Chapter 166

Lexi returned to her bedroom after spending the entire day with Lily, although she'd been very distracted. Lily had caught up on it, but Lexi wasn't going to tell her why. Especially when she had not made a decision, and she sure as hell wasn't going to take all the attention from Lily's wedding.

Thankfully Tyler had stayed away. She'd expected him to show up any time to keep his promise, but he'd actually kept his distance, and she'd only seen his once throughout the day.

“I heard you’ve had a bad day,” a voice said behind her when she was on her way to the balcony.

Lexi gasped and turned. As though conjured by her thoughts, Tyler stood in the doorway. God, she had to stop forgetting to lock that door!

He looked rumpled. His  hair was pushed back from his forehead, the length of it curled at his nape, and he wore a suit jacket that matched his eyes. Tired eyes, she noted. Clearly she wasn’t the only one who’d missed out on sleep last night.

A niggle of guilt surfaced. “I didn’t expect you to come.”

“I told you I would,” He walked in, shut the door behind him, snagged her hand and pulled her into the balcony.

“Tyler, what are you doing?”

“Checking to make sure you’ve taken care of yourself today.”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look it. I can see how exhausted you are.”

“Gee, thanks for sparing my feelings.”

Lexi looked away in an effort to avoid the conversation.

Tyler firmed his hold and lifted his other hand to her cheek. “You’re always beautiful, but you look ready to collapse.”

“So do you.”

“Nothing some sleep won’t fix. How do you feel?”

The tenderness in his expression tugged at her heart. “It’s been a long day.”

“Have you been sick the whole time?”

Lexi ignored the question, “I have to get back to Lily.”

“Not yet.”

“I’ve got a ton of things to do.”

“They’ll wait. Look, Lexi, we need to talk. I gave you space. I didn’t even grumble when you didn't even spare me a glance this morning. I understood that you were busy, but it’s time we deal with this.”

“We have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said. I’m not having this discussion now.”

Tyler placed a palm against the wall by her head and leaned in close. “We have to give our baby the best life we can.”

“Exactly. Which is why it would be a mistake for us to get married for the wrong reasons and make each other miserable.”

Why was he in her face? She couldn't believe that he'd become this…assertive? It was different before because that was sex, and they were getting along quite well. But now it was different because they were talking about serious things…. Like having a baby together and marriage. A part of her—that flutter inside her stomach she tried to ignore—would admit to liking this side of him. But the woman in her who had to be in control was a little freaked.

“Like my parents?” he asked

Unable to breathe, she sidestepped him and paced the balcony. Below, the waitstaff set up the tables for dinner while others wiped down chairs and cranked shade umbrellas to their fullest width. “That's not what I meant. You were the one who helped me change my mind about marrying Victor. We might have feelings for each other but we are not ready. It's all happening too fast. Marriage would be a mistake and end in divorce. I wouldn’t want that.”

“I don’t, either. But I also know the perfect way to prove to you that we’re more compatible than you think.”

The husky timbre of his voice made that little flutter go haywire. Her heart thudded in her chest and she was transported to those wonderful days they'd spent together. The words he’d growled into her ear while he held her close, the heat of his mouth and breath on her skin.

Tyler stepped forward, his gaze sweeping her body from head to toe. Watching him look at her warmed her insides and made her want to believe him. Lexi moved away, so that every step he took toward her matched one that would get her closer to the wall.

“Stop. We’re not playing some stupid game of boss and secretary. Just stay there.”

His lips quirked up at the corners. “What are you so afraid of? That I’m wrong? Or that I’m right?”

She should have known Tyler would behave this way. She knew how stubborn he could be, how determined. “Tyler, I’ll deal with this, okay? I don’t expect anything from you. Not marriage, not money —nothing.” Steel laced her words and a bitterness crept in that she couldn’t hold back.

“I know you don't need my money,” Tyler told her, “You've got a shit load of it, and so do I. But have you thought, people are going to find out. What then?”

He was right. What adult woman accidentally got pregnant in this day and age? Lexi shook her head firmly back and forth. “What about it?”

“What kind of man would I be to walk away from you?”

A smart one? “I don’t care what other people think.”

Liar.

“I don’t either. But I’m not walking away from my child or its mother. All you have to do is trust me. I’ll do my best to make you happy, to be a good husband. All you have to do is say yes.”

“No.”

Steam practically came out of his ears. “Why are you being so difficult? What about the baby? Do you care that it’s going to wonder why we’re not together? Why he or she wasn’t more important than our petty differences?”

“I’ll explain.”

A disgruntled rumble sounded in his chest. “How? What are you going to say to make life better? I had a shitty childhood, Lexi. You know that, and I know how it felt, so I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that my child doesn't go through that. Do you understand?”

She understood him, but still he had to know that getting married was crazy. “I understand, but marriage won’t solve our problems, Tyler. If anything, it would magnify them.”

“Lexi, about two months ago you came to me and the dynamics of our relationship changed. A month ago you couldn’t get close enough to me. Why can’t we go back to that?”

She felt her cheeks heat with an embarrassing glow. “Tyler...”

“Everything happens for a reason.”

“Not always.”