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  On the second appointment, Chrissie’s rules flew out the window after too much expensive champagne and her well put together perfect body. He’d had a succession of late nights, and another row with his family over inheritance had tipped him over the edge.

  He didn’t exactly regret crossing the line with her. And it had only happened that once—somehow they’d managed to refrain—the chemistry gone, the thrill over, and Tyler kept his distance, not wanting anything serious. Neither did she.

  Against the odds they’d managed to maintain a respectable level of friendship. Even though it never stopped her from flirting with him now and then.

  “You’re looking too damn sexy to be depressed about your job,” she purred, sweeping her tousled locks over one shoulder.

  “Who says I’m depressed?” He sat down opposite her and ordered a coffee from the hovering waiter. As much as he knew he needed to get another job, the thought of not working for the agency was strangely liberating. It was a little glimmer among the somber backdrop of Margaux’s nuisance calls starting back up again.

  “You going is the agency’s loss,” said Bailey, trying to reassure him. She ran her gaze appreciatively up and down his face and chest. Even sitting down, she seemed to be undressing him. Tyler shook his head and grinned. She could have any guy she wanted and yet she was using an escort service to find men. It didn’t make any sense.

  Not that she was asking him for any more sex. Not that he was offering it. But she had stopped booking him. For distance, she told him. And in a way, he was relieved. They hadn’t seen each other in a while but kept in touch now and then. Like last night, when he needed to tell her that he’d been fired.

  “And you think Margaux would do that?” asked Bailey, referring to Tyler’s suggestion.

  Tyler sipped his iced coffee. “That’s what Chrissie said. She didn’t mention you by name but she said she’d heard there were others. I’m sure she knows it was you.”

  “Your ex-boss hasn’t said anything to me.”

  “She won’t. You’re a paying customer.”

  “I’m sorry it happened at all. And to think, all that snitching and Margaux didn’t get you into bed either.”

  Tyler almost choked on his drink. “It’s because she didn’t, that she snitched.”

  “That makes me feel better.” She started to wipe the corner of his mouth with a napkin until Tyler took it from her and wiped it himself, along with the spurts of milk on the table. He narrowed his eyes. “Did you tell Margaux about our little…?”

  Bailey moved closer to the table, her body so tightly outlined in the polo neck that it was almost a second skin. He averted his eyes, brought his gaze back to his drink.

  “It wasn’t so little,” she said, slipping a finger dipped in cream from her hot chocolate, into her mouth. She looked at him suggestively, then winced. “I’m sorry. I think I did mention it to her, that you and I…” She left the words unsaid.

  Tyler looked between her eyes. “Why?” It had never occurred to him that these two might know each other, and not for a moment would he have thought they would openly share such intimate details.

  “I’m sorry, Tyler. We were just two friends talking.”

  “That’s another thing I don’t understand—since when did you two hang around together? I didn’t even know you knew each other.” Bailey was rich and moneyed and Margaux wasn’t. He naturally assumed they mixed in different social circles.

  “Who do you think introduced me to the agency?” She gave him a lascivious grin.

  “You’re kidding me.” Now it was his turn to be surprised.

  “Margaux’s really quite sweet.”

  “She was,” he agreed, “but not the Margaux I know now.”

  Bailey gave him a puzzled look.

  “Up until a week ago she was calling me up to five times a day and texting me.”

  ”For what?”

  “Nothing. Just to talk. To ask how I was, what was I doing, where was I. Did I want to meet up?”

  Bailey listened to him intently. “And now?”

  “She went quiet for a few days around the time I got fired, but all of a sudden, she’s at it again. Like gone crazy. She called me so many times yesterday. I didn’t even count the number of texts she sent. I just deleted them as they came in.”

  Bailey looked puzzled. “That doesn’t sound like her. That doesn’t sound right. Are you sure it’s from her?”

  Tyler nodded his head. He was sure. The woman was nuts, he could see that now and he wondered how he’d missed that before. He tried desperately to think back to the things she’d told him. He couldn’t remember her talking about significant relationships, not like the other clients he’d had. So many women who had been used, two-timed by lovers and husbands and fiancés. Women who’d thought they were along for the ride, until the ride ended with no level of commitment. Bitter women, angry and frustrated.

  But Margaux had no such story. He knew this because among the trail of littered hearts, she’d been relatively unscathed. She hadn’t talked much about relationships, though her childhood had been hard. She’d been brought up by a successful single mother who hated the father Margaux had adored after he left her at a young age.

  After a hiatus of a quiet period, Margaux had resurfaced again with a new influx of texts and phone calls. Her sudden intrusion into his life made him even angrier this time around.

  Bailey scoffed. “Maybe she’s just lonely. She’s not had much luck with guys.”

  “I can see why.”

  “Don’t be mean. She’s really not that bad,” Bailey insisted. “But I feel bad for telling her about us. I’m sorry. It was an error of judgment. We had lunch one day and then it ended up being a longer lunch than intended. We got to talking, the conversation came around to you, and—what can I say? A few bottles of champagne and all sorts of secrets came tumbling out.”

  He hung his head. Maybe it was better that it had come to this. He’d been looking to leave the agency but had been stuck in his comfort zone. Now he really had no choice but to get his shit together.

  “Want me to say something to her?” Bailey looked genuinely upset.

  He shook his head. “No, I think you’ve done enough for now.” He gave her a pained look. “Please don’t say or do anything more. She lied. I know she lied. She knows she’s lying. But underneath it all, I did step the boundary. We did. It’s about time I left. And if it’s going to happen this way, so be it. I’m not intending for our paths to ever cross again.”

  “I feel lousy knowing I’ve been the cause of it all.”

  Tyler took in a long sigh. “Maybe it’s time to do something else.”

  “Oh?” Her eyes widened. “Would you go and work for your father?”

  “It’s there, as an option.”

  She moved closer. “And you’re seriously considering it?”

  “No. Not seriously. But it’s there as a last resort.”

  “At least let me make it up to you in a small way.”

  This didn’t sound too good. But he was intrigued all the same.

  “I could use someone with your looks in my men’s boutique.”

  “Boutique? Me?” He didn’t seem remotely interested.

  “I own several around here. You look like a model. You’d just need to lounge around, help the customers, talk to them.”

  “Like a glorified shop assistant?”

  “If you must really reduce it to its base level. Yes. Or you could go work for your dad.”

  He pulled a face—then thought how Zoe would berate him for being such an ungrateful asshole. Here he was, not even having to look for a job and someone was offering him one on a plate, and he still needed to think about it.

  “Can I think about it?” He needed the job, there was doubt about that. But his father was coming into town in a few days and Tyler still had a couple of things he wanted to wrap up. He’d taken some shots lately and he wanted to get them developed and maybe even see if he could use
the few days he had free to take a couple more shots.

  Bailey was in no rush. He got the feeling she didn’t really need an extra hand at her shop and this was her way of doing him a favor because it made her feel better about him losing his job.

  “Take all the time you need.”

  “I’ll call you before the week is up,” he promised. Once his father cleared off, he’d be able to think things through with a clearer head. He was interested to hear what his father had to say.

  Any job where he wouldn’t need to sleep with the clientele sounded like the perfect job to him.

  Chapter 16

  Zoe called in sick—not because she was really sick but because her excitement levels at having been accepted for the course had gone exponential.

  The thought of going to work and seeing her sour-faced manager didn’t exactly appeal. Today was one day she could do without him watching her every move, waiting to pounce over trivial things, and the four hours of crazy she had to work.

  Any guilt she felt at lying to her boss was soon forgotten as soon as Zoe’s head hit the couch.

  Within seconds she was fast asleep. The interview had taken more out of her than she had realized. She’d more or less dismissed it from her mind, but ever since Tyler had woken her and she’d found out, her body had been building up to it. When it was finally over, the rush of adrenaline vanished sharply, leaving her feeling woozy.

  She slept soundly and when she awoke, she was revitalized. When the doorbell rang, she jumped up, full of energy and in a good mood.

  A mood that brightened immensely when she saw Ethan at the door.

  “I wasn’t sure if anyone would be in—I’m glad I chanced it.”

  “Hey, Ethan.” Zoe perked up even more.

  “Can I come in?”

  His fresh face and blue eyes melted her and she’d been mesmerized just looking into them, like a fool, just standing there until she came to her senses. “Umm, sure. Come on in. It’s your apartment, after all,” she said good-naturedly.

  “Is Tyler around?”

  Good question. Zoe had no idea. She also didn’t know whether Ethan knew he had been sacked from the escort agency and she didn’t want to be the one to tell him.

  “I don’t think so.” Otherwise she would have heard him.

  “You’re not working today?”

  She gave him a girly smile, only because she was reminded of just why she wasn’t at work today. “I played hooky,” she said, not too guiltily, leading him towards the kitchen where they sat down around the table.

  She pulled out a can of Coke and tossed it to him. They sat, catching up like old friends, just like in the old days when he’d lived here. Except that Billy wasn’t around, and Ethan was now engaged.

  Old friends between whom so much had changed in such a short space of time.

  “You played hooky?” Ethan’s eyes widened.

  “I had an interview this morning, for a course,” she said, as if that justified her calling in sick.

  Ethan listened intently; he had always been a great listener. “It’s a programming course—I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. And I got accepted. They told me at the interview.” She felt as though she’d made it to the top of a very steep hill.

  Ethan beamed at her.

  “This is the course you and Billy were bickering over once?” he asked. And she was surprised that he had paid enough interest to still remember that.

  “Yeah, the one he said was too expensive. I don’t have his programming background. I have to start somewhere. But I managed to get a grant for it. And they even gave me a further discount on account of my great results at the aptitude test.”

  Ethan high-fived her across the table. “Awesome, Zoe. I’m really happy for you.” He tugged at her hand, obviously genuinely pleased for her.

  “I know you weren’t so happy about things a while ago.” She knew the incident he referred to. They’d had a similar conversation, here in this kitchen, some months ago when she’d been feeling particularly down about a few things.

  It was strange how Ethan was always around when she was on a low.

  She gave him a grateful smile and squeezed his hand back, acknowledging his heartfelt intentions. She was truly grateful to still have him in her life as a friend.

  The door swung open and Tyler walked in, his eyes falling on their touching hands that lay on the table. He looked at Zoe, before Ethan’s hearty welcome commanded his attention. “Hey, Tyler.” Ethan got up and Tyler took a step towards him. They shook hands firmly; Tyler nodded a greeting at Zoe. She glanced at him, tried to read signs in his composure that might indicate his feelings towards her—in light of last night and this morning. But he’d looked away, hardly giving her much of his attention.

  In return, she turned her attention to Ethan.

  “Great to see you! We were beginning to wonder what had happened.” Tyler took a seat near the door.

  “Sorry, things have been crazy lately.” Ethan sat back down again.

  “Zoe told me your good news. Congratulations, man.”

  “Thanks. We only got engaged a few days ago.”

  “Really? Did you propose on Valentine’s Day?” asked Zoe, remembering how romantically uneventful her Valentines day had been. Listening to someone else’s romantic story, even Nadine’s with Ethan, perked her up. She could feel Tyler watching her.

  Ethan laughed, “No. Not quite. Things have been—a little difficult. Nadine was going to Europe, my mom’s recovering from cancer—”

  “How’s she doing?” Zoe’s eyebrows drew together.

  “Much better now. Anyway, I’ve been teaching in Bakersfield, not spending much time here, as you know.” He looked around the kitchen. “How fast things have changed. Sorry to hear about you and Billy.” He gave Zoe a sympathetic smile.

  “I don’t think Zoe’s too cut up about that, are you?” Tyler cut her a look so cold it made her shrink back in her chair. What exactly did he mean by that? And why was he being so cruel?

  “When’s the wedding?” Tyler asked, making Zoe wonder why he was so interested in their wedding all of a sudden.

  Ethan laughed loudly. “No date planned, dude. We’re still getting used to the fact that we’re engaged. Nadine’s been talking about moving to another apartment—I’m not so sure, but I think”—he glanced at Zoe—“we can’t have Zoe sleeping on the couch much longer and since I’m hardly here, it makes sense for me to move out and then you can move into my room.” He looked her way but she could feel Tyler watching her closely. For some reason she felt as though he was examining her each and every move, and analyzing every word she uttered.

  “It’s up to you, I don’t want to rush you. Though I am kinda getting sick of sleeping on the couch.”

  “Dude, you didn’t offer her your bed?” Ethan grinned at Tyler.

  Zoe blushed as she turned to watch Tyler’s reaction.

  Ethan corrected his words. “I mean, so you could sleep on the couch instead of her.”

  Tyler stretched out his chest and arms. “I did offer, but she turned me down flat. I’m sure if you’d offered, she’d have jumped at the chance.” Tyler smirked at her and she wanted to claw his eyes out. He was dancing on paper-thin ice, even though it all went over Ethan’s head.

  An awkward silence ensued, one which Ethan quickly covered up. “It can’t be much fun sleeping on the couch.”

  “I’m getting used to it,” replied Zoe, pointedly staring at Ethan and avoiding any eye contact with Tyler.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. You should have just slept in my room.”

  “I didn’t want to impose. I did call you—many times—but now I see you had a lot to deal with. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Well, anyway, this is good. You need the room and it pushes me to make a decision. Nadine’s been wanting me to move in for ages…it was me that held out. Makes sense to move in now. I’ll speak to the landlord. He’ll be cool about it. As long
as he gets paid on time, and the place isn’t trashed.” Zoe had never even met the man. She knew from Billy that he had a healthy regard for Billy and Ethan, who were his most reliable tenants to date. If anything needed repairing, Ethan usually saw to it himself—which meant they hardly ever complained to the landlord if things went wrong, and mostly things worked just fine.

  “You’ve made rent on time right? I’m guessing you have; otherwise I’d have heard from him by now.” Ethan looked at Tyler, who nodded.

  “Does he know Andre left?” Zoe asked.

  Ethan shook his head. “I don’t think he even knows Billy’s gone. It won’t matter. I guess it can’t hurt to have him come over and redo another contract, seeing that neither of us is here anymore. It depends—” He looked at them both. “How long are you both thinking of staying? If it’s just a few months, we’ll keep the contract going as it is. It’s not like he’s gonna come here and check.”

  Tyler shook his head. “I’m going to need this for the rest of the year.”

  “I’m staying, too; for the foreseeable future.”

  “Cool. I’ll clear out my stuff in a few days time. I’ll call beforehand. Is that okay with you guys?”

  They both nodded. “You’ve got the spare key,” said Tyler, “in case no one’s in.”

  “You don’t mind if I come by while you’re not around?”

  “It’s your place, dude.” Tyler grinned back at Ethan.

  “Are you going to tell him your news?” asked Ethan. He tilted his head and looked at her.

  She felt the heat of Tyler’s gaze but she was still annoyed with him. She’d sensed subtle undertones of disapproval from him; it wasn’t just the pissed off look on his face, which he’d worn since he’d walked in and interrupted their conversation, it was his little digs, too, that had Zoe wondering what the heck his problem was.

  Her relationship with Tyler was still new and on rocky territory. What she, Billy and Ethan had was comfortable and safe—or so she imagined it that way. With Tyler there was an undercurrent of dark and heavy, of brooding intensity—he evoked such deep emotions in her that wasn’t sure of herself around him.