Page 81 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

So that's why he was being weird. He missed his dad. He didn't want me to experience his pain. "I'm so sorry, Tyler." I stepped forward and put my hand on his chest. I didn't really have any other words to express what I felt. But I wanted him to know that I understood. That he was living my biggest fear. "If you want to talk about what happened..." I let me voice trail off.

Something flashed across his eyes. It was only for a moment though. And it was too fast for me to be able to tell what it was. "I have a better idea." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms.

I laughed as I steadied myself by putting my hands on his biceps. He was really good at distracting me. If his piercing blue eyes weren't doing it, his muscles certainly were. "And what is your great idea?"

"Crepes." The smile was back on his face.

"Crepes?"

"Yeah. There's a great place like a block from here."

I laughed. "When in the world did you do all this research about Venice Beach?"

"I thought it was going to be my last day to have fun for a while. I wanted to make it count."

He had planned a send off party for himself. I didn't care if he had originally pictured me here or not. I knew he wanted me here now. And I was going to give him the best send off ever. "What else is on your list?"

"I want to check out the Santa Monica pier. Apparently the views from the Ferris wheel are amazing."

"Honestly, I'm a little scared of heights."

"Last time I checked, you were damn good at facing your fears, Hails. Besides, I'll be right there with you."

Just that thought alone warmed my heart. I slipped my hand into his. I truly felt like together we could face anything. "Come on then, we don't have much time to waste."

***

"I'm not drunk enough yet."

Tyler laughed.

God, I was going to miss his laugh. I put my chin in my hand as I took another sip of the ridiculously huge drink I had ordered.

"I'm pretty sure it'll be even scarier if you're drunk."

"How would you know? You're not scared of heights. And stop making me talk about it behind it's back. You're going to jinx everything."

Tyler turned around and glanced at the Ferris wheel. "Hails, you can't talk about an inanimate object behind it's back. It can't hear you." He raised his eyebrow as he stared down at my drink and then back up at me.

I took another sip. "Maybe I've had enough to drink," I said with a laugh. But I continued to take another sip.

"Delay it all you want, I'm still making you do it."

"Right, right." I smiled to myself. "I guess we might as well get this over with then." I slowly stood up as he pulled out his wallet. "If you can catch me first."

"Hailey!" he shouted after me.

But I was already running down the pier. The sound of my flip flops on the wooden boards, the seagulls calling, and the waves crashing in the distance were my new favorite sounds in the world. I felt alive. I looked over my shoulder. Tyler was quickly gaining on me. Right before he caught up to me, I jumped off the pier and into the sand. I may not have loved the smell of the ocean, but I absolutely loved the feeling of sand between my toes.

I laughed as Tyler wrapped his arms around me, pulling us both down into the sand. In a matter of seconds he had me pinned beneath him. I thought I had felt alive a moment ago. But now all my senses seemed heightened.

"Gotcha," he whispered against my lips.

All I wanted was his lips on mine. "How about instead of going on the Ferris wheel, I just seduce you in the sand?"

He leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against mine.

The teasing gesture sent shivers down my spine.

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