Hammered (Blue Bay Crew #3)- Cathryn Fox Page 0,93
asking about Tyler, I’d say he has his own demons. I also think if the right girl came along, he’d fight for her. Hard.”
I sink back into the chair, my throat tight as my heart aches. I guess I wasn’t the right girl, considering he just let me walk. Then again, if he wasn’t behind the pictures and hadn’t tipped the reporter off, why would he fight for me after I said some pretty horrible things? I wrap my hands around my stomach. My thoughts sway back and forth as a storm rolls through me.
“Rock.”
“Yeah?”
“You never answered my question. Why do you and Tyler hate each other?”
He grins and shakes his head. “We don’t. That was all for show, our way to sell tickets.”
I blink several times, sure I heard him wrong. “You don’t hate him?”
“No, I never did. He’s…” He pauses and briefly closes his eyes like he’s remembering something. “He’s one of the best guys I know.” He cracks his knuckles. “Until he messed with my kid sister. What the hell ever happened to bro code?”
My heart jumps into my throat, and a measure of panic races through my veins. “He’s…one of the best guys you know?” Did my brother just say something nice about Tyler? Am I in the twilight zone here?
“Damn straight he is.”
“I…didn’t know. Why didn’t you ever tell me that before?”
“Why would I? You never knew Tyler. Besides, I figured you knew our antics were for showbiz, and you of all people know how stories can get twisted just to sensationalize them and sell more magazines.”
The blood in my body drains to my feet, and I’m sure I must look like a ghost. “I…I should have known.” How could I have been so stupid? I grip the edge of my seat, dig my nails in as I consider this new information.
He’s one of the best guys I know.
“Haven, he was there for you when I couldn’t be. He stepped up to protect you, and let me guess, he didn’t want anything in return.”
I start breathing a little faster, working to circulate my blood. “You’re right,” I say. “He just wanted to watch out for me. He said if he had a sister, he’d hope someone would do the same for her.”
“Right, because that’s the kind of guy he is.”
“You don’t think he was behind the leaked pictures?” I ask, sounding breathless, even to myself.
“What I think doesn’t matter.” He leans a little closer. “What matters is what you think.”
My brain races, reliving every single second I was with Tyler. From the minute I kissed him in the bar, to our first night in his bed, right up until I accused him of using me to fund his gym. Oh God, what the hell have I done?
Only ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
And why is that—oh, because I lumped him in with every other man in my circle, and he’s anything but. He’s the leading man and real-life hero any woman would want.
“I think I might have made a big mistake.”
“Yeah, you probably did. That’s why we’re in Connecticut,” he says and waves his hand toward the window.
“What are you talking about?” I try to leap from my seat to look out the window, but my seatbelt holds me back. “What is going on?”
“I’m not sure what’s going on. I just thought I should bring you here.”
“Have you talked to Tyler?” Before I can answer, I ask. “Oh my God, you did, didn’t you? What did he say? Does he hate me?”
“Don’t know much, Haven.” He gives a casual shrug, his relaxed composure a complete contrast to the tightening of my shoulders. “Just knew you had to be here.”
The plane comes to a stop and panic grips my throat. “He hates me, doesn’t he? Oh God, Rock. I can’t go see him.”
“Too late to turn back now. We’re already here and you know what I always say, anything worth having is worth fighting for.”
My stomach twists and turns as I unbuckle and stand on shaky legs. “What if he doesn’t want to see me? What if he tells me to just leave?”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“Rock—”
Before I can get the words out, he puts his hands on my shoulders and levels me with a glare. “Do you really want to spend the rest of your life asking what if?”
“No, I don’t,” I say quickly. That might be worse than Tyler telling me he hates me.