Page 46 of Tempting the Heart

“I needed you guys in my life more than you could ever know, so I pretended you were nothing more than my best friend’s sister.” He shook his head. “But any second I could be around you, I tried.”

“Really?”

He nodded, and I felt my heart skip a beat. “Mae, I just can’t explain what you and your family in my life made possible for me. Kindness and support are things that I never felt at home. Anyway, I fell pretty hard for you, but I knew it was a line I couldn’t cross.”

I suddenly didn’t feel so crazy for pining over a guy since high school… well, junior high, if I were to get technical about it.

“I had no idea Brad told you that,” I said softly, feeling my heart twisting into a knot. “It probably wouldn’t have changed anything. We were both kids. Tons of hormones.”

He smiled and nodded. “Maybe. I don’t know… that night in the treehouse was pretty special.”

“It wasn’t exactly night. It was early evening, technically still daylight.”

Tyler laughed and brought me into him, skimming his lips on top of my head as I closed my eyes and remembered back to that time so many years ago.

“You were my first kiss,” I whispered.

His arms loosened, and he stepped back with a smile. “You were the first kiss that mattered.”

I eyed him with a smile. “Yeah? What was your second?”

“This. Right here.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re smooth, Mr. Grant. Now, let’s go finish dinner so we can get to the beach before sunset. It’s really special.”

Tyler chuckled and followed me the few steps back to the kitchen where I finished slicing peppers, mushrooms, and onions while he sauteed some chicken I’d diced.

Everything with him was so easy, and I couldn’t understand how quickly we had a rhythm. Trying to cook with my sisters was a nightmare. We’d be falling all over one another, squabbling about ingredients and cook times, and elbowing each other out of the way.

I glanced at Tyler as he shook some salt and spices I had already measured into a bowl. He looked good at my stove.

Tyler looked over at me and smiled. “What?”

“Just noticing how cute you are.” I shrugged. “No big deal.”

Tyler smiled and rolled his eyes. “Are you going to tell me what this recipe is called?”

“It’s my own version of something called smothered chicken.” I poured the veggies into the skillet and went to the fridge to grab the shredded cheeses I had combined.

He didn’t skip a beat as he sauteed the chicken and veggies while I went to the rice cooker and scooped the rice into a glass pan.

I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that my brother had warned Tyler away from me.

Would that have changed anything, or would Tyler have kissed me, made me his girlfriend, and then dumped me? Or would we have been that couple that went to all the dances together, and then he dumped me when he left for college? Or would we be in secret since he was a little older than me, and then he dumped me?

Why did I always wind up dumped in my scenario?

“Should I pour this over the rice?” His eyes caught mine.

I nodded. “It will look horrible, but I promise it’s delicious.”

He laughed, transferring the mixture over the rice as I spread the cheese and shoved the dish into the oven.

“You seem quiet suddenly,” he said softly, putting the pan in the sink to rinse. “Everything okay?”

“I’m just fascinated by analyzing things that never happened.” I laughed with a shrug. “It’s a bad trait.”

He walked over and leaned against the counter in front of me. “Explain.”

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