Page 173 of What Started In Deception

Ty nodded, walking Marietta back to the door, hating that this was likely the last time that he would talk to any of the Monroes.

Marietta patted his hand again. “You know, you owe me a training session, Tyler. This Sunday at nine a.m. would work out well.”

He winced. “Unfortunately, I’m not really doing that anymore. The guy’s information that I sent you—Trent. He’s excellent.”

Marietta shook her head. “I don’t want to work with Trent. I’ve already made some progress, and it wasn’t Trent who helped me do that. I’ll send you my address in a text. I’ll expect to see you on Sunday. At nine a.m., Tyler.”

He nodded, officially stuck. Because it was a stupid man who said no to Marietta Monroe. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ll see you soon, dear.”

He nodded as he opened the door for them, sending them on their way.

“Fuck,” he whispered as he closed it behind them, pressing his forehead to the wood. “This isn’t good,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket, wanting to give Lydia a heads-up.

He swallowed as he hesitated with his call, even as he craved to hear her voice, but he read her last message again—Lydia making it perfectly clear that she wanted nothing more to do with him.

“Fuck,” he repeated as he took a deep breath, trying to analyze the situation and his own motivations. Was warning Lydia a genuinely altruistic act, or was he grasping for an excuse to reach out to her?

Because James hadn’t been particularly happy, but he also hadn’t been mad. Marietta had seemed pretty okay with everything, too. They loved Lydia, and ultimately, she’d helped him protect her family. James and Marietta understood that. Marietta still wanted him to train her, so things certainly weren’t too bad. And James had mentioned that he had no plans to bring up the situation while things were a mess between Will and Mac.

He wanted nothing more than to talk to Lydia, but he also couldn’t stand the idea of causing her any more pain. Because the reality was that nothing about their situation had changed. He was still an FBI agent in Washington, DC, and she still had her goals and dreams in Oliver Heights. They still lived entirely different lives.

Sighing, he read her message one more time, then put his phone away, hoping that Lydia and her family would be okay.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Lydia made the turn onto Gram-Gram’s quiet street, wincing as she glanced at the dashboard clock. She was almost fifteen minutes late for their Sunday morning brunch date, but it couldn’t be helped because the traffic had absolutely sucked.

Moments later, she pulled into Gram-Gram’s driveway, remembering to grab the pretty flower arrangement that she’d picked up at Marney’s on her way out of town. It had been super sweet of her friend to put something together on the fly because meeting up with Gram-Gram certainly hadn’t been part of her original weekend plans. But Gram-Gram had called twenty minutes before Lydia had been ready to crawl into bed, mostly insisting that her favorite granddaughter come up for a visit.

Hurrying up the walkway to the front door, she smoothed her blue-striped minidress, then her hair that she’d pulled back with a barrette before she used the code to let herself in, not wanting Gram-Gram or her housekeeper to walk all the way to the grand entrance when it wasn’t necessary.

“Gram-Gram,” she called as her sandals slapped against the marble floor, veering toward the sitting room when she thought she heard voices. “I know I’m late. I’m so sorry…”

Ty rushed up from his seat on the couch as she stopped dead in the doorway. He wore gray athletic shorts and one of his black compression T-shirts that accentuated all of his yumminess, looking as shocked as she felt. “Lyd.”

“I didn’t—I don’t…” was the best she could do as she shook her head and held his gaze while her heart pounded in her chest. He was so gorgeous. She loved him so much.

“I’m glad you could join us,” Gram-Gram said as she stood from her chair in the dead silence.

“I didn’t know,” Lydia said now, looking at Gram-Gram, still at a loss for words.

Gram-Gram nodded, dressed in black yoga pants and a blue sweatshirt—a very casual outfit that she would only ever wear to exercise. “Tyler stopped by to help me with my workout.”

Lydia nodded this time, still reeling from the very unexpected turn that the morning had taken. “I see that.”

“I certainly appreciate it. I know he doesn’t have a lot of time to help old ladies exercise. Not with his responsibilities at the FBI.”

Lydia felt her eyes grow wide as they filled with tears. “Oh, Gram-Gram.”

Gram-Gram held up her hand. “That’s something you and I can talk about later. But for now, I’m going to head upstairs to change.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said as Gram-Gram stopped in front of her.

Gram-Gram kissed her cheek, then took the vase from her hands. “We’ll talk later.”

She nodded, waiting while Gram-Gram left the room, holding Ty’s stare until Gram-Gram’s footsteps faded on the stairs. “You told her?”