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was straightforward, let her know how he saw things instead of leaving her to guess – she liked that. “Okay. Well, for the record, I think it was generous of you, and totally unnecessary. I wouldn’t have been offended at all if you’d let me pay for my own food.”
    “Duly noted.” He took a bite of his sandwich, and she let her gaze linger on his wrists, studying where his sleeves slid back a little, exposing hints of ink. She’d always found the sight of a well-done tattoo interesting, even sexy if it was on the right guy, but Tyler…
    He took the tattoo thing to a whole new level of hotness. Visions of his inked-up arms danced in her head like sugarplums as she started on her turkey-on-wheat. She had no idea if he had ink anywhere else on his body, but it seemed likely, and she didn’t mind imagining where it might be. “So you’ve always lived in Pittsburgh,” she said eventually, vaguely worried that he’d somehow read her mind, leaving her epically embarrassed.
    “Yeah.” A faint look of surprise flashed in his eyes, alerting her to her mistake.
    Her stomach knotted instantly, and her cheeks grew hotter than her coffee cup.
    “How’d you know?” he asked.
    There was nothing to do but admit the truth. “I looked up the tattoo studio you said you worked at. Read your bio.” More than once, but she wasn’t about to let him know that.
    He nodded, but didn’t say anything to increase her embarrassment. Thank God. She was beginning to like him more and more despite a little voice in the back of her head that urged her not to fall head-over-heels. Which normally wasn’t something she’d consider herself capable of doing over a single, quick café lunch, but Tyler’s sweet and sexy contradictory allure was a potent combination.
    “What about you?” he asked.
    “Me? I was born and raised here. Have a lot of family in the city.”
    For some reason, Tyler’s full lips curved down in a momentary frown. Or maybe she’d only imagined it. “I’ve got family here too.”
    “Your little sister?”
    He nodded. “Her and my parents. She’s a student at CCAC. Lives in the same apartment complex I do, with a couple of roommates.”
    Tyler had to love his sister – why else would he be driving her around and volunteering with her? But maybe she was a little too close for comfort, which, in a way, Mallory could understand. She didn’t mind sharing an apartment with just her mom, but having her brother or sister for neighbors would probably have driven her a little crazy within weeks. “I’ve got a brother and a sister, but they don’t live that close. I share an apartment with my mom, though.”
    A tiny part of her worried that that made her sound childish, and guilt assailed her instantly. It wasn’t that she feared being on her own; it was that she wanted to be there for her mom – to support her health, physical and otherwise. The past few years had been hard for her mother – really hard. And who better to be there for her than her daughter, the registered nurse, her oldest child? She shouldn’t be embarrassed to say she lived with her mom – feeling a twinge of discomfort when she said it out loud made her feel like a bad daughter … a bad person.
    But Tyler didn’t seem inclined to judge. “Normally, it’s just me at my place,” he said. “But I’ve got a visitor until after Christmas. My little brother.” His frown made a quick appearance again, and sensing that he wasn’t exactly happy to have a holiday house guest, she didn’t question him on the matter.
    “Isn’t it weird how getting together with family around the holidays can be fun and grueling at the same time?” she asked instead.
    He laughed, a short, husky sound that sent a bolt of awareness through her. “Yeah. It can be weird. Definitely.”
    She couldn’t resist smiling. His laugh made her want to laugh, too. Mostly because it was unexpected – he didn’t look like the type to laugh much, just like he didn’t