Page 107 of Every Broken Promise
I never letmyself dream of what life could be like with Tyler Kane, and so far, it felt as if I was living in a fairy tale. My teenage self would have been in seventh heaven.
“I’m so happy you could join us today, honey,” my mom told Tyler as she passed him a plate.
If my parents knew Ty had been sneaking into my room to sleep and only sleeping because I refused to get it on at my parents’ house, they didn’t let it show.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come the last couple of weeks. We’ve been busy at the auto shop.”
“Every Sunday?” my mom questioned as she looked my way.
Tyler chuckled.
“Yeah, it was kind of a punishment. I made a business decision without consulting my family, and none of them could cover for me on Sundays.”
When my eyes met Tyler, he cast a quick wink my way. I quickly looked around the table, but neither of my parents had caught it. I could have easily told them Tyler and I were friends again—even if that word felt short for what was happening. I’m sure my parents would be thrilled by such a development.
For a whole week, Tyler had been sneaking into my room. It had been a week full of conversations. Everything about my college experience and his—no detail was too insignificant for Ty. Sometimes I got so lost in a story, I would ramble on while he listened with a smile on his face. People sometimes looked at you without paying attention, they listened to you without hearing what you had to say. Tyler Kane had always made me feel seen and heard. He valued my input, and I missed that. Other times, when I went on for too long, Ty would shut me up with a kiss. It was safe to say it was an effective way to derail my train of thought. As soon as things got a little heated, he would curse but ultimately stop. Then he would tuck me into his side, and we would go to sleep.
It was so fucking hard—pun fucking intended—because who the hell can sleep when they have a dick poking their ass? Not this girl.
It was like being a kid again, minus a penis in the mix. The innocent relationship that hadn’t been tainted had rebloomed, with a shit ton of sexual tension.
I needed relief, and I needed it soon.
At least I wasn’t the only one who needed relief. Tyler was close to begging me to go to his house—which I wouldn’t have minded in any other relationship, but come on. His dad was family to me, too.
“June bug.”
My head swung to my dad as I blinked away the memories I shouldn’t be having.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“A few of my coworkers mentioned they would bring their kids to the bakery once they finished their shift.”
That made my chest tighten with a case of the warm and fuzzies.
“It was a great article,” Ty interjected. “My favorite part was when she said that small businesses were the heart of a community. And if we let them die out our towns would lose their soul…even EZ joked that he would be stopping by.”
That feeling in my stomach deepened and it wasn’t just the warm and fuzzies anymore, it was my feelings for Ty that kept growing.
“That’s awesome!” I told them. “I saw Luna the other day, and she said they’ve had an increase in customers since the article came out.”
“When I went to get my hair trimmed, Cora hinted her boss would love to be featured. All of the girls noticed how much traffic Lupe has had this past week,” my mom said.
Now, thinking back, it seemed silly that I had not told anyone of my future plans at the paper.
“Thanks to the success of my article, my boss will let me make it a weekly segment. I plan on spotlighting not only business here in Oakhill Creek but the surrounding counties.”
“That’s awesome, June bug,” my daddy told me.
From across the table, I could see Tyler staring at me with soft eyes. I had to force myself to look away or else my parents would catch on to us.
Once dinner ended, Ty said his goodbyes.
“Are you going back to work, honey?” my mom asked him. She wanted to send some food for his brothers because she worried they weren’t eating much.
“Ah, no. I have an errand to run. I was going to ask Astrid if she’d like to come with me.”
Damn him for putting me on the spot like that.
