“Under glass,” Shannyn said, surveying it. “And lit.” She took a few photographs, then grimaced when she checked them in the viewfinder. She changed the settings on her camera, as if Ty wasn’t even there.
“It was Cassie’s idea. She calls it a living billboard for the club.” Ty watched a trio of climbers on the wall, their belayers calling encouragement to them from below. There was, as usual, a small crowd of onlookers both inside the lobby and on the street outside the club. Shannyn wandered away, taking more pictures, and he refused to feel slighted.
She was doing her job.
When she circled back to him, he took her to the front desk. Sonia was gone for the day and Raylene was on the desk. She quickly set up a pass for Shannyn and gave her the link to install the club app on her phone.
“I’m not joining so I’ll just have to delete it,” Shannyn protested.
Ty wanted to grind his teeth. She wouldn’t even do something simple like install an app to make it easier for her to find the resources she might need. The woman must live to challenge expectations.
“It has the floor plans and the class schedules,” Raylene explained. “And some really cool ways to track your fitness.”
“You don’t have to delete it,” Ty said firmly. “It’s free forever to everybody. Of course, you can do whatever you want.”
Shannyn flicked a playful glance at him and seemed to be fighting a smile. “And that’s the problem, isn’t it?” she murmured, then tapped her phone before he could agree. It was true. He’d never met anyone less likely to go with the flow. “Open at six on Saturday.” She smiled at Raylene. “See you then.”
“Not me,” Raylene said, pointing at Ty. “Maybe him. I just work nights but these guys are here all the time.”
Ty walked Shannyn to the doors, wishing he knew what to say to turn this around.
“I can find the way out all by myself,” she said in that teasing tone.
“I was being nice.”
She snapped her fingers. “That’s what confused me.”
Ty couldn’t keep silent. He tried to sound temperate and wasn’t sure he succeeded. “You can’t just leave. I don’t even know where you live.”
“No, you don’t, because it doesn’t matter.”
“I thought you were going to say I hadn’t negotiated for it.”
“That, too,” she acknowledged, fastening her coat so that he couldn’t see her eyes.
“Do you want me to hail you a cab? Or do you want a ride?” She spun to face him halfway across the lobby, well out of the earshot of Raylene at the desk or anyone coming into the club. Ty recognized the combative look in her eyes and he held up a hand in anticipation of her response. “Not because I think you can’t do it yourself. I was taught that a gentleman offers to help a lady. I was taught that was nice, not that it was a judgment upon any woman’s ability to perform a mundane task.”
She frowned slightly. “You have a car?”
He nodded, wondering where this was going. She didn’t think he should have a job, and clearly didn’t think he should have a car either. “I have a car.”
“Why? Most people don’t in the city.”
“Because I want to. Because I like it.”
“Because you have more money than you know what to do with,” Shannyn concluded with a shake of her head. She leaned closer to whisper and the unexpected scent of her body lotion was like a punch in the gut. He wanted her again, wrapped around him, sitting on top of him, moaning and then shouting as she came. His entire body went taut with the memory and the need. “Maybe your mom’s got it in one. Maybe you do need a wife to keep watch over that checkbook.”
“I don’t think so,” he started to protest before he heard a familiar feminine voice.
“Ty-lair! I knew I would find you here!”
Four
“No,” Ty whispered, closing his eyes and hoping for strength.
He was aware that Shannyn spun to look across the lobby. He winced at the quick click of high heels on the stone floor of the lobby, his heart sinking at the inevitable confrontation.
“Not Giselle,” he whispered, wishing something would go right on this evening. Everything had gone to shit after awesome sex, which wasn’t how the world was supposed to work.
Ty was well aware that Shannyn’s gaze was flicking between him and Giselle. Once again, he couldn’t read her thoughts, but he didn’t have time to guess. Giselle was closing fast and there was no escaping her this time. He took a deep breath and resolved to be polite.
The stewardess he’d dated once strolled toward him, hips swinging, effortlessly elegant and inescapably French. Her dark hair was twisted up and she wore a little black dress beneath her raincoat. Her make-up seemed minimal, except for her perfect red lipstick. Her legs were long and she was beautiful. Any straight guy would be glad to have Giselle smiling at him the way she was smiling at Ty, and the other guys passing through the lobby were all taking a good look.
Ty wished she was anywhere else in the world.
“Looks like you won’t be eating alone, after all,” Shannyn whispered wickedly, as if she was glad to see Giselle. “I call that kismet.” She winked at him, then strode away with purpose.
Before Ty could follow, Giselle was in front of him. She dropped her hands on his shoulders and leaned close to press a trio of kisses to his cheeks, effectively blocking his view of Shannyn’s departure. Her perfume surrounded him as if she was staking a claim and Ty wasn’t surprised that she didn’t even acknowledge Shannyn’s presence.
He also wasn’t surprised by the mercenary glint in Giselle’s dark eyes, now that he was looking for it.
“Naughty Ty-lair,” she murmured with a smile, rapping a finger on his chest. “To not answer my calls.” She clicked her tongue and tugged his tie a little as she scolded him.
Ty glanced over her shoulder, but Shannyn was already leaving the building. She’d pulled up her hood and was moving quickly. In a heartbeat, she’d disappear into the crowd of people in the streets, indistinguishable from the others in the rain.
He wanted to chase her, to stop her, to convince her to linger.
Giselle placed a fingertip on Ty’s chin and turned his face to meet her gaze. There was assessment in her eyes and he knew she wasn’t as oblivious to Shannyn’s presence as she might want him to believe. “When mes amis mentioned the restaurant they wished to try tonight, I knew it was close to your club. I could not pass by without inviting you to join us.” She slid her hand across his chest, then put her hand into his elbow in a proprietary way. Her touch didn’t make him simmer like Shannyn’s did. “Tell me you will not decline an evening together.”
“I have to,” Ty said, extricating himself. “I need to work.”
“But I have missed you so.” Giselle pouted but Ty didn’t find her expression as attractive as he was obviously supposed to.
“We talked about this months ago,” he reminded her. “It’s over. We agreed.”
“I did not agree. You insisted. You were so cruel!”
“You agreed.” Ty held her gaze. “I remember perfectly.”