Page 55 of His to Love
“Good night, Gabriella.”
I left my father’s office, thankful that he wasn’t loitering outside, listening to the entire conversation. Then I grabbed my purse from the kitchen, saddened that the room was empty and Clarissa was nowhere to be found. As I headed upstairs to kiss my mother good night, I wished that either of the women I loved and adored could wrap their arms around me and hold me.
Because I feared I had just made an incredibly huge mistake.
—
By the time I pulled into Tyson’s driveway, my eyes were struggling to stay open. It was almost eleven o’clock and I was wiped out.
Between a long day at work, finding an apartment, the meeting with my father and Malik, and a stop at my hotel for a change of clothes for tomorrow morning, I desperately wanted to climb into the closest bed I could find and fall asleep immediately.
Hopefully, the bed I’d be falling asleep in would contain Tyson as well.
It was that thought that kept me from canceling when I walked into my hotel room—the bed calling my name, enticing me to lie down for just a moment.
With an exhausted grunt, I reached around and grabbed my overnight bag from the back seat and forced my feet to carry me toward Tyson’s door. It opened as soon as I reached the front step and I couldn’t hide my smile. He’d been waiting for me. A jolt of something pleasurable hit my chest and as he stepped out and reached for my bag, that pleasurable jolt traveled farther south.
When he lifted his eyes and our gazes met, that jolt turned into a full body tingle.
“Hey.”
He scanned my face and frowned. “You look tired.”
I sighed. “I’ve had a really crappy evening.”
My bag hit the floor with a thump. The door closed behind me, and then Tyson’s hand was on my neck, sliding around to the back. I sank into his hold immediately, my head collapsing against his chest.
“Want to talk about it?”
I shook my head back and forth. “Drink first.”
His lips brushed against my hair on the top of my head and he pulled me toward him, my chest hitting his. My hands immediately went to his waist and then around to his back. “Beer?”
“Please.”
A low chuckle from his chest vibrated against my skin. “We’re going to have to get out of the entryway, then.”
I forced myself to pull back. It was a miraculous feat considering I really wanted that bed, and Tyson in it with me. Just having his arms around me, and the fact that the first thing he asked me was if I wanted to talk about it, made me want him more than I already did.
He really cared. I hadn’t had much of that in my life.
My shoulders slumped at the thought and I finally pushed away from Tyson, slowly lifting my eyes to meet his.
“I’ve never seen you look so beat.” His hand slid from my neck, his thumb brushed along my cheekbone.
“Not nice to tell a woman she looks like shit.”
He flashed me a faint smile. “You’re beautiful, but you look ready to fall asleep.”
“I am. But I really want that drink.” I might need the small amount of liquid courage to bolster myself when I told him about my meeting with my dad.
Not only did I have to pull out of a date with Tyson, but I also had to tell him why. And hope he understood.
He led me toward the living room, pointed a finger at the couch and said, “Sit and relax. I’ll go get us drinks.” I listened and folded my feet under me in one corner of the couch while he walked straight through the living room into the kitchen. I watched as he took out two Shock Top ales from the fridge, popped the tops, tossed them onto the counter, and returned to the living room, handing me a beer before he settled on the couch next to me.
I adjusted myself, leaving my feet under me but turned so my knees rested on his thighs. His arm went to the back of the couch, and I put my head on his shoulder while he kicked his feet up on the table in front of him, crossing his ankles. I took a few small sips of my beer and ran my thumb up and down the bottle’s label, not really noticing the Mohawk and sunglasses of the logo that my thumb caressed. I’d had an hour to think about what to tell Tyson and how to explain the mess I had just put myself in. And I was still stalling.
Choosing to get it over with, I blurted out, “My mother and father have someone they want me to marry.”
