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“It’s my mom.” Just then his phone starts ringing. “Sorry, just a sec.”
He answers with a tired, “Hey, Mom.”
I wipe down the kitchen island and check on the cookies as Tyler has the same conversation he had with his mom at Sweet Cheeks yesterday. Even only listening to his side of the conversation, it was clear that his mom was trying to set him up with someone for Maya’s wedding. Now she’s trying to do the same for Gage’s.
He leans his back against the counter, his sculpted shoulders hunched forward as he listens to whatever his mom is saying on the other line.
“Mom, I don’t need you playing cupid for me…because it’s embarrassing….because I’m thirty-three years old…what other thirty-three-year-old men have their moms scout out dates for them?...Mom, not in a million years would I ever go on a singles cruise…okay, well great for Auntie Rhonda, I’m glad it worked out for her, but I’m still not going…”
I glance over at him. Poor Tyler.
I think back to yesterday and start to feel embarrassed at how jealous I felt when I realized his mom was trying to set him up with someone.
But then the jealousy quickly fades as soon as I realize how pathetic it was that I felt territorial over a guy who wasn’t even mine.
Still on the phone, Tyler looks over at me and mouths, “Sorry.”
I smile and mouth “It’s okay.” I check on the cookies and pull them out of the oven to cool before heading down the hall of my apartment to the bathroom to give Tyler some time alone to talk to his mom.
When I’m done washing up, I head back to the kitchen.
“Okay, you wanna know the truth, Mom? The real reason I don’t need you to set me up with anyone is because I’m already seeing someone.”
Wait, what?
I stop in the middle of the living room, stunned. I stare at him standing tall in the middle of my kitchen. He’s facing the window over the sink, so he can’t see me even though I can see him. It’s probably for the best because I’d bet anything that I have the most stunned and freaked-out look on my face right now.
My chest aches. Just the thought of Tyler dating someone has my stomach bottoming out in the worst way…even though I’ve got no right to feel that way.
We’re just friends. He can date whoever he wants.
He smiles at the kitchen window. “Yes, I swear…what’s her name? Uh…” A hard swallow moves down his thick, tanned throat. “It’s Tori.”
What?!
It’s not till Tyler whips his head at me that I realize I’ve said that out loud. Actually, yelped is a better word. My head feels like it’s spinning and stuck in a cloud all at once.
Did Tyler just say that we’re dating?
Chapter 4
Tyler
Well, fuck.
As I stare at Tori, I know I’m in deep shit.
She looks confused and pissed, and I don’t blame her one bit. She just overheard me say that we’re dating.
“Anak? Tyler, are you still there?”
I finally register my mom’s voice in my ear.
“Uh, yeah, I’m still here.”
“Oh my goodness, I’m so thrilled to hear you and Tori are dating! I always thought there was something between you two. She’s such a lovely girl. You’re lucky you finally snatched her up before someone else did. I bet she has young men lined up around the block waiting to ask her out, she’s so sweet and beautiful.”
My stomach starts to churn. Partly because I hate that I’m lying to my mom right in front of Tori…and partly because the thought of Tori with anyone else makes me feel sick.
