hall, it appeared to be a lounge of some kind. There were a couple of loveseats facing each other, and a small bar in the corner.
“Beer or wine?” Tyler asked me.
“White wine would be nice.” I preferred beer over wine, but the occasion seemed more appropriate for wine. Tyler gave me a questioning look, and I smiled and nodded.
“Where’s Pres?” he asked Hannah. I guessed that was her husband.
“He’s in his office. Work emergency.” She smiled apologetically. “He’ll be down in a few.”
Tyler brought me and his sister glasses of wine, then returned to the bar to pour his drink. I sat down on one of the loveseats, his sister sat on the other, and Tyler sat beside me with a short glass of amber liquid. Whiskey, perhaps?
“So, Melanie. Tyler tells me you’re a fashion designer.”
I turned my wide eyes to Tyler. “Embellish much?” I whispered. Not quietly enough though, because Hannah laughed. “I just play around…”
“She doesn’t play around,” Tyler said. “She designs a lot of what she wears, and she’s working on a wedding dress for her friend.”
Hannah’s eyes lit up. “A wedding dress? Really? Wow...I always used to doodle dresses and stuff when I was younger, but I never dreamed of designing something that could actually become something, you know?”
Oddly, I knew exactly what she meant. “Yes, I started the same way. Then I started going to thrift stores and craft stores with my allowance and the money I made from babysitting and creating things based off my drawings.”
“Wow, that’s so cool. Are all of your designs repurposed thrift store finds?”
“No, none actually. That was my direction in high school but once I got to college and took some design classes, I fell in love with boho-chic. I’m actually working on a line that’s sort of conservative boho-chic. I really wanted to design something that could pass as professional work wear.”
“That’s very cool. Did you design what you’re wearing now?”
