down my neck, lingering on my collarbone. I threw my head back, a surge of electricity washing over me with each nip of his lips, each brush of his tongue. With each kiss, he was saying “I love you”, “I cherish you”, “I treasure you”. I didn’t need to hear his voice say those words. I just knew. Instead of simply declaring his love to me with mere words, he did what he had always done. He proved it with his benevolence, his passion, his desire.
A loud throat clearing sounded, startling both of us. Reluctantly, Tyler pulled away from me, helping me lower my feet to the ground. He smiled mischievously as he glanced at Brayden and Jenna standing just off to the side.
“Get a room!” Brayden joked.
“Brayden,” Tyler said, nodding at him, shaking his hand. “Thanks for going along with everything tonight.”
I looked between Tyler and my two best friends, who had guilty, yet satisfied expressions on their faces.
“This was planned?”
Tyler shrugged. “Yeah. I wanted to make sure I had a few minutes alone with you.”
“We were a bit hesitant at first,” Jenna added, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “After everything, we didn’t want to see you get hurt again, but Brayden took care of that.”
“How?”
“I told him I have ties to the gay mafia.” He winked.
“Gay mafia?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yeah. Seriously, Mack. We’ve stood by your side through everything, but this schmuck made you happy for those two weeks. Then, when we saw the look of remorse on his face early this morning, well… I couldn’t help but get a good feeling about this time around.”
Tearing my gaze from my friends, I met Tyler’s eyes. “Me, too.”
He smiled back at me, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. It was the most innocent of exchanges, but that didn’t stop those butterflies from erupting within my stomach at the feel of his warm lips on my skin.
Too soon, he pulled away and retreated toward where the valet attendant still stood next to his Jaguar. “Enjoy your evening, Mackenzie,” he crooned, his eyes dark and full of longing.
“You’re not going to stay?” I could hear the disappointment in my voice.
“No. It’s girls’ night.” Returning to me, he grabbed my hand in his. “You need time to catch up and you can’t do that with me around.”
“When am I going to see you again?”
“Why? Missing me already?”
“No.” I rolled my eyes in fake irritation.
Brushing a wayward curl behind my ear, he caressed my face.
“Okay, maybe a little,” I admitted.
“Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?”
“On a date?” I asked coyly.
He nodded. “Yes. A proper date. No expectations for anything more. Just two people getting to know each other.”
“I’d like that.”
“Does seven work for you?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Yes.”
He grinned. Bringing my hand to his lips, he murmured, “Until tomorrow, mi cariño.” With that, he hopped in his car, leaving me completely satisfied and feeling as if things were going to be okay.
“You were totally eye-fucking him,” Jenna commented as she pulled me into the restaurant, Brayden right on our heels.
“It’s not eye-fucking if she already knows what the goods look like,” Brayden countered when we all took our normal seats at the bar.
“Says who?” Jenna retorted. “I still eye-fuck Richard and we’ve been married for a year!”
“Speaking of which,” I said, sipping my sparkling water once more, trying to get the focus of the conversation off me. “How’s everything going with you two?”
“Good. Better than good.” She swirled the liquid in her wine glass that the bartender had just poured for her. “I took your and Brayden’s advice and talked to him. He explained everything.”
“What did he say about the lack of any record of his previous marriage?”
“Well, it was like you said. He agreed to give his ex-wife a very hefty settlement, but a contingent of doing so was her agreeing to have all records of their marriage and subsequent divorce completely expunged. I had always just assumed she served him with divorce papers, not the other way around.”
“Why did he want that?” Brayden interjected.
“He said he didn’t want one of the biggest mistakes of his life to always follow him around. He wanted a fresh start, a new beginning, and he didn’t think he’d have that if his previous marriage and subsequent divorce were always lurking in the background. It was really kind of sad, listening to him talk about her. I was always hesitant to bring her up because I know all