Yours Seductively

Chapter 7.3

   A sudden shrill buzzing pierced the intimate silence between them, causing Jane to gasp in surprise and Tyler to lift his head with a start. She was so disoriented that it took her a moment to identify the sound as a cellular phone. By the time, Tyler had already pulled the cellphone out of his pocket. Giving her a look of apology, he straightened, answered the phone and lifted it to his ear. His voice was admirably composed when he said, "Hello?"

   Resigned to the inevitable, Jane wriggled into an upright position, straightened her clothes and smoothed her hair. "I hope it wasn't a crisis," she said when Tyler completed the brief call and slid the phone back into his pocket.

   "Not a crisis, but I have to go," he said, regret in his voice. "Amy's running a fever and she keeps crying for me. Mother tried to handle it, but she doesn't think Amy's going to settle down unless I'm there."

   "Then you should go. Are you going to take her to the emergency room?" The word fever has already made Jane nervous; she wondered how Tyler could sound so calm about it.

   With just a hint of a smile, he shook his head. "It's just a cold. She's been coming down with it for a couple of days. She seemed to be feeling better this morning, so I thought we'd be okay, but apparently she's feeling worse again."

   "Poor baby. I hate to think of her crying for you."

   He squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry our evening is ending so abruptly."

   "So am I." She said, but she smiled to show that she understood. "I had a great time, Ty."

   "So did I." He stood, and she rose to follow him to the door. He paused with one hand on the doorknob, his gaze searching her face. "Jane—it isn't easy for a single father to find time for a personal life."

   "I'm sure it isn't."

   "I work long hours and I don't want to spend a lot of time away from the kids when I'm not at the office."

   "They need you," Jane agreed simply, admiring his dedication to his children.

   He nodded. "My mother's been trying to convince me that one evening a week isn't too much to take for myself. And she likes having the time to bond with her grandchildren. To be honest, I still feel guilty about taking any time at all away from them, but I've about reached the conclusion that she's right. I need some time for myself."

   She wasn't sure where, exactly he was leading with this, but she nodded. "Of course you do."

   His grimace let her know that he wasn't satisfied with the way his words were coming out. "I'm trying to say that I want to see you again."

   She smiled. "I'd like that, too."

   "Next Friday?"

   "I have no plans for next Friday."

   He leaned over to plant a quick, firm kiss against her lips. "You do now. I'll call."

   "Do that. I hope Amy feels better soon."

   "Thanks. G'night, Jane."

   "Good night, Ty." She watched him walk to his car, but closed the door before she could be tempted to watch him drive out of sight.

   With a bemused sigh, she turned away from the door as the sound of his car engine faded into silence. Her gaze fell on the couch, where the throw pillows, scattered on the floor and scrunched at one end, reminded her of exactly what his phone call had interrupted. She sighed again, this time in wistfulness.

   He wanted to see her again.

   She spared a fleeting thought for her old rule—no men with children. Tonight was a prime example why she'd made that rule in the first place. She'd always considered herself too selfish to share a ma's time with his kids, especially since she knew she would always come second in his priorities. Which was the way it should be, of course—she certainly couldn't be interested in a man who puts his children second.

   Shaking her head at her own inconsistencies where Tyler Hamilton was involved, she crossed the room to straighten the pillows. She would see Tyler again in a week, she thought. Now all she had to do was figure out how to entertain herself in the meantime.