“With the way we’re all dropping like flies, you’re gonna be next, big guy,” Than said as he poked Alex in the side with his elbow.
Alex frowned. “Not gonna happen.”
“I think we’ve all said that on occasion and yet here we are.” Than spread his arms out. “Me and Justin planning weddings. Who would ever have thought that?”
Thankfully, the elevator arrived, this time empty. Melanie stepped in and pressed the button for Tyler’s floor. “See you guys later.”
“Have fun,” Than said with a wink.
Melanie wasn’t looking for fun, but she did want to show Tyler she was serious about them and to maybe talk about what had happened. If it had happened. She still wasn’t sure that anything had.
When she stepped out of the elevator on Tyler’s floor, the receptionist gave her a knowing smile as she walked past. Yeah, this building had a ton of gossipers. She headed down the hallway to Tyler’s office. As she approached his open door, she lifted her hand to knock only to see the office was empty.
Disappointment filled her, but she knew it had been a risk. He was as busy as she was, so it wasn’t too surprising he was out of his office. With a sigh, she put the bags on his desk and took out the plastic container holding his sandwich and put it beside his keyboard. She put the bottle of iced tea next to the sandwich, setting it on a napkin the deli had included.
She toyed with the idea of texting him, but if he was in the middle of a meeting, she didn’t want to interrupt. After all, eleven o’clock was still a little early for lunch. Instead, she looked for something to write on. Not seeing anything that was clearly a piece of scrap paper, Melanie took another one of the napkins and used a pen from her purse.
Sorry to have missed you. ~M
She knew it was short but had no idea what else to write. Trying not to let the disappointment drag her down, Melanie left his office and headed back to the elevator. Thankfully, the receptionist was busy on the phone and didn’t make any comment when Melanie walked back past her desk.
In the basement garage, she unlocked her car, slid behind the wheel, and dropped her purse and the bag with her salad and water in them onto the passenger seat. She sat there for a moment, not anxious to return to the Center without seeing Tyler. They hadn’t made arrangements for a future date yet, and she found she wanted the assurance that she was going to be seeing him again.
Soon.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
WITH A SIGH, Melanie reached out and started her car. Her cell phone rang, connecting with the Bluetooth in the vehicle. She stared at the display, smiling when she recognized Tyler’s number. Without delay, she tapped the screen to accept the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey!” Tyler’s voice filled the interior of the car. “Where are you?”
“In my car in the garage.”
“Here at BlackThorpe?”
“Yep. Just getting ready to head back to the Center.” She wasn’t sure if he’d seen the food on his desk or was just calling out of the blue.
“Come back and eat with me,” he said, his tone warm. “You did get something for yourself, right?”
Melanie glanced at the bags on the other seat. “Yes, I did.”
“Will you come back? Please?”
Even if she’d wanted to, she couldn’t resist his request. “I’ll be right there.”
This time when the elevator doors slid open, Tyler stood waiting for her. She smiled and took the hand he offered her. “Thanks for coming back.”
Melanie heard an ahhhh from the receptionist as they walked by her. She wondered if this would be enough to win the bet for whoever had said she’d be the next victim love would claim.
When they got to Tyler’s office, he waited for her to go in first then followed her. He pushed some files from the edge of the desk to make room for her salad then, instead of taking his seat behind the desk, he picked up the sandwich container and sat down in the chair next to hers.
“Sorry I wasn’t here when you stopped by. I’d gone to see someone about a file. We must have just missed each other. I swear I wasn’t gone but a couple of minutes.”
Melanie smiled. “It’s okay. You caught me before I’d gone too far.”
“I’m glad.” When he smiled at her, Melanie wondered if perhaps the thoughts Adrianne had put into her head were off base. Maybe he hadn’t seen her with Justin and assumed the wrong thing.
“I saw you earlier—I was at a meeting with Alex and Marcus—but you were talking with Justin, and I didn’t want to interrupt,” he said casually as he opened the container holding his sandwich.
Melanie’s eyes widened. Well, Adrianne had gotten it half right. “I wish you had.”
Tyler looked at her in surprise, his movements stilling. “Oh. Well, next time, I will.”
Before he returned his attention to his sandwich, he held out his hand. Melanie took it and, knowing what was to come, she bowed her head. In a way she was coming to appreciate, Tyler’s fingers tightened around hers as he said a blessing for the food.
If someone had asked her six months ago if she’d admire a man for his faith, she probably would have said that it wasn’t something she necessarily looked for in a man. However, having seen this side of him, she knew it was an integral part of Tyler and just one more thing that drew her to him.
“This looks good,” Tyler said as he lifted half of his sandwich from the container. “How was the meeting?”
“It was good.” She paused. “Adrianne updated us on the annual BlackThorpe banquet coming up. Were you planning to go this year?”
Tyler nodded. “I’ve gone to every one since I was able. Won’t be missing this year.”
“Yeah, it’s quite the shindig. Adrianne manages to outdo herself every year. I’m sure this year won’t be any different.” Melanie wondered if it would be okay for her to ask him to accompany her. Before she could make up her mind what to do, he spoke again.
“I know you always go,” he said, glancing over at her. “Would you like to go with me this year?”
“Are you asking me on a date?” Melanie asked, injecting a playful tone into her words.
“Well, yes, I guess I am.” His blue eyes were so serious, almost as if he really thought there was a possibility she’d say no.
She dropped her gaze and stabbed at the lettuce in her salad. “Well, I suppose since you ask so nicely.”
When he didn’t respond, she peeked at him and saw him watching her, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. “So that’s a yes then?”
Melanie sat back in her chair. “I guess there’s a first time for everything. So yes, I’d love to be your date for the dinner.”
“It’s the one time of year I’m guaranteed to see you in a dress,” Tyler said as he lifted his sandwich then took a bite.
“Yeah, it’s pretty much the only time I get that dressed up.” She took a drink of her water. “Will your mom and Hank come?”
“I think they might this year. It’s close to Thanksgiving so they could kill two birds with one stone.”
“It will be nice to see them again. I can’t believe I’d never met them after all these years.”
“The timing must have been off. Also, there were a couple of years where they didn’t come here at all. I went to them.”
“What’s London like?” Melanie took another bite of her salad as she waited for Tyler to answer.
“It’s nice, but I preferred when Hank took us outside the city. It’s beautiful countryside.” He tilted his head. “You’ve never traveled over there?”
More stabbing at her lettuce. “I’ve…uh…never been one for traveling much outside the US.” Or in it either, for that matter, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
“I like traveling, but I always enjoy coming home more. This is where my friends are. Where my life is.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “Where you are.”
Melanie didn’t know how to respond. He’d done this before. His marriage prov
ed he’d been in at least one serious relationship before, so he knew how to do this flirty stuff better than she did. “Thank you for sharing parts of that life with me. I enjoyed meeting your friends.”
“You made quite an impression on them.”
“Hopefully a good one.”
“Definitely.” He laughed. “I got several texts Sunday afternoon and the guys at the Bible study all wanted to know how I’d managed to land you since you were so obviously out of my league.”
“Oh.” Melanie frowned. “You don’t think that, do you?”
“That you’re out of my league?”
She nodded. “I would never want you to think that.”
Tyler reached out and took her hand. “I never really thought that, but I have always thought I was fortunate to have you as a friend. And now I feel doubly fortunate that we are…more.”
More. Yes, they were most definitely more. “I think I’m the fortunate one.”
“My mom thinks we’re both fortunate,” Tyler said with a smile.
Melanie gripped his hand a little tighter. “You told your mom?”
“Yes. After she met you, she asked if there was something between us. When I told her there wasn’t, I think she was disappointed.”
“Wait. You didn’t ask me out because your mom wanted you to, did you?”
Tyler laughed. “I may do a lot of things to make my mom happy, but I can guarantee you that doesn’t involve who I choose to date.”
Melanie bent her head. “Well, I haven’t mentioned anything to my parents yet.”
“I realize it’s still kind of new,” Tyler said as he let go of her hand and picked up his sandwich.
“It’s not that, so much. Alex and Adrianne know we’ve been spending time together. It’s more my mom.” Melanie toyed with her salad as she explained how things had been for Adrianne. “So it could go one of two ways. Knowing I’m dating could take the pressure off her, or it will just increase it since Adrianne is older than me. You know the if your sister has a boyfriend, why don’t you type of thing.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing I never had siblings.” Tyler wiped his hands on a napkin after finishing his sandwich.
Melanie laid her fork on the top of the salad and closed the container. She saw Tyler glance at her food and frown. She knew she hadn’t eaten much, but she’d grab something later. The Center had a good cafeteria since the people living there needed a place to eat.
“Just think,” Tyler said as he gathered up their trash, “if you worked here, we could have lunch together whenever we wanted.”
Melanie wiped down the edge of his desk with a napkin. “Or if you worked at the Center.”
“On second thought, having you that close by might be a bit of a distraction.” Tyler’s smile warmed her and Melanie knew she’d never tire of seeing that look on his face.
“On that lovely note, I guess I’d better head back to work.” She grabbed her purse and slipped the strap over her shoulder. “I really did enjoy having lunch with you.”
“I’m just glad I caught you before you left.” He grabbed her hand as she walked by him to the door. “Next time text or call me. I would have hated if I’d just missed you because I’d gone to get a drink or something.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” Melanie promised.
As they walked together to the elevator, Tyler kept hold of her hand and they made plans to go for dinner Thursday.
“I won’t be out to the Center until Friday,” Tyler said as he pressed the button for the elevator. “Simon wants me to meet his fiancée.”
“I think that’s so wonderful that they’re reconnecting.”
Tyler nodded. “It’s nice to see that a relationship might survive a tragedy like his. And I’m glad Simon is in a place to accept that.”
When the door of the elevator slid open, Tyler lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Drive safely.”
Melanie found herself smiling as she drove back to the Center. She could get used to having Tyler in her life like that. Thankfully, it seemed he was happy to have her in his life too.
After work, she headed for the gym to meet with her trainer. She hadn’t made it in a few weeks, preferring to work out at home, but a few reminder texts from him had her heading there instead of home.
As she walked into the gym, Melanie realized that for the first time in forever—or maybe ever—she had a sense of anticipation and excitement for the future. Most the time her focus was on the future as it pertained to the Center, rarely was it on her personal life.
Tyler had changed all of that in the matter of a few days.
~*~*~
Taking Melanie home after their dinner on Thursday was a little easier for Tyler since he knew he’d be seeing her the next day. But still, even after he pulled up in front of the Thorpe home, she didn’t get out of the car right away.
“Do you want to come in for a bit?” Melanie asked.
“Alex and Adrianne won’t mind?”
“Nope.”
“In that case, yes, I’d love to.”
When they walked into the house, there didn’t appear to be anyone else around, so when Melanie offered a tour, Tyler jumped on it.
“Alex bought this property when the market hit that slump a little while back. The first floor is basically the same, but he reworked the upstairs so there were three suites of rooms.” Melanie gestured to the large staircase that ran up to the second floor and a balcony that looked out over the foyer where they stood. “Adrianne’s is on the left. Alex’s in the middle and mine on the right.”
She turned to the right and led the way into a dining room. “We use this if we have company or a special dinner. Usually, we eat at the breakfast nook in the kitchen.”
The large kitchen would be a gourmet chef’s dream with its wide granite counter spaces and stainless steel appliances. The breakfast nook sat in front of large windows that ran along the back wall. He wondered what the view was like, but darkness kept it shrouded. Maybe he’d get a look at it during a future visit. He certainly hoped this wasn’t his first and last visit to the Thorpe home.
“The living room is through there,” Melanie said with a wave toward a darkened room on the other side of the house. “But my favorite spot on this floor—aside from the kitchen—is back here.”
Tyler followed her as she led the way down a short hall to a set of wooden doors with glass panels. She smiled back at him as she pushed open one of the doors and walked into the darkness beyond. Almost immediately, lights turned on, obviously triggered by a sensor on the door. He heard the sound of running water as he stepped into the room.
Right away he could see why Melanie liked this place. The walls were lined with cedar and brass sconces cast a dim yellow glow around the room. A large pool with curved edges and underwater lights filled the middle of the space. There were windows on the wall, but no doubt the most stunning feature was the rock waterfall at the far end of the room.
“This is pretty incredible.” Tyler turned to find Melanie watching him.
“It is, isn’t it?” She reached for his hand. “Come see my spot.”
She didn’t need to ask twice. And if he thought the main part was incredible, when she led him into an alcove off to the side of the waterfall, Tyler was blown away. The circular room was made of rock and wood and had the same wall sconces that cast a soft light. The perimeter of the room was made up of one long curved, cushioned bench seat along with a ton of throw pillows. A large round wooden coffee table with glass panels sat in the middle of the room.
“Want to sit for a bit?”
Melanie dropped down amongst the pillows, still holding his hand, so Tyler settled beside her. It was like they were in their own little world and the sound of the nearby waterfall added to that perception. He leaned his head back against the cushions and closed his eyes. He could see why Melanie loved this spot.
He felt movement, but Melanie still didn’t release his hand. Turning his head, he
opened his eyes to see her sitting with her feet propped up on the edge of the coffee table.
“Thank you for showing me your special spot.”
“I get so busy sometimes that I don’t come here as often as I’d like to, but at least I know it’s here when I need it.”
When Tyler shifted and propped his feet up next to hers, their arms pressed together and their clasped hands were trapped between their legs. He would happily stay like that with her for as long as she wanted. “What do you think about when you come here?”
“To be honest, I try not to think about anything. I’ll lie down and listen to the waterfall and imagine it washing away all my stress.”
“Does your career help you deal with stress and stuff?”
She looked over at him, a corner of her mouth lifting. “Kind of like physician heal thyself, you mean?”
“Yeah. Something like that.”
“Well, it gives me tools to cope, I suppose,” she said with a slight shrug. “But it doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t still have issues. Hope you didn’t assume that.”
Tyler chuckled. “I would never have made that assumption. After all, I’ve yet to meet someone who is completely without issues of some kind.”
“You have issues?” she asked, and from the expression on her face, it seemed she was actually serious about the question.
“No. I’m perfect,” he said. “Obviously, I was talking about everyone else.”
She laughed at that, her eyes sparkling. Without realizing what he was doing, Tyler turned slightly and lifted a hand to cup her cheek. He skimmed his thumb across her skin, so soft and silky beneath his touch.
Her lips parted, and he felt a puff of air across his hand. Was it too soon for a kiss? It didn’t feel like it. It felt like he’d been waiting his whole life for this moment. Had she?
He moved slowly, giving her the chance to pull away, but her eyes closed, Tyler pressed hip lips to hers.
~*~*~
Melanie wondered if it was possible to pass out during a kiss. Her anxiety level was high, but she tried to focus on the feel of Tyler’s hand in hers, of his other hand cupping her cheek. Tyler had given her the chance to back-off, but she hadn’t. She wanted this.
A Matter of Trust: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 3) Page 22
