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“Shut up.”
He laughed as I followed him to the first-floor garage. It was only big enough for one car—in this case, a sweet silver Range Rover—and getting past Tyler’s bikes, kayaks, and other sports equipment took a little bit of work. Tyler picked me up by the waist and easily lifted me over a set of scuba tanks so I could reach the passenger side.
“Sorry about the mess,” he said after we were both in the SUV. “My mom and sister always get on me to organize this place, but they’re both neat freaks, so I leave it messy to bug them.”
Giggling, I shook my head as the garage door behind us slid open and sunlight flooded the space. “It’s not that bad. Just a little…ummm, you ever watch that show Hoarders?”
“Very funny.” Slipping on a pair of sunglasses that somehow made him seem even more intimidating—and to me, attractive—he asked, “Where are we headed?”
After giving him the address, he eased out into traffic and began what amounted to a tour of the area we were slowly driving through. I’ll say one thing for California, the traffic here is crazy. It took us over a half hour just to go seven miles, but Tyler kept me thoroughly entertained. He knew everything about everyone in the area, and his stories about growing up in the area had me giggling.
“You have a sweet laugh,” he said as he smiled at me at the stoplight before the turn into Shyla’s gated subdivision.
“Thank you,” I blushed and looked down at my hands, his compliment warming me.
As we pulled up to the gate flanked by massive palm trees and red flowering bushes, Gloria, one of the guards who regularly manned the little booth, smiled as she said, “Good morning, Ms. Birch.”
Giving the older redhead a smile back, I said, “Morning. This is my friend Tyler. He’s just dropping me off.”
Gloria wrote down his name and his license plate on her clipboard. “Thank you, Ms. Birch. Have a good day.”
Tyler let out a low whistle as we pulled onto the street running parallel to the ocean. “Nice neighborhood.”
“Thanks.” I cleared my throat. “Right there, the blue house with the white trim.”
Pulling up to the small circular drive, Tyler’s eyebrows went up at the size of the amazing beachfront home before us. “This is where you’re crashing?”
“Yeah. My friend was living here by herself, and she got lonely. Says it’s too big of a house just for her, and it really is, but it goes with the image she portrays. There’s an apartment in the lower level where I stay, while she has the top two floors.”
“Who’s your roommate?”
I looked away from him to the lovely birds of paradise plants lining the drive. “I’d rather not say. She’s careful about protecting her private life.”
Instead of getting mad, he simply said, “That’s understandable.”
I considered his stern features carefully. “You’re not angry that I can’t tell you?”
He slipped off his sunglasses then gave me an odd look. “No, why would I be? First, it’s none of my business, and second, a big part of my job is protecting the private lives of some famous people. I get their need for discretion and respect it.”
“Thank you. Some of the stories Shy—errr, my roomie tells me about the paparazzi and people betraying their friendships by selling gossip to the news are crazy. It’s a bunch of crap that celebrities have to live like this. I mean, I understand it being part of the game and all that, like my roommate says, but everybody has the right to their privacy. When we first got here, she took me to a club to celebrate. The next morning, there were pictures of us online dancing together, asking if I was her new girlfriend.” I blew out a huge breath, then gave Tyler an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I just get a little protective of my friend. I’ve known her since preschool, and we’ve always been really close. She has a reputation of being a ballbuster, and she is, but she’s also the nicest person ever and would literally give someone her last bite of food, if they needed it. She just…doesn’t suffer fools gladly.”
“She’s lucky to have a friend like you,” Tyler said in a soft, warm voice that sent goosebumps shivering over my skin.
“Thanks,” I replied in a soft, husky voice then cleared my throat. “Well, I should let you get to work. Thanks again for being my knight in shining armor. I really appreciate it.”
His blue eyes lightened as he smiled, all those rough features softening as he looked at me. “I’m glad you found me.”
Licking my lips, I blurted out, “So do you want to go out for coffee sometime? I mean, you already asked me out for coffee, so I know you want to go out and get some. I just wanted to let you know that I, too, would like some coffee. With you.”
