Truly Mine (5 page)

pronunciation
kuh-n-fruhnt

(v.)
to come in front of; to meet face-to-face.

S
tanding at the office door, Tyler holds his hand out, motioning for me to exit ahead of him.

Over the past hour, we ravaged the office on the second floor, managing to locate every document I needed. Although we worked side by side and I caught him staring at me several times, we didn’t speak more than a few words to one another.

Honestly, I’m a bit embarrassed by my outburst when I first arrived, especially considering my whole mission was to get in and out of this town without incident. I certainly did not come close to accomplishing that. Instead, I made myself look manic and in desperate need of therapy. That’s probably not far from the truth really.

“Thank you for helping me. Contrary to my behavior earlier, I do appreciate it, and it was good to see you, Tyler,” I speak as we walk down the stairs so that I don’t have to look at him.

His eyes still have a way of grabbing hold of my heart. I’ll admit, the chemistry is still there, but my heart is not available for his taking anymore.

We reach the bottom of the stairs. Tyler moves quickly past me and stands directly in front of me. I can feel his eyes boring into the side of my head as I focus on an imaginary wrinkle in my shirt. I pretend to smooth it away and will him to stop looking at me. He’s demanding my attention, demanding that I look at him. He’s good. I teach that on day one. When you want a woman’s attention, demand it.

I can’t fight the urge to look at him, no matter how hard I try.

The minute my eyes meet his, he says exactly what I knew he would, “Let me take you out tonight for your birthday.” It’s almost like a plea.

I expected him to persuade me to spend time with him tonight, but what I didn’t expect was for him to know that today was my birthday.

“How do you know it’s my birthday?”

“I just remembered. I have a good memory.”

“No way, Tyler. You were hard-pressed to remember my damn name until the day I left this town.”

“That’s bullshit, Truly, and you know it.”

I shake my head, making it clear to him that I’m not buying it. “Really, Tyler, let’s be honest. The only thing you knew about me, like really knew, was that I was a sure thing.”
At least where you were concerned.

“I might have been young and dumb, but I thought more of you than that. Can we just start this day over, Truly? I’d like to spend some time with you and catch up,” he says, nearly begging.

“No, Tyler. I’m not here for this. Please don’t.” I approach the front door.

Not turning around to even say good-bye, I walk out of the house and straight to my car. For fear that he will come after me, I immediately start my engine and leave. Through the rearview mirror, I take in the house as I make my way around the circle drive that leads out to a quiet country road.

It amazes me that my mother lived in this house.

This beautiful two-story brick home with white shutters and window boxes full of blooming flowers was hers. The lush bright green lawn was hers too. She sat under the tree in the side yard on that gliding rocker. One would think that a big family with a stay-at-home mom lives here. My mom was a stay-at-home mom when I was a child…a stay-at-home-and-fuck-everyone’s-husbands mom. I can’t fathom how she made it from the roach-infested grungy shack that we lived in to this place. And now, for some reason, I want to know how she ended up here. I’m certain she completely destroyed someone’s life to advance her own.

Apparently, she found quite the sugar daddy if what Dara says about her estate’s worth is true.

Oh my, what am I going to do with all of that dirty money?
I don’t want or need it. Even if I passed it on to a good cause or a person in need, it would haunt me because of the way it had most likely been earned. I could just burn it.
No, that’s crazy.
In that moment, I decide to ask Dara if she knows anything about the man who my mother was married to. If I know the source of his wealth, then I will decide how it should be spent.

Arriving at the law office to drop off the documents, I find the door is locked, and the lights are off. I look down at my watch and realize that it’s much later in the day than I thought. I’m not one to watch the clock all the time as I usually have one appointment that lasts all day. Time is not an issue unless I am on someone else’s clock. Dara must have banker’s hours. It’s only five fifteen, and this place is empty.

I don’t want to be stuck in this town overnight. I dial the firm’s number, hoping they have an after-hours service. As my luck would have it, the phone just rings and rings. For a moment, I wish Tyler would appear, so he could call his sister, and we could get this ordeal finished. I contemplate leaving and returning next week, but I quickly decide that one visit to this godforsaken town is one too many. I’ll find a motel in the neighboring town and stay until the office opens. Then, I’ll finish signing off on the estate and get the hell out of here forever.

I need to let Lissa know that I won’t be back in New York tonight after all. I slide into my car and press the phone icon on the dash display.

“Call Lissa,” I command.

After one ring, her cheerful voice flows out of the speakers. “Hello?”

“Hey. So, I ran into an issue.”

“Oh, no. What happened?” she asks, concerned.

I explain the day’s events to her, leaving out the parts that include Tyler. This mess with Scott has us all stressed out. She doesn’t need to worry because I’m dealing with yet another man who wants more than I’ll give.

I try to present the hiccup like it’s for the best. “So, I’m going to get a motel and finish this up in the morning, and then I’ll head home. It’s probably a good thing. I’m so tired anyway. This whole situation is exhausting.” As I share my plans, I pull out of the parking spot and head down the street in the direction of the library. I’ll stop in there before I head to the motel.

“Okay, but where are you staying? I don’t like that you’re alone right now.”

I hate that she’s stressed, and it’s my fault. Lissa is the type of friend that, if she can’t fix your problems for you, she’ll stay by your side until you can fix them yourself or until they go away. And this problem with Scott just can’t be fixed, so she’s kept close to my side all week.

“I’m fine. Really. I’m going to stop at the bar in town and have a drink, and then I’ll get a room at a dive in the next town over. Even if Scott did follow me, which he didn’t, he would never look for me at a cheap motel.” I breathe out a heavy breath and hear Lissa do the same on the other end of the line. “Please don’t give it another thought.”

“You don’t have a friend you can stay with?” she questions, obviously not able to do what I asked.

“No, Lissa. I haven’t seen anyone in twelve years. I don’t know these people anymore. Just stop. I’ll be fast asleep in a few hours and then out of here first thing in the morning. No worries, dollface,” I reply optimistically.

“Call me every ten minutes.”

I wish she were joking, but she really isn’t. Even though she’s eight years younger than me, she worries worse than I ever have.

“I’ll call you when I get settled in my room. Love you.”

“All right. Love you, too. Don’t forget to call me,” she pleads.

pronunciation
vik-tawr-ee-uhs

(adj.)
triumphant; having earned a victory

W
hen my sister told me a few days ago that Truly would be in town, I can’t lie, all I could think about was how fucking amazing Truly in her sexual prime would be. I’m a bastard that way. Not that I wasn’t sorry for her loss, but I was glad that something was finally bringing her back to Fallport.

And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. The biggest blessing in my life right now is that women in their forties are at their sexual peak. I’ve had the best sex of my life over the past few years.

Thank you, God, for this one!

I usually get what I want in that area, and just in the past hour, I’ve decided that I want Truly Rowan—again. Only one thing is standing in my way. She is not the hot mess she was when she left this town. She most definitely has her shit together.

After spending just an hour with Truly, I need a strong drink. She left me standing at her mother’s house, feeling like a fool. Maybe it’s my own fault for putting myself out there to be turned down. After all, she made it clear that she’s not interested in having anything to do with me. I find that hard to believe though.

The history we shared and the chemistry we had couldn’t have just faded from her memory. I sure as fuck remember it. I knew we weren’t going to just pick up where we’d left off, but at the least, I was hoping for a reunion that included some variation of sexual contact.

I dug into her past just enough to know that she’s not married, but maybe she’s in a relationship. All I know for sure is that when I last saw her, we were having crazy sex, and now, she can barely stand to look at me. I want to know why. I want to know anything and everything about her. I’m on very limited time, and I want to end this visit with her tangled up in my bed.

I’ve been at Perdue’s for all of ten minutes, and I’ve got one drink down and many to go before I can get her out of my head. My best friend since grade school, Cory, met me here and has been grilling me about Truly. He wants to know the same thing I do—what she has been up to since she left town.

Just as I start the mental battle over whether or not I’m going to stay and get drunk or leave, my favorite tall blonde in the world walks in. Katie Brooks makes a beeline straight for the barstool next to mine, and that settles that. I’ll be staying for a while.

“Tyler.” Her voice is soft and sweet.

“Katie.” I slowly turn toward her and focus on her fire-red lips.

Then, my gaze falls to her low-cut top, more so to what’s popping out of it. Katie has great tits. Not too big and not too little. I move on to the short denim skirt that leaves nothing to the imagination. Her long tan legs are any man’s fantasy.

Much like the clothes she wears, her personality is outgoing and demands attention also. Her husband takes business trips often, and when he’s gone, Katie sows her wild oats. She’s forever trying to get me to leave with her, and I wouldn’t hesitate if her husband weren’t my friend.

Alex grew up here in Fallport. He met Katie at college, and he brought her back here. Then, they got married shortly after. Why they’ve stayed married though, I’ll never understand. They don’t have a kind word for each other, they have no kids tying them together, and they both fuck around on each other every chance they get. Everyone in town knows it.

She settles on the stool, leaning her back on the bar, and crosses her long legs, showing them off to the table of teenagers sitting against the window. They take notice immediately. She winks at the boys and then slides her hand across my knee and up my thigh.

“How are you doin’ tonight, Tyler?” Her smile guarantees she gets what she wants from most guys.

Her full lips and deep dimples on her cheeks are deadly. Just from flashing that smile, she’s damn near gotten what she wants from me many times after I’ve had a few too many drinks.

“Hi, Cory.” She peeks around me and winks at Cory.

He smirks and rolls his eyes at her. He’s not her biggest fan, to say the least.

“I’ve been better, doll. How are you?” I respond.

She doesn’t say anything for a few seconds and spins her stool around so that her legs are between the two of us. She leans in toward me and squeezes my thigh. “I can help you feel better, Tyler.”

“Yeah? How’s that?”

She’s told me a million times exactly what she would do if I ever left with her, but hearing it never gets old.

I finish the last of the beer in front of me and then give Katie my full attention.

She leans in and whispers in my ear, “Baby, let’s get out of here, and I’ll make sure your night makes up for whatever put you in a bad mood today.” She slides her hand higher on my thigh, just brushing my cock.