Until You

by Denise Grover Swank

  Although that wasn’t exactly reassuring.

  But Britt was clueless to her inner turmoil and seemed to take it in stride, trying to pry as much information from Lanie as possible. For the most part, Lanie stuck to the truth. She and Aiden had dated in college and kept in touch over the years. They saw each other several times a year. He lived in Atlanta and had come to see her the day before.

  And with every word, Lanie felt more and more sick to her stomach.

  An hour later, Tyler still hadn’t answered her text, adding to her growing anxiety. Had she pushed him away?

  After they ate, Lanie helped clean up and cornered Randy in the garage, where he was dumping bottles into the recycling bin.

  “Why did you tell Britt I wanted Aiden to come to the wedding?”

  He spun around, his eyes pleading with her. “Just trust me, okay?”

  “I hate lying, Randy. I hate it.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. But what’s it going to hurt? Just go along with it and tell her he can’t come.”

  “I already told her his address.”

  “Then he can come if he wants. Either way, it won’t matter.”

  And yet it did, only she didn’t know why. But that was a lie. She knew exactly why. Tyler.

  This was a disaster.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Tyler walked into his condo, feeling good about his day with his brother. After he’d skipped the barbecue, he’d asked Eric to see the latest X-Men movie with him, then they ate dinner before Tyler dropped him off at home, making plans to see him on Wednesday night for dinner.

  He felt like a first-class asshole. When he’d asked Eric to lunch, it had been out of obligation, but now he realized how much he liked the kid and really wanted to be part of his life.

  Someone had to step up and make sure he was taken care of.

  He expected the familiar suffocating feeling to swoop in, the tightening around his throat that made it difficult to breathe whenever he thought of someone being dependent on him, but it never came. Instead, it felt good to be needed.

  He wouldn’t screw his brother over like their mother had screwed them all over.

  He sat on his leather sofa and realized his mother had defined his life—not just his past, but his future, too. He didn’t trust people because neither of his parents could ever be counted on to be there when he needed them. But he also realized he had let some people in—Matt and Kevin. Britt and Randy.

  What about Lanie?

  Lanie scared him. He suspected he was going to end up like that poor bastard Ricky Henderson. Earlier he’d thought it was worth the risk, but now he wasn’t so sure.

  She’d sent him a text while he’d been in the movie, but he’d discovered it as they’d walked out of the theater. He’d stared at it for several long seconds before he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He needed to figure out what he wanted first.

  But a few hours later, he still had no answer. He wanted to respond to her text, but several hours had passed. What was he going to say?

  He glanced around his apartment, trying to think of what to take a photo of. His bed seemed too crass. And truth be told, as much as he wanted her there, if she said she wanted to see him and not have sex, he’d be happy to have that too.

  That realization washed through him, and he sank back into the couch. He’d never wanted to just hang out with a woman before without the possible reward of sex. He wasn’t sure he could ever be just friends with Lanie—he wanted her physically too damn much—but so far, he enjoyed her company out of bed as much as he enjoyed her in it.

  He stood and moved to the living room window, then took a photo of the city lights. He attached it to the text he’d agonized over before he hit send.

  This beautiful view will have to do until I see you on Thursday.

  Then he waited. Nothing.

  He sat back on the sofa and turned on the TV, then flipped through a couple hundred channels, finally landing on an old movie, but he felt unsettled and he was unsure why. Was it Lanie? Was it thinking so much about his mother?

  He checked his phone in case he’d missed the vibrating alert. Nothing.

  He’d gotten up to take a shower and go to bed when the phone rang. His heart sped up until he saw Matt’s number. He moved to his window as he answered.

  “Hey.”

  “How are you doing after your run-in with Nina Saturday night?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Why don’t you get to what you’re really calling about?” Tyler barked.

  “And what’s that, Mr. Mind Reader?” Matt asked in a calm voice.

  “Lanie.”

  “Hey, what you do with Lanie is your business. I’m more worried about you jumping back into dating after taking such a long break.”

  “Five months isn’t that long.”

  Matt paused. “Look, I know we’re guys and we don’t talk about our feeling much, but I want you to know you’re not alone. You have friends who care about you. You can talk to me and Kevin about anything.”

  “I’m fine. I promise.” He paused. “I spent most of the day with Eric.”

  “I thought you were going to that party at Randy’s.”

  “I changed my mind.”

  “So what prompted your visit with Eric?” he asked.

  “He’s having trouble at school, and then I realized my dad’s not doing shit for him. He’s just a kid. He needs someone who cares. Turns out he’s a pretty cool kid. We’re going out to dinner on Wednesday.”

  “Sounds like my baby boy’s growing up,” Matt teased.

  “You haven’t seen Eric in over a year.”

  “I’m talking about you.”

  “Me?”

  “You shy away from emotional attachments like they’re poison ivy. Why do you think you haven’t spent much time with the kid? Or women, for that matter.”

  Tyler pushed away from the window in frustration. “Now you’re a psychologist?”

  “It doesn’t take a genius to see that’s what you do.”

  “If you’ve known this, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because you weren’t ready to see it yet.”

  Tyler couldn’t deal with this right now. He headed toward his bedroom. “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

  “Tyler. Wait.” Matt paused. “How about we go out for drinks again. Friday night?”

  Tyler hesitated. “Let me get back to you.”

  “Kevin says she’s leaving in three weeks.”

  He pushed out a breath. “I know.”

  “Just be careful.”

  It was too damn late for that.

  He’d hung up and plugged his phone into the charger when Lanie’s text popped onto the screen.

  I’m looking forward to it.

  So was he. Maybe a little too much.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lanie was ready for a shit-storm on Tuesday, but she was running on little sleep and frayed nerves. How long until she heard from corporate? And she still needed to break the news to Stephanie. She was dreading that conversation. And even though she was quitting, she still wanted this opening to be a success. From what little she’d overheard from Victor at the barbecue, he had a plan—not that she was surprised. But now she was living in limbo, waiting for the ax to fall.

  Had she been foolish for not trying to get it out of him?

  When she walked through the back door to the store at eight, with two boxes of doughnuts, the construction crew was bustling. They might have only been shut down for about twenty-four hours last week, but it seemed to have set them back several days. They had a week and a half to get everything done so that Lanie and Stephanie had time to get the store set up, and the staff trained and ready for the opening.

  “Hector,” Lanie called out to the foreman when she saw him across the room. She set the boxes on a table in the back and met him halfway. “What are the chances we can be ready for me to start putting the store to
gether by next Monday?”

  “Lanie,” he groaned. “You know I’m pushing my guys hard, but I’m tellin’ ya, we can’t handle any more delays. Next Wednesday’s deadline is already pushing it.”

  She ignored the growing knot in the pit of her stomach. “And if we encounter another delay, would your crew be able to work over the weekend to make up for lost time?”

  He looked skeptical. “You’re looking at overtime. The last time we talked, you’d used up your cushion.”

  Gnawing on her bottom lip, she scanned the nearly completed store.

  “You’re expecting another delay,” he said, studying her.

  “I’ve dealt with people like this before. They don’t give up so easily. I’m just preparing for the worst.”

  He leaned closer and lowered his voice, but he was still loud enough to be heard over the whine of a drill across the space. “Look, it’s none of my business, but you haven’t even announced any kind of opening. What’s the big deal if you’re delayed a week?”

  “Because it’s a big deal to my boss.”

  “We’ve a had a string of bad luck. We were delayed three days after that inspector got sick and forgot to hand our inspection over to someone else. Then the two days we couldn’t continue construction waiting on those back-ordered sprinkler sprockets. Then that damned injunction. None of those things was your fault. Surely your boss isn’t that big of a hard-ass.”

  “There’s no good excuse in her book.” She saw the irritated look on his face and gave him a reassuring smile. He was a fair and honest man with both his employees and his clients. He’d become aware of the pressures she was facing and he’d helped her when he could. She’d made a good decision when she’d accepted his bid, but then, she usually had good instincts when it came to business. “Don’t worry about it, Hector. All we can do is bust our asses and hope for the best.”

  “It still isn’t right, and it sure isn’t fair.”

  “We both know life isn’t fair.” He looked so worried, she patted his arm. “Don’t worry about me. I’m good no matter what happens.”

  She pulled out her tablet and walked around the store, ticking off the items on her list of things that had been completed and trying not to become overwhelmed by what wasn’t. When she was satisfied, she waved good-bye to Hector and walked the block toward their rented office space.

  She arrived before Stephanie, so she sat at her desk and took a deep breath, allowing herself a moment to think about Tyler.

  His text last night had bothered her more than she cared to admit. She’d hoped to see him sooner than Thursday. While she could dwell on it, she chose to think about the positive. He still wanted to see her. When he hadn’t answered for hours, she’d concluded that he’d decided she wasn’t worth the trouble. So she’d take what she could get in the little time she had left and be grateful.

  Her phone rang, and she froze when she saw Aiden’s name on the screen.

  “Aiden, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. How was your trip back to Atlanta?”

  “Uneventful, just how I like it.” He paused. “I’m calling to touch base with you on my offer and see if you have any questions.”

  “I do have a few. I forgot to ask you when you would want me to start.”

  “October first. But I know you’re living in corporate housing, so I suspect you’d want to come up to a week early to start getting your housing situation taken care of. I have a real estate agent I trust who can help you find something.

  “Thanks.” She swallowed. “I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that I turned in my notice.”

  “You had a good run, Lane. There are only bigger and better things in your future, whether you come work for me or not.”

  “Thanks, Aiden. But while I have you on the phone, I need to warn you about something you’re about to get in the mail.”

  “Is Margo Benson sending me a box of anthrax for daring to lure you away?”

  She laughed. “No. Maybe worse…It’s an invitation to my cousin’s wedding.” When he didn’t respond, she continued. “It’s a long story, but my cousin thinks we’re a couple, so she’s sending you an invite. Feel free to throw it in the trash.”

  “Okay.” She could hear the grin in his voice. “Never a dull moment with you, Lane.”

  “Personally, I’d love to have a dull moment or two.” She hung up as Stephanie walked through the door.

  “Dull moments are overrated,” Stephanie said as she dropped her purse on her desk.

  Lanie’s stomach turned flips. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this on edge. “Steph, I have to talk to you about something.”

  “It better be all about what happened after you left with that hottie from the wedding.”

  Saturday night seemed like ages ago. She took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you after I talk to you about this first.”

  Her grin fell. “That sounds ominous.”

  Lanie looked her in the eyes. “After all the crap Eve’s put us through…I decided I was done. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of them giving us a new boss every six to twelve months and having to kowtow to their demands. So yesterday I turned in my notice. But don’t worry,” Lanie added when she saw Stephanie’s shock. “I’m not deserting you. I’m staying until the opening. I wouldn’t leave you high and dry.”

  Stephanie stared at her. “I can’t believe it.”

  “I know,” Lanie said, her stomach balling into a tight knot. “I’m just tired of fighting a losing battle, you know?”

  Stephanie nodded.

  “In any case, I looked over my contract, and it’s to my advantage to quit rather than let them fire me. I’ll get a bonus package.”

  Steph nodded, looking devastated. “No, that’s smart. Do you know where you’re going?”

  Lanie gave her an apologetic smile. “Well…as luck would have it, the reason Aiden was here was to offer me a job.”

  “In Atlanta?”

  “Yeah.”

  Stephanie turned to look out the window, then back at Lanie. “Did you take it?”

  “No, I haven’t decided yet. But it’s a really great offer.” She gave Stephanie the details, including the part about finally finding a place to call home.

  “Wow,” Stephanie murmured. “That’s quite a change.”

  “The idea of working for someone who appreciates me is exciting.”

  Stephanie’s eyes turned glassy. “I already have that.”

  “The hardest part of this is leaving you.”

  Steph smiled, but it looked forced. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m still going to give this opening one hundred percent. I’m not going to drop this all on you.”

  “I know you won’t.”

  Lanie took a breath. “I owe you, Steph.”

  “No. I owe you for not only teaching me just about everything you know, but being my friend, too. I don’t think I could have handled the past three years without you. Phoenix is going to be lonely.”

  “You won’t have time to be lonely,” Lanie said in a light tone. “You’ll be busy setting up a store. And then you’ll have your own Stephanie.”

  She wiped at her eyes, grabbed her purse, and stood. “I’m going to head over in case the delivery guys are early.”

  “Okay.”

  After Stephanie left, Lanie took a few minutes to pull herself together. She felt like she was losing her best friend. She told herself that she’d still be in contact with Stephanie, but deep down, she knew it wouldn’t be the same.

  She sent an e-mail to a headhunter who had contacted her multiple times over the last three years, trying to lure her away from Montgomery Enterprises. Aiden was right. She should explore her options, especially in the Kansas City area. Britt would be thrilled if she found a job here, and Lanie couldn’t ignore the part of her that wondered what would happen with her and Tyler if she stayed. Would it freak him out? Would he be willing to give them a chance at something long-term? Would she
?

  She glanced down at her phone and realized he’d sent her a text.

  How are you doing after turning in your notice? If you need to talk, give me a call. I’m free all morning.

  Her heart skipped a beat, then she felt stupid for getting so excited. She was thirty-two years old, not twelve.

  Before she could change her mind, she called him.

  “Hey,” he said softly.

  Something warmed in her chest. “Is this a bad time?”

  “No. It’s a perfect time. I’m looking over a contract that’s about to put me to sleep. How was the barbecue?”

  Guilt washed through her, but she decided to play it light. “It wasn’t nearly as fun as hanging out with you in the garage at the shower.”

  He released a low chuckle. “It looked like you made a good stab at it.”

  “I’m still waiting for Randy to notice he’s missing all those Stellas.” She paused. “I’m feeling guilty that you missed the party.”

  “Lanie. It was no big deal. I promise. I went to a movie with Eric, and then we went out for dinner. I’m glad I spent the day with him.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m going to be honest, okay?”

  Her pulse sped up. Here it was, the big but…She swallowed. “Yeah.”

  “I’ll admit that I wanted to see you last night, but I agree that we would have done a poor job of hiding it from Britt. Besides, I really did enjoy hanging out with Eric.”

  So he wasn’t dumping her. Yet. “I need to talk to you about something else.”

  “I’m listening.” He sounded guarded.

  “I contacted a headhunter this morning.”

  “I thought your friend Aiden offered you a job.”

  “He did, but…” Her stomach twisted with nerves. “Randy says Britt really wants me to stay here, so I asked the headhunter to look for jobs specifically in Kansas City.” She took a breath. “I know I told you I wouldn’t look for a job here, but I need to do this for Britt. And me.”

  “Lanie. It’s okay. I know you’re nothing like Celesta or Nina. You need to find the best job that works for you, and if it happens to be in the Kansas City area, I know that has absolutely nothing to do with us. Don’t worry about me.”