Only Tyler by Jess Dee Page A

what the driver headed towards you is capable of.”
    “No worries, Kate,” Steve said. “We rode here together. Ty’s a good biker. C’mon. You know he wouldn’t do anything stupid.”
    She turned to face Steve, hoping she could talk some sense into him. One look at his face told her he was as hooked on the bike as his friend. “There’s nothing I can say to convince you, is there? You’re both sold on the damn thing.”
    Steve nodded. “Looks that way.”
    “I’ll be careful, Katie, I promise,” Ty said. “We both will.”
    Katie nodded. What choice did she have? They were grown men.
    She couldn’t make decisions for them.
    “C’mon,” Tyler said. “I haven’t been to the beach in years. Let me go feel the sand between my toes again.”
    The three of them crossed the road, Katie preoccupied with her thoughts. She hated the bike. If Steve had bought it, she could have argued with him, could have harped on about how getting himself killed in a bike accident might put a damper on their big day.
    She had no rights to Tyler though. As much as she wished he hadn’t bought the monster, there was nothing she could do about it.
    Katie sat in the sun-warmed sand while Steve and Tyler rolled up their jeans and headed straight for the water. She leaned back on her elbows and watched the two men talk while wading through the surf.
    They were oblivious to the water splashing around their ankles, wetting the cuffs of their pants. Their deep laughter resonated off the waves, and their animated faces glimmered with humor. Katie grinned when a group of young women walked past them, stopped and twisted around to take another look.
    Ever the charmer, Steve said something and they giggled in response. Tyler turned and rolled his eyes at her, just like he used to whenever Steve targeted a pretty woman. She shook her head in amusement, almost wishing Steve’s perpetual flirting bothered her. It didn’t. Not on any level.
    Two teenaged boys playing Frisbee caught Steve’s attention. In minutes, he and Tyler had joined the game, and the four of them ran tirelessly across the beach, chasing and throwing the plastic disc.
    After about ten minutes, Tyler called time-out. He left the game and dropped down beside Katie, breathing hard.
    “I’m not as young as I once was,” he confessed. “I just don’t have the vigor those kids do.”
    Katie looked at Steve bounding across the beach. “Yup,” she agreed. “All three of them seem to have endless amounts of energy.”
    They laughed together, and sat comfortably side by side watching the game.
    “I opened your present,” she said.
    He didn’t look at her. “What did you think?”
    “I was” she swallowed. “I was overwhelmed, Ty. That was the most incredible gift I have ever received.” Never before had anyone given her a gift that had required so much thought or so much caring. Never before had anyone given her a gift that showed her how well the giver knew or understood her.
    “So you liked it?” His face was still.
    “I love it.” Her voice hitched in her throat. “Thank you so much.”
    “It’s my pleasure, sweet Katie.” Her name came out as a soft murmur, and her heart lurched in her chest.
    “I’m sorry, Ty. About what I said to you last night. I was way out of line.”
    His lips tilted upwards. “You were tanked.”
    She squirmed in the sand. “It’s no excuse. My comments were unnecessary.”
    “Apology accepted.” He turned to look at her. “It’s not just you, Katie. I feel it too. The awkwardness. This whole situation sucks. Who would have thought I could feel ill at ease around my best mate and my best girl?”
    Their gazes caught and held. The breath was sucked from her body. They might as well have been alone on the beach for all the awareness she had of the people around her. For the longest time the only person, the only thing, she could concentrate on was Tyler.
    She’d stared into his eyes before. Drowned in the chocolaty depth of