Read Online The Last Goodbye by Sarah Mayberry - Free Book Online Page A

could stop herself.
    He lifted his eyebrows. “Wolf’s eyes?”
    “The color, I mean,” she said, feeling incredibly trans parent. “Obviously they’re not really hairy or any thing.”
    He took a sip of his coffee. “Can’t say that I’ve heard that before, no.”
    “Well, now you know.”
    “Yeah.”
    His gaze dropped from her face to her chest, then her hips, taking in her Penelope Pitstop pajama pants and matching pink tank top.
    “What happened to the cowboys and Indians?”
    “Oh, they’re after-five wear only. I like to go a little more low-key during the day.”
    “Ah.”
    She looked at him over the rim of her mug and her eyes met his and suddenly it was last night all over again, the room crackling with tension and potential. Except this time he wasn’t here by accident, and she knew she would definitely be seeing him again.
    “Cookies. We need cookies.” She crossed to the cupboard, making a big deal out of opening a package of cookies. She didn’t quite meet his eyes when she slid the container across the counter toward him.
    “I’m good, thanks.”
    She picked up the tea towel and wiped the counter.
    It was just a look, Bishop. Get over it. Hot men have looked at you before. You’ll survive.
    But none of them had been as…compelling as Tyler.
    “Any idea when the hospital people might want to come by?” she asked.
    They talked about the appointment and exchanged phone numbers, then Tyler checked his watch and put down his mug.
    “I need to go. I’ve got a client meeting I have to make this afternoon.”
    She followed him to the front door.
    “I should be here again by Monday at the latest,” he said.
    “Okay. Like I said, call me if you need any thing.”
    He raised his hand in farewell. She told herself to go inside but she remained in the doorway, watching his broad shoulders and firm, round backside as he walked away. He glanced over his shoulder as he passed through the gate, catching her watching him.
    Again, their gazes locked and held for a long, sticky beat. Then he kept walking.
    Okay, that’s going to be a problem.
    Last night, the attraction she’d felt for Tyler had been a slightly titillating surprise—a diversion from the mundanity of life, an unexpected blip on her radar. They’d been ships passing in the night, the frisson between them a possibility that had come to nothing. Today…
    Today the attraction between them seemed more complicated than titillating.
    What’s the problem? Nothing is going to happen if you don’t want it to.
    She knew it was true. And yet, somehow, it wasn’t as comforting a thought as it should be.
     
    T YLER ARRIVED AT THE workshop in time to make his client meeting. Afterward, he went straight to hisoffice and checked his schedule for the following week. His diary was full—client meetings, a marketing seminar, a catch-up with one of his major lumber suppliers. For the life of him he didn’t see how he could free up enough time to sort out his father’s situation. He had an elbow on his desk, his fingers kneading his forehead when Gabby rapped on the door and entered.
    “You forgot these,” she said, holding up the rolled blueprints from their meeting.
    “Thanks,” he said. “You were great in the meeting, too, by the way.”
    She shrugged. “You’d be surprised how much I’ve picked up being around you guys. I think I could practically make a table myself now.”
    She turned to leave. Tyler looked at the schedule he’d massacred with red pen and pencil strikes and arrows. He’d been trying to find a way to free up some time, hadn’t he?
    “Gabby. Before you go.”
    She gave him an inquiring look.
    “How would you feel about taking on more client meetings? Stepping into sales more?”
    She looked surprised. “What’s brought this on?”
    “I need some time off. At least from the day-today stuff. I can take the briefs with me, keep working on the designs, but I can’t keep driving back and forth all the