#Chapter 29 3 years without eating chicken?
Rachel POV
Flying from Los Angeles to New York City
Sleep had claid Nathan almost as soon as the plane finished taxiing down the runway. He had warned he had a hard ti staying awake while traveling. I had thought he’d been joking or exaggerating, but it turned out Nathan really did conk right out once the vehicle started moving.
I was watching the city fading away from view out the window when my phone buzzed in my hand.
"What does your calendar look like for next week?"
I stared at the text from Tyler in stunned silence.
He had been the one to tell to call him! I hadn’t even looked at my calendar yet! How was I supposed to answer him without being offensive? I’d been focused on getting on the plane before it left the runway. I needed to get from one side of the country to the other for my next appearance.
"Have you even looked at your schedule yet?"
Trust Tyler to cut right to the point.
I texted him, "I thought you wanted a phone call? You don’t text!"
Tyler didn’t give a chance to go over my schedule before replying. He was clearly invested in our conversation---and it was the first ti we’d talked as one person to another. I found myself amused by the novelty of the experience.
"I do a lot of things I don’t normally do just for you."
I knew he was baiting . I just wasn’t sure why. Was he trying to flirt with ? Was this what flirting with Tyler Wright was going to be like?
"Oh yeah? Give so examples. I don’t know if I believe you."
While Tyler ca up with his response, I opened my calendar app. I was going to appear the next night on another show broadcasting out of New York City. Nathan had business of his own in the city which had worked out great for us as our itineraries synced up perfectly.
Howard had booked a live performance on the morning show broadcasting out of Tis Square, too. I hadn’t noticed I would be performing both early in the morning then late at night on the sa day.
My body was tiring easier since I was pregnant. I also noticed I didn’t have as much energy without my constant influx of adrenaline from my wolf. Rayne had been hibernating since the loss of our mate bond. She was frustrated with my pregnancy too as it prevented her from controlling my form.
I couldn’t shift while pregnant and I had known as much before I had conceived. My pregnancy wasn’t planned, but I knew plenty about carrying a child as a wolf. I hadn’t grown up with a mother to instruct on how to be a proper wolf.
I had grown up with a father whose connections exposed to questionable information though---including so ladies whose profession was practiced on a pole or on their backs.
Those won had shared their knowledge with and I was grateful for their advice even if I didn’t want to live the kind of lifestyle they chose to pursue.
"I think of you when I’m traveling."
How was Tyler making any kind of admission of vulnerability? Why wouldn’t he think of the woman he’d left at ho when he was away?
"You don’t normally think about ho when you’re away?"
"I don’t think about ho. I think about you. I always try to bring sothing for you so it’s like you’re with ."
I rembered he had asked about chocolates. Was Tyler’s love language presents?
Everyone spoke the language of love in a different way which was personal to them. I knew I preferred to express my love through actions. I wanted to do things to show I loved soone. Did Tyler want to tell he loved by bringing chocolates from his business trips?
"Like chocolates?"
"Like chocolates. I still have a box for you. They’re from a chocolatier you liked the last ti I visited San Francisco."
I had never noticed the little tokens Tyler brought ho. They had felt more akin to humoring than offering a loving gesture. I’d always thought Tyler was trying to prove he didn’t totally forget ---but he didn’t care enough to get anything personal either.
Tyler had never bought anything personal for . I wondered if he realized knowing I liked chocolates wasn’t the sa as choosing sothing for with real aning.
"Why haven’t you ever brought sothing personal?"
If Tyler wanted to feel as if I were with him on his travels, why hadn’t he ever offered to take with him? Why hadn’t he brought sothing intimate? Why hadn’t he bothered to call or, Hell, even text when he was traveling?
"I don’t buy personal gifts."
I could believe Tyler Wright had never exchanged a personal gift with anyone in his life. He was the kind of man who probably had his secretary buy all his Christmas presents and everyone was given the sa fruit basket with a different card. I bet he even sent out a form letter for the end of the year to thank all his business associates without directly communicating with a single person.
"I would have liked a personal gift."
"Like what?"
What would I have wanted from Tyler? What could he have bought to show he cared?
"It isn’t about the gift itself. It’s about the aning. I want to know you thought of ."
"What does that an?"
What did that an? How could Tyler show he thought of , specifically, when he bought a gift on his business trips?
I thought about all the tis I had been left ho alone. Every night I had slept on my side of the bed, tossing and turning because neither nor my wolf could get comfortable without our mate sleeping at our side. I tried to imagine him feeling fitful in his hotel bed at the sa ti.
I had never been able to quite convince myself Tyler felt the way I did. Asking to believe he cared when his idea of intimacy was a box of chocolates? A woman could only imagine so much before she needed proof.
"I missed you sleeping beside . You could have offered to trade pillows with . Taken mine with you and left yours for ."
I tried to imagine how I would have felt if Tyler had done sothing so romantic. I couldn’t bring the fantasy to life in my head. There had never been such intimacy between us. We’d never admitted we actually needed one another.
Tyler took so long to respond I was surprised when my phone buzzed.
"I wish I had thought of that."
"I wish I had too."
Tyler hadn’t been alone in our relationship. He shouldn’t have been the only one trying to bring intimacy into our life. I could have done more myself. I could have reached out to him more.
"I tried in the beginning. I made your favorite foods. I asked your assistant. I asked your dad’s assistant."
I wasn’t ready to apologize for having stopped trying, but I was willing to admit I had given up on our relationship as much as Tyler had.
Or maybe neither of us had ever tried?
What did it matter if I knew his favorite lunch? What did I know about his day? Did he get tired of being in his office all the ti? Did he get sick of traveling for the company? Was the press as much of a frustration for him as it had been for ?
"You talked to Gladys?"
The older woman who handled his father’s affairs was a force to be reckoned with all on her own. I had a feeling she didn’t spend a lot of her ti talking with anyone. She had been serious in every interaction with .
"I did! She’s the one who told you hate eating chicken!"
"I don’t hate chicken! I hate chicken wings. Or any chicken served on the bone. I’m not an animal. I don’t want to gnaw on my food."
I laughed out loud at the idea of Tyler glaring at a plate of fried chicken. I could see it clearly in my mind. He had never liked any foods which were eaten by hand. Tyler was the reason I could set a table immaculately.
"I thought you hated chicken. How did we go 3 years without eating chicken? Or talking about chicken?"
Tyler didn’t waste any ti responding with a laughing emoji. I felt lighter than I had in an age. Who knew he could be so easy to talk to?
I finished looking over my schedule and texted carefully, "Wednesday. I can et you any ti after 2 pm. Would that work for you?"
"I’ll see you Wednesday at 2 PM. et at the house?"
"See you there," I agreed and I found myself settling in for the rest of the flight with the most positive attitude I’d had in years.
Nathan continued to sleep peacefully at my side---and I told myself I wasn’t doing anything wrong by texting Tyler while he slept. He knew I had agreed to step out with my forr mate. He had to know I would keep my word, right?
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