Ty smiled at me in a flirty way. “I bet you do all right in the bedroom.”
And, ick.
“So how was your day?” I decided to change the subject.
“Same ol’。 Just filing paperwork and dealing with all the red tape that comes with buying and developing property. It’s super fun,” he drawled with a roll of his eyes.
“Where are y’all buying property? I thought your dad works in investments or something.”
“He does. But we have several companies under the umbrella. I run the legal and some of the development side of things, like the land stuff. Dad runs the investments. It’s complicated, and I don’t want to bore you with the monotonous details.”
“’Cause I’m not smart enough?” I couldn’t help myself.
“No,” he said, looking at me with an incredulous laugh. “Because it’s very uninteresting.”
Probably not to the SEC. But I didn’t say that, of course. So I said nothing.
Ty looked worried. “You know I know you’re smart. And you’re very talented. I can tell your dresses will do well. Look at how everyone couldn’t keep their eyes off you at the gala. I thought I was going to have to fight a few guys who were looking as if they might like to take that pretty dress off you.”
“You’re pouring it on a little thick,” I said, letting him off the hook.
“Maybe you’re worth pouring it on. You want another drink?” he asked, nodding toward the half inch of wine left in my goblet.
“Nah, I have an early class, and then I’m closing tomorrow afternoon. Busy day.”
Ty leaned in closer, stroking my shoulder bared by the tank I had paired with some super-distressed jeans and heeled zip booties. “Wanna come see the house I just bought in Trace? There’s a hot tub overlooking the seventh hole.”
“I don’t have a suit.”
Ty brushed my jaw with his lips and whispered, “You won’t need a suit.”
If I hadn’t known what I knew about him and his dad, and if I hadn’t just toured Dak’s hot tub–less cabin on Cross Lake, I might have been tempted to slip naked into Ty’s therapeutic waters, but as pretty as the package was, the box could hold dog shit. And honestly, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to unwrap him and find out. At this point, I had soured on a guy who was even related to a douche who could do something like his father was doing. “Sounds heavenly, but I have a quiz tomorrow. I have to study.”
“Oh, come on. You can study at my place.” He gave me another sexy smile that should have worked. It damned sure would have on that sorority hussy who nearly mounted his leg at the gala. Couldn’t remember her name, but I remembered the way she’d looked like she wanted to rip out my throat and then put her monogram on his towels.
“I’m pretty sure my notes won’t survive a hot tub,” I said, with teasing in my voice.
“Come on, beautiful. I’ve been dreaming of all the ways I’m going to make you scream my name.” He looked dead serious about that.
“Wow. You’re very confident, aren’t you?” I said, picking up the glass and gulping the last of my wine. He was kind of creeping me out, the way he had when we first met. But I knew how to handle douchey guys. Growing up with all male cousins meant I knew how to fight dirty if it came down to it.
Ty smiled. “Nothing wrong with being confident.”
“Touché.” I pushed back the stool. “But I must have priorities, and school trumps hot-tubbing and screaming names.”
“Not if I do it right.”
That made me laugh. “You are confident.”
“Don’t you like that in a man?” he teased.
“Only when he can actually deliver the goods. So I might regret spending the next few hours with my books instead of finding out what kind of delivery guy you are, but I’ll take that chance.”
“You’re killing me, you know,” he said, tossing a twenty on the counter and stepping back so I could slide past him.
“Yes, I know,” I said with a smile, enjoying the repartee even as I knew this was likely our last date. My gran used to say, “Always leave them wanting more,” and I’d never really embraced that idea. But it seemed apropos for this situation. I liked the tiny bit of power I held over this particular guy. Maybe because I didn’t seem to hold that same power over Dak. With him, it was flip-flopped, and he seemed to be able to pull some strings that made me dance despite my best intentions. But I didn’t want to think about my messed-up feelings for Dak. I did indeed have a test tomorrow. And a check for eighty grand staring at me from my bill stack. And a ringing phone. We stepped out into the sticky night, and I pulled my cell phone from my crossbody.