by Hadley Quinn
“Yeah, it’s a lot to think about,” he grinned at her.
“It really is. Sometimes it’s too much to think about.”
“Well, it may feel that way, but I think finding your ‘inner peace’ is a real thing. If you can learn to be happy with yourself and feel good at the end of the day—feel like you’ve done your best with what you’ve got—then that is a milestone completed.”
“Well what about when you feel like you’ve done your best, or feel like you’ve been kind and compassionate to everyone, made all the correct adult decisions, put other people first…and still feel like you’ve failed.”
Tyse thought about that for a few seconds. His beliefs were his own, and he in no way had every answer, but even though he had learned a lot in the past year or so, he feared he would sound too preachy or arrogant. All he strived for was to be happy and to feel like he was doing enough in the world to affect the people around him positively. He wasn’t overly religious or philosophical, but he did tend to focus on reaching his potential. Sometimes those inner methods that used mind and spirit were a challenge.
“I don’t have all the answers,” he smiled at her with forewarning, “but I feel as long as our intentions are good, we’ve done things the right way. Doesn’t matter if we ultimately went with a decision and it backfired. As long as we were aiming for a positive outcome, then we’ve done all that we can. You do get brownie points for trying.”
Sarah smiled and then seemed to consider it. “Brownie points from whom? Who or what is the greater force you seem to believe in?”
“Well I believe in God, if that’s what you’re asking. But it could be God, karma, or whatever spiritual guidance that people listen or refer to. I don’t esteem one better than the other—everyone comes from different backgrounds, cultures, and such. It’s just a matter of your own personal beliefs and how you use them. As long as your intentions are good and you strive to better the environment around you, then that is respectable no matter how you do it.”
Sarah slowly nodded her head. “Hmm, I like it. I mean…that really does make sense to me. Good intentions, huh? Well I think I do okay in that department. But maybe I just need to ask myself that now and then, just to make sure.”
“It can’t hurt.”
“So, good intentions,” she repeated. “I can’t be upset with myself if I genuinely have good intentions? I’ll work on that.”
With that thought, Tyse asked, “How ’bout you take off your shirt right now?”
Chapter Twenty
Did he—? Say what? Did he really just ask her to take her shirt off? Sarah looked at him with astonishment, but Tyse was smiling. She thought for sure she’d just misheard him.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right,” she told him.
Tyse laughed out loud, and if she hadn’t been so confused, Sarah’s brain might have had more time to process how completely sexy he was when he laughed.
“I asked you to take off your shirt,” he repeated. “By the look on your face, I think you heard me just fine.”
She scoffed at him. “Okay, that is just so completely out there.”
“Hey, we were talking about good intentions,” he shrugged. “I’m only looking out for your comfort and well-being. It’s getting warmer out and I’m going to open the window. I just thought you’d like to take your long-sleeved shirt off since I can see you have another shirt under it.”
She followed the quick dart of his eyes to her shoulder and saw that her top shirt was shrugging off a little and revealed the strap of her blue tank top.
Sarah tried not to smile as she thought about how freaking clever this guy was. Him asking her to take her shirt off was okay because his intentions were good?
“I don’t even know what to say,” she shrugged honestly.
He laughed again as he rolled down his window. A warm burst of air swirled around the car instantly and he said, “This is one of my favorite things.”
“Messing my hair up?” she teased, gathering it quickly before it danced around even more. She’d have a tangled, knotted mess in a matter of seconds.
He gave her a quick onceover and somberly said, “I meant driving with the windows down, but I’d like to mess your hair up using other methods.”
She only stared at him for a moment, somewhat surprised by that one. He even smiled and winked at her, letting her know he was thinking about what she assumed he was referring to.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” she bantered. “Would your intentions be good?”
He laughed out loud. In fact, he laughed so hard she hoped he was paying attention to the road.
“Oh, you better believe they would be good,” he replied.
Just from the smile on his face when he looked at her again, he actually made her blush. She seriously heated up a few degrees. But maybe that was because the window was down and the car really did warm up a little more.
“Too soon for super duper honest?” Tyse smirked. “My bad.”
“Yeah, your honesty made it toasty warm in here.”
“Well I offered you advice to prevent you from getting uncomfortable. See, I’ll be happy with myself at the end of the day because I know I did it with your best interest at heart.”
“How honorable of you,” she joked.
Tyse offered her a big, cheesy smile and it made her laugh. As they drove the next few miles, Sarah only realized how happy she was that day. Tyse was certainly a surprise, a good one, and driving to San Diego with him to watch a Broncos game was definitely one of the best times she’d had in a long time. She’d been looking forward to it and could barely sleep last night.
They only stopped at a gas station on the way there, and when they got to San Diego, Tyse took them to a Thai restaurant on the Bay. The food was excellent, conversation was fun as they talked about how they each grew up, and Sarah was more comfortable than she thought she would be.
“So what kinds of things were you interested in when you were younger?” Tyse asked her.
Sarah thought for a moment before answering. “Hmm, well I played soccer and took voice lessons. I kept pretty busy, especially as a teenager. I worked at the bakery off and on with my grandma, and then helped at the café down the street. I was pretty independent growing up. My mom was always busy with Olivia and her acting career, and my dad was pretty busy with his job. Other than my father trying to match me up with different musicians he worked with when I got older, I barely saw much of him. It’s like he was trying to pimp me out for notoriety sometimes.”
She was glad she had never gone that route of being in the public’s eye. Looking back, she still couldn’t believe what happened to her sister. Liv was such a beautiful, talented actress, and then one McCallan took it all away.
“What’s got you quiet?” Tyse asked as they left the restaurant for the car.
“You’d like me to talk nonstop?” she joked.
He opened the car door for her and answered, “No. You just look like you’re deep in thought. What’s on your mind?”
Did she even dare bring it up? There was no way she wanted to ruin her date with him. She didn’t like burdening people with her problems.
“Can I take a guess?” Tyse asked.
Since she hadn’t gotten in the car, he put a hand against it and brought himself closer to her. It gave her a mix of butterflies and heart palpitations. He hadn’t tried to kiss her a single time today, but she wondered if he was planning to. He’d already kissed her two nights ago; surely he knew it was okay to do it again, right?
“I don’t know the hell you went through with the McCallans and I’m not going to ask,” he said. “I’m assuming if you want to talk about it you will, but I’m not going to pry.”
It was sweet of him to be considerate, and she truly did believe that he meant it, but there was no telling what he might hear from his family. They’d probably fill him so full of lies to make him turn on her. She didn’t want that to happen, it wouldn’t be fair, but she
really did want to talk to him about what she knew. Maybe it was a bad idea and she’d end up regretting it, but at this point, she absolutely believed that he was different than the rest of the McCallans.
“I’m just heartbroken by all of it. No, Liv and I were never close. I used to wish we could be someday, but she was so busy going from one thing to the next that I wasn’t even a side thought to her. I just accepted it and did my own thing. I didn’t have many problems with my privacy being invaded until after Max and Liv broke up. Then reporters would track me down and ask what really happened between the two, or ask me where she was or what she was doing.”
“You said she’s on the East coast?”
“As far as I know,” Sarah sighed. “I can’t even remember the name of the city, it’s somewhere in Virginia.”
“You have an address for her, though? A phone number?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “But like I said, we’re just not close. Even if I were to call her up, I wouldn’t know what to say. I always felt like we’d get there one day, but after all of that with Max, she was even more distant. She seemed dead inside, lifeless. There was no light in her eyes anymore, no excitement to go out and be someone and do things like she used to. She completely changed.”
Tyse sighed as he glanced down at the ground. Sarah assumed it probably sucked for him to hear all of the complaints about his family, but his family was always going to be the downside to being together.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dredge all of this up,” she told him.
“Well I asked,” Tyse shrugged. “And besides, I’d rather you talk to me about it. I don’t know what I can do to help, but I’m definitely willing to do what I can.”
“Maybe that’s just it. There isn’t anything to do but accept it and move on. That’s all I really want to do.”
“If that’s what you’re ready for, then I’ll do everything I can to help you move forward. I can’t apologize for coming from the family that I do because I have no control over that. But I am sorry for what you’ve been through, and what your sister has been through. I know it hurts, but they’re just really not worth the heartache, Sarah. I know it’s easier to say than do, but the further you can shove them behind you…the better.”
She only nodded, but her inner thoughts were working overtime. She did agree with him, but did he not realize that just being with him was totally contradictory to that notion? She understood his thought process, but as long as she was with Tyse, his family would always be close behind.
He stepped closer to her with a gorgeous smile on his face. Sarah smiled in return because it was just a natural reaction to him, and her previous worries dissipated the second she met his gaze. She’d always been attracted to Tyse—and especially his enigmatic, soulful eyes—from the first time she met him.
“Sarah?”
His voice was as soft as his hand that touched the side of her neck. A gentle chill went down her body, even though it was almost eighty degrees outside.
“Yeah?” she answered.
At least she thought she answered out loud. Maybe she only did in her thoughts, where she was already imagining his lips on her mouth and his tongue mingling with hers.
His smile was tiny, like a smirk, but she wasn’t sure why. Was he getting a kick out of how disoriented he made her feel? She was leaning up against the car for support and…was she holding her breath?
Tyse was so close to her that his thigh was pressed up against her, and he’d taken his other hand to gently run his fingers through her hair. That kind of touch was just as effective as a really amazing kiss, and Sarah’s heart began thundering in her chest.
She stared at his lips as he leaned forward to kiss her, and when they made contact, she closed her eyes to allow the sensation to set in. The heavenly warmth traveled from her lips, down the back of her neck, across her shoulders, and filled her chest and core. As he pressed against her more firmly and added his tongue to deepen the kiss, Sarah wished she’d brought an extra pair of panties with her! The heat between her legs intensified with every second his mouth was on hers, and she knew without a doubt that he could literally make her wet with just a kiss.
When he pulled back a bit to give them a little air, he studied her eyes with such depth, she wondered what in the world he could be thinking. She was sure if he looked long enough, he would know he’d just made her wet.
“I love kissing you,” he said softly. His smile was faint as he ran his fingers along her neck.
“I love it when you kiss me,” she replied in barely a whisper.
His smile spread, and then he kissed her once more—just a small, gentle one with lips only—and said, “Then I think it’s official. I get to kiss you whenever I want. These beautiful things,” he added, brushing her lips with his knuckle, “are only mine to kiss.”
Sarah’s heart continued to pound in her chest. That was the new way of asking someone to be their girlfriend, right? She was hoping so since she was about to promise him something she didn’t take lightly.
“I will agree to that,” she nodded. “And you agree to the same. Mine only,” she gently kissed him again, just hard enough to stake her claim.
“Deal,” he grinned when she pulled away. “Damn, I’m doing better than I thought. I haven’t even pampered you with a football game yet.”
That made Sarah laugh, especially because she absolutely loved the playful glimmer in his eyes. She truly felt like he was happy just to be with her, and that seemed to mean everything in the world.
“You don’t have to ‘pamper’ me,” she told him. “I am really looking forward to the game, though. That in and of itself scores you awesome points.”
“Hmm,” he pretended to consider. “So pat on the back for that one,” he pretty much told himself. “And I look forward to whatever the rest of the night has in store.”
She eyed him carefully. Surely he wasn’t talking about sex, but after a kiss like what happened a minute ago, she was halfway there.
He scoffed at her, seeming to read her mind. “Not that,” he playfully rolled his eyes. “Damn girl, you’re moving too fast. Slow it down.”
Okay, so she was probably blushing, even though she knew he was just kidding with her. “Don’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind,” she countered back.
Obviously it had, because he didn’t deny it and the laugh that came out of him pretty much said it all.
“Get in the car, beautiful girl,” he instructed, kissing her on the side of the face.
He took a step back and held the door open wider for her, so she slipped into the passenger’s seat without a response. She was smiling, though. It was hard not to. Tyse had a playful yet comfortable aura about him that she was really continuing to like.
It was still pretty early for the game to start, but they headed straight to Qualcomm Stadium. The gates were open for ticketholders, so Tyse led Sarah inside. He paused and looked around, and Sarah couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to take everything in.
“You’ve never been here before?” she realized.
Bringing his attention back to her, he shook his head. “Nope. I’ve been to various baseball games with Teague and Jay since I’ve been in California, but I haven’t experienced any football yet.”
“Oh, so I’m your first?” she teased him.
With a laugh he answered, “Yes, so be gentle.”
As they headed for the center section of the stadium, Sarah carefully considered that piece of information. She’d been to several NFL games, and she’d even met many of the players, courtesy of her father. It had never been exciting to her, though. She’d met a lot of famous people over the years because of her dad and sister, but nothing beat just being here, on a date, with Tyse.
This was something she could definitely get used to.
Chapter Twenty-One
“How come you didn’t wear a jersey,” Sarah nudged Tyse playfully as they found their seats.
“Why would I want a Broncos
or Chargers jersey?” he scoffed lightheartedly. “Cardinals all the way, baby.”
“Oh gosh,” she laughed in return. “That’s right, you were unfortunate enough to grow up in Arizona.”
“Ha, very funny,” he joshed back. “I don’t seem to recall you growing up in Denver. I am severely dedicated to my home team.”
“Well I’m severely loyal to my grandfather, so there,” she jabbed him with an elbow.
“Well besides a select few, I’m not severely loyal to my family,” Tyse replied seriously, but with somewhat of an amusing tone. It was the truth, but he figured it was okay to joke about.
Sarah only gave him a tiny glance, but it made him uneasy. He supposed any mention of his family was going to rub her the wrong way. He would have asked her more about her grandparents, but he knew they weren’t alive any more. Maybe family was a sore subject to ever discuss between them.
“So are the seats okay?” he asked, motioning to the field ten rows below them.
“The seats are amazing. I noticed where they were from the ticket you sent. Which, by the way, was an interesting way to ask me on a date.”
Tyse couldn’t help but chuckle. He’d had no clue how he wanted to do it, but instead of fretting over it too much, he just decided on something simple.
“And Jay is kind of funny,” she added.
Tyse gave her a curious look. He’d already made Jay promise he wouldn’t be an asshole, and even though Jay acted like he was put off by the grueling task to be nice, Tyse was pretty sure he would be polite. It wasn’t that he thought Jay would purposely be a dick, but he just wasn’t sure about his brother’s sense of humor sometimes. Especially when he knew Sarah was already on edge when it came to being around any of the McCallans.
“No need to worry,” she said when she noticed the look on his face. “He was perfectly nice.”
“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that,” Tyse shrugged.
“You lectured him pretty well?” she asked. “He doesn’t seem like the type to be told what to do, but I guess if it’s to help you get a girl…”
