The thought made her smile, which felt funny as they kissed, which led to laughter bubbling out of her mouth.
Tyler leaned away, breaking their kiss, his eyes on her. “What’s so funny?” His head tilted. “Was it that bad? Laughably bad?”
Oh my goodness, no. “No. I promise.”
“Uh-huh.” He looked away, then said, “What are you up to, Mia?”
Brielle followed his gaze and saw Mia facing them, her phone in her hands.
Mia smiled, then she walked toward them. “You guys are too cute.” She held her phone out to them, and Brielle took it from her. There, in vivid color, was a picture of them kissing—a couple who were clearly into each other. Seeing it like that put an exclamation point on how Brielle felt. And by the looks of it, Tyler felt the same. Either that, or he was an amazing actor, and Brielle didn’t think that was the case.
“Can you text it to me?” Brielle asked.
“Hang on,” Tyler said. “You should delete it.”
Mia cocked her head as she frowned, like she wasn’t surprised he’d asked, but she was kind of annoyed.
Why had he asked Mia to delete it? Was he embarrassed by Brielle? By being caught kissing her? Kind of hurt, Brielle handed the phone back to Mia.
“Yes,” Mia said with a direct look at Brielle. “I’ll text it to you.” Then she faced Tyler. “And no, I won’t delete it. You know I won’t post it anywhere. I’m well aware of your rule of not posting any pictures of you on social media.”
So maybe this didn’t have anything to do with her, but rather with that weird rule Tyler had.
“Why do you have that rule?” Brielle asked.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Tyler wasn’t about to tell her the real reason—that if any pictures of him were posted they would end up splashed all over the Internet. Especially a picture of him kissing some mystery woman. Instead, he put on an embarrassed smile and said, “I just like my privacy.”
“Oh.”
She seemed to believe him, seemed to think that made sense.
“I know I’m weird,” he said with a glance at Mia, desperately hoping she wouldn’t say anything that would give his secret away.
“You certainly are,” Mia said with a smirk before turning and walking away.
Grateful that she’d left it at that, he turned back to Brielle, who was sitting as close as a person could sit to someone else without being on their lap.
Brielle laughed, and Tyler knew he’d escaped a bullet. In a way though, he wanted Brielle to know the truth about him. Now that he’d gotten to know her and now that he had no doubt she was as attracted to him as he was to her—all without knowing he played in the NFL—he wanted her to be impressed by who he was.
But that created another problem. He was going to have to confess that he’d lied to her from the start. He hoped she would understand his reasons, but for all he knew she would be angry at him and never want to see him again.
Wait. After this week her job would be over and they would no longer be together. But did it have to be that way? They were both unattached adults. They even lived in the same city. There was no reason they couldn’t continue seeing each other after this week was over.
Hold on. You’re getting ahead of yourself. For all you know, she’ll be glad to be rid of you. You don’t know what she has going on in her life.
True though that was, Tyler still hoped that they could work things out, that she would have some interest in him beyond this week.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, and he realized he’d been staring into the distance.
Not ready to share all of his innermost thoughts, he smiled at her. “I’m glad you were able to see a bear today.”
When she shuddered, he wrapped her in his arms. She’d been scared, that had been clear. In all reality, he’d been slightly on edge too. He’d read plenty of stories where hikers had come across a grizzly and been attacked without provocation. Not something he would share with Brielle, but he was glad she’d felt safe with him.
“It was pretty cool,” she said after a moment.
“I hope you enjoyed it, because it could be the only bear we see on this trip.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. I mean, I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing another bear.” She chuckled. “From within the safety of the car, that is.”
As he looked at her lovely face, saw the sparkle in her eyes, he was tempted to tell her that he wanted to collect on his one owed kiss then and there, the one she owed him because she’d taken his hand.
“Ready to move on?” his dad asked their group.
Everyone stood, and when Brielle took Tyler’s hand before he had a chance to take hers, he grinned. Wanting to owe me a second kiss. Nice.
Had that been too obvious? That she wanted to owe him another kiss? She hoped not, but it was too late to change it now. Besides, maybe it was a good thing to subtly let him know how she felt. Well, maybe it wasn’t all that subtle.
They continued hiking, and eventually they looped back to where they’d started—the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. There were tons of tourists there, and as they approached the throng, Brielle noticed Tyler tugging his ball cap lower on his forehead. Or maybe he was just adjusting it. How should she know? She didn’t wear ball caps so wasn’t sure how that would work.
“I don’t know about anyone else,” Mia said with a sigh, “but I’m ready for a nap.”
“That was a pretty long hike,” Brielle said. “How long was it?”
“About nine miles,” Tyler said.
Kind of impressed with herself, Brielle smiled. “It was worth it. And now I can see why you wanted to go on it.”
“When we went on it a couple of years ago I knew I’d want to do it at least one more time,” Mia said.
When they reached their cars, Tyler helped Brielle into the passenger seat of his Range Rover, then got behind the wheel and soon they were on their way back to camp.
“When we get back, we’ll grab our stuff then head to the shower.” He glanced at her. “If that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay. I’m ready to wash off the sweat and grime I collected on that hike.” Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. It didn’t sound very attractive, but Tyler just laughed.
“I feel the same way.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
That evening as Brielle sat around the fire with Tyler and his family, her phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was Cara.
“Cara,” she said to Tyler, then she excused herself and walked away from the campground before answering. Nervous to admit that she’d completely disregarded Cara’s warning from the night before, she swiped to answer. “Hello?”
“Hey. How’s it going? Is Tyler behaving himself?”
Brielle laughed nervously. “Uh-huh.”
“That sounds kind of vague. What aren’t you telling me?”
Why did Cara have to be so good at reading her? Not sure she wanted to admit all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, she bit her lip as her gaze slid to the line of trees on the edge of the campground. Is there a bear in there?
“Bri, what’s going on?”
“I saw a bear today. On our hike.”
“That’s cool. But that doesn’t answer my question.”
She never could hide anything from Cara. With another sigh, she said, “I think I’m falling for him.”
“You’re falling for your fake boyfriend.” It came out as a statement. “Was that part of your agreement?”
“No.”
Soft laughter came across the line. “Oh, Bri.”
“Stop laughing at me. This is a real problem.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.” Cara paused a beat. “How does he feel about you?”
The memory of their kisses filled her mind. “I think he likes me too.”
“What makes you think that?”
“When we kissed—”
Cara didn’t let her finish. “
You did what?”
“I know, I know.”
“Hold on. Twenty-four hours ago you promised me nothing physical would happen, and now you’re saying you kissed?”
“Twice.”
“I know that wasn’t part of your agreement.”
“No. It wasn’t.” Regardless, Brielle couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.
“I hate to say this, but…how can you be sure he’s not pretending? I mean, that was kind of the whole point, right? To pretend you guys are together?”
Cara’s comments fed right into Brielle’s doubts. Fueled them. “I can’t be sure, but when he kissed me the first time no one was around to see it. Why would he kiss me if his family wasn’t there to witness it?”
“Because he’s taking advantage of you. Just like I said he might.”
Brielle rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I guess it couldn’t be that he’s actually attracted to me.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“I know. But, Cara, I felt something from him. You know how you can sometimes just tell when someone is attracted to you?”
“I guess so.”
“That’s what I felt.”
“Hmm. Well, you know what you have to do now.”
Glad her friend was about to impart her wisdom, Brielle stared at the tree line, on the alert for approaching wildlife. “What? What do I have to do?”
“You have to tell him how you feel.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve only known him for a few days. Besides, what if I’m wrong? What if this is all one-sided? What if he is just pretending? I don’t think I’m ready to make a fool of myself quite yet.”
“So, what? You’ll just let this week slide away because of your pride and then you’ll never see him again? Is that what you want?”
Brielle was quiet as she thought it over. She’d already told herself the same thing, but hearing it from her best friend helped push her in the direction she knew she needed to go. Even so, she wasn’t going to commit to it. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”
“Okay. And while you’re thinking about it the week will end and then you’ll say good-bye forever to a hot man who you’re falling for. Good plan, Bri.”
“Stop it. I don’t need you to pressure me.”
Cara laughed. “Tick-tock, Bri. Tick-tock.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“I expect a full report tomorrow.”
Suppressing a smile, Brielle shook her head. “Of course you do.”
“Have fun.”
“Bye.”
Brielle walked back to the campsite, her mind on Tyler and whether she was ready to put herself out there, ready to tell him how she felt. Scary as the idea was, she knew Cara was right. Time was rapidly slipping away. The week would be over before she knew it. Did she want to wait until the last minute to tell him how she felt? Or would it be better to get it out of the way so she could enjoy the rest of the week without having to think about it? Then again, if he didn’t feel the same, it would make the rest of the week beyond awkward.
Nowhere near decided, when she reached the campground, she settled into the camp chair next to Tyler.
“Everything okay?” he asked in a quiet voice.
Giving him a sardonic grin, she said, “Cara had to make sure I’m still alive.” And she had to harass me about telling you how I feel. She took a moment to gaze at him—his hazel eyes, his square jaw with a layer of stubble, his kissable lips… Stop it before you drive yourself crazy.
Chuckling, Tyler shook his head. “She’s a good friend.”
“Yeah. She is.”
“I hope you’re not disappointed we didn’t go bear hunting tonight.”
“No. I’m actually pretty tired out.”
“Yeah. I think we all are.”
Mia, who was sitting on Brielle’s other side, said, “Seeing that bear on our hike makes up for not going out tonight.”
At that, everyone began recounting how they felt when they saw the bear so close and without anywhere for them to escape it. Then they moved on to chatting about past visits and the wildlife they’d seen.
Brielle took it all in, thoroughly enjoying the warmth and closeness of Tyler and his family. It was kind of strange how close to them she felt—people she’d only met a few days earlier.
What if she told Tyler how she felt and he felt the same way? What if they started dating for real? What if his family became her family?
Slow down, girl. You’re getting way, way ahead of yourself.
Quietly sighing, she relaxed into her chair and tried hard not to think about how kissing Tyler had felt. Tried and failed.
She wanted to kiss him again.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The entire time Tyler’s family was talking, all Tyler could think about was that Brielle was sitting mere inches away and that he was desperate to kiss her again. He doubted she’d be okay with being kissed when his family was sitting right beside her, so he knew what he had to do.
“Let’s go for a walk,” he said to her as he leapt to his feet, and when he held out his hand, she took it without hesitation. Leading her away from his family, they walked across the dirt and onto the paved road that ran through the campground. The sun had set and stars were visible in the sky.
“Are your legs sore?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not really. What about yours?”
Compared to working out with his team, going on a pleasant nine-mile hike was nothing. Now, if the bear had chased him down and tackled him, that would be more similar to a team workout. Suppressing a laugh at the imagery, he shook his head. “Nope. It was an easy hike.”
“I guess I’d agree. Easy, but long.”
They talked about other hikes in the park, ones that were more strenuous, and then Tyler had enough talk. They stopped in an area where they were out of sight of prying eyes. “I had an ulterior motive for going on a walk with you.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh? What’s your ulterior motive?”
Softly laughing, he said, “I had to get you alone so I could collect on one of those kisses you owe me.”
“Ah. I see how it is.”
“Yep. And I’m not embarrassed to admit it.”
In the moonlight, he could see her radiant smile. So, she was eager to kiss him too. That didn’t surprise him, but seeing the evidence was gratifying.
“Well?” he said, his eyebrows raised.
Her lips formed a smirk. “Well, what?”
“This time it’s on you.”
Brielle swallowed over her nervousness. She wanted to kiss him. So much. But their two previous kisses had been initiated by him.
Except that brush-by you gave him last night. Don’t forget that.
She could do this. And she would give him a kiss he wouldn’t forget. Maybe that would tell him how she felt.
“Okay,” she said.
A slow grin curved his mouth. “Okay.”
Then she laughed.
He smiled. “What?”
“You’re, uh, you’re too tall.”
His smile grew. “You owe me a kiss, Brielle. Figure it out.”
Up for the challenge, she nodded, then she stared at him. His eyes were in shadow, but she could picture their intensity.
Using one hand, she trailed her fingers up his arm, stopping briefly on his bicep. The muscle there was solid, and she could imagine him sweeping her into his arms with ease. Moving upward, she stroked his shoulder, another part of his body that was fit and strong.
“Are you delaying our kiss on purpose?” he asked, but his voice was husky and Brielle knew her gentle touches were getting to him.
Her mouth tugged upward as she shook her head.
A ragged sigh slipped from his lips, but he didn’t respond.
His reaction confirmed what she believed. He wasn’t faking it. He was just as attracted to her as she was to him. Elated, she moved her han
d from his shoulder to his face, brushing one finger along his stubble-covered jaw before sliding it across his mouth. His lips parted and his eyes were locked on hers.
What was this woman doing to him? Driving him crazy, that’s what. Bringing her along—okay, hiring her—had been all about convincing his family he had a girlfriend. Looking back, it was stupid of him to have lied to them in the first place, but if he hadn’t Brielle wouldn’t be with him now. And this trip would not be the same without her.
“I need you to lean closer,” she whispered, and he bent in her direction without hesitation.
Both of her hands went to the sides of his face, and with an imperceptible tug, she pulled him closer, closer. Only a few centimeters separated her mouth from his. He waited for her to close the gap, but she didn’t.
What was she doing? Trying to drive him insane?
He waited three seconds, five, seven. Still, the gap remained.
Forget this.
Without warning, he crushed her mouth with his while at the same time curling one hand around the back of her neck and the other around her waist. Must’ve taken her by surprise, because for half a second she stiffened before melting against him.
This is how a kiss with him felt. He had to show her, had to make it crystal clear that this was something she should want. That she should want him as he wanted her.
Brielle had been teasing him with keeping that space between them, but she hadn’t expected him to react so aggressively, so powerfully. But it was oh, so worth it. Letting him take control sent a shiver of desire cascading through her. Her attraction to him was so strong—the way he’d protected her when that bear had threatened, the way he always gave her his full attention, the way he was with his family. It all added up to a man she could see herself with. Forever.
Their kiss lingered, and when he finally released her, she smiled at him. “I’m not sure who kissed who that time.”
With lips pursed, he shook his head. “Do you really have a doubt?”
Game On (Fair Catch Series, Book Six) Page 14
