Wrong Number: OMYW Instalove Romance Read online

  Nodding, I stepped into the circle of his arms. He smelled like the ocean, with a bit of smoke. Something sultry and deep, but still light.

  As his thick arms tightened around me, I couldn’t stop my entire body from pressing against his. Without even thinking, my chin tipped up, as his lips met mine in the softest, gentlest kiss I could have ever imagined.

  But it was over too fast, leaving me breathless and twitchy.

  “I’ll be thinking about you, Tana,” he said softly. “Sleep well.”

  Tyler stood back, watching as I dug out my keys and went into the building, noticing that he waited until I was all the way inside.

  As soon as I got to my third-floor apartment, I locked the door behind me, turned the lights on, then ran to the front window to see him standing on the sidewalk, waving in my direction before walking off down the street.

  I flopped on the couch with a sigh, grinning to myself.

  In the space of one night, a terrible date had turned into my very first meaningful kiss, and the promise of a much better date tomorrow.

  CHAPTER THREE

  * Tyler *

  I had been hoping to take the entire weekend off, but naturally, my Uncle John called at six am, begging me to work a few hours. I raced through the job, wondering how this particular crew always managed to get so far behind.

  My father had run off before I was born, and my mother died when I was sixteen, so my uncle had always been like a father to me. Uncle John taught me all of the important things in life. Carpentry, how to dress for special occasions, and always to try new things.

  He was a bit odd, but had a giant sense of adventure. From camping to axe throwing to learning how to brew beer, John was always puttering away at something new.

  Now he was training me to take over his business someday. I really did love creating things, and working with fine woods, but sometimes wished that I could work alone.

  Some of our projects were high-end design, and extremely innovative. But many of them were practically the exact same thing over and over. A beautiful arrangement of kitchen cabinets, a kitchen island, and a white cupboard under the bathroom sinks.

  It wasn’t rocket science. As long as the measurements and the cutting were done carefully, there was nothing that should really go wrong.

  Since Uncle John was so kind-hearted, maybe he didn’t have it in him to give the teams a bit of a kick when they got behind. I had to wonder whether that would fall to me.

  I left the site as quickly as I could, rushing home to have a quick lunch at one, and forcing myself to wait until two in the afternoon to text Tana.

  Me: Hey, gorgeous. May I take you out tonight? I can pretty much guarantee that it will be a better date than the one you had last night.

  I was relieved when only a few minutes passed before she replied.

  Tana: Considering that you actually asked permission to hug me last night, I think we will be off to a much better start.

  Me: I will certainly not be trying to get you drunk. And if I touch your knee under the table, it will either be an accident, or I will be sure to notice if you jump away.

  Tana: Good, because Megan still hasn’t gotten back to me, so you’re still the only one I could text for help.

  Me: Ha ha.

  Me: May I pick you up at seven?

  Tana: Sure. Where are we going?

  Me: Dinner, then this and that.

  Tana: A man of mystery. OK. See you soon!

  I loved that she seemed less timid when texting. I also loved that she didn’t need to know every single detail of where we were going.

  It was fun to surprise people. It wasn’t a giant adventure like climbing a mountain, or jumping from a plane. I once read a cheesy book on dating that said women appreciated unique date locations like a new restaurant, or a tiny club that nobody has heard about yet.

  Apparently, surprising women was part of the whole “take charge” energy that they liked.

  I honestly had no idea how much stock I put in that book, but my last three relationships had all lasted less than a month, and been completely annoying. It was great when a woman spoke her mind, but when it was to nitpick every single detail of what I did, ate, and wore, it got pretty obnoxious.

  I didn’t want to be judged, I just wanted to hang out with a sweet girl. That shouldn’t be too much to ask.

  As I walked up the sidewalk to Tana’s building, I sent her a text.

  Me: I just realized I can’t buzz you because I don’t know your last name.

  Tana: I’ll buzz you in now, apartment 416.

  As soon as I walked toward the door, it buzzed, and I went straight up to her door. I tapped lightly, and she flung it open with a bright smile. Then she stared at the flowering potted plant in my hands. “Is that for me?”

  “Yes,” I said, as she took it from my hands, giggling sweetly. “Cut flowers die, so hopefully this will live more than a few days.”

  “That’s unbelievably sweet,” she said, placing it on her kitchen island. “Thank you.”

  Taking her hands, I had to stare at her for a few moments. She was wearing a bit of green eyeshadow that made her brown eyes look even more sultry. Funny that I’d never noticed a woman’s eyeshadow before in my life.

  Her simple black and gray swirled dress clung to every curve, which was going to make it tricky to keep my hands off her. Just a hint of cleavage, and a hemline long enough to almost touch her knees. Somehow, it was even sexier that she wasn’t really trying to be sexy.

  Tearing my eyes from her so that my staring didn’t freak her out, I took a look around her apartment. It was small and cozy, with a huge shelf that was packed with books, photos, and a series of glass spheres like modern crystal balls.

  Three large black and white architectural photos hung on the living room wall. She laughed strangely as she saw me examine them. “For a brief time in high school, I thought about becoming an architect. But I didn’t have a natural knack for it. I still love buildings, and cool photos of them.”

  “Those are really nice,” I said. As I looked around again, I saw that she really did have a great eye for design and balance. She was very creative. Somehow that made her sexier, and the terrible male animal portion of my brain wanted to scoop her in my arms and take her straight to the bedroom, or at least the couch. Giving my head a shake, I asked, “Are you ready to go?”

  Tana grabbed her purse, and we headed for my car. As we chatted about the neighborhood on the drive, I appreciated that she didn’t ask where we were going. I drove to the edge of town, to a dingy little strip mall.

  As I pulled into the lot, Tana examined the sign, then shot me a sideways glance. “I do my own nails, and I don’t need any dry cleaning done today. Where are we going?”

  “Trust me,” I said, pulling the car into a spot at the end of the mall.

  I ran around to open her door, and she read the red and white sign. “Vito’s? I’ve never heard of it.”

  “Please tell me you like Italian food.”

  She rolled her eyes. “How could anyone not love Italian food?”

  Tana made me smile so easily. She seemed impressed when the hostess seated us at the nicest table in front of the side window that overlooked the park next door.

  Once we were settled with menus and a bottle of wine, Tana whispered, “This place seems really nice. Why isn’t it busier?”

  Glancing around the room, I counted only three other couples in a room that could have easily seated fifty.

  “Actually, there are more people here than the last time I visited,” I said. “That’s why I look for any excuse to come here. The food is incredible, and the owners are really sweet, but because of the location, nobody seems to take it seriously as a real date spot sort of restaurant.”

  Tana’s beautiful smile made me feel like lights were turning on inside me. “Thank you for bringing me here,” she said softly. “I kind of like the thought that we are not just about to pig out on ravioli, but we’re helpin
g a family business.”

  “Exactly,” I laughed.

  After we decided to order two entrées and split them, I pointed out one of the owners who was waving to us from the kitchen. Tana joined me in waving back to the elderly gentleman who had obviously been cooking in that spot for years.

  “How did you find this place?” Tana asked. Then her hand fluttered over her mouth. “Sorry – I don’t even know if there are any ex-girlfriend situations I shouldn’t mention, or whatever.”

  I reached out to hold her hand across the table, relieved when she accepted it comfortably. “I appreciate total honesty,” I said gently. “It might seem pathetic, but I’m thirty-six and have only really dated three women.”

  “Define ‘really dated’.”

  “As in, more than two dates. An actual relationship sort of situation.”

  She nodded thoughtfully.

  “All three of them barely lasted a month, and there were no hard feelings when they ended, really. We just weren’t meant to be. And it was obvious that we shouldn’t bother wasting each other’s time.”

  Tana nodded, then smiled softly as I began to run my thumb along her hand.

  “I’ve never gone on more than two dates with anyone,” she murmured. “And, to be honest, only one guy ever made it to a second date. Then he got really pushy, and I didn’t call him again. I’m only twenty-two, but I wouldn’t judge anyone on their dating history.”

  “It’s weird, isn’t it? Most of us are looking for someone to spend our entire lives with, but it always starts off so awkwardly, because we’re total strangers.”

  “Exactly! And it’s all so dorky and embarrassing.”

  “Dorky, I understand. The whole getting to know you conversation is awkward. But why would it be embarrassing?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I just don’t have very many things to say about myself, so I feel like my life is...not boring, exactly. It’s pretty good. It’s just...not gigantically exciting.”

  “I don’t think you are the slightest bit boring,” I said, staring into those gorgeous warm brown eyes. “I think you’re sweet, charming, and full of life. I also think you’re so beautiful that it’s becoming dangerous.”

  Tana’s eyebrow raised as she smirked. “I assure you, there’s absolutely nothing dangerous about me whatsoever.”

  “If I leapt over this table to kiss you, I could smash the wine glasses. Broken glass is always dangerous.”

  Her head tipped back a few inches as she laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Not to mention, you could spill the wine,” she said, trying to seem serious. “This stuff is really good, so wasting it would be practically criminal.”

  “Would you rat me out?” I asked. “Will you call the cops to report a wine waster?”

  “No, but I would tell our server that you don’t deserve dessert.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  She grinned, her nose twitching adorably. “You found out my secret. I’m a monster.”

  I reluctantly released her hand as our food arrived, and Tana turned into a mathematical wizard as she divided the portions so that I had sixty percent and she had forty percent of everything on the table.

  “I hardly think that’s fair,” I said.

  “It’s practical,” she said, waving a fork at me. “You are a lot bigger than I am. You need more calories than I ever will. Plus, your job involves lifting and moving around a lot more than mine.”

  Her gaze traveled slowly across the width of my shoulders. “Next time I should really make it sixty-five and thirty-five.”

  I snuck one more ravioli onto her plate, as she politely pretended not to notice. “I’m choosing to believe that you want to establish a solid system for shared dinners because you know we’re going to be dating for a very long time,” I said.

  Tana blushed slightly, taking a sip of wine to try to hide her face with the glass.

  “You like me,” I whispered loudly. “That’s okay. I really like you too.”

  Her blush deepened, and she took a bite of pasta so that she didn’t have to speak for a moment.

  We chatted about all of the usual things through dinner, from our neighborhood to the changing weather to our families.

  Tana was sweetly sympathetic when she heard that my parents were both gone, and seemed relieved that I had my Uncle John so that I still had some family around.

  It didn’t sound like she was very close to her parents. I sensed some tension there, as if she may have shut them out, but didn’t quite want to say that because it didn’t seem appropriate for a first date.

  “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I asked.

  “No, just me. And you?”

  “Same. That’s why sharing food with someone is a unique experience,” I said.

  “Well, if you’re really planning on getting dessert, you won’t be sharing,” she said, patting her stomach. “There is no more room in here.”

  “We’re going to get our dessert in liquid form in a little while,” I said. She looked at me strangely, but I cocked my head . “Do you trust me?”

  Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she nodded. “Yes.”

  “Good, then I’ll get you nice and sugared up at stop number two.”

  I took care of the bill while she went to the ladies’ room, then waved again to the owners on the way out. After a quick drive back to our neighborhood, I parked my car in front of a medium-sized, two-storey house.

  “Is this your place?” she asked.

  “Yes, but we’re not going in.”

  She flashed me a quizzical look but didn’t ask any more questions.

  Taking her arm, I led her down my quiet residential street to a larger avenue that was bustling with activity. We passed restaurants, bars, and a nightclub, then I directed her into a dark doorway.

  Tana looked at the unmarked building, then up to me. “You realize this is sketchy as all heck?”

  “You said you trusted me.” Slipping an arm around her, I kissed the top of her hair gently. “I promise, it’s perfectly safe. You’re going to love it.”

  Taking her hand, we walked down the slightly rickety stairs to a dark hallway in the basement. We could hear music and laughter, and as we turned a corner, Tana’s eyes lit up.

  “It’s magical,” she breathed. “What on earth is it?”

  “My buddy Stanley is an artist,” I explained. “He has a huge art opening downtown in a couple of weeks, and this is his pre-party to get people’s opinions. Plus, his girlfriend Sylvia is a cocktail expert, so she always bartends his events, testing new drinks since we always give brutally honest feedback.”

  I loved the way her eyes shone up at mine. I loved the way she squeezed my hand when she was excited.

  In a flash, I realized that she was the first girl I’ve ever wanted to introduce to my friends. The first woman I’d ever been truly proud to have on my arm. Yet I’d known her slightly less than twenty-four hours.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  * Tana *

  I tried not to let it show too much, but this was incredibly exciting to me. Everyone in the room was probably used to these sorts of underground art events, but I’d never been to one. Especially not one that was literally hidden underground in some strange warehouse basement that must have been the artist’s personal studio.

  Tyler introduced me to some of his friends as if we were already dating. Maybe that was a little forward, but it just felt right.

  It was natural to learn a bit about a person by the company they kept. Tyler’s friends were all warm, interesting, and included me in the conversation, asking me lots of questions. His buddy Dale was even excited that I worked at an optometrist’s office, since he was pretty sure he needed reading glasses. It was charming how excited he was now that he had a recommendation.

  A man with messy bright orange hair was standing in the center of a semicircle of large sculptures of giant pink flamingos that were almost six feet tall. They all had different textu
res, from choppy concrete to feathers to sequins. I’m sure it meant something very important that was beyond my understanding, but they looked outrageous and fun.

  Tyler led me over to the makeshift bar made from an oddly shaped plastic table that must have once lived in a fancy boardroom in the eighties.

  “Tyler!” the tall blonde woman wearing a ton of bright purple eyeshadow exclaimed. She was also wearing a bright purple dress, armbands, and hair clips.