Page 29 of What Started In Deception

She shook her head. “I feel like that’s something that a boyfriend would do. Movie in the Park is definitely couples friendly.”

“It sounds like it to me, too.” He stood, taking their dirty dishes, feeling like they were on the right track for the first time since he showed Lydia his badge. “How about I help you clean up. Then I’ll get out of your hair for tonight.”

She smiled again as she gained her feet. “Sure.”

Lydia stood in her doorway, tossing Ty a wave in the fading light as he drove away. Closing the door, she frowned as she twisted the deadbolt into place.

She and Ty had just cooked a meal together in her kitchen and talked on her porch for more than an hour, and it hadn’t been awful. They’d also made a date for tomorrow night—or sort of, anyway, which was odd, even though it wasn’t.

Ty was still a stranger, but not entirely. He was her boyfriend, but not actually. She definitely found him attractive, but she didn’t want to. He was her enemy, but maybe not.

She sighed as she leaned back against the solid wood, staring at the floor as she shook her head.

He told her this morning that he wasn’t the bad guy, and a part of her believed him. He was an FBI agent investigating her family, yet she couldn’t deny that he’d been nothing but kind—a little pushy at times—but kind, nevertheless.

She exhaled another long breath because everything felt so confusing. Everything about her current situation was surreal. But she remembered Ty mentioning friendship and mutual respect—that things would be easier if they could achieve both.

A friendship with Ty seemed like a bit of a stretch, but sharing a mutual respect was a starting point that she could live with. They were certainly stuck together for the next several weeks, so it made sense to cautiously make the best of it.

“I guess we’ll see,” she whispered to herself as she headed toward the porch to close the windows for the night and shut off the lights before she went upstairs.

She moved through her bedroom to the bathroom, eager to complete her nighttime routine and get lost in a book for a while instead of constantly thinking about the crazy turn her life had taken.

“I guess we’ll see,” she said again as she picked up her toothbrush and toothpaste because at this point, there was nothing else she could do.

Chapter Nine

Ty slowed in front of Lydia’s place as the sun began its descent in the early evening sky. Her garage door was open as he pulled into the driveway.

She glanced his way, sending him a smile as she reached for a small cooler on top of a tidy metal shelf, looking sexy as hell in a simple white tube top and flowy brown shorts that stopped just above mid-thigh.

Killing the engine, he got out, smiling back as he headed in her direction, dressed more casually in gray mesh shorts and a white T-shirt. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she said with the cooler now in hand. “I was just about to put some ice in here and pack our drinks.”

He stopped in front of her, breathing in flowers and vanilla as he studied her spectacular face. She’d pulled some of her hair back with a barrette, leaving it unframed. It was never a bad moment when he got a good look at her gorgeous hazel eyes. It was even better that the wariness that was usually there didn’t appear to be tonight. “Do you need a hand?”

She shook her head. “I’ve got it. But we’ll have to decide if we want to bring lawn chairs or a blanket and a couple of pillows.”

“I say a blanket and pillows. It’s always more comfortable to lie down.”

“That’s true,” she said, heading back inside.

He followed. “What can I do to help?”

She moved to the refrigerator and started putting ice in the cooler. “You can go up to the linen closet and grab us a blanket. There’s a green beach blanket and a couple of pillows on the middle and upper shelves.”

“Sure.” He headed toward the stairs, making his way up to the second story, not hating that he was getting an opportunity to look around as he poked his head into a pretty guest bedroom with a connecting Jack and Jill bathroom. He moved to peek into the next room that she’d turned into an office, then made a quick study of the primary suite with its big bed and large bathroom beyond.

Not wanting to pry too much, he moved to what had to be the linen closet, spotting the green beach blanket and pillows tucked away in the neat space. Lydia definitely liked tidiness and order.

Grabbing what he needed, he went back downstairs as she pulled a large insulated cooler bag from the fridge, watching her biceps bulge as she set it down.

“Our picnic food.”

He adjusted the blanket and pillows under one arm. “Why don’t you let me take that?”

“Okay.” She lifted the bag again, handing it to him.