by Kenner, J.
She shot him a frown. “I’m leaving in about twelve hours. I don’t want—”
“What?”
He watched her face as she ordered her thoughts, and he knew from the shadow in her eyes that he wasn’t going to win this argument.
Finally, she drew in a breath. “I have a lot of good memories of being with you. And a few new ones from today as well. I don’t want to tarnish them with goodbye sex. Especially when…” She trailed off with a shrug. “Never mind.”
“Tell me.”
He watched as she debated, then saw her concede defeat. “I’m not exactly nineteen anymore.”
“Aren’t you?” He took a step back, his eyes looking her up and down, and his fingers following suit, tracing the curve of her ribcage down to her waist and then over those curvy hips that had felt so good straddling him. “No,” he whispered. “I guess you’re not.”
“Tyree.” His name sounded like a plea, but he wasn’t certain what she was begging for. “I’m sorry,” she said, shattering his hopes. “We share a daughter, Tiger. We can’t let it get awkward.”
“Tiger,” she repeated, and his heart actually skipped a beat.
She looked as surprised as he did. “It just slipped out.”
It was the name she’d only called him in bed. A secret endearment, just between the two of them. And it told him one hell of a lot about where her head was.
He wanted to press her, and in light of that slip, he was certain he’d win. He wanted her comfort. Wanted to lose himself inside her.
But she’d said no, and he wanted to honor her, too.
Still, would it be so bad to just have a taste…?
He forced the thought away. Better to work together like adults. To get to know each other, even long distance, so they could quit dancing around the lust and settle in as friends. As Elena’s parents.
His cock didn’t like that idea as much, but all things considered, Tyree wasn’t inclined to give his cock much say in the discussion.
She was right after all. She was leaving tomorrow.
Unless, of course, he could figure out a way to change her mind.
Chapter Twelve
She overslept, naturally, and now Eva hurried to toss all of her crap into her duffel bag so she could race down to the taxi stand and get to the airport in time to catch her plane.
It was Saturday, and Elena had emailed sometime during the night to say that she’d been invited by someone at the University to go to a picnic sponsored by the Community and Regional Planning program where she intended to apply after her gap year. She’d said she hated missing seeing Eva off, but that she’d fly home to San Diego soon, maybe for the fourth of July holiday.
Not that Eva begrudged her daughter the picnic, but if she’d only picked up the phone that morning, then Eva might not be rushing now. And what if the bellman had to call for a taxi? Dammit.
In the hall, she pressed the button to call the elevator, silently cursing as it crept to her floor at its own lethargic pace. Finally, she made it on and down to the lobby. Then she raced out the door, waved for the bellman to signal a taxi, and then froze on the sidewalk as she saw Tyree standing across the street, his large frame leaning casually against the side of a slate gray Jeep Grand Cherokee.
“Need a lift?” he asked, jaywalking toward her.
“Depends. Does that thing fly? I’m ridiculously late.” She waited for him to make some reference to last night, but he seemed to be all business. And since that attitude made it much easier to walk away, she decided that she was grateful.
He hoisted her duffel, then held out his free hand. “What time’s your flight?”
She told him, and he looked at his watch, then let out a low whistle. “If I was smart, I’d tell you there was no way, just to keep you here a few more hours.”
“Yeah, but we both know you’re not that bright.”
His laughter rolled over her like a sweet caress. “True that. Come on. I’ll get you there on time. Getting through security quickly’s on you, though.”
“I’ll take that deal.” Gratefully, she hurried to match his stride as he crossed illegally once more.
Once inside the car, she relaxed into the leather seats. “Thank you. This is much better than a taxi. And, frankly, better than Elena’s tiny Honda.”
“Speaking of Elena,” he said as he pulled into traffic, “I wanted to talk to you about her. Parent to parent, I mean.”
“Sure. Actually, wait.” She shifted in the seat to look at him. “I never told you what time my plane left. How did you know when to linger outside the hotel?”
“I’ll give you one guess.”
She flopped back in her seat. “Our little conniver. Does she even have an event at the University?”
“Actually, I think she does. Tonight.”
“Well, at least it was only ninety-five percent untrue. Wouldn’t want her to lie to her mother.”
He grinned.
“What?”
“You two. You work well together. And it’s easy to see how much you love each other.”
The words warmed her. “Yeah? Thanks.”
“That’s sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. See? I did have a reason for wanting to drive you. A reason other than just seeing you again, I mean.”
“Oh.” She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Why?”
“It occurred to me that Elena’s never had two parents. I mean, that she remembers.”
“Um, okay?”
“And Eli’s never met either of you.”
A sad smile touched her lips. “And I would love to meet him. I’m sure I’ll come back. I’ll try to come for a week before the end of the summer.”
“That’s one idea. I’m thinking along different lines.”
“Oh. Okay. What?”
“Well, it seems to me that you and I have had some big responsibilities dropped into our laps.”
“We have?”
“Sure. I mean, there are life things we need to be considering. We’re a family now, Eva. Have you thought about that?”
She swallowed, realizing he was right. And she most definitely hadn’t thought about it. Not the way he meant. As if they were a unit.
“Families have obligations,” he said. “Sometimes awesome ones. Sometimes inconvenient ones.”
Something in his tone caught her attention, and she crossed her arms tight across her chest. “Are you saying I’m running away?”
He took his eyes off the road long enough to look at her directly for one beat. “Well, aren’t you?”
Her temper flared. “Now, hold on. I’m going on vacation. I’ve been planning it for ages. And in case you missed the memo, our daughter is an adult.”
The anger, of course, was for herself. Because he was right. Elena was an adult. But she was a young adult, still in school, who’d just learned that her supposedly dead father was alive and that she also had a half-brother whom she had yet to meet.
And Eva was traipsing off to Vancouver?
Yeah, she really was running away. Why the hell hadn’t she seen it?
“It’s hard to figure out your own head sometimes,” he said, after she told him all that. “Sometimes you have to look at it from someone else’s perspective.”
“Like yours?”
“Happy to provide you perspective anytime you want,” he said with a seductive little grin.
She sighed and flopped back in her seat. “You realize what the biggest problem here is, don’t you?”
“What’s that?”
“You. You’re what I was running away from.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Oh, I wouldn’t let that bother you. That’s a problem I can live with.”
* * *
Eva called the airline from the car to cancel her ticket, banking the credit for when she finally did return to California. Then she called Marianne and explained the situation and asked her to cancel the Vancouver flight and the hotel.
“I hope this is
because you’re getting laid,” Marianne said. “Because I really miss you. But it’s worth it if you’re getting good sex.”
“You have no idea how lucky you are that I don’t have you on speaker right now,” Eva said, making her friend laugh like a loon.
She shook her head, then told Marianne she’d see her in two weeks. After that, she’d have to get back, as she had some wedding shoots and a Sweet Sixteen party on the books.
“There, wasn’t that easy?” Tyree asked.
“For you. You’re not rearranging your life. And it just occurred to me that I’m now homeless. I gave up my room at the Driskill.”
“I’m sure they’d be happy to book you another. But I do have an alternate solution.”
“I am not staying at your house. So just forget it.”
“As tempting as you are, that wasn’t the solution.”
“Oh.” It was, she knew, stupid to be disappointed. “What, then?”
“Elena said to tell you that the apartment she’s watching is a two bedroom.”
“Look at you two. Quite the schemers.”
He shook his head. “I had nothing to do with living arrangements. I just have a vested interest in keeping you here.”
“Yeah? Why?” She was playing with fire, but she couldn’t help herself. Despite having her plans completely explode, she was having an exceptionally good day.
“Why? Because I want you here.”
“Oh.” She felt the tug of her smile. “Well, that’s a reason.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand quickly. Then, when he started to pull it back, she held on. She saw him glance down, and she just shrugged. For a second, she thought he’d pull away. But then he relaxed, and they rode in silence the rest of the way to The Fix.
“Why are we here?” she asked as he pulled into the single space in the alley. “I assumed you’d be taking me to Elena’s.”
“Just one quick stop here, if that’s okay. We’ve got a staff meeting this morning, and since Elena’s on staff now, I thought I’d introduce you around.”
“Uh-huh. In other words, you and our daughter have some other scheme in your pocket and this is where you spring it on me?”
“Also a valid possibility,” he said, looking so contrite that she actually giggled. “Fine. I admit I’m curious.” She waited until he’d killed the engine, then climbed out of the car. He opened the thick metal back door and led her into the bar. As soon as they reached the main rooms, she paused to soak it all in.
This was, she realized, the first time she’d had a good look around. Her first time here, she’d been too nervous to see anything going in, and too pissed to pay attention to anything going out.
Now, she had to admit she liked what she saw. It was fun, but cozy. A traditional bar, but different. It looked like the kind of place where regulars gathered. It looked like a place that felt like home.
“It’s great,” she said. “You really did it. Your own place. Food. Drink. Just like you always said you wanted.”
She saw the pride in his eyes as he nodded. “I love this place. It’s been damn good to me. And I’m doing everything I can to not lose it.”
“Elena told me some of that,” she admitted.
“And now we’re hoping to tell you a little more. Come on.”
They moved to a front alcove by the window where a small group, including Elena, already sat. She’d met Brent during her earlier visit, but Tyree introduced the other two—who were clearly a couple—as Reece and Jenna.
“It’s really great to meet you,” Jenna said as she stood up. “And that’s not just because we totally want to hit you up for work.”
Tyree laughed. “Way to blow the lead, Jenna. I haven’t told her yet.”
The petite redhead put her hands on her hips and scowled at him, so ferociously that Eva wouldn’t lay odds against her. “You were in a car for almost an hour to the airport and back and you didn’t think to mention what we wanted to talk about?” She shook her head, clearly exasperated. “Men.”
“They only want you for your camera, Mom,” Elena said, to which Tyree nodded. “Pretty much. I know that’s all I want.”
She bit back a laugh, then collapsed into a chair. “Okay, slow down. What’s the deal?”
The deal, apparently, was that they needed images of the first five winners—the fifth contest was coming up fast—of the Man of the Month calendar contest to use in the actual calendar. “And promo shots for general advertising,” Jenna said. “And then we’ll need six through twelve, too, but if you can get the first set done that would be a huge load off. Plus we’re doing a cookbook, so we’re hoping to get some staged food shots, too.”
“Don’t forget Megan’s idea,” Reece said.
“Oh, right.” Jenna turned back to Eva. “Megan’s started working with me doing marketing, and she had this great idea that we’d start putting together postcards and flyers and social media posts of all the guys who are actually entered. You know, promoting the contest before it takes place. We’re always at capacity, so I honestly didn’t think about it, which is lame. But she’s so right. It’s a huge way to up exposure for the bar overall. But that’s twelve shots we need every two weeks. So far, we’ve always had twelve entrants,” she explained.
She looked at the other four. “I think that’s it.” When nobody corrected her, she turned to Eva. “Yeah, that’s it. Any interest? Elena said she could take the pictures, but she also said you were a billion times better. And that you could clean up the images if they need it.”
“I’m not sure about the billion, but I definitely have more experience. It’s my job. It’s her hobby. And as for taking it on, if it will help you out, then why not?”
“That’s great,” Tyree said, but she interrupted him by raising her hand.
“I just have one tiny condition.”
They all looked at each other. “Shoot,” Jenna said.
“I want him in the contest.” She looked at Tyree with the most innocent smile she could conjure. Then she shifted her attention to Elena. “Don’t you think so, sweetheart?”
Elena managed an equally stoic expression, although Eva could see the laughter dancing behind her eyes. “Oh, definitely.”
“I mean, if I’m shooting the men who are going to be on the bar’s advertising, I think the owner should be among them.” She didn’t bother asking if the others agreed; she could tell from their expressions they considered it a totally kickass idea.
“So?” she asked Tyree. “I guess it’s up to you.”
“Then I guess you’re staying,” he said. “And I guess I’ll be strutting my stuff a week from Wednesday.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tyree had expected Eva to take the portraits of the men inside The Fix, but that wasn’t her plan. “I’ll do that, of course. But I want to get to know the guys out in the world first. That’ll inform how I want to position them in The Fix.”
She told him she intended to shoot them at their work and then at a few locations around the city before scheduling the final shoot for the bar. “Fortunately, all the winners so far are local, so we can take our time.”
He couldn’t argue with that, though he’d wanted her inside the bar and close by him. Wanted it bad enough, in fact, that he spent some time manipulating the schedule so that he could spend a few hours outside the bar when she did. Ostensibly so that he could represent The Fix if anyone came along from the local paper or a news feed. But the truth was that now that he’d persuaded her to stay a bit longer in Austin, he didn’t want her out of his sight.
Initially, he’d told himself that having her stay was for Elena’s benefit. But that, of course, was bullshit. He wanted her near. He wanted her close.
But that desire was a double-edged sword, because every night when he was alone, he felt the shadow. Because if he let Eva in, didn’t that mean letting Teiko go?
Those rumblings haunted him in the dark, but they were easy enough to push aside during the day, and
so he pushed them shamelessly. Tamped down the demons and joined her as she worked.
They went to KIKX, and Eva took dozens of shots of Nolan in his studio. For Reece, she photographed him doing renovations in his father’s kitchen. And when she took Spencer’s initial shots, they spent a few hours puttering around the old Drysdale Mansion, a fabulous property that Spencer and Brooke were working on—tailed by their ever-present camera crew—when they weren’t jamming on the renovations at The Fix.
On the day she shot Cameron on the UT campus, he and Eva stayed behind after Cameron cut out to go meet Mina. They spent the next few hours chatting about Elena and San Diego and pretty much everything as they navigated the maze of buildings to reach the manicured grounds outside the LBJ Library on the University’s eastern edge. Finally, they settled on the hill by the fountain, and Eva pointed her camera at him, even though he’d tossed his hands up as if to ward her off.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I want some of you. Besides, you’ll win next week. I might as well get ahead of the game.”
“I might win,” he agreed with a grin. “I mean, I am pretty awesome.” He’d been lying on his back watching the sky, but now he rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hands.
She laughed. “Why are you fishing for compliments?”
“Compliments aren’t what I’m fishing for.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “No?”
“I mean, I am pretty awesome. But that’s just a state of being.” He shrugged. “You should compliment me on something I’m willing to work hard at perfecting.”
Her expression turned suspicious, but she played along. “And that would be…?”
He crooked a finger. “Come here, and I’ll tell you.”
He saw the awareness in her eyes as she leaned in. “You know what? I think maybe you should just show me.”
He cupped the back of her head. “I think that sounds like a delicious idea,” he murmured before tugging her down so that her arm rested on his chest, and her lips covered his.
It was a more intimate position than he’d intended, their balance thrown off by the steepness of the hill, and he was afraid she’d pull away, although, dear Lord, he didn’t want her to. Because right then, he thought that her mouth was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted, and the heat from this kiss combined with the heat of the sun beating down on them made him almost fear that they’d both spontaneously combust at any moment.
