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TYLER
The fire in Elizabeth’s eyes was disconcerting and almost ruined the steam of Tyler’s anger as he climbed from the dark blue Mustang. She met him head-on.
He wasn’t used to people throwing wrenches in his offensive moves. But she brought Tyler up short and it was humbling to realize that the mistake had been his.
Her long brown wavy hair, fluttered around her shoulders as she stated her frustrations. Where most women took on a shrewish hue when they were irritated, his wife had a glow.
Tyler’s pride kept him from telling her how frantic he’d been, near-running through the Oakland airport looking for her from one security checkpoint to the next. He couldn’t tell her he had called the police department to see if anyone had been brought in with amnesia. He’d called five hospitals to check if any recent admissions had come in with concussions or other head injuries.
Why else wouldn’t she try to contact him? Maybe she had amnesia. Maybe she didn’t remember who she was. The possibilities were endless and Tyler was willing to consider them all before losing his cool completely.
All he knew was he hadn’t been able to find her for six hours. The directions his imagination had taken him had made him absolutely nauseous.
Even though it’d been his fault, Tyler didn’t have to add insult to injury and tell his new wife about the bet and his lack of interest in being married or having anything to do with the home. He’d been rash and rude and if his father were alive, he’d take a paddle across his backside.
If Ty would look past his pride and joy of bachelorism, he’d accept that the curve of her lip and the soft fold of her arm had captivated him more than he wanted to own up to.
He didn’t want to be married. He didn’t want to be tied to someone he didn’t know, and he didn’t want to get to know someone he was tied to.
Unfortunately for Elizabeth Snyder that was exactly what happened. She was stuck in a perfect Catch-22. Unless Tyler could get rid of her in some way without making her feel like he didn’t want her around, he wouldn’t be able to pursue anything with her.
She had to be unavailable for him to want to chase her.
The honest truth was, he was caught up in the intrigue of stupid mind games. Would he ever grow up?
Jay had wanted Tyler to take the challenge head-on, throw his all into it, but Ty hadn’t realized what exactly he had lost in the bet.
Tyler needed to ask Elizabeth if they were free to date other people. Did he have the guts to find out if they were truly going to be married or if they wanted to treat it as a business contract?
As he considered his options, he realized he didn’t want to close things off with her. He wanted to cut off any chance with her about as much as he wanted to pursue anything permanent, either.
Ty groaned, leaning back in the leather seat of his desk downstairs and swiveled in a half-circle – back and forth, back and forth. What was he supposed to do? She was a beautiful girl with a smile that could make him forget why he was angry, make him forget why they were in the situation they were in.
Ty didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to hurt anybody. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that his carelessness was going to end in uncontrollable consequences.
~~~
HE LOVED MORNINGS AND was usually more productive before the sun was up. Tyler had already taken a shower and had a couple cups of coffee before leaving for the day. He didn’t even know if Elizabeth was a morning person or a night person.
That morning, he was certainly not going to wait and find out.
The building they rented for his company – his company, his baby – had tight carpet and wood wainscoting on the walls. Real plants in large ceramic planters spotted the office in corners and beside tables.
Mac tapped Tyler’s shoulder when he walked through the door, the early hours the norm for the group. “I’m in here earlier than you and we have a new baby.” He laughed and shot his fingers at Ty as a pretend gun. “Did the new wife come yet?” He laughed and Ryan walked through the door with him.
Tyler shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I didn’t realize people actually took this marriage thing seriously. You guys know that she actually wants to try to make it work?” He needed someone else to understand the absurdity of it. Who did that – put their future in the control of a computer program run by someone they’d never met?
The teasing light left his friends’ eyes. They glanced at each other, concern turning their mouths down. Ryan spoke for the both of them. “You didn’t explain it before you accepted? You could’ve described the situation in your profile or something. Why didn’t you do that? Of course, people take this stuff seriously. I mean, you just married her for six months. Jay said it cost – what, two grand? She was expecting to come and start a marriage. You can’t do that to people. Did you tell her the truth?”
Tyler nodded softly, guilt ripping through him at the realization that he hadn’t only been called out by his new wife, but also by his buddies. Doubt suddenly filled him.
His choices and the severity of what he’d done slapped him across the face. “Yeah, she was at the house on Staten Avenue last night. I got off the phone with Jay and came clean. Figured the more honest I was the better, right? Isn’t that the way to go?” He looked to his friends for encouragement, approval, anything to take away the horrible gnawing shame at what he’d done.
Ryan covered his face with his hands, wiping them down his cheeks to drop off his chin. “No. No. No. No. No. In those types of situations, you don’t want to tell her she’s not wanted. What is wrong with you? She came to you all hopeful and unsure and there you are smashing her dreams. If you weren’t the boss, I’d clock you right now.”
“Don’t bother. I feel terrible. I wasn’t thinking.” He hadn’t thought any of it through. “I lost that bet and allowed me to be wrapped up in my own stuff. I didn’t think about anyone else.” Tyler was a bachelor. Thinking about other people wasn’t part of the job description.
“I think you should apologize and tell her that you’ll try. Honestly, you should try. You owe it to her to give this thing a shot. She was matched to you. Maybe there’s something there. I know you’re all wrapped up in being the hottest bachelor, but sometimes we gotta put others before ourselves.” Mac rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t envy you. Is she at least cute? Are you attracted to her, at all?”
“I don’t care what Jay said, I wasn’t going to accept anyone that wasn’t attractive and her pictures didn’t do her justice. Nowhere on her profile did it say she was a spitfire. She lit into me when I finally got to the house. I’ve never been talked to like that... by anyone... Let alone a woman.” Dang, if her spunk didn’t intrigue him.
Her tenacity won him over and he’d caved easier than he thought possible with her demands for the garage. She’d claimed her things had been stolen, yet she hadn’t been upset or crying or anything.
Tyler didn’t know if he should believe her or assume she was a little crazy. “Okay, what do I do?” Those guys were his closest friends. They wouldn’t steer him wrong.
“You try. Uh oh, Tyler Manning has to actually have a relationship with someone.” They both started laughing. In the gravity of the moment, he begrudged them their humor. “You sure don’t try to push her away like you do the other women in your life. This includes no insulting her or where she came from or her taste in things.”
They had him there and Tyler didn’t like it. Waving at them, he walked toward his office. “Okay, that’s enough. You had your laugh. I’ll figure this out on my own.” While he walked confidently away, he was afraid of turning into a little boy on the inside. He’d messed up and he knew it. He wasn’t sure there was anything he could do to pull out of it and make amends.
Before throwing himself into the busy workday, Tyler couldn’t help smiling at the memory of his wife pointing her finger and yelling. She had attitude which made her eyes sparkle and color flushed her cheeks.
Yes, if they weren’t married, Tyler would definitely ask her out on a date.
