“The alumni magazine,” Shannyn said. “They must have done an interview with you successful grads. I’ve been assigned to take the photos.”
He nodded, then gestured. “Do you remember Kyle Stuyvesant?”
Kyle, too, looked bigger and broader, his hair various shades of blond and his blue eyes filled with mischief. She’d bet he got his hair colored professionally, but he was easy on the eyes. That smile had melted more than one set of reservations in a long-ago English Lit class, never mind the sound of him reading nineteenth-century poetry aloud.
Shannyn had much preferred Tyler’s recitations to Kyle’s. Kyle rushed through the verses to her thinking, but Tyler had paused in all the right places, as if savoring the words.
She felt warm just remembering that.
She’d wondered then what else he savored.
She still did.
Shannyn straightened and tried to pull her thoughts out of the gutter. This was work. So long as Tyler didn’t recite any poetry, and she kept her mind on the job, she should be able to keep this businesslike.
“Of course, I do.” She couldn’t resist the urge to tease Kyle a bit, especially as it meant she’d be averting her gaze from Tyler. “Even though I wasn’t one of the multitudes of women who moved in beauty like the night.”
Kyle, to her surprise, didn’t seem to have a comeback. He opened his mouth, shut it again, then ran a hand over the back of his neck, which was getting red. “Oh, yeah. English Lit 101. Those were the days.” His gaze flicked to Tyler with a kind of desperation and Shannyn was amused by his reaction. “Looks like you’ve got this covered, Ty,” he said, clearly intending to bolt. “I’ve got a lap swim session to supervise. Nice to see you again, Shannyn.”
Then Kyle was gone, as if fleeing the scene of the crime.
A bell rang at reception and the blonde woman went back to work, leaving Shannyn alone with Tyler. Was the air between them pulsing? Or was that her heartbeat going crazy? Either way, she felt more vital than she had in a long time. There was no going through the motions in this conversation.
Being alone with Tyler made her feel tingly.
And a little bit reckless.
But then, following impulse was supposed to be her new mantra.
“Congratulations,” Tyler murmured and she watched his lips curve into a smile. “There aren’t many women who spook Kyle, but you appear to have made the short list.” His eyes were twinkling. “But then, I remember you being fierce.”
Shannyn was surprised. “Fierce? Hardly.”
“Fierce,” Tyler insisted, his tone hinting that it wasn’t a flaw. She figured he was thinking of that drunken exchange, then he surprised her. “Passionate. Idealistic.” He shook his head and sighed in a way that shocked her. “Very cute.” His admiring little smile gave her palpitations.
But cute? Very cute? “I didn’t expect you to remember anything about me.”
Tyler’s eyes widened slightly. “Not even the last time we talked?”
“The only time we talked.” Shannyn hoped the heat rising over her skin didn’t mean she was blushing. She was talking quickly and tried to slow down. “I was drunk. I was sure you’d forget that. Or dismiss it. It was the schnapps talking.”
“Maybe the schnapps was letting you say what you really thought.”
Shannyn was definitely blushing now. Her face felt like it was on fire. “No one said it was the truth...”
“But it was your opinion and you delivered it with enthusiasm.” Tyler leaned back against the desk, watching her. His legs were insanely long, but his move put them more on a level. She couldn’t look away from his intense gaze. “That moment has haunted me,” he confessed and a few of Shannyn’s reservations melted even as she tried to fight her reaction.
He had to be messing with her.
Didn’t he?
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to defend myself and never had the chance.” His gaze was warm and Shannyn felt herself being charmed.
But then Kyle said Tyler was good at getting what he wanted from women.
The last thing she wanted to be was predictable.
“Oh, please,” she said with disdain and saw that her tone surprised him. “I have a listed number and there is the alumni association. It would have been easy enough to call me up and argue your case. Twelve years is a long time to not get around to it.”
He looked at her so hard that Shannyn wondered whether anyone ever told him off.
“It is,” he finally said, his tone crisp. He was offended, which was probably safer if it meant he’d turn off the charm. Tyler reached over to shut down his laptop, as if some decision had been made. He picked up his suit jacket, moving with an athletic grace that made Shannyn’s mouth go dry. What did he look like naked? One enquiring mind really wanted to know. “And there’s no time like the present. What would you like to see?”
“Everything,” Shannyn said in her surprise, but he took her words at face value.
“How long do you have to take the pictures?” He was polite now, shrugging into his jacket, but his gaze continued to simmer.
And he was still watching her, his gaze assessing.
Like he was trying to figure her out.
It was more than a little disconcerting to have his undivided attention, but Shannyn guessed it wouldn’t last.
“Until Saturday,” she said. “I just got the job twenty minutes ago, so it’s a bit of a rush. The hired photographer has apparently disappeared.”
“Happens, I guess.” He nodded and indicated the door. “Tour?”
“You don’t have to show me around.”
Tyler’s gaze clung to hers in a very satisfying way and his voice dropped even lower. “Maybe I want to make the most of opportunity. It would just be wrong to let you leave without me even trying to prove to you that I’m one of the good guys.”
Why did he care what she thought?
Tyler lifted a brow when she didn’t speak. “Unless you’d prefer otherwise. I could ask Kyle.”
“Why would I prefer otherwise?”
“The words ‘smug asshole’ come to mind.”
“You forgot entitled.”
Shannyn earned a hot look for that.
“I didn’t forget,” Tyler said, biting off the words. “I’ll never forget.”
He was insulted. Well, it had been an insulting thing to say to someone but she’d never imagined he would pay attention.
Let alone remember for twelve years.
“And it pisses you off.”
The question obviously surprised him. “Shouldn’t it?”
“I don’t know why it would. We were just classmates in a huge survey class.”
“It did and it does.” He obviously noticed her skepticism and his voice rose a little. “Why wouldn’t I want to defend myself?”
“Why would you care?” Shannyn replied.
“Trust me. I do.” He headed for the door with purpose. “We can start with the rock wall...”
“A tour of your empire is not going to change my mind about anything,” she said before she could stop herself.
Tyler froze, then pivoted, his gaze locking with hers again. His eyes blazed in a way that thrilled her to her toes. “Then what will?”