“And why is that, Tyler?”
Elena sat back. She wanted to see how Tyler dug himself out of this. Piper hated it when people put down her job. Yes, her best friend was beautiful, but she was also brilliant. The girl hated when people assumed she was stupid because a person couldn’t have brains and looks.
“I picture librarians as little old ladies with big glasses and permanent scowls,” he said.
“Maybe that’s because you’re sexist and into old stereotypes,” Piper told him, “and don’t read all that much. I guess you pay people to look everything up for you.”
“Not at all,” he said. “I might have to start reading for pleasure again if you’re the new example of librarians.”
Piper laughed, much to Elena’s dismay. “You’re quite smooth, Tyler. Not. I think you’re far more bark than bite, though. Do you mean all these things you say, or do you just enjoy getting a reaction?”
“You say what you want, don’t you, Piper?”
“I’ve never found it productive to sneak around words. If you want answers, you’re far better off to just ask the right questions.”
“Good. Then what will it take to get your best friend in my bed?”
That question was followed by a moment of silence. Tyler had shocked Piper, and Elena was too horrified to say anything.
Finally, Piper smiled, and Elena’s stomach sank.
“First of all, you have to make it past her best friend,” Piper told him.
“And do you approve?” he asked.
She smiled again, and Elena watched as the two of them bonded right in front of her.
“You’re growing on me.”
“Well, neither one of you are growing on me,” Elena said.
“Tsk, tsk, Elena. It’s not good to lie,” Tyler told her.
“I’m done with this.”
Elena rose from the table, shot both of them a dirty look and then stormed away.
This would be so much easier if she really did hate the man. But she didn’t. She only wanted to. And being stuck with him wasn’t making her life any easier.
Chapter Twenty
When Elena’s doorbell rang late on Saturday night, she jumped and set her book aside. She had no doubt who was at the door.
Ignoring Tyler’s calls apparently wasn’t working as she’d hoped it would. But it was okay. She’d just say she’d gone to bed early, apologize for the phone problems, and promise to do her best to help him out — when Monday morning came around.
After the disastrous library meeting on Tuesday, she’d managed to confine their meetings to public places, and then Friday night had come and she’d turned off her phone. She could only take so much of the man.
Ranting and raving about him all week to Piper hadn’t done her any good either. Piper was convinced that Elena was lying to herself, that she needed to just sleep with the man again and then either marry him or dump him.
Piper didn’t know what she was talking about.
After switching off her bedside lamp, Elena tucked herself beneath her covers, with her head securely under her pillow.
She’d been watching romantic movies all day — stupid move — and then she’d soaked in a hot bath. The way the water glided over her breasts, dammit, had made her think about sex — sex with one Tyler Knight.
She heard the front door open and then voices.
Piper was home early. She’d been driving for her brother earlier, so she had thought she was safe in no one answering Tyler’s knock.
Footsteps sounded outside in the hallway and Elena found herself holding her breath. She could pretend to be asleep and hopefully the two of them would go away. Heck, Tyler and Piper got along great. Maybe the two of them would hook up.
That thought was incredibly depressing.
“Elena, you have a visitor,” Piper called through the doorway.
“I’m trying to sleep,” Elena called out, which was stupid cause then they knew she was awake.
“Coming in.”
That was her only warning before her door was thrust open and her light flipped on.
“Look who I found on our doorstep. He insisted on seeing you. Since you’re never in bed this early, I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
Piper gave her a wink behind Tyler’s back, then made a kissy-face before she turned and left. The traitor!
“You’ve been avoiding me, Elena?” Tyler said, moving confidently into her room. He looked around, and she felt herself blushing as she tried to see if anything was out of place.
Of course things were. It was her bedroom.
He moved over to her favorite chair, a dark green stuffed armchair that had seen better days, but was the most comfortable piece of furniture she owned. And he picked up the nightie she had hanging on the back.
The look he sent her had her blushing and sputtering at the same time.
“Don’t touch my stuff,” she snapped. She wanted to jump out of the bed, but the nightie she was wearing was even more minuscule than the one he had in his hot hands. Not the sort of thing to parade around in front of a man she wasn’t going to have sex with.
“I like it,” he said. “Do you always wear silky little nighties? And what are you wearing now?”
“None of your business.”
He looked at her comforter as if he could see through it, and that made her clutch the thing even more tightly.
“It smells marvelous in here. Are you burning a candle?”
“I did earlier, but then I decided to go to sleep,” she growled.
“At …” He looked down at his watch, then looked back at her. “… Nine on a Saturday night?”