"Your house is really sweet," she said, trying to focus on the interior of the house instead of the interior of his jeans.
"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit. My mom loves to decorate. She brings over her HGTV magazines and goes to town."
"Well, your mom has good taste."
"I'll tell her you said so. Can I get you a drink?" he asked, heading for the refrigerator.
"Is it too early for my medicine?" she asked, only half-joking.
"I don't have any whiskey," he said, pouring a tall glass of water. He chugged it down. Lawn mowing was thirsty work.
"Water's fine for me," she said.
He poured her a glass and brought it to the coffee table in the living room. This was the room he spent most of his time in; Alexis could see that from the stacks of spiral notebooks and the three guitars leaning against the wall.
"You still write longhand?" she queried, settling down on the couch.
He bent his head in mock shame. "I know, I know. I'm old school. I can't help it. The words seem to hold more meaning when I form each letter myself."
"You're a romantic," she said simply. "You probably wouldn't be a very good musician otherwise."
He relaxed into the couch and nodded. "I take that as a compliment."
He looked irresistible sitting there, so comfortable with himself and in his environment. She remembered the feel of his hands under her clothes and shifted in her
seat.
"Should we get going?" she asked.
"How about a song before we head out?" he asked. "It's not every day I get to play for a beautiful woman right in my own living room."
"Oh, I doubt that," Alexis said. She knew plenty of women who would line up outside to have a guy like Tyler strum his strings for them.
He picked up the nearest guitar and rested it on his thigh. His fingers started moving before Alexis had a chance to make a request. He clearly had a song in mind. As Tyler began to sing, Alexis was conscious of her heart thumping inside her chest. She didn't recognize the song, but the combination of Tyler's smooth voice and chiseled features was so sexy that Alexis found herself too distracted to listen to the lyrics.
Midway through the song, Tyler lifted his blue eyes from his guitar and met
Alexis's admiring gaze. He carried on singing while keeping his eyes locked on hers. Alexis began to throb in places she'd once assumed would be neglected for the rest of her life. She could see from the bulge in his jeans that the intensity of the moment was having a similar effect on Tyler. He finished the song, still fixated on her, and placed his guitar against the wall without looking away. Alexis reminded herself to breathe.