Tyler couldn’t take his eyes off Alisha as she rose from her chaise like some sun goddess. She smoothed that blond hair over her shoulder and adjusted her suit bottoms.
He hadn’t meant to be so flirty, but he wasn’t sorry now that she’d called him on it. All he could do at this point was see how she reacted to his bold move.
The silence went on far too long, and a ball of anxiety coiled inside him. No woman had ever made him anxious or nervous…present company excluded. She’d had him tied up in knots for years with no idea the control she had over him.
Alisha crossed the patio and started down the steps into the pool. Perhaps she needed to cool off as well—he knew he sure as hell did. But he didn’t want to be a creeper, nor did he want to make her uncomfortable.
“Are you running away?” he asked once she was in the water.
Alisha tossed a smile over her shoulder. “I never run away from a challenge.”
“Is that what I am? A challenge?”
She merely shrugged as she turned toward the edge of the pool. She propped her arms on the patio and stared up at him.
“You thrive on being a challenge,” she retorted with a grin.
Clearly she knew him well. But there was that aspect of him being a player that she’d always had wrong. He wanted to set that straight.
“Would you believe me if I told you I haven’t dated anyone in nearly a year?” he asked.
Alisha stared for a moment before she burst out laughing. “Ty, come on. I’m not stupid.”
He came to his feet and headed toward the steps. Alisha shifted, keeping her eyes on him the entire time. He said nothing as he entered the pool and crossed to her. The second he stopped in front of her, those expressive eyes widened. Tyler tipped her chin up because he didn’t want her to misconstrue his words.
“The last woman I dated was ten months ago,” he told her. “And before that, I hadn’t seen anyone in six months.”
“Slowing down in your old age?” she smirked.
His fingertips trailed along her jawline before he dropped his hand to rest on hers at the edge of the pool.
“Waiting on the right woman,” he countered.
Alisha moistened her lips with a quick dart of her tongue. “The right woman?”
“I’ve been waiting for a while. Knowing she’s out there, but the timing has never been right.”
“Ty—”
He covered her lips with his, cutting off anything she’d been about to say. He was done dancing around this topic.
But had he just crossed a line neither of them could uncross?
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