Page 30 of A Kiss at Midnight

“Are all three of you overbearing and used to getting your way?”

Tyler keeps walking, but he laughs and throws me a smile. “Pretty much. What would you like to eat?” He isn’t even a little offended by my question.

“I’m easy,” I say before wincing. Yeah, I’m pretty damn easy. At least now I am. Talk about a depressing thought.

“All righty. Sushi it is,” he says as he approaches a shiny black sports car and opens the passenger door.

“Perfect.” Raw fish doesn’t exactly float my boat, but some company won’t be so bad. I like my co-workers, but we haven’t gotten close enough to hang out together after work. Hopefully that will come with more time... that is if they don’t find out I’m sleeping with the boss. Then all of them will hate me.

Once I’m settled into my seat, Tyler rushes to the driver’s side, hops in, revs the engine, and pulls into traffic.

“So, is Blake treating you well?”

I don’t know how to answer. Has Blake sent his brother to quiz me? Is Tyler going to report all of my answers? I have to be very careful with whatever I say and remember this is Blake’s brother. His loyalty is to his sibling, not some girl who won’t be around long enough to get to know. I can’t stand pretending though, so I need to put the truth on the table.

“I can’t complain.” I pause for a moment giving myself courage. “You know this isn’t a real relationship, right?”

“Don’t fool yourself. Anytime a man and woman are together, it’s a relationship, babe.” He turns and winks at me, nearly giving me a heart attack as the car swerves a bit across the centerline.

“Well, I’ll only be with him for a little while.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” he says with a secret smile that seems to say he knows a lot more than I do. I wish he’d fill me in on what he knows.

When we stop at a small restaurant, my door unexpectedly opens. An attendant in uniform holds out a hand to assist me. Then Tyler comes around, takes my arm after tipping the attendant, and leads me inside.

“I’ve been craving fresh crab rolls,” he says as he leads me to the sushi bar and holds out a chair for me before sitting himself.

I’m soon relaxing as we’re served, and Tyler begins filling me in on old stories from the workplace, from a time when both he and Blake were more hands-on in their business.

“Yeah, I totally thought I was a badass. Our electrician was nowhere to be found, and the lights were off, so I thought, how hard can it be to hook two wires together? We needed light. I was up on the lift and, thinking the power was cut, grabbed the wrong wire. It sent me right down on my ass and scared the hell out of me. I don’t frighten easily, but I walked from the building and went and laid down in the back of my truck for the next hour, thanking anyone up above who was listening that the electric jolt hadn’t stopped my heart.”

“That’s horrible,” I gasp. “Why didn’t you go to the doctor?”

“Because I didn’t get hurt. Yeah, my heart was beating erratically for a little while, but I was fine. You can’t run to the doctor for every little thing.” He shrugs and pops a roll into his mouth like nearly getting electrocuted was no big deal.

“When it comes to electricity, I wouldn’t mess around.”

“Ha! Blake’s done worse. He was on the job site and his finger got caught in the door. Blood was pouring out, and all of a sudden he went white, passed out, and smacked his head. Then, when he came to, he wrapped his finger in tape and finished the day. It was two days later when the finger wouldn’t stop throbbing that he finally agreed to go to the doctor. Not only was it infected, but he’d broken it in two places and needed to have surgery because it had already begun to heal wrong.”

“I don’t think that’s brave, Tyler. It’s foolish.”

He laughs again. “I dare you to tellhimthat.”

“You have an infectious laugh,” I say, unable not to join him. “And no way I’m telling him.”

“You’re all talk, aren’t you?” he says.

“Pretty much. I do what I need to survive. I might snap back a few times at your brother, but I know when to push something... and when to take cover.” This makes Tyler laugh again. It’s really impossible not to join in his merriment.

Too soon, it’s time to go, and he leads me back out to his car.

“Thank you for lunch, Tyler. I enjoyed visiting with you. I should get back now, though.” I hesitate to think about what Blake might be thinking. I didn’t take my cell phone, so he might be furious if he’s trying to get ahold of me.

“You’re a buzzkill, Jewel, but I suppose I’ll take you back so my brother doesn’t think I’m trying to steal his woman.”

I don’t correct him. Why bother repeating I’m not his brother’s woman? Whatever I am, it will be over in before it even begins. A speaker in the car rings. I hear Blake’s voice. What bad timing for him to call Tyler. I stay quiet.

“I need you to get over to Bill’s house,” Blake tells Tyler. “The stubborn fool sent our crew away. He said he won’t accept charity.”

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