Page 14 of Forbidden Love

“I can be professional,” Tyler said, his expression serious.

“I can be too.” Or at least I hoped so. My former boss would disagree. But when it came to working with Tyler and his brothers, we didn’t have a choice. I didn’t want to mess up something that had the potential to be amazing.

“The only question is, how long will you be here? If you have plans to leave, it doesn’t make sense to start anything.”

I sighed. “I don’t have any concrete plans, but let’s take it one project at a time. You get me the numbers, we’ll see if it’s doable, and then we’ll reach out to a few teams.”

“We need to make sure we raise enough money to cover one, much less multiple dugouts. My mom’s great at fundraising. She works with one of the local organizations, runs their bingo nights, and is always stuffing baskets to help one group or the other. She might be helpful to you.”

“That would be amazing. Thank you, Tyler.” I needed to clear this awkwardness I felt around him. He’d been casual, quick to flirt or wink, but that didn’t mean anything to him.

The first few times we ran into each other, I felt an undercurrent of something else. But today, he was light and fun. It was clear he didn’t have any unresolved feelings toward me. I was just convenient that night. What teenage boy would turn down a girl who wanted to mess around? It hadn’t meant anything to him. I wished I could say the same.

But the more I was around him, the easier it would be. This was just a little test. He was a means to getting what I wanted.

“So, you’re in?” he asked after the server gave us our food.

“I’m agreeing to research it further. I’ll look at the numbers, and we can see if it’s feasible. I appreciate you offering to help. I couldn’t do something of this size without you and your family’s business.” I hadn’t even allowed myself to dream this big. I used the dugouts as a way to show the inequality in sports, but Tyler zoned in on it and was offering a real plan to fix it.

“We wanted to do something tangible, to showcase our business and provide something to the community.”

“It’s kind of perfect.” And I was excited to get started. When I returned home to Telluride, I had no idea what I’d do. I just knew I needed the comfort of the only home I’d ever known. I needed to escape what had happened and put distance between myself and my mistakes.

We dug into our food for a few minutes, both of us lost in our thoughts. “The salmon is amazing.”

Tyler surprised me by reaching over to cut a piece and popping it into his mouth. After he chewed and swallowed, he said, “You’re right. It’s great.”

“I didn’t say you could eat my food.” I let the irritation with him slide through my voice, but I was uneasy with being so familiar. I didn’t think I’d ever dated a man who was comfortable enough to steal food from my plate. Maybe it was because Tyler knew me when we were kids. We didn’t have those same boundaries between us. If so, that didn’t bode well for our future working relationship.

“How else was I supposed to test your claim?” Tyler asked with mock surprise.

I rolled my eyes but enjoyed the banter. “Take my word for it like any normal person.”

“What fun is that?” Tyler winked as he took a bite of his chicken. “I’ll let you have mine.”

I shook my head, even as my cheeks heated. Why was it that everything he said sounded like an innuendo? I was enjoying our meal more than I thought I would. I figured I’d hear him out, finish my coffee, and be on my way. I hadn’t anticipated sharing lunch or that his ideas would be so attractive. Tyler was surprising me in the best ways.

It would be difficult to work with him because of my childhood crush, but it would be worth it if local teams got their dugouts. I could only imagine how excited the kids would be.

“Why don’t you come over for Sunday dinner? I’ll get the numbers you need, and you can talk to my mom about fundraising.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude.” I’d heard about their family dinners. Both Alice and Natalie adored the Fletcher family. Both of them hadn’t had the best family experiences, and Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher had accepted them into theirs.

“You won’t be.”

I wanted to ask if he’d asked anyone else to join him for family dinner, but I was afraid I didn’t want to know the answer. I hadn’t heard that Tyler had ever been in a serious relationship, but maybe I was wrong. And if so, I didn’t want to know about it.

I was getting in deeper with Tyler. I’d be working with him and his family, and I wouldn’t do anything to mess that up. I’d already screwed up enough in my life, and my brothers didn’t expect much from me. I wanted to prove that I was worthy. That I wasn’t just some flighty girl who traveled the world and came home when she screwed up. I wanted to do something meaningful. Something that didn’t have much to do with my family’s business.

This was the perfect solution. So even if I had to work with Tyler, it would be worth it.

“I look forward to working with you, partner,” Tyler said with his signature wink.

“If we’re going to work together, no more flirting,” I said, a little uncomfortable that I let him know it got to me.

He drew back as if I’d surprised him. “This isn’t me flirting. This is just who I am.”

If he was like this with everyone, no wonder I’d crushed on him as a kid. I didn’t stand a chance. But I had grown up, dated around, and been burned. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. Guys who were quick to flirt or wink weren’t to be trusted. Just because I’d known Tyler all my life didn’t mean he was any different.

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