Page 89 of The Love Dare
Her heart thunders in her ears as the silence extends—one second, then two.
“I love you, Alexandru,” Tyler finally responds, emotion thickening his voice. “And I will always be grateful for everything you’ve done for me. I would be nowhere without you. I’d be nothing. But if you told me you don’t approve of my relationship with Winnie, I’m sorry, I would respectfully tell you to fuck off.” Alex starts wheezing. Winnie can’t breathe. Even Yetta pulls in a shocked gasp. But Tyler isn’t done. His voice is hard as iron as he concludes, “We’re grown adults. These are our lives. And it’s not your decision to make.”
Crickets. That’s all the world is right now.
Chirping crickets and suffocating stillness.
No one moves.
“Good.”
Winnie blinks, then shakes her head. She can’t possibly have heard that correctly. But then her father continues.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
It is?
“It is?” Tyler says, voicing her thoughts aloud.
“My Uldwyna is very special to me. And you are like a son, Tyler, so I already know you’re a good man. But I needed to know you’re the right man. Now, I do.”
“Because I told you to fuck off?”
Her father laughs, loud and deep, the sound echoing up the vent and spilling into the laundry room, easing the tension, bringing life back into her lungs. “Because you put her first. Now, come. Let’s go back inside. Yetta will be angry if we don’t eat some of the food she prepared.”
Winnie scrambles to her feet as Alex lurches off the washing machine. They practically shove their mother down the hallway. By the time the front door swings open, they’re all resting nonchalantly on the living room couches, a bit flushed and out of breath, but her father doesn’t seem to notice. He takes a moment to meet her eyes with a small yet firm nod, then turns on her brother with a look that says,I’ll get to you later.He gestures toward the kitchen.
“Your mother made lunch.”
Alex takes the out and jumps to his feet, always quick to follow orders when he’s in the hot seat. Her mother takes her father’s hand and gently tugs him with her as she follows after her son. Soon, it’s just Winnie, Ty, and the crew, but after so many weeks in front of the camera, it’s easy to forget they’re there. The second Tyler walks over and settles his hands on her hips, the whole world fades away regardless.
“You don’t look surprised,” he says with his signature half-grin, a spark brightening his features. “Laundry room?”
Winnie pulls her lower lip between her teeth. “Maybe.”
“I should have known.”
“Again, maybe,” she says, this time with a slight smile. He did, after all, listen to many a conversation in there with her and Alex. But those were conversations between her parents aboutthem. This time, she was snooping on him. “Are you mad?”
“How could I possibly be mad? I’m still in shock.” He groans and drops his forehead to her shoulder, burrowing his face against her neck. “I told him tofuck off, Win. How did that— What did I?—”
“Hey, hewantedyou to. You heard him!” She runs her fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp until he relaxes against her, tense muscles going soft in her arms. “They know, Ty,” she whispers. With her palm to his cheek, she guides his face up until he’s finally looking at her. “Theyknow. And they don’t care.”
He folds his arms around her waist in a big bear hug and lifts her off the ground so they’re eye to eye. “I love you.”
She practically melts on the spot. “I love you, too.”
He moves his lips closer, teasing her with his breath as their noses brush together. Then he waits, as if he can sense her pounding pulse and he wants to draw it out, wants to let it build to a frenzy, wants to take all the time in the world because suddenly they have it. Her heart does a little somersault inside her chest, because he’s so big and strong and solid and sexy and somehow he’s all hers. She clutches him, her feet still dangling a foot off the ground, but she’s not scared. She’s eager, for his touch and his lips and the promise within them.
Tyler closes the distance.
Alex’s voice stops him. “Get a room!”
He growls against her lips, the rumble vibrating through her with their chests so close, and halts the kiss before it’s even begun. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Get in line.”
With a sigh he sets her back on her feet, their foreheads touching. “You ready?”
