Page 21 of The Hook Up
“He never let me get the words out,” Ty said. “Just barked, ‘Out of my way!’ and marched out of the room.”
“Jeez,” Ellie said.“So did you have to scrap the footage?”
“Nah, I got creative. Put a graphic with his name and rank over his crotch and made it look like we’d planned it that way all along. The guy never knew.”
“That’s so sweet.” Something about the story was weirdly touching. How many guys would have seized the chance to let the guy make an ass of himself after he’d been such a jerk to start with?
But not Ty. Ty had shown the guy respect, even when he hadn’t shown him any.
He seemed to read her thoughts. “I believe in karma,” he said. “If you take the chance to be a jerk to someone, someone’s bound to do the same to you. Stop the flow of assholery and respond with kindness instead, and you’ll eventually get the same in return.”
“Wow,” she said. “That’s a great theory. I kind of wish my ex subscribed to it.”
Shit. She hadn’t meant to say that. Badmouthing the father of her child was never a good idea, no matter who she was talking to, but it was especially dumb in front of the guy she was assessing for fling potential.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to be one of those bitter divorced women. I take great pains to never say anything negative to Henry about his father. I’ve just…it’s been a rough week.”
Ty studied her face for a moment without saying anything. Ellie fought the urge to look away, focusing on his eyes instead. He had beautiful eyes. The first time they’d met, she’d mistaken them for coal black, but they were actually more of a mahogany, like coffee beans or tanned leather or her mother’s walnut cookies.
“Want to talk about it?” Ty murmured.
She’d forgotten what they were discussing. Cookies? No, her asshole ex. Ellie shook her head, annoyed with herself for bringing it up. “Not really,” she said.“Just a conflict about child support. As in, he’d prefer not to pay any.”
Ty’s expression clouded. Those dark eyes turned molten, and his hands clench into fists.
“Corn-sucking ass badger,” he muttered. “I fucking hate guys like that.”
Ellie blinked. “Um, yeah. I see that.”
Ty waved a hand. “Sorry, that’s sort of a sore spot for me.”
“You have kids?”
“No.”
His voice sounded flat. She needed to change the subject, but she had no idea what to say.
“I had an asshole dad of my own,” he said. “I get pissed when I hear about guys abandoning their kids. It’s like— Jesus. They have no idea what that does to a kid to be left like that.”
Ellie looked at him, touched that he’d share such a personal detail. Something about the timbre of his voice, the darkness in his eyes, told her he didn’t do that often. “I’ve tried to minimize the impact on Henry,” she said softly. “Having his dad leave, I mean.”
“Good,” Ty said. “You sound like a great mother.”
He watched her a moment, then leaned back a little, almost like he was trying to put some space between them.
“Anyway, sorry about the cursing,” he said. “Hearing about fathers like that brings out the jerk in me.” He gave a brittle laugh. “Or maybe that’s the DNA. Jerk behavior is pre-ordained.”
Ellie cocked her head to the side, intrigued by that line of thinking. “You mean you believe people are destined to morph into their parents?”
Ty looked at her for a long time. Ellie held her breath and wondered how they’d gone off on this tangent. They were supposed to be making sex toy videos, not discussing weighty subjects like divorce and DNA.
But he’d been trying to put her at ease, and this was helping. Strange as it seemed, sitting here chatting with Ty under the bright studio lights was almost natural. Nice, even.
“Let me ask you something,” he said at last. “What’s your kid’s favorite lunch?”
The question startled her, and it took Ellie a second to answer. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” she said. “Only, I take the bread and flatten it with a rolling pin, and then I cover it with peanut butter and jelly and sometimes thin slices of banana, if I have it. Then I roll it up like a jelly roll and tuck it in one of those snack bags for his lunch. He loves it.”
Ty smiled, and there was something wistful in his eyes.
