Page 13 of Tyler

“Okay, sure.” He pulled out his phone and walked over. “Here,” he said, handing her his cell already opened to contacts.

Her pulse raced, and her hand threatened to shake but she managed to type in her information and return his phone.

He tapped the screen a few times, and a second later her phone vibrated with a text. She pulled it out and looked at the screen.

I’ve got yours. Now you’ve got mine.

She glanced up at him and he raised a brow behind a pair of glasses with only one lens, and dammit, he looked adorable.

“We good?” he asked.

She forced those silly thoughts aside and nodded. “Yeah. We’re good.”

But she wasn’t okay with the way her heart fluttered at the word “we”. She also wasn’t crazy about the way the women were smiling at her after Ty left the room.

“What?” she finally asked after she’d created a new contact with his number.

Abby grinned. “You’re blushing.”

She set a hand on her cheek. “Seriously? Great. Stupid body.”

“What’s wrong with being attracted to the guy?” Mel asked. “You’re both single.”

“Yeah, but he’s freshly dumped, and I don’t want to be a rebound.” She glanced at Rylee, hoping she didn’t take offense about her brother. “Sorry.”

The woman shook her head. “Don’t be. It’s okay. I get it. But if it helps, Ty has gone out a few times since he moved here.”

“That’s good, right?” Abby asked.

“Yeah.” Mel nodded. “It means he got the angry sex out of the way.”

Abby’s head snapped back. “Angry sex? What’s that?”

“Nothing we need to discuss, especially in context to my brother, thank you very much,” Rylee stated, crumpling her napkin.

Piper never had angry sex before, but guilty sex—well, guiltaftersex—now, that was different.

“Have you dated since your husband died?” Abby asked. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want.”

She exhaled. “It’s okay. And yeah, I dated a French guy when I went to Paris two years ago.”

It was a trip she’d always wanted to make with Zane, but he got too sick. He made her promise she would go someday and to forget about being true to him, because she was too young and deserved to live. Of course, she had no intention of keeping that second part, but when she got to Paris it had felt as if fate or Zane hand put her in the path of the Frenchman whose name was Zane. That was just too unbelievable, but when he’d bought her a blue iris, she decided to let go and keep her promise to her dead husband. The iris wasn’t her favorite flower, but blue daisies weren’t exactly available in France. Her husband had given her a blue daisy on their first date, and Piper had carried a bouquet of them at their wedding. She took all this is a sign, and enjoyedthe day and night with the man, but after he left her hotel room, she’d cried for hours.

“He spent the night, but it was a mistake,” she said. “The guilt was so crippling. It was definitely a mistake.”

Stef’s hand covered hers. “It had to happen sooner or later, and I’m guessing the guilt would’ve been there no matter who it was or when it happened.”

Piper nodded. “I know, but I still regret it.”

“Has he been the only one?” Christa asked.

She shook her head. “No. A half a year later, I was in NYC with my sister and her friends for her birthday, and because I promised her I’d dance if asked…I had to dance with the handsome, dark-haired, dark-eyed stranger when he asked.”

“What a bummer.” Mel snickered. “Do go on.”

“He didn’t grope and was very gentlemanly,” she said. “And after a while, I relaxed and actually enjoyed myself.” She’d had a really nice time that night. “I agreed to meet him the next day for lunch, and it just evolved into a relaxing relationship.”

Mel leaned forward. “And the sex? Did you cry?”

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