I nod, and can't help but smile a little. He's cut me a lot of slack, and I appreciate it. “Thanks, Mr. Larroquette. If you don't mind, I'll take off. I already emailed the hotel in Calgary. I'll check tomorrow, but I think everything should be in place for the team's trip on Friday morning.”
“That's just fine, April. I'm sure it will be, we use those guys every time we go to Calgary. I'll see you Monday.”
I think more on the way home, coming up with my plan, and instead of the long, slow walk to calm down, I find that I'm picking up the pace, making the walk in only about five minutes and actually skipping the elevator, instead running up the stairs to our floor and opening the front door to find Tyler sitting on the couch, still worried. “You're home quick.”
“I didn't want to delay our talk any more than I had to,” I say, coming over and sitting next to him. “Tyler, I just want to say . . .”
“Wait,” Tyler says quietly, holding up his hand. “I need to say something first. You're perfectly right to be pissed off at me for not telling you last night. I was wrong to not do that, and even more wrong to have done what I did. I just . . . I freaked out. Everything was just going so good, and then this. What hurt me the most about this lawsuit isn't that it happened. I'm upset and angry because I wanted the first time I had a child to be with a woman I love.”
I stop, then give him a smile. “Are you saying you love me?”
Tyler looks me in the eyes, and I can see the fear and pain he's been torturing himself with. “I'm crazy about you. Yes, I love you.”
“Good,” I say, leaning in and kissing him on the nose. “Because I love you too. And I'm not in the mood for a one way love. I guess I should have said it to you earlier, but we both seemed to be going along so well, it didn't need to be said. Now it does. Tyler, I love you. I'm in love with you, and that scares and thrills me at the same time.”
He takes my hands and we kiss, not with passion, but instead with tenderness and commitment. “Thank you,” he whispers when we part. “I promise, no matter what happens with this, I'll be honest with you.”
“Good, because you can tell that little voice in your head that I'm not going anywhere,” I reassure him. “Actually, that's part of why I got home so quickly. I think I know someone who can help us out.”
“Who?” Tyler asks, his face clearing and the Tyler I know coming back to life. “Are you friends with Perry Mason or something?”
“Who?”
Tyler shakes his head. “A really old TV show, my grandmother was nuts about it, and I was forced to sit through enough of it that it’s engrained into my brain.”
I laugh. “No, but I do have a university classmate who got a job as a paralegal,” I tell him as I pull out my phone, the number's got to be in here somewhere, “and happens to specialize in family law. He and I owe each other a few favors, and I bet he can talk with us tomorrow if you want.”
“He, huh? Should I be jealous?” Tyler teases, and I laugh.
“Hardly. In fact, you should be the one watching your back. Connor's into men, and I bet you’re just his type.”
Tyler laughs, then leans forward and kisses me, his lips soft and tender. “I think dinner can wait. The lawsuit can wait, it all can wait. There's something more important right now.”
“What's that?”
“I want to make love with the first woman I've ever truly loved,” Tyler says. “I want to celebrate, not mourn or worry . . . at least for a night.”
I nod, and kiss him back. “Then take me to bed.”
Chapter 15
Tyler
“Thanks for meeting us on a Sunday,” I say, shaking hands with the giant of a man who takes a seat across from April and I at the cafe downtown. Connor Nash is huge, and if he didn't want to be a lawyer, I’m pretty sure he'd be able to make a good living as one of my offensive linemen. There's a freaky amount of intelligence in his eyes as he takes a seat and the chair groans in appreciation as his bulk settles. “When April said she had a friend who was a paralegal, I didn't quite know what to expect.”
“When April called last night saying that she was dating one of the Fighters, and he’s in legal trouble, I didn't know what to expect either,” Connor states with a chuckle. “Especially when she said it was you. No offense, Mr. Paulson, but I spent a little bit of time after the phone call doing some research on you. Your reputation is . . . well, let's just say if reality matches the reports, you're going to need my law firm’s services more than once. In which case I'll need the same services, because I'll have to kill you.”
“Connor!” April chastises him, laughing. She looks at me and shakes her head. “Don't let his size intimidate you, he's just a big teddy bear. Actually, he owes me one for exactly that reason.”
“Oh? Well, I don’t think he has to worry. And please Connor, call me Tyler. I only get called Mr. Paulson when I'm in trouble.”
“In which case maybe Mr. Paulson might be better?” Connor jokes, then grows serious. “Sorry. It's one of my weaknesses, as the partners at the firm have pointed out numerous times while they review my articleship, what you might call my internship.”