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them and sending her attention stumbling back to where it belonged. To the date she was supposed to be closing out November with.
    “Maybe this is Leo,” she offered, hoping he was one of those guys who texted that they’d arrived the second they pushed through the door. Only as her eyes dropped to the small screen, her throat went dry and her stomach dropped.
    —
    Leo. Not Hot Doc.
    Why the hell did that bother him?
    Maggie read the guy’s text and the corners of her mouth pulled down, a furrow pinching between her brows.
    “Still held up?” he asked, catching a wave of disappointment from her that had his molars grinding together.
    Big, vulnerable eyes met with his, and her throat worked up and down as though she were having trouble getting the words to come. “That was a nurse texting for him. He got called back in to an emergency surgery. He can’t make it.”
    And yeah, like he didn’t know what was coming next, even before Maggie swiveled around in her seat and started scanning the crowd.
    “Don’t even think about it, Maggie.”
    “Maggie?”
She laughed, only the sound was strained, flat. “I thought we’d gotten past all that.”
    Right.
    He checked his phone. Gina hadn’t called, not that he’d expected her to. And he’d made sure she wasn’t among the customers when he’d come in. He wasn’t jeopardizing anything. He wasn’t betraying anyone or anything, and he wouldn’t. Because that’s not what this was about. This was helping out the girl downstairs. Nothing more.
    Turning back to Maggie, he took a bracing breath and, reaching out, caught her chin.
    “Yeah, well, I’m not about to call my date Apartment Two. It doesn’t exactly smack of ‘open to the possibilities.’ ”
    The seconds ticked past as Maggie absorbed the meaning of his words. She blinked. Coughed once. Opened her mouth and then closed it again.
    Finally, she licked her lips and folded her hands together in her lap. “Look, Three, it’s sweet of you to offer, but I don’t think a date’s such a great idea. I’m not sure I could really sell the whole ‘open’ business with you.”
    Tyler grinned, probably enjoying her discomfort a little too much—although apparently she was into that kind of thing, so maybe it was okay.
    “From the way I read it, all you have to do is agree to the date with a willingness to accept the
possibility
that as hard as it may be to even consider, I
might
be able to make you want something more.”
    He should have ended it there, but the part of him that couldn’t live with being the dick who’d left her hanging when she’s basically asked flat out what was so hard about being nice to her wouldn’t let him. So he did the thing he’d been avoiding for months. “Hey, if I can’t convince you to fall head over heels for me, maybe at least I’ll be able to convince you to give the friends thing a shot.”
    Maggie’s brows went high and then her eyes narrowed on him speculatively, that spark he couldn’t resist firing in their depths. “Pity friendship?”
    “Obviously.”
    This time her laugh was the real deal. Rich and full, it was the kind a guy felt in his chest and kept hearing long after it actually ended. The kind that could get him in trouble if he wasn’t careful. But he would be careful. He had too much at stake not to be.
    Maggie cocked her head at him, flashing a distracting length of neck as her hair tumbled over her shoulder. She leveled him with an arch look. “Fine. So we’re clear, I’m not falling for you.”
    Tyler flagged the bartender and ordered a couple of drinks, casting her a smug smile. “Why’d you think I was willing to offer?”

Chapter Six

After a drink’s worth of riding piggyback on Hot Doc’s date that didn’t happen, Tyler claimed rights to deciding what they did next.
    “Not exactly the most romantic setting for a date,” Maggie teased from her molded plastic seat. This guy was full of surprises.
    “You ask me, bowling is