Truth or Dare by Mira Lyn Kelly Page B

you?”
    Now, hours later, Maggie slanted a look across the table at the man who’d well and truly ruined her for all other dates. He’d been over the top at the start of their date, setting the mood for fun and easy, by regaling her with tales of his youth—how his brothers and he basically sacrificed their eternal souls ensuring their mother was first in line for sainthood. His father’s first six attempts at the birds and the bees, and how his younger brother, Mitch, then twelve and a hellion by all accounts, had smoothly stepped in, providing a clear and concise account that had the whole family terrified about what he’d been up to. The Internet, apparently.
    He told her about his first job, first dance, and worst kiss—keeping her laughing until her sides hurt and she’d pleaded with him to stop.
    But as the hours progressed, the conversation shifted, relaxing into something more natural, flowing, and honest. They still laughed, because God, it was so easy with him, but they were serious, too. He told her about how he’d gotten into marketing by accident in college when his roommate was putting together a start-up. She told him about growing up in small-town Wisconsin. The things she loved and the things she hated and how sometimes those things were one in the same. And they talked about the differences between Chicago and the places they’d come from.
    “I like Chicago. I really do. The architecture, music, and art. The food and festivals. The authenticity and sense of welcome. People make more eye contact, they”—he laughed, peering out into the night, before looking pointedly back at her—“they introduce themselves to their neighbors.”
    She couldn’t help smiling. Only thinking back to that first day brought up questions. Ones he hadn’t answered before and she didn’t want to risk this perfect date on now.
    “But, New York.” That dimple dug deep, telling her more than words could. “There’s just this energy about it. It’s so
alive.
Electric. Kinetic. Sure, I never really met my neighbors, and when I asked my brothers, they hadn’t either. But the way that city
moves.
” He shook his head. “And, hell, I don’t know. It’s…home. The place where you go that fits.”
    She got it. Because Chicago had become that place for her. But what she didn’t understand was: “So what are you doing here? Your job is mobile. There’s nothing tying you down.” Not even a lease.
    The words were barely out when she realized she’d touched on another of Tyler’s taboo subjects. Their warm bubble of ease and comfort seemed to pop, and for a moment when he straightened in his chair, scanning the restaurant around them, she thought he was about to call for the check. But then, he brought his focus back to her and, after a pause, he answered.
    “I came to Chicago because…” He drew a slow breath, everything that had been so open about him mere moments before, now completely contained. But he was answering. And that was something Maggie hadn’t expected.
    “The woman I was living with in New York wanted to. Things didn’t work out. And I could have moved home—everyone wanted me to—but I guess I wasn’t ready. So instead, I moved upstairs from you.”
    “What happened?” she asked, her voice too quiet not to reveal the depth of her caring about his answer.
    “This cookie-baking crackpot with a fetish for trash talk gave me something else to think about.”
    That wasn’t what she’d been asking, and Tyler knew it. Just like she knew she’d gotten all the answers he was willing to give.
    And maybe that was all right, because when she let it go, laughing him off and teasing back, allowing the conversation to move on…
he was there again.
Giving her his devilish grin and too-tempting eyes. Eyes she got a little lost in when they held with hers for more than the usual beat of time. Eyes that made her feel like she might be falling into something deeper than either of them had signed on