Page 1 of Love Off-Limits
Chapter One
Olivia
I did not go to my college roommate’s wedding looking for love. Or evenlike.
But Tyler Marino was the cutest groomsman in literal history. He somehow had this boy-next-door charm combined with a killer sexiness that quickly had me reconsidering my wholenot-looking-for-lovestatus. Well,almost.
I couldn’t completely surrender.
But I was at least down for a little harmless flirting.
Harmless...anddelicious.
Tyler leaned toward me, our plates from the rehearsal dinner already cleared away, his words tickling my ear. “I’ll bet you ten bucks Isaac makes a joke about black licorice,” he whispered.
I looked to where Isaac stood at the head of the table, thanking us all for being there, staring adoringly into Rosie’s eyes. The sight made my heart contract the tiniest bit. I wasn’t looking for loveright now,but the way Isaac looked at Rosie drove home just how much I wanted it eventually.
I raised an eyebrow. “Licorice? Why?”
“They have this constant battle going. He likes it. She doesn’t. It’s turned into this big thing at work, everyone choosing sides.”
The second Rosie had told me she was marrying Isaac Bishop—the YouTube star she’d crushed on all the way through college—I’d immediately started researching, wanting to know as much as possible about the family she was marrying into. Rosie and I had drifted a little since graduation, but we’d been roommates for four years. Even though we didn’t talk every day, I still loved her as much as I loved my four obnoxious brothers. I’d worried she’d been swept up in the drama of having actually met Isaac and was making a mistake. There was no way he was as good a guy as he appeared to be online.
I’d been wrong. Isaac was every bit as good. And I’d never seen Rosie happier. Most of the wedding party, at least on Isaac’s side, were people he worked with atRandom I,including Tyler. It was easy to sense the bond they all shared, the easy camaraderie.
“...just not as good as black licorice,” Isaac said. I only caught the tail end of his joke, but a soft chuckle sounded around the room. Tyler leaned in again. “Called it.”
Oh,the goosebumps this man gave me.
I could have kissed Rosie for pairing us together for our walk down the aisle.
Or maybe I could just kiss Tyler. The way we’d been flirting all night, a little noncommittal make-out felt entirely possible.
I wouldn’t put it past Rosie to play matchmaker, but honestly, it was probably our heights that paired us together for the wedding ceremony. At five foot nine flat-footed, heels often sent me towering over guys of average height. But Tyler wasn’t average height. He had to be close to six foot four, maybe even six-five. He wore it well. There was nothing gangly about Tyler.
After Isaac finished his speech, everyone started to stand and gather their things. “Big plans for the night?” Tyler asked as I pushed in my chair.
“A night in with the girls,” I said. “Rosie’s request.”
“Same.”
“Aw, you’re having a girls night, too? How sweet.”
“Very funny.” Tyler gave me a sheepish grin. “Is it too forward for me to say I’ll probably be thinking about you the entire time?”
My heart swooped down to touch my toes. “Made that much of an impression, have I?”
He chuckled. “You have no idea.”
Rosie passed behind Tyler and caught my gaze, and her eyebrows immediately went up, a question clear in her expression.
I wiped the grin from my face, my eyes darting from Rosie to Tyler and back again. Rosie’s eyes narrowed. She’d always been able to read me better than anyone.
“Uh-oh.” I gestured to Rosie with a tilt of my head. “I think someone’s on to us.”
Tyler’s eyes never left mine. “I like that you just said there’s anus.”
I pressed my palms to my heating cheeks.This man.“Tyler Marino, you hardly know me.”
