A Love Song for Liars (Rivals #1) - Piper Lawson Page 0,34

mutters something inaudible before clearing his throat. “I should bring brass knuckles if I’m gonna need to deck the waiter for hitting on you.”

The protectiveness in his voice has the hairs lifting on my arms. “You know you can’t take down every guy who looks at me.”

“Why not?”

I trace a finger along the stitching on my leather steering wheel, my heart thudding dully in my chest. “Because sometimes I want to be looked at.”

For a moment, I think Tyler’s gone, but eventually, his hard exhale tells me he’s still on the line.

“See you at dinner, Six.”

He hangs up before I can respond, but the nickname leaves me biting my cheek.

Serena moans. “This is delicious. You didn’t need to go to this trouble for me.”

“It’s no trouble,” Haley says over the table at the fancy restaurant where we have a private room. “Your visit’s a nice excuse to have everyone together.”

And we are together. My dad’s at the head of the table and wearing a nice dress shirt, Haley’s at the other end looking more relaxed than I’ve seen her since Sophie started teething, and Sophie’s tucked in next to her. Haley’s best friend, Serena, a sleek marketing executive from New York with a fabulous ponytail and a killer smile, sits next to Sophie, and Tyler’s across from me.

“Sophie’s going to be gorgeous like her parents,” Serena goes on.

I sip my soda. “She’s already got every guy in miles wrapped around her finger.”

Serena shoots me a teasing look. “Something you have in common, then.”

I glance at Tyler sitting across from me as I dig into my salad.

Since our call, he’s barely spoken to me. It’s as if he’s punishing me for the tension in our conversation.

But when I walked in the door, I swear his attention locked on my legs. Any time his gaze meets mine, it lingers for half a beat before sliding away.

“Can you pass the pepper?”

I look up to find Tyler’s attention on me. I reach for the grinder next to my plate and hold it out.

He takes it, and our fingers brush.

He holds on, and so do I, a beat too long before letting go.

I go back to my food, and the conversation turns to plans after school. I tell Serena about Columbia.

“What about you?” she prompts Tyler. “Graduation’s a month away.”

“I’m not going to college. I’m gonna finish with Jax, use that to get steady work as a session musician.”

“No, Tyler’s going all the way,” I interject. He lifts a brow, and I continue. “Platinum albums, stadium tours, girls who tattoo his face on their ass.”

Serena laughs, but Tyler’s gaze intensifies on mine, and I keep going. “Imagine it. Ty-ler. Ty-ler. Ty-ler. They'll fall at your feet.”

“I don’t need them falling at my feet.”

“That’s why they’ll do it.”

My dad told me once that fame can smell desperation but it chases talent. The moment it senses you need it more than it needs you, it evaporates like morning mist.

Tyler doesn’t care who looks at him. That’s why it’s impossible to look away.

“I can understand the desire to get working,” Haley says, her voice bringing me back. “But if you ever wanted college, there are some fantastic performing arts schools. What’s the one in New York, Serena? The one your brother was accepted to?”

“Vanier. I’ve never seen Beck as pumped as when he got the letter,” she says, shaking her head with a smile.

Dad frowns at Tyler. “Have you called Zeke yet about his offer?”

My head snaps to him. “What offer?”

“A contact who can employ Tyler after graduation,” Dad says. “Play his cards right, he’ll have more than studio sessions.”

But Tyler acts as if he hasn’t even heard, moving food around his plate.

I’m stunned he hasn’t mentioned this, which goes to show I’ve been wrong about how much closer we’ve gotten these last weeks.

Tyler’s the only person who cares what I want, cares enough to help me get it.

And everything I want for myself I want for him a million times more.

I want to see him cast off the history with his father and realize he can make something incredible.

Tyler makes eye contact with my dad, ignoring me. “I’ll call him. I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

I kick him under the table. Why haven’t you called him?

Leave it alone. He digs into his food.

Serena’s brows lift, and she takes a drink before turning to me. “Haley told me you have the lead in the musical.”

I fill her in on where we’re at, but I’m still spinning from