Page 29 of Love Off-Limits
“Tyler.”
He swung around.
I smiled. “Hi.”
He pulled his sunglasses off his head and tucked them into his shirt collar. Or at least, hetriedto tuck them into his collar. He fumbled instead, dropping the glasses onto the weathered hardwood beneath our feet. He scrambled to pick them up and tried again, drawing my eyes to the exposed triangle of sun-kissed skin beneath his collar bone. A second button was undone at the top of his shirt, adding to his Charleston beachy vibe.
“Sorry. I’m...” He ran a hand through his hair. “A klutz today, I guess. Sorry.” He puffed out his cheeks and forced out a breath. “I already said that.” He gave his head a little shake and pinched the bridge of his nose before holding both his hands up, palms out. “Can we just...”
My eyebrows went up as he turned his back to me and pressed his forehead into his palm.
He was nervous.Sonervous. And it was totally adorable.
He turned back around, his features composed. “Hi,” he finally said. “It’s good to see you.”
I bit my lip, trying not to giggle.Whatwas happening to me? I was not a giggler. “It’s good to see you too.” I resisted a sudden impulse to cross the space between us and slip my arms around his waist for a hug. I swallowed. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s... kind of a long story.”
The longer the better.I smiled, even while willing my traitorous thoughts into submission. I’d already made my decision about what Tyler was allowed to mean in my life. But I was failing at the whole mind-over-matter business in a big way. I took a step forward. “Okay.”
He grinned, confidence returning to his expression.
Fabulous. I must have sounded as desperate as I felt.
“I was actually hoping I could talk to you about a job.”
My shoulders slumped the tiniest bit while my eyebrows arched with curiosity. A job? That...was not what I’d been expecting. “Oh. Right.”
“Sorry to just show up,” Tyler said. “I should have called. But I...I don’t know. I left town pretty fast and...” He shrugged. “I just started driving.”
“Thatdoessound like a long story.” I motioned toward the hallway behind me. “Come on. We can talk in my office.”
He nodded, relief evident in his tone. “Thanks, Olivia.”
I led the way down the hall to the space I’d commandeered as soon as I’d returned to the farm after grad school. It wasn’t as spacious as Perry’s office—he’d taken over Dad’s desk—but it was still cozy and comfortable and had a better view of the apple orchards.
“This place is beautiful,” Tyler said as he followed.
I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. “Thanks.”
“Do you live here too?”
I shook my head. “This used to be my parents’ house, but it’s been renovated and expanded so completely, it hardly looks like the same structure. They live in a much smaller house over on the edge of the property now. I’ve got a place down the road a ways.”
I opened my office door and stepped to the side, allowing Tyler to enter, not missing how good he smelled as he slid past. It wasn’t overpowering—like clean laundry and sunshine—and subtle enough that I didn’t think he was wearing cologne. Aftershave, maybe? I kinda liked that more. That I’d have to bereallyclose to notice how good he smelled. Like it was just for me.
No.No, no, no.Not me. NOT. ME.Get a grip, Olivia.
“How are the newlyweds?” I asked as I closed my office door. “Let’s sit over here.” I motioned to the sofa that filled the back wall of my office. I didn’t want to talk to Tyler across my desk, even if he did want to talk about work.
“They’re great,” Tyler said as he settled into the cushions. “Happy. Almost annoyingly so.”
I smiled. “They deserve it though, don’t they?”
“Sure. That doesn’t mean they have to make out so much at the office.”
“That seems so...notRosie,” I said with a chuckle as I perched on the chair that sat perpendicular to the sofa.
