“Like what you see?”
Kristie turned. Tyler was in the doorway, hands in his pockets as he watched her. The way he was looking at her was starting a throbbing between her legs. Swallowing, Kristie managed a smile.
“It’s nice.”
“Just that?”
“Well…not what I expected from you.”
“What did you expect?”
“I’m not sure. Just not this.”
There was silence. And Kristie wished Tyler would say something; she wasn’t about to start this off. After all, Tyler wanted this. He had to make the move first.
“Do you want a drink?” Tyler asked. “I can see what I’ve got…”
“Not right now.” Even thought Kristie’s throat was dry. She licked her lips. “Can we talk first, and then think about other…stuff?”
That really shouldn’t have sounded so erotic. She had to get her mind out of the gutter. But that was easier said than done when all she could think about was peeling that shirt off him and licking every part of his body.
“Sure. If that’s what you want.” Tyler gestured at the settee. “Sit down.”
Kristie was glad he had said that. She was going to end up falling over if she didn’t, considering her legs were shaking. She went to the settee and sat down, putting her bag on the floor and smoothing her skirt over her legs. Where was that confidence she had at work when she needed it? Kristie hadn’t felt this nervous in a long time.
Tyler sat beside her, looking like he was being careful not to touch her. He purposefully kept some distance between them. Kristie resisted the urge to shift closer to him.
Settling down, Tyler sat back and gave Kristie a sheepish smile.
“Listen, I’m sorry for the way that it came out today. I didn’t mean to spring it on you like that.”
“I’m still wondering how you came to saying it in the first place.”
“Simple. I want to be a dad, and I trust you to carry my child.”
“Not that.” Kristie frowned. “What had you saying it like that at that moment? You could have warmed me up to it without springing it on me.”
Tyler winced.
“I’m still kicking myself about it. I had even worked on how to build up to that point, and ask you gently. But that just went out the window. I just couldn’t stop myself.”
“What brought all this on, anyway? Why now?”
“I’m getting at an age where I need to think about my future. I’m probably going to be retiring in a couple of years, and it had me thinking about having a family. But finding a partner who had the same ideals as me at the same time has been incredibly difficult.”
“I know you have a lot of trust issues,” Kristie commented.
Tyler grunted.
“You’d be right. I can trust my teammates when I’m playing, but outside of that…I can count on one hand who I can trust for anything.”
“Including me?”
“Including you.”
Kristie felt a warmth spread through her chest at that. She liked hearing him say that, and she felt honoured that he considered her trustworthy. She took a deep breath, wishing that her heart would slow down.
“So, what do you want from me? Aside from the obvious? How would this work?”