Ty obviously didn’t have to teach his brother-in-law anything about negotiation.
“You want me to break my one rule,” Derek said when Ty didn’t immediately agree. “That costs.”
“A hundred bucks,” Ty agreed and told him the intersection. He couldn’t regret the price when he pivoted to find Shannyn watching him avidly. It was as if she hadn’t dared to breathe. He nodded and she flung herself at him with joy. Ty staggered backward at the force of her impact, then caught her close and swung her around as she laughed.
“That’s brilliant. You’re so good at fixing things.”
“Lifetime of experience. Even though this one isn’t fixed yet.”
“But I owe you.” She eyed him, those eyes sparkling as her voice dropped to a wicked whisper. “Maybe you just want a blow job,” she teased.
Ty was not going there, although....
He put her down quickly and stepped back.
She smiled up at him, her gaze roving over his features as if he’d surprised her for a change. “Busted, Tyler McKay,” she said, tapping his chest. “You did another nice thing. Your reputation is going to be shot to shit.”
“I can live with that.” Their gazes held for one of those hot moments, then she reached up to slide a fingertip across his mouth. “Why do you do that?”
“Because you look so hard-ass, but it doesn’t last. I know you’re going to smile, really slowly, and it’ll be like watching the sun rise. I don’t want to miss a bit of it.” She blushed then. “You probably think that sounds silly...”
“I met you in a poetry class,” he murmured. When her gaze flicked to his, Ty smiled, just as she’d forecast, and watched her eyes darken as she stared at her fingertip. His chest was tight and his heart was pounding. He wanted to sweep her off her feet and kiss her senseless, but she had to make the first move.
She swallowed visibly, then raised her gaze to his. “Thank you for fixing this, Tyler,” she whispered, her voice husky.
Everything tightened with him and time seemed to stop. There was only Shannyn and the stars in her eyes, the soft curve of her mouth, the scent of her skin. There was only Shannyn and her challenges.
Ty didn’t have to hope for long, because she stretched to her toes and replaced her fingertip with her mouth.
Ty wasn’t going to give her a chance to back away. He locked his hands around her waist and lifted her against him, deepening that kiss into one to remember.
Nine
Tyler could have just driven away and left Shannyn there—and if he’d been the asshole she’d once accused him of being, he would have. Instead, he’d arranged for the transportation of her find without demanding anything in return.
He’d just solved the problem.
It was one thing to use his connections to offer an alternative solution for her roof. It was quite another to discard his own rules to make her happy.
As choices went, this one was seductive as hell.
It was entirely possible that he was expecting her to be in his debt, but the fact that he hadn’t insisted on working out the details first was a pleasant surprise. Shannyn wasn’t used to anyone fixing anything for her, and the fact that Tyler had done as much—when her find threw his proposal for a second deal into doubt—changed everything.
That he’d loaded the chair onto the roof of his car meant she had to rethink all of her assumptions about his character.
Maybe she even had to rethink her strategy.
That kiss was impulsive but not a choice she could regret. It certainly didn’t help her clarify her thinking. It made her want to get naked immediately, and wish that she didn’t even have an appointment with Derek. She could have hauled Tyler into her house right away, instead of waiting for later, which didn’t seem like a bad thing.
They parted finally and Shannyn couldn’t think of anything to say. Tyler seemed to be similarly shaken. He cleared his throat and asked her about cleaning the furniture up. She’d given him an explanation about lemon oil and fine sandpaper that she hoped was coherent.
Finally, Shannyn heard an approaching vehicle and looked down the street to see a full size black pick-up truck closing fast. It had a company logo on the side, and the driver parked right behind Tyler’s car.
This would be Derek.
He was about Aidan’s age, his hair cut short, clean-shaven and lean. He wore work boots and jeans, and a hoodie with a Roots logo across the front. He was the kind of guy whose thoughts were absolutely clear, an open book, which made Shannyn aware of the contrast with Tyler, who had become inscrutable since that kiss.
Derek’s eyes widened as he got out of the truck and eyed the chair perched upside down on the roof of Tyler’s car. Then he grinned. “Must be love,” he teased, then took a picture with his phone.
“Shut up,” Tyler said with a smile and they shook hands warmly. “You don’t need to document it.”
“Oh, but I do. Hey, you must be Shannyn.”
Tyler did a quick introduction. “Shannyn, Derek. Derek, Shannyn.”
Derek shook Shannyn’s hand. His was large and a bit rough, his grip firm, and his smile was quick.
“The rest is inside,” Shannyn said. “Hurry before he changes his mind.”
“If I get a ticket,” Derek began and Tyler waved off his concern.
“No worries.” He remained at the curb, defending the vehicles and the chair. He folded his arms across his chest, which gave him that Rock of Gibraltar look that Shannyn adored, and glared at a pedestrian who considered the chair with curiosity. That worked for her, too.
“I wouldn’t cross him for anything,” Derek muttered and Shannyn smiled. “How much is there?”
“Both the living room and kitchen,” Shannyn admitted. “Probably two trips.”
“Holy shit,” Derek said softly as he walked around the furniture stacked in the middle of the guy’s living room. “Definitely two trips.” He turned to the guy who was watching them. “Is that cool? I have to take it to Brooklyn but the traffic is bad today.”
“I just want it gone today,” the guy said.
“I want it all,” Shannyn said and exchanged cell phone numbers with him.
Derek was making a plan. “We’ll take the couch on the first trip, but Ty can help me get it to the truck. Take something smaller.”
Shannyn picked up a kitchen chair, deliberately breaking up the sets. Derek lifted the armchair that matched the one that had been at the curb. They headed toward the truck together and he dropped his voice. “Is it Danish?”
Shannyn knew then that he was a kindred spirit who appreciated her find.
“And signed on the underside of the dining room table,” she admitted, which made him whistle softly.
“Sweet. This is a smoking find,” he said to her. “You need it for your place?”
“I need it because it’s just wrong to leave it here.”
“You’re right about that. We’ll take all the cushions on this run, a little guarantee that the rest isn’t poached before we come back.”
“I like how you think.”
“I’ve got a couple of moving blankets, too. It’s just dumb luck that I forgot to take them out of the cab last night.”
“Maybe you’re psychic,” Shannyn teased and he laughed easily.
“Not me. Ty and I are the practical guys. We get shit done.”
“Let’s get to it, then,” Tyler said as they reached the curb, obviously having heard Derek’s words. Shannyn stood guard as they carried out the furniture and helped as much as she could. Tyler and Derek stacked it in the back of the pick-up, padding it with the moving blankets and some of the cushions. It was like a big jigsaw puzzle, and Tyler was the one who made it fit.
“Tight squeeze for two trips, but I think it will work,” he said.
“That leaves the kitchen table and hutch,” Derek said. “Plus a couple of chairs for next time. Easy.”
“He’s got a bookshelf in the basement,” Tyler told Shannyn. “I told him
you wanted it, too.”
“Yes!” If Derek hadn’t been there, she would have kissed Tyler again. He smiled, his gaze clinging to hers, and she knew he’d guessed as much.
When it was all loaded up, Shannyn wanted to jump up and down with glee. Instead, she got in Tyler’s car. Her seat was pulled forward and she knew she was the luckiest woman in the world. Her thrifting mojo had jumped to new heights.
“I’ll follow you!” Derek called as he got into his truck.
The car already smelled like stale cigarette smoke and Shannyn could guess how Tyler felt about that.
“Thank you so much,” she said as he pulled out into traffic.
“I’ll have to get the car detailed. And my suit cleaned.” His tone was light, though, as if he was making fun of himself not her.
Shannyn smiled at him. “I understand. I owe you.”
His brows rose. “I thought that’s what the kiss was about.” His tone was thoughtful which made her wonder what he was thinking. “What are you going to do with it all?”
“Clean it up. Sell it. Buy a roof.”
Tyler nodded. “Do you have a buyer in mind?”
“No, but I’ll find one. I have a couple of regulars. It should be easy.”
“Might be easier than you think,” he mused.
“You have a plan,” she accused and he smiled.
“No, just an idea. Let’s see how it plays out.”
And he wouldn’t tell her any more than that. Shannyn decided to get it out of him over tapas.
Not long afterward, Tyler pulled into Shannyn’s driveway and leaned forward to take a good look at the house. She wondered what he was thinking, but his expression was impassive and she couldn’t make a guess. She figured he was glad his car didn’t have to get any closer to the garage. Derek was parking in the long single driveway behind them.
Shannyn reached for the door handle and Tyler placed a fingertip on her arm. She turned back to find his gaze serious.
“We need to act like I’ve been here before,” he reminded her quietly and Shannyn nodded. She’d agree to anything for him in this moment.
“In the middle of the night,” she teased.
“Or otherwise.”
She pointed to the house. “Kitchen at the back, living room at the front, cat with attitude probably hiding in between. Tenant on the second floor. Unfinished attic. Deluxe garage.”
He almost smiled, nodded once, then swung out of the car.
Derek was already standing outside his truck surveying the house. “This house!” he exclaimed as he took a picture. “Paige is going to go nuts.”
“What do you mean?” Shannyn asked.
“My sister stalks old houses,” Tyler said. “You must have made the short list.”
“Riding high on the Brooklyn top ten,” Derek agreed.
“Which means that if Paige ever comes here, she will investigate every corner without shame, and even go through your closets to assess their relative size,” Tyler said. “She’ll know more about your house in an hour that a normal person would learn after living in it for a decade.”
Shannyn felt new appreciation for his foresight in ensuring that Paige hadn’t come with Derek. “Thank you again,” she whispered.
“I’m not keeping a list,” he murmured, his eyes twinkling. “Because I’m just nice.”
Shannyn laughed out loud, unable to stop herself.
Derek was opening the back gate of his truck. “Where are you going to put your score?” he asked, glancing at the decrepit garage.
“Fortunately, my place is pretty empty,” Shannyn said. “We’ll fit it in where we can.”
Ty didn’t know what he’d expected of Shannyn’s house, but it hadn’t been this run-down Victorian with its sagging porch and chipping paint. He tried to act as if he’d been there a thousand times, and was well aware of Derek’s curiosity. She unlocked the front door and he had a good look while she unlocked a door beside the foot of the stairs.
Tenant upstairs.
The foyer floor was tiled in black and white stone and there were huge hot water radiators on either side of the front door. The walls were painted a lemon yellow that was both welcoming and bright. The color alone made him want to smile. There was a small chandelier that glittered overhead, with an ornate plaster medallion on the ceiling. The ceiling was really high, and the stairs were of dark wood. The stairs were walled off in a way that couldn’t have been original.
Shannyn smiled and shrugged. “Unfortunately, there’s no pretty way to duplex a place like this.”
“Not a bad job, though,” Derek said. “You can still see the stairs. With those dark spindles, they must be really something without that wall.”
“They are,” she said and Ty heard in her tone that she wished the house wasn’t duplexed.
It wasn’t his problem to fix.
Even though he wanted to.
“The light is great,” Derek said, and Ty wondered if he was trying to figure out how to take pictures for Paige.
Shannyn opened the door on the ground floor and gestured them in. “We can probably fit a lot of it in here.”
The first thing Ty saw was the gleam of polished hardwood. It was a honey gold color and stretched all the way to the back of the house. The living room was at the front, just as she’d said, and he had to hide his surprise that the walls were painted a deep teal. The fireplace mantle was white stone, maybe marble, and the ceiling with its elaborate molding was white, too. It worked, the color saturated and not claustrophobic at all. The floor was bare and furnishings were sparse. There was a fainting couch upholstered in teal velvet in front of the bay window and a more modern chair in a mustard gold on the opposite side of the fireplace. There was a cluster of pictures framed in black on the wall behind the gold chair, a pair of mismatched floor lamps and a stack of books on the floor. Ty wished he had time to take a good look, but instead, he pretended he’d seen it all before. Derek did enough rubbernecking for both of them.
Shannyn and Ty lifted the fainting couch to move it aside and put it back against the wall. The velvet drapes in the living room were deep purple and had lavish gold fringe.
When Derek looked at them with obvious curiosity, Shannyn smiled. “I learned to thrift at the feet of the master. My mom scored some drapes from an old theater and made these for me.”
“Wow, she can sew. They’re amazing,” Derek said.
“She’s a dressmaker. She makes wedding dresses. It’s all custom.”
Ty listened, letting Derek ask the questions. Maybe it wasn’t all bad that he shared Paige’s curiosity.
“Where are you from?” Derek asked Shannyn.
“A little town north of Boston that you’ve never heard of,” she said with a smile and Derek laughed.
They put their first load of furniture in the living room, packing it in as Shannyn instructed. Ty got a peek into the next room, which had a huge desk with a big computer display on it. This had to be Shannyn’s workspace, where she’d been when he’d talked to her at night. The walls were painted gold with some stenciling that made them look like old parchment. He guessed from the huge plaster medallion overhead that the room should have been the dining room.
There were two maps pinned to the walls, each one big enough to almost cover the wall. One was of North and South America, with a fat red line drawn down the western coasts, then back up the eastern ones. The second was a map of Europe and Asia, and the red line started in Spain then took a meandering path east. There were postcards pinned to the maps at irregular intervals. What was that about?
He caught a glimpse of a bed in the next room—which was painted a deep purple—and a kitchen at the back with white cabinets, but then all the furniture was in the house. He’d already seen that the decor was eclectic and colorful, unexpected, creative—and completely Shannyn. The whole place hummed with her personality and he really wanted to explore it all.
Ty suddenly smelled lemons, and saw that Shannyn had dropped
to her knees beside one of the chairs, rubbing at the wood with a rag. Derek was already heading back to the truck. He was surprised that the wood looked so good so quickly.
“See you in a few,” he said, but was nearly stopped in his tracks by her radiant smile.
“Thank you!” She jumped up and kissed his cheek again, making him believe this had been worth the trouble after all, then Derek shouted at him to hurry. He left his jacket in his car and got into the cab, reconciled to the dry cleaning bill and not regretting it one bit.
Would they have dinner? He certainly hoped he could convince her.
“She’s cute,” Derek said when he was backing the truck out of her driveway.
“Yes,” Ty agreed.
“I would never have put you two together, but maybe that’s the point.”
“How so?”
“Opposites attract and all that.”
“Maybe that’s the key,” Ty said, choosing to let his family believe whatever they needed to. “Take this street. I think it will be faster.”
Derek and Ty made better time with the second load. Once it was all in the house, Ty took the first chair off the roof of his car while Derek conferred with Shannyn about the roof. When they went up to the attic, Ty took the opportunity to go into the house and wash up.
Shannyn’s kitchen had gorgeous blue and white tiles on the walls that looked Moorish. It smelled faintly of fresh baking and Ty acknowledged that her place was more of a home than his apartment. There was a litter box in the bathroom, evidence of the cat who was hiding. He took off his watch and soaped up to his elbows, feeling good about everything with Shannyn, then he saw it.
There was a man’s razor on the vanity.
And a bottle of cologne, the same brand he used.
Ty stared in shock. He recalled, a bit too late, that he was the one who had concluded that Shannyn had an ex who had left her. She’d said the house was spoils of war, which could mean a lot of things. She hadn’t even agreed with his guess that someone had moved out, taking his paycheck with him. Ty had assumed divorce or separation. He was the one who’d concluded Shannyn had a broken heart. But a contributing paycheck could be gone for reasons other than a divorce—like a trip across Europe.
Just One Fake Date: A Contemporary Romance (Flatiron Five Fitness Book 1) Page 16
