Page 177 of What Started In Deception

Her gaze locked on Ty’s dark sunglasses as he slowed and pulled into her driveway.

“Oh God,” she heard herself whisper as he shut off the engine. Because he was breathtakingly gorgeous as he got out, wearing one of his athletic shorts and muscle shirt outfits.

“You’re watering your flowers,” he said as he rounded the hood.

She nodded as he stopped in front of her, having no idea what to say as she breathed in the scent of his damn aftershave.

“It’s not Thursday.”

She swallowed, searching for her voice as her pulse pounded far too fast. “I’m changing things up.”

He slid his sunglasses on top of his head as his gaze tracked around her front gardens. “Everything looks pretty.”

She nodded again. “What are you doing here, Ty?”

He looked at her. “I needed to see you.”

She adamantly shook her head. “We can’t keep doing this.” Because her heart couldn’t take it.

“I quit my job.”

She felt her eyes grow huge before she burst into tears.

He frowned. “Whoa. Lyd.”

She shook her head again. “No, Ty. Why would you do that?”

“Because I want to be with you.”

She shook her head more adamantly. “You love your job.”

He shook his head this time. “I love you.”

She closed her eyes as he told her what she’d only hoped to ever hear.

He settled his hands on her shoulders. “I love you, Lyd.”

She opened her eyes to stare into his.

“These past ten days without you have been awful. Awful, Lyd.”

She sniffled, still trying to catch up with the abrupt change that the evening had taken.

He stroked her skin now with gentle slides of his thumbs. “I keep thinking about how we met so we could create a fake relationship, but the time that we’ve spent together… The way that I feel about you… It’s the most real thing that I’ve ever felt.”

More tears trailed down her cheeks as she dropped the hose and threw her arms around him.

He wrapped her up, holding her just as tightly as she held him. “I don’t want to be without you, Lyd.”

“I don’t want to be without you, either.”

He pulled her back to hold her gaze. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He cupped her cheeks, pulling her mouth to his.

She hummed in her throat, eagerly meeting the slides of his tongue, as starved for him as he was for her.