Final Call (Call #2)(28)
Author: Emma Hart

Aaron slaps him around the back of the head with lightning speed, and Tyler laughs, ducking away.

“I was going to introduce you, but a hotel is looking incredibly tempting.”

I roll my eyes and step forward. “You must be Tyler. I’m Dayton. Excuse his possessive streak. We’re working on reining it in some.”

Aaron’s hand connects with my ass, and I shoot a glare over my shoulder.

“Watch it, Mr. Stone. You’re still on my shit list.”

He smirks and lifts his mug to his mouth, hiding it.

“Dayton.” Tyler shoots me a beaming smile that oozes charm. Yep. This guy knows how to melt panties right off. Fortunately, not mine. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Of course, I would have preferred to meet you a few weeks ago. Between you and me if I’d known you looked like this—”

“Tyler,” Aaron growls. “Do you think you could behave yourself while I have to work today, perhaps? Or do I need to make other arrangements for Dayton? I’m sure she’d much prefer to explore London than be locked in a spa, but the latter can be arranged.”

“I’ll behave.” Tyler holds three fingers in front of his body. “Scout’s honor.”

Aaron narrows his eyes, but I can see the amusement shining there. I get the feeling that Tyler is the only guy he’d let pull this shit and get away with it. No doubt anyone else would be in a very uncomfortable, painful position right now.

“Day.” Aaron pulls me back to him. “I have to work all day. Apparently my company doesn’t understand jet lag.” He yawns as if to prove his point.

I smile. “Have fun with that.”

“So sympathetic.” He wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls my face to his. “Tyler’s agreed to spend the day with you. I’m not sure how much of a good idea this is, but if he pushes his luck, put the little ass**le in his place.”

“Don’t worry. I will.” I pat his chest.

“I have to go or I’ll be late. I don’t think I’ll be home for dinner, so make sure Ty takes you somewhere expensive. On my tab,” he adds, looking at me pointedly.

I chew my lip. “Yes, sir.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Good girl.” He kisses me, his lips soft against mine. “Now I’m going. See you tonight.”

“See you later, baby.” I wink and kiss him quickly.

“Hey, Aaron?” The cookie bag rustles as Tyler picks it up.

“Yes?” Aaron looks at him, shrugging his jacket on.

“If any of the models at the casting today are any pop, send them my way, would you? The last is getting a bit clingy and I need to fend her off.”

“You know I can’t do that, Tyler. You’ll have to go out and find some poor woman to use by yourself.” He buttons his jacket and pockets his cell, then looks at me. “Remember, woman. My card.”

I stare after him, and Tyler flicks a switch behind me.

“Fuck that. I’m not taking a woman to dinner on his card.”

I turn.

“If I take you for dinner, I’m paying. He just wants to make me look like some cheap bastard.”

“What is it with you men? Women are perfectly capable of buying themselves—and a man—dinner.” I sit at the table in the center of the room and nod when he points to the coffee machine. “Please. Black.”

“Jet lag is a bitch.” He puts some beans and water in the machine and starts it. “And it’s not that we don’t think you’re capable of buying your own dinner. You just shouldn’t.”

“Really? We shouldn’t?”

“Day—I can call you that, right? Cool.” He continues before I respond. “Look at us. Aaron runs a multimillion-dollar company, and I’m the technical heir to another. He breathes tailored Armani suits, and I live and die in my designer jeans. If either of us took you to dinner and you paid, we’d look like nothing more than trophy husbands.”

I raise my eyebrows as he places a mug of coffee in front of me. “Are you saying I look old?”

“No. Fuck no. Shit.” He rubs his hand down his face. “You’re f**king gorgeous, and I have no problem saying so. Trust me, if you weren’t my cousin’s girlfriend, I wouldn’t be serving you coffee on this table. I’d be serving you me.”

“Apparently subtle isn’t a word in the vocabulary of the Stone men.”

“Not in mine, love. Cookie?” He thrusts the package in my face, and I take two. “Finally. A woman who will eat something I wouldn’t feed to a rabbit.”

“That’s what happens when you sleep with models.” I take a bite and wipe crumbs from the table.

“Don’t forget the gold-diggers with pussies bigger than my wallet. They’re even worse.”

I pause for a moment, staring at the man in front of me. “This conversation is perhaps a little too personal for a first meeting.”

Tyler’s lips twist in amusement. “If you can’t get personal on a first meeting, you’re definitely not the kind of girl to be sitting in my kitchen.”

The irony of that statement isn’t lost on me, and my lips twist. If only he knew just how many personal first meetings I’ve had in my life.

“And I believe that sentence tells me everything I need to know about you, Tyler Stone.”

He grins wolfishly, mischief twinkling in his dark eyes. “You’re a smart woman, Dayton. What are you doing with my cousin?”

“That is a very good question.”

Chapter Twelve

The look on Tyler’s face when I told him I wanted to see Buckingham Palace was hilarious. It was a cross between exasperation and helplessness.

I promised myself years ago that, if I ever got to London, the palace would be the first place I visited. Now, sitting in the back of a black cab and driving to Tyler’s favorite restaurant for an early dinner, I’m glad I saw it.

And despite his initial grumbling, Tyler didn’t exactly hate trying to make a guard laugh.

“One of those hats would suit me. What do you think?”

I look across the car at him and shake my head. “Really? No.”

He pouts. “I’m not sure I know what to do with a woman who doesn’t fall at my feet.”

“You act like a gentleman.”

“Is that what they do nowadays? Bloody hell. I’m not a door-opening kind of guy. Unless it’s to my bedroom, of course. Then I’m as close to a gentleman as they come—if you ignore the rough bits around the edges.” He winks and hands the driver some money, telling him to keep the change.