Tell Me You Love Me (5 page)

Dino Benedetto truly was dead!

That reality kept playing over and over in Tyanna’s mind long after she returned home. She had felt so optimistic when she walked through the doors of Ultimate Fitness, expecting to see Dino working behind the juice bar.

But Leona telling her that Dino was dead—somehow she had kept it together in front of her old colleague. But now that she was home, she couldn’t shake the sick feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach.

As much as she’d wanted to believe that Sheldon was lying to her about Dino, she now knew he wasn’t. It wasn’t a coincidence that he knew of Dino’s death, and Tyanna was willing to believe that if she checked out old newspapers, she would find information about it. Clearly, Sheldon hadn’t come back to town with some far-fetched story meant as a lame excuse to justify why he’d left her.

She inhaled a choppy breath and let it out in a rush.

She wasn’t thinking so much of Sheldon now as she was trying to deal with the truth about Dino. Dealing illegal steroids? Mob connections? He’d seemed so…nice.

So had Ted Bundy, apparently.

Tyanna’s eyes wandered to the phone. She lay stretched out on the sofa and the television was on, but she wasn’t registering a word or image from the TV. All she could think about was what Leona’s words had confirmed.

She needed to know more. Sheldon had given her a skeleton of the events because she hadn’t let him tell her everything.

Tyanna bit down on her bottom lip, wondering what to do. Should she try and track Sheldon down? She still spoke to his mother from time to time, and knew her phone number. If Sheldon wasn’t staying with her, surely his mother would know where he was. The more Tyanna thought about it, the more she realized that calling wouldn’t be a bad idea. Goodness, how could she not? There were so many missing pieces, including why Mrs. Ford had never mentioned Dwight either.

She sat up and edged across the sofa, moving closer to the phone. If she called, it would just be to get the whole story. If nothing else, Sheldon owed her that. But she would make it clear to him that hearing it would not change things between them.

Whatever he would tell her now, he should have told her a year ago.

Tyanna stared at the phone for a long time, almost as if she expected the receiver to jump into her hands. Of course that wasn’t going to happen.
Just do it. It’s not going to kill you.

Before she lost her nerve, she grabbed the receiver and dialed Mrs. Ford’s number. After three rings, a familiar voice instantly brought a smile to her face.

“Good evening.’’

“Mrs. Ford. Hello.’’

There was a pause, then, “My goodness. Is that Tyanna?’’

“Yes, ma’am. It’s me.’’

“Oh, sweetheart. It is so good to hear from you. Where have you been?’’

“You know me. Here, there and everywhere. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch lately. I’ve been pretty busy with the new job. I’m lucky if I get two days off a week.’’

“Yes, I know how that can be. With some jobs, it’s always go, go, go. Like mine. I’m so glad it’s the summer and I have a break.’’

Mrs. Ford was a teacher, and Tyanna didn’t doubt she was one of the best out there.

“Did Sheldon go to see you?” Mrs. Ford asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Tyanna replied, a tad surprised. “How did you…” Things were starting to make sense now. “Did you tell him where to find me?’’

“I hope you’re not upset. I remembered the
name of that new gym you said you were working at, and he asked if I’d heard from you….”

“No, no. That’s okay.” There was no way she could ever be upset with Mrs. Ford. In many ways, Tyanna felt closer to her than to her own mother. “Actually, I was calling for Sheldon. Is he there?’’

“He’s around here somewhere. I think outside, working on his car. One minute.’’

Mrs. Ford put the receiver down and Tyanna heard some shuffling sounds. A little over a minute later, Sheldon came on the line.

“Hey, Tyanna.’’

His voice held warmth, and Tyanna felt a small smile creep onto her face. “Hi, Sheldon.’’

“I didn’t think I’d hear from you.’’

“Yeah, well. Life is full of surprises, isn’t it?’’

“Touché.”

“Listen, I need to talk to you. About Dino. That whole story that I didn’t let you tell me.’’

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I’m ready to listen, if you still want to tell me about it.’’

“All right. But I’d rather not talk about this over the phone.’’

“Sure, that makes sense.’’

“I can head to your place.’’

“My place?” Tyanna’s heart spasmed. The thought of being alone with Sheldon in her apartment again…

She had wanted to move from her apartment
after returning from working on the cruise ship—get rid of the place that held so much history for her and Sheldon—but moving was such a big job. Ultimately, she had decided against it, certain that her six months away had helped her get over Sheldon once and for all.

“You still live at the same apartment?”

“Yeah—”

“All right. It won’t take me long to get there.’’

Tyanna hesitated. She wanted to tell him to meet her somewhere else, but that would make it seem like she was afraid to have him come over. And if she was afraid, he’d wonder why. He might think that she still had feelings for him.

Which was exactly what she didn’t want him thinking. If it was the last thing she did, Tyanna would play it cool with Sheldon.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll be home.’’

“Great. See you soon.’’

Sheldon couldn’t keep a silly smile from spreading across his face as he drove the short distance from his mother’s house to Tyanna’s apartment. Her call had shocked him. He truly hadn’t expected to hear from her. But the fact that she
had
called him proved that she’d been thinking about him.

And that was a good sign.

The year they’d been apart seemed like forever and yet only yesterday. He’d missed her. Seeing her again had driven home just how much.

She wanted to hear the whole story. A definite plus. He could only hope that she had come around to forgiving him for how he’d disappeared, or at least would soon. He regretted how everything had gone down, but he wouldn’t change how he’d done things if given the chance. His life had been in danger the moment Dino had figured out his relation to Dwight, something he hadn’t been able to do before because Sheldon had given him a false surname. From what he’d learned, Dino’s connection to organized crime had been extensive, and if he’d gotten wind of Sheldon’s relationship with Tyanna, he would have hurt her for sure.

There was no way Sheldon would have allowed that to happen. He’d done the only thing he could do, even if it was the hardest thing he’d had to do.

Sheldon exited I-95 at Aventura Boulevard and drove east. It took another several minutes for him to reach the water. Tyanna lived in a nice apartment on the beach. It wasn’t quite as far south as South Beach, so while she still had a great view of the ocean, she had it at a better price.

Moments later, Sheldon signaled his turn and drove into the apartment’s lot. He automatically headed to the section reserved for visitors’ parking. He found an open spot and maneuvered his Explorer into it.

His stomach did a few flip-flops as he turned
off the ignition. He wanted to see Tyanna—couldn’t wait to see her—yet he was suddenly afraid to get out of his vehicle. Earlier, he had been convinced that this visit could only mean something positive—that she was ready to forgive him—but what if he was wrong?

He leaned his head back against the headrest. Hell, that wasn’t what he was afraid of. He knew she was ready to listen to his story. Maybe it wasn’t so much that he was afraid, but that he felt a mix of nervous anticipation.

He remembered vividly what had happened the last time he’d stepped into Tyanna’s apartment. It hadn’t taken more than thirty seconds for them to end up hot and heavy on her sofa, doing what came so naturally for them.

Going into her apartment now…he couldn’t help that his thoughts had turned to sex. He couldn’t help but want her. Hell, he’d never stopped wanting her, no matter how many times he told himself to forget her and move on. No matter how many other beautiful women had offered themselves to him in the past year. He hadn’t been able to do it, because when it came to sex, the only person he wanted to be with was Tyanna.

So the way he saw it, he was now walking into dangerous territory—especially since she’d pretty much laughed in his face when he’d hinted at the idea that they could become sexually reacquainted.

He didn’t know what had come over him in her office, except that Tyanna had been so passionate as she’d spoken, and watching that full mouth of hers—his body had simply reacted. A man couldn’t help it sometimes.

“Get a grip, Ford,” he muttered. “This time you’re gonna have to help it.” He didn’t know what the future held for him and Tyanna, but it’d be a grim one if he couldn’t get his mind off sex right now.

“I don’t even know why you’re thinking this crap about a future,” he said to himself. “Her family doesn’t like you….” That had been the one thing that bothered him the most during their relationship. He wasn’t ashamed of not having a degree—he’d fallen short by a year, after dropping out in hopes of healing his shoulder—but he knew that the Calhouns thought Tyanna could do better. He’d never felt comfortable around them, simply because he felt they’d never truly let him into their inner circle. Like they thought he was responsible for everything their daughter had done that they didn’t approve of.

Despite that, he and Tyanna had had a passionate relationship, and she hadn’t cared about her family’s opinions. But a person had to think about the long term. Somewhere along the line he had started to realize that he and Tyanna couldn’t have a future. Sure, her family considered her the wild child, but one of these days, she would prob
ably give in and please them by marrying someone they thought was suitable.

Sheldon had pushed those thoughts from his mind while they’d been involved, but now he couldn’t help thinking of that reality.

He had to remind himself that right now, all he really wanted was for Tyanna to forgive him, and hopefully be willing to resume a friendship with him.

Damn it all to hell.
He gripped the door handle and opened it. If he continued to sit here and think, he would talk himself right out of going upstairs to see her.

Sheldon hopped out of his Ford Explorer and started for Tyanna’s low-rise apartment building. In the lobby, he hit the code for her unit. Tyanna buzzed him up without speaking into the intercom.

Sheldon took the stairs two at a time to her third-level apartment, but paused before opening the door to the hallway. He blew out a quick breath, then swung open the door and stood in front of Tyanna’s end unit. He was about to knock when the door opened.

Tyanna smiled up at him. “Hey.’’

His shoulders drooped, the fight going out of him. Damn, if she was going to look at him like that, it was going to be near impossible to keep his mind off sex.

“Hi.” Suddenly nervous, he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “See, I told you I’d be quick.’’

“Guess you didn’t run into any traffic.’’

“Not at this time on a Sunday evening.’’

“Well.” Tyanna stepped backward. “Come in.’’

Sheldon stepped slowly into the apartment. He glanced around, looking for signs of change. It was pretty much the way he remembered it. A variety of shoes were scattered near the doorway, and looking further into the living room, Sheldon could see a pile of clothes in one corner that no doubt needed to be laundered.

Some things never changed. Tyanna was a sweetheart, but she wasn’t the tidiest person around. Whenever he teased her about that, she always told him that in Florida, an apartment was just a place to shower and sleep. There was so much to do outdoors that she couldn’t be bothered with beautifying the inside of her place.

Not that it was a complete mess, but…well, she wouldn’t win any Martha Stewart awards.

“That’s new,” Sheldon said, pointing to a painting on a nearby wall. It was a watercolor of a beach, with palm trees and seashells and a lone sailboat in the distance.

“Yeah.” A smile touched Tyanna’s lips. “I painted it when I was on the cruise ship.’’

Sheldon’s eyes bulged as he stared at her. “
You
?”

She placed both hands on her hips and replied, “Yes, me. You don’t have to act so shocked.’’

Shaking his head, he chuckled softly. “Guess that shouldn’t surprise me. What job haven’t you done?” She’d worked a stint as a chef, as a fund
raiser for a local charity foundation, a waitress, a personal trainer. “Wait a second—did you say a cruise ship?’’

“Yep.”

“Business or pleasure?”

“I was working.’’

“You don’t slow down, do you?’’

“Why? So much to do, so little time.” She paused, then said, “After you left, I got a job as a bartender on a cruise ship. I figured I should see more of the world. I did that for six months.’’

She didn’t have to say that she’d needed to get away because of the heartbreak he’d caused her. “Where did you travel?’’

“All over the Caribbean. It was fun for a while, but one day I woke up and realized that I needed to move on.’’

“And you just felt inclined to start painting one day?’’

“One of the other bartenders on the ship was an artist. He taught me some of the basics.’’

“He?”

“Uh-huh.”

Sheldon could just imagine the kind of basics this guy tried to teach her, and it wasn’t a thought that sat well with him. He stared at Tyanna, waiting for more. But she remained tight-lipped. Shit, she wasn’t going to offer him any more details. But what did he expect?

“Basically,” Tyanna continued, “I was just fooling around. Something to pass the time. Believe it
or not, it can get boring when you’re staring out at water.’’

“With all the excitement cruise ships are known for?’’

“Mmm hmm.’’

What else had she done to pass the time on that ship? he wondered. And did it include painter-boy? He almost asked her, but as the words were on his tongue he realized how pathetic he would sound prying. Instead, he said, “Well, your painting is pretty amazing.’’