Lori Foster - Charade

She watched Tyler’s face go rigid, and then he leaned toward her. “And I don’t?”

“Not from what I hear.”

Leaning back, Tyler observed Carlie thoughtfully. “You know, if we’re going to work together, you’ll have to get over your attitude. I don’t know why you dislike me so much, but it’s not something I’m used to. Nor do I intend to get used to it.” He waited a heartbeat, and Carlie felt his annoyance wash over her before he added, “I’d really like to work with you and the kids. But if you would rather find someone else to help you with your project, I’ll drop out.”

It was plain, by his tone and expression, he didn’t want to do that. He wanted to be involved, for whatever reasons, and Carlie did need him. She hated to admit the truth, but it was her own personal conflict that was causing the problems. What she needed was an emotional compromise.

After adjusting her glasses, she straightened. “I think we can manage to get along if we keep it on a business level.”

Tyler shook his head. “No go. I don’t have a ‘business level.’ You’re going to have to get your little nose out of the air and be friendly.”

Her compromise exploded into oblivion. Did everything have to be his way? “You’re an extremely arrogant person!”

His chuckle was warm and husky. “Bren says the same thing regularly. Funny, it sounds almost affectionate coming from her.”

“She’s too softhearted.”

“Yes, she is. It’s amazing you two are friends.”

Uh-oh. Dangerous territory. Carlie held his gaze with an effort, the implied insult overlooked entirely. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”

Tyler considered that. “Do you know many of her other friends?”

“A few.”

“Who?”

Ah, so that was it. He didn’t for one minute suspect her as the mystery woman from the other night; she was too unlikely to even be considered. But he was fishing to find out who the woman was. She hesitated just long enough, pretending deep thought, until he cleared his throat.

Several names came to mind, most of the women quite attractive, and Carlie named them, watching as he pondered each one. She was ready to laugh, when a familiar voice interrupted them.

“Ms. McDaniels! How nice to see you here. And how is my boy doing?”

Carlie smiled, and turned in her seat to face Mr. Briant.

She was totally at ease as a teacher dealing with a parent, and invited him to join their table. She reassured the anxious father, taking a few minutes to go over things he could do at home that would help his son improve his skills even more. She was specific, but very patient with the man’s concerns. She was also aware that Tyler was watching her, sipping his coffee and listening to their conversation intently. He looked almost...impressed by her.

When the father finally left, Tyler lifted his coffee cup in a salute to her. “Does that happen often?”

“Yes. This is a small town, and thankfully the parents are, for the most part, very involved with their children’s education.”

“Your Mr. Briant seemed to hang on your every word.”

Carlie smiled crookedly. “We had a misunderstanding of sorts with the first failing grade I sent home with his son. You see, he decided it was my fault, and came to the school to tell me so.”

“Let me guess. You chewed him up and spit him out, right?”

Carlie’s smile froze. “I’m not an ogre. He was upset, so I tried to explain. I pulled out all the papers I had been keeping on his son, Brady, and showed them to him. I went over the procedure we used with new materials, and I told him his son was distracted and not paying attention in class.”

“Carlie, I didn’t mean—”

She shook her head. “It’s all right. I know what you meant.” Idly stirring her coffee, she whispered, “It was such a sad situation. Mr. Briant had just lost his wife. He was very withdrawn and angry. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on his son yet, who was having his own problems adjusting.” She sighed, remembering how difficult it had been to see the father and son together, each struggling with his loss. “We spent a lot of time together after class. Sometimes we worked on lessons, but a lot of the time we just talked. I...I lost my parents when I was young, so I knew how Brady must have felt. At a time like that, school work kind of takes a backseat to trying to survive the emotional pain.”

Tyler was studying his coffee cup. “It must have been rough for you.”

His quiet words, filled with understanding and sympathy surprised her.

She nodded. “Everything worked out, though. After Brady started catching up, Mr. Briant joined us in our after-school lessons. I think he was lonely, too, and looking for some direction. He wanted to learn how to help his son study, so for a few weeks I helped him do that. Now they’re on their own, and Brady Briant is earning A’s.”

Tyler stared at her, and Carlie could feel him looking beneath her calm control, trying to read her thoughts. “You’re very dedicated,” he said quietly.

“You have to be dedicated, to any job, if you want to do it well.” Then she smiled, curious over Tyler’s distracted expression. “That’s no reason to be so solemn, though.”

“I was just wondering how dedicated I am to my job, to handling the small load of petty cases that land on my desk each month.”

“And?”

“Oh, I’d say...not very.”

“That can’t be true. Jason says you do a wonderful job.”

“I’m a good lawyer.” It was a statement of fact, with no fringe of lace to pretty it up. Abruptly, he reached across the table and took her hand.

Carlie tried to pull away, but he held her firm. “I’m sorry if I inadvertently insulted you. I only meant that you’re very sure of yourself and you appear to be able to handle any situation. Including irascible fathers.”

It was more difficult than she’d expected, because Tyler wasn’t what she’d expected. At least, not completely. There were too many facets to his personality, and now he seemed genuinely thoughtful, interested in the children and concerned that he might have hurt her feelings. And he’d been very patient while she’d talked to Mr. Briant.

His hand was warm and strong, feeling exactly as she remembered. But her reaction wasn’t dulled by familiarity.

“I’m not invincible, Mr. Ramsey. I simply don’t believe in allowing myself to be trod upon.”

“You’ve done that before, you know. Called me mister when you’re agitated. I think we know each other well enough to dispense with mister and Ms., don’t you?”

She managed to slip her hand free, but only because Tyler allowed it. She needed to regather her defenses; Tyler was a devastating man when he was being the seducer. But as a caring, considerate man, he was downright potent. “I don’t really know you at all, but I think I know your type, and I’m not all that impressed by it. That’s one of the reasons I hesitated to involve you in this program. But I’ll be honest with you...Tyler. There was no one else to take Jason’s place, and—”

He interrupted her long enough to say facetiously, “Stop, Carlie. You’ll swell my ego with all this praise.”

Carlie heaved a disgruntled sigh, and saw Tyler’s eyes go automatically to her breasts as she inhaled. He wouldn’t be able to tell a damned thing, though, other than the fact that she did have them. Her shirt was buttoned to the throat and her suit coat was bulky, concealing any dimensions or shape. Carlie glared at him.

Still not looking at her face, he said, “You’ve made quite a few assumptions about me, haven’t you? Did you ever consider you might be wrong?”

“No. I hadn’t considered that.”