Part 13 (1/2)

Carlie stopped in the middle of pouring the wine. She turned to Tyler, her expression serious. ”Why?”

”What do you mean, 'why?' I like you.”

”But why, Tyler? What is it about me that you like?”

He considered her question with grave seriousness. She was being very sober. His answer obviously mattered a great deal to her. The first thing that came to his mind was her honesty. ”I can trust you. You don't play games, and I don't think you would ever lie to me. You're straightforward and genuine, blunt to a fault. I've never known a woman like you before.”

Carlie looked stricken, which wasn't the reaction he had expected. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away. He walked up behind her and wrapped her in his arms, holding her close despite her stiffness. He still felt frustrated and angry over his mysterious phone call, and now, with Carlie seeming so intent on separating herself from him, he actually felt needy. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed.

”Carlie, talk to me. I don't like this. I'm used to you giving me h.e.l.l and making me laugh and then making me so hot I can't breathe. I'm not used to this silence, sweetheart.”

She turned abruptly, throwing her arms tight around him and he groaned in relief. His arms were around her middle, and it registered, rather abruptly, that she was actually slim. She was wearing her usual basketball clothes that consisted of baggy sweats, and since the day was cooler, she was layered under several pieces. But his hands were stroking up and down her ribs, and it amazed him how tiny her waist was. He pulled back, shocked.

Carlie was watching him. ”Don't even say it.”

He was amused by her fierce expression. ”What?”

”Whatever you were thinking. I know you were checking out my weight again. I'm not stupid.”

”No, you're not stupid. But you are a big faker.” His mouth tilted in a quizzical smile. ”There's not an ounce of extra fat on you, is there?”

Carlie propped one hand on her hip in an arrogant stance. She glanced down meaningfully at her chest, the implied message very clear.

Tyler choked back his laugh. ”That's not fat, sweetheart. That's a bonus from Mother Nature.” Then his eyes slid over her, and his amus.e.m.e.nt slowly disappeared. ”I want to see you.”

”You're looking right at me.”

”You know what I mean.”

Warm color bloomed in her cheeks. ”Oh? You want me to strip naked and dance on the table perhaps?”

”d.a.m.n! You're not as unreasonable as I thought.” He pulled out a chair and made a big production of seating himself. ”Go ahead. I think I'm ready. Wait! Do you have smelling salts available? I'm not sure my heart can take this.”

Carlie stared back at him blandly. Then she pulled out her own chair and sat down. She shoved a gla.s.s of wine toward him. ”Eat. You need something to occupy that mouth of yours.”

”True. But I could think of other...mmm!”

Carlie had jammed the piece of pizza into his mouth without concern for his clean face. He ended up laughing, and wiping pizza sauce from his nose and cheeks.

They ate in near silence but for the music Carlie had playing in the background. Tyler watched her, simply enjoying her nearness. After a moment, the quiet began to bother him. ”I meant what I said earlier. About your being different. Until I met you, I thought all women were the same.”

”That's an asinine comment unworthy of recognition.”

”I know it sounds cynical, but it's true. Most of the women I've known were users. They would lie or mislead, even jump into my bed, just to get what they wanted.”

Carlie looked slightly dazed. ”What did they want?”

”Marriage, usually. You may not believe this, but I'm considered a prime catch. I'm single, and Jason and I run a successful law practice. I'm financially secure, and I drive a flashy car. That's all the criteria most women require. It wouldn't matter who I really was.”

”I can't believe that.”

”That's because you're just a little naive, honey.” He studied her affectionately. ”Other than Brenda, no woman has taken the time to really get to know me. Except you.”

She searched his face, her eyes bright with curiosity. ”What about your mother? Or other relatives?”

”I don't have other relatives. And all my mother ever wanted was for me and Jason to get out of her hair. Most times we did. It didn't matter where we went, as long as we weren't around to interfere in her affairs.” He didn't quite meet her gaze, feeling her empathy, and not entirely comfortable with it. Discussing his past was not something he was familiar with.

”Jason was the one who convinced me I could get a degree. And at the time, that was no easy feat. I was so busy indulging in my bad-boy popularity, I'll admit I was something of a punk.”

Carlie touched the bridge of his nose. ”Brenda told me you broke your nose in a fight.”

He sent her a small, brief smile. ”Yeah. I did a lot of fighting back then. Mom loved it when I kicked a.s.s. It was the only time she ever gave me any recognition.” Tyler was amazed the words were coming so easily. But then, it was always easy to talk to Carlie. ”You see, it really didn't matter who I was. It was what I did that was important.”

”It always matters, Tyler. If not to someone else, then to yourself.”

He was filled with satisfaction. ”There, you see? You know that, but no other woman I've ever met has thought so. When Mom took off, and that was some time ago, she couldn't have cared less who I was or what I might become.”

Carlie looked down at the remains of her pizza, then tightened her fingers around his hand. ”You can't categorize all women based on one, Tyler. That isn't fair.”

Tyler laughed wryly. ”Don't go getting psychological on me. My mother and her many faults didn't form any lasting impression on me. It's the dozens of women since who've done that. All but you.” He lifted her fingers and kissed them. ”You, I'm convinced, are incapable of guile.”

Carlie jumped to her feet, picked up the plates and carried them to the sink. ”I'm just your basic female, Tyler, subject to the same flaws as anyone else. I can make mistakes, I-”

Tyler stood, going to Carlie and taking her face between his hands. She stared up at him, her body taut with apprehension. ”You would never hurt me, Carlie. I know you wouldn't.”

”You sound so positive.”

He smiled as his thumbs stroked her cheeks. ”That's because I know you care about me. You grouse and grumble and complain, but you do care, don't you?”

Her gaze was direct and fiercely earnest. ”Yes, I do.”

He hesitated, his smile disappearing. ”A little?”

”A lot, Tyler. A lot.”

He ached. She made him feel important to her. And most of all, he believed her. She truly cared for him.

His kiss wasn't meant to seduce, but rather to show tenderness and understanding. ”Thank you, Carlie. For caring.”

He was still cradling her face, but their bodies weren't touching. Carlie bit her lower lip, then hugged herself to him. Tyler had the awful suspicion she could look into his soul and see his vulnerability. It shook him, and he sought casual conversation to break the mood.

”It was the same for Jason, until he met Brenda. You should have seen him in action. He had women throwing themselves at him, and he seldom ducked to get out of the way. After we opened the law practice, it only got worse. It seemed every client who came in knew someone or was related to someone, or was someone, who they thought Jason should get to know intimately. It grew old real quick. He started sending the younger female clients to me.”

”And now look how incorrigible you are.”

He chuckled. ”That's right, honey. Put the blame where it's deserved. I'm just a product of circ.u.mstance.”

”You're a product of indulgence.” Carlie leaned back to smile up at him. ”I remember when Brenda went to work for Jason. She said he was gorgeous, charming and entirely insufferable. He tried giving her a bracelet once, you know.”

”I remember. She threw it at him. d.a.m.ned thing was heavy, too. Left a bruise on his shoulder.”