Tyler's Blind Date Experiment

by Alicia Street

  Tyler’s Blind Date Experiment

  Alicia Street

  Copyright © 2020 by Alicia Street

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Alicia Street with the exception of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Contents

  Book Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Bonus Excerpt

  Also by Alicia Street

  About the Author

  When Tyler’s father kicks him out of the family business telling him his days of freewheeling fun are over and he will not get his job back until he finds a serious woman to settle down with, Tyler's experiment with a dating app turns into way more than he bargained for.

  Caroline went from the plainest most invisible girl in her high school to a tattooed and pierced art star who was anything but plain. After her career crashes and burns, along with her marriage, she retreats to a small town, done with art, done with men, done with love—

  or so she thinks.

  Chapter 1

  Tyler Westfall wheeled his black BMW Z4 along Route 25, singing along to the old hit “Billie Jean” in the bright sunshine that was late May’s promise of summer. With the top down, the fresh morning breeze gave him a brisk wake-up, slapping against his face and whipping his hair around. After a long night of partying he still needed another shot of caffeine, so he made a pit stop at Three Girls Roasting Company where the sexy ninja chick with blue and pink hair and multiple piercings and tattoos gave him a silent nod and had his usual 3G Mocha Java ready for him in minutes.

  That was one thing he liked about living on the North Fork. It had a small town atmosphere where neighbors actually remembered you. But it also had a mix of all kinds of people, from down-home salt of the earth folk to displaced Manhattan oddballs like this barista.

  Not to mention a huge number of people who loved boating and patronized his family’s business, from serious career fishermen to families who shared water sports to wealthy yacht owners.

  When he reached his destination—the North Fork branch of Westfall Yacht World, Tyler got out of his car, coffee in hand, and stood a moment in the parking lot taking in the tinkling sound of the boats in the marina and admiring the collection for sale in the showroom area.

  He walked toward the Westfall North Fork offices, a small building not far from their marina and servicing stations that were situated on an inlet of the Peconic Bay. A little farther away was the Westfall Club House; nothing elaborate like the local yacht club that was only down the road from them. Just a place for their customers to hang out, grab a beer and sandwich, and visit with other boaters.

  As soon as Tyler stepped into the reception lobby, he was greeted by Emily, the company’s forty-something admin assistant who always dressed more businesslike and formal than he did.

  “Your brother came by to see you, but he left, saying he could not wait any longer for you.”

  Okay, so Tyler was kind of late today and his brother would no doubt get on his butt for it. Caleb was two years younger than him, but he’d always acted as if he were older. Some people were just born that way. His visit tweaked Tyler’s curiosity since Caleb, who ran the Westfall offices and marina on Gardiners Bay in the South Fork, would normally just call instead of showing up.

  “Did Caleb tell you what he wanted?”

  Emily shook her head. “All he said was that he left something on your desk.”

  “Hmmm. Good. Probably the contract on the Munson deal. It’s about time.”

  Tyler sauntered to his office, closed the door behind him and set his coffee on his desk. “Damn,” he muttered. There was no folder or paperwork. And no contract. There was, however, a small red paper flag with a black square in its center—the maritime symbol for a hurricane. He sighed as he pulled out his cell and rang his brother.

  “S’up, Ty.”

  “You tell me.”

  “Batten the hatch,” Caleb said. “Rough seas coming. Fifty foot rogues.”

  “I figured, judging from your little present on my desk. At least the other day I only got a pair of little red pennants.”

  “I only wish it were merely a gale force.”

  “Okay, which lady wants my hide today? Melissa?”

  “Not a woman, bro.”

  “It’s always a woman for me these days. What else could it—”

  “It’s Dad.” Caleb’s sobering tone made Tyler sink into his chair with an annoyed sigh. “He is beyond pissed at you this time.”

  “What for?”

  “He’ll be calling you in.”

  “Dad is here in the office today?”

  “Yep. He went in to meet with you.”

  A risk taker with an abundance of confidence, Tyler did not fear much in this world. But his father still had the ability to make him feel like a knee-wobbling eight-year-old. He was about to ask his brother for details when his office phone rang.

  “Sounds like it’s time to face the music,” Caleb said. “If you’d gotten to the office on time I could have given you a heads up.”

  “So tell me what—”

  “Better answer your phone,” Caleb said, signing off.

  Tyler picked up his other phone. “Dad?”

  “Get in here. Now.”

  Tyler could sense that first big tsunami wave about to hit as he made his way to his father’s office.

  Thomas Westfall, the owner of the successful marine sales and service company founded by his great-grandfather, leaned forward across his large black designer desk, hands clasped.

  “Sit down, son.”

  Uh-oh. He used the “son” label. Tyler knew it had to be bad. “What happened, Dad?”

  “Bradford Munson cancelled on us,” Thomas said.

  “Cancelled?”

  “We were about to close on a six-million-dollar Sunseeker, but you went and slept with the buyer’s daughter.”

  Tyler went still. “She started it. I never came on to her, I swear it. We’ve known each other since we were kids. Olivia likes me and—”

  “But her dad doesn’t.”

  “She’s twenty-three. A consenting adult.”

  “An adult who happens to be the only-child apple of her daddy’s eye.”

  “But why now? It’s been two weeks since we got together.”

  “And I’m guessing you haven’t called her since then?”

  “Uh…no.” Tyler’s stomach knotted. Why did women always want things to go on forever?

  Thomas growled, “Rule number one—never hit on a client.”

  “I didn’t. She kept calling me and asked me to come over and check something on her home dock and that turned into dinner and, well… Besides, Olivia wasn’t the client. It was her father.”

  “That rule applies to the daughter, sister or, God forbid, wife of a client.”

  Tyler rubbed a hand
over his face. Yeah, he’d screwed up. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

  “We’ve been down this road before. Lord knows I’ve been more than patient. Like the trouble we had with the heiress to that Italian count, I forget her name.”

  “Bella. I never slept with her.”

  “Don’t insult me with that line. Even though her uncle wasn’t a client, he was someone who knew enough people to possibly harm our business.”

  “But we’d met at a party and I had no way of knowing her uncle would—”

  “That’s the other thing,” his father said. “Too much partying going on. It is affecting your job performance. You are damn good when you apply yourself, son, but lately you’ve been falling behind and making too many mistakes.” He let out a sigh and gave Tyler the same look he’d been using to intimidate him since he was a kid.

  Tyler wanted to defend himself, to tell his father the real reason he went to most of the parties and got to know people like Bella, but that was a secret he had no intention of sharing with his family, a precious part of his life his parents would not understand. And after the stupid mistake with Olivia, he wouldn’t believe him anyway.

  “Your mother and I saw this coming,” his father continued. “There’s been a change in you ever since Kristi ran off with that big shot lawyer from Boston while you were in rehab after the motorcycle accident.”

  Tyler tried not to feel it, but there it was. That same painful memory that went straight to his core—but it wasn’t about Kristi. And he wasn’t about to explain that to his father. Wasn’t about to take something so precious and lay it out for his dad to pick over and criticize and misconstrue.

  Annoyed, he turned his head away and looked out the window to the sun on the water outside, saying only, “Kristi and I were over before my accident. In fact, I’m the one who ended it.”

  Thomas’s voice turned sympathetic. “Okay, I realize your pride is at stake here. But I know you were hurt and angry when she left you.”

  Tyler wanted to interrupt his dad’s speech, tell him he had it all wrong, but his father never listened, so why bother?

  “And I even understood your rebellious behavior afterward, Tyler, vacillating between a playboy and an irresponsible teen. But it is time to rein it in. You are thirty-three years old, son. At that age I was already married with my second child on the way.”

  “The perfect son,” Tyler grumbled, not meaning for his dad to hear it.

  But his mother heard it. “No, Tyler,” she said, walking up behind his chair and then taking the one next to him in front of his father’s desk. “Caleb has a steadier nature than you, but he is far from perfect. We have always loved both of you the same and you know it.”

  “What are you doing here, Mom?”

  “Your father called me this morning and told me he was going to fire you, so I thought I’d better get in here to referee.”

  “You’re going to fire me?” Tyler’s throat tightened and he turned back to Thomas, who gave him a stern nod confirming the worst. “But you need me here.”

  “At the rate you’re working now, you can be replaced.”

  He took the blow silently. Maybe it was time he found a job outside the family business. Maybe even outside the whole boating business.

  Except he loved his family’s business. He loved working here and had never considered doing anything else. Westfall Yacht World had always been as much a home to him as his parents’ house. As a kid he and his brother used to run up and down the docks of their marina, and his father would let him and Caleb explore the new yachts in the showroom and tell them about each. He’d had his first beer in their patron clubhouse. This was part of his identity, part of his very soul.

  “I’ve come up with an alternative solution,” his mother said, interrupting his thoughts.

  Tyler’s ears perked up, but he didn’t let himself relax. Mindy Westfall could be tougher than his father when it came to negotiating. He watched her blue eyes that were so like his brother’s. Tyler looked more like his dad.

  “I know what the problem is,” she said. “You need a good woman.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she held up her hand. “This is not about Kristi, although I do believe she started your downward spiral.”

  “Downward spiral? You’d think I was doing drugs and skimming funds off the business or something.”

  She tsked. “A son of mine would never stoop so low. I’m talking about spiraling away from your own path.”

  “My own path? To what?” He knew his mother took yoga. Was she trying to be some kind of spiritual guru now?

  “I’m just talking about making a happy productive life for yourself, Tyler. You need to settle down and raise a family. And that begins with you finding a solid, intelligent, grounded woman to be your wife.”

  “Wife?!”

  Mindy nodded and smiled. “That’s right. It’s time for you to find a wife. I’m certain that will stabilize you.”

  “But…”

  “I’m talking about the kind of woman you want to spend your life with. Not the kind you are always dating. Not just someone who is just fun in bed and good at sex.”

  “I am not discussing my sex life with my mother!” Tyler stood, but after a couple steps toward the door, his father called him back.

  “Calm down, Ty. And if you want any chance of getting your job back, you’ll sit down and discuss this.”

  When Tyler hesitated, his father added, “And don’t expect a good recommendation from me if you’re thinking of working elsewhere.”

  Tyler shuffled back to his seat. “This is unnecessary. You know this company means the world to me, Dad. I can get back on game.”

  “That remains to be seen,” Thomas said.

  Mindy patted his arm. “I’ve worked out a solution your father has agreed to. You will spend this summer looking for a wife and—”

  “Mom, do you have any idea how ridiculous and archaic that sounds?”

  “All right, let’s just call it finding a good woman. Someone who is steady and serious. Someone to slow you down. Someone to be a good influence on you and a real helpmate. Our Memorial Day party is a coming up and—”

  “I can’t possibly find anyone that fast!”

  “I agree. I’ve decided you can have the whole summer. Then you will bring your potential wife to our big Labor Day party and introduce us to her.”

  “I’ve got to pick a wife by Labor Day?”

  “No, you just have to be involved with a good woman. If she turns out not to be the one you marry, you will keep trying,” his mother said. “But I know you, Tyler. If you don’t have a deadline hanging over your head, you will not take this seriously. You have to prove you are really working at this.”

  His father gave him a salesman grin. “You could be right back on the job by the beginning of September if do your homework.”

  “Homework? But this is—”

  “This is important, Tyler,” his mother said. “You have three months to get your act together. At our Labor Day party you will introduce us to your potential wife, whether it is someone new because you are still looking, or hopefully, one you have formed a bond with because she is that special woman you are meant to marry.”

  “Geez.” Tyler let out a sarcastic laugh. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Laugh all you want, buddy,” his father said. “As of today you are on unpaid leave.”

  “Unpaid?”

  “Whether you will be invited to come back onboard—or let go permanently—is up to you.”

  “Wait a sec.” Tyler waved his hands, hardly believing what he was hearing. “This isn’t fair. You’re giving me a life sentence for some minor infractions.”

  His father shrugged. “Find that special someone, settle down, and it’ll be smooth sailing for you back here at the marina.”

  He could almost here the gavel coming down.

  Chapter 2

  Standing behind the counter at the back of the cafe while making a macchiato, Caroline Bl
ack looked up at her friend and business partner as she rushed into the cafe carrying a big box. Brina Lockner smiled at a couple sharing a strawberry rhubarb pie and chatted briefly with a regular who was working on her laptop at another table, cappuccino and chocolate peanut butter cookie right next to her.

  It was mostly takeout at Three Girls Roasting Company until the lunch traffic started around noon. They never had big crowds on weekday mornings, but Saturdays and Sundays they filled every seat and table from opening till closing.

  The cafe spread across the first floor of what had once been a family’s house, and the three women who’d begun the business had tried to keep that homey feel with antique sofas and club chairs next to living room-style coffee tables mixed in with five square oak four-seater tables. Caroline had arranged small vases of daisies on each of the tables when she opened this morning.

  “Are those the cookies from Cheryl Collins?” Caroline asked.

  “Yep,” Brina said as she set the box on a side counter. “Cheryl had an appointment, so I stopped by to pick them up.”

  Brina put on gloves and began loading the cookies into the glass cabinet. Caroline held back a laugh at how orderly her partner was. Every cookie in a neat little row. It was only the two of them now that their third partner, Trinity, had moved to California. But it also meant they had a West Coast branch of Three Girls.

  “So did he come in this morning?” Brina asked, wiggling her eyebrows, and Caroline of course knew exactly who she meant.

  The hot guy Caroline had been crushing on for the past couple months. Super ripped with a sweet boyish face and a smile that would have any woman begging for it.