Page 58 of What Started In Deception

“Something that no one else knows,” she continued.

“A secret that no one else knows,” he said before he pursed his lips, clearly thinking.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He blew out a breath. “Um, I like to sing. When I’m by myself, I do.”

“Oh, really,” she said, turning her body his way, intrigued by his confession.

He nodded. “I should also mention that there’s a second part to my secret, and that’s that I like country music.”

She raised her brow, more than a little surprised. They always listened to Top 40 stuff when they were together, and she knew that he listened to grittier stuff when he exercised. “I never would have guessed.”

He nodded. “Not the twangy, my dog got ran over by a train stuff.”

She laughed.

He grinned. “Mainstream country, I guess.”

“Will you sing something for me?”

He huffed out an uncomfortable laugh as he looked at her. “No.”

She grinned, surprised that he was shy. “Aw, come on, Ty.”

“You really want to hear me sing?”

She nodded. “I really do.”

He sighed as he started scrolling through his playlists on the dashboard screen, selecting Ty’s Country. Seconds later, Chris Stapleton’s “Starting Over” started playing through the speakers.

She smiled. “I like this song.”

“You know it?”

She nodded. “It’s a good one.”

Ty kept the beat on the steering wheel, then cleared his throat before he started to sing the lyrics as Chris did.

She beamed, instantly loving his voice—how surprisingly strong, rich, and smooth it sounded. Taking a chance, she joined in on the chorus as she danced in her seat.

Ty grinned as he looked at her.

Eventually, the song ended, and they both laughed as Ty slowed considerably in the stop-and-go traffic in downtown DC.

She touched his arm. “You have such a great voice, Ty.”

He grinned again. “Thanks. You sound good, too.”

“Thank you.”

He eased on the brake, stopping at a red light—the first of undoubtedly many. “I can’t say that I miss driving in this.”

She nodded. “Oliver Heights is certainly a different speed.”

“You’ve got that right.”

Several minutes later, he turned into a parking garage, taking a ticket from the machine before he wound his way up to the third floor, pulling in next to a red two-door Jeep Wrangler. “There’s my girl.”