Tanner cupped her cheek. “I promise I won’t do anything crazy, sweetheart. Just tell me.” He silently cursed her father ten ways from Sunday, not only for hurting her but for ruining the surprise he had. Asshole.
Belle took a deep breath. “My dad said if I don’t live on campus, if I move in with you, he isn’t going to pay for any of my college anymore. I-I have to try to get loans or financial aid or something. I never had to do that before and I don’t know where to start and I have to get something quick because I don’t want…” A single tear streaked down her cheek. “I don’t want to leave WFU, and I can’t leave you.”
He leaned his head down and slowly, gently, his lips moved against hers in a reverent kiss. “You’re not going anywhere, Belle. We’ll go to the financial aid office tomorrow and figure this out. I’m not letting you leave.”
He didn’t bother mentioning that he would work three jobs to pay her tuition, if that’s what it took. Hell, he’d borrow the entire damn thing from his dad and work for him for free for the next ten years if he had to. No way in hell he was letting his Belle leave or worry about it for another minute. He was Tanner Carlisle; he took care of the people he loved. And he loved her beyond all sense and reason.
“Speaking of not leaving,” he reached over the end of the bed and grabbed the small white box from the desk, not letting her move off his lap, “there’s something you need.”
Her eyes clouded with confusion and trepidation as she examined the small square. “What’s this?”
He grinned and kissed her. He would never get tired of the taste of her lips or the soft sounds she made when their mouths met. “The best way to find out is to open it, sweetheart.”
Belle frowned at the key and keychain inside the box. She pulled it out carefully and examined it. Her sharp intake of breath made his smile wider. “My heart has found its home.” She read the silver engraved bangle before lifting her eyes to his again.
“This is the key to our apartment, sweetheart.” He put a hand behind her head and tilted it to give her a deep kiss. He hoped she was as excited as he was, and he hoped to hell her father hadn’t ruined what they were building together.
She smiled softly, and his heart stopped beating at the sight. “You’re pretty good at this whole taking care of me thing.”
Tanner swallowed down the emotion clogging his throat. “And you’re damn near perfect at this whole loving me thing.”
Chapter Nine
Izzy
Izzy rearranged the flowers in the vase again. Tilting her head a little, she smiled, finally happy with the outcome.
Their date, their first date, had been four days ago, but just thinking of the picnic lunch made her smile grow. He’d thought out every detail more than she thought possible. From her favorite sandwiches to the bouquet of purple daisies—everything was perfect.
He had been attentive and thoughtful the entire day. Even after they came back home, he made her a cup of chocolate mint tea and offered to put her favorite guilty pleasure reality show on instead of the baseball game she knew he’d rather watch.
She captured her bottom lip between her teeth. He was like the old Tanner. She hadn’t even realized how long it had been until he started doing all those little things again.
Shaking her head, she pulled open the freezer drawer on the refrigerator and began searching for something to make for dinner. Before she could decide, she heard the thunderous sounds of Ava and Noah running down the stairs and couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“Hey, guys, what do you want for dinner?” she called out, her eyes never leaving the freezer as they bounded into the kitchen.
“Daddy said not to let you make dinner,” Ava offered.
Noah nodded his head furiously. “Yeah, Daddy said we’re—”
Before he could finish, his sister clapped a hand across his mouth. Izzy turned to face the kids with a frown. “Daddy said we’re what?”
Chagrin washed over their faces and they glanced at each other, communicating in the silent way only twins could. In full ownership of her older sister status, even if it was only by mere minutes, Ava took the lead. “Daddy said not to let you make dinner and the rest was supposed to be a surprise.”
Izzy fixed her hands on her hips and regarded them solemnly, fighting the urge to grin. She’d had the fleeting thought that Tanner had been so proud of his first attempt at winning her over he hadn’t planned anything else. After the one day off, he’d returned to the office and, she assumed, life would just be the way it was before anything happened. Obviously she was wrong.
Her heart soared a little as she shut the freezer and heard the kids scamper away. On autopilot, she turned on her electric kettle to heat water for tea. Her mind was consumed with the same conflicting thoughts that had been plaguing her all week.
Tanner kissed someone else.
Tanner touched someone else.
But, then again, Tanner had spent the past three years distancing himself from his family, working more and more. Was it really that big of a surprise?
She poured the hot liquid over the teabag in her cup and began slowly sipping on the steaming brew. Maybe if she would have said something sooner, argued just a little harder about all the time he spent away, maybe he never would have…
The slamming of the screen door pulled her from the dark thoughts and nearly made her spill her hot drink. Her eyes grew wide, and she glanced at the clock on the stove. “Tanner?”
He tugged his tie off and threw it over one of the barstools surrounding the island. “Afternoon, sweetheart.” He embellished his drawl with a grin. “Where are the kids?”
It took several minutes for Izzy to register his question. He was home. In the middle of the day. There was no emergency, no event planned, he was just…home. “Um, u-upstairs. They’re upstairs in the play room. You’re home?” Her thoughts tumbled out of her mouth without any input from her brain.
He sauntered around the island until he was standing in front of her. Gently he lifted the mug from her hands and set it on the counter behind her. “I’m home.” He nodded along with the confirmation. He gripped each of her now-free hands in his and took another step closer to her, now only a breath away. “Tell me to stop, Belle, if you don’t want this.”
Do I? Do I want him to stop? His head slowly started to lower toward hers. She released his hands and put hers on his shoulders, immediately halting his movement. Then she smiled and slid her hands behind his neck and pulled his mouth the rest of the way to hers.
Oh, she’d missed this. She couldn’t stop the moan from escaping her lips when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body. She ran her tongue across his bottom lip and smiled when she felt him shudder. She’d missed this.
But instead of his hands dropping lower or trailing kisses down her jaw and neck like her body was screaming for him to, he softened the kiss before pulling away. “It’s good to be home.”
Izzy felt confused and rejected when he kissed her once more softly and stepped away. Didn’t he want her as much as she wanted him?
“So did the kids spill all the details?” he asked as he grabbed an apple from the basket on the counter. He leaned back against the island and took a big bite, grinning around the mouth full of fruit and juice.
She wrapped her arms around her unsettled abdomen. “Nope,” she answered with as much brightness as she could muster. “They just said not to make dinner.”
Tanner set the apple on the counter beside him and stepped in front of her again, hooking a finger under her chin to make her look at him. His playful expression had disappeared, and she read the concern etched on his face. “Hey, don’t think that.”
“Don’t think what?”
He leaned his head down to brush his lips across hers, bracing himself on the counter on either side of her. “Don’t think I don’t want you more than any woman in the world and any woman I’ll ever meet. Holy hell, sweetheart, you drive me crazy.” He took another st
ep closer until she felt the proof of his desire pressed against her stomach and gasped a little. “I toss and turn every night thinking about you lying in bed without me, wondering what you’re wearing, wishing I could touch your skin. But not until you’re ready.”
They spent several long minutes staring at each other before his cocky smirk slipped back in place. “Now, I’m going to take the kids out to rent a movie and pick up a pizza. We’re making Thursdays family movie night from now on.”
In spite of their passionate exchange, an impish grin spread across her face. “So we’re having family movie nights now?”
Tanner laughed, and it vibrated through her, doing nothing to lessen the desire churning inside. “Yeah, we are.” He winked before he stepped back. “I’ll rent some crappy adventure movie for us to watch after the kids go to sleep and we can practice making out on the couch.”
Izzy’s eyebrows shot up as he retreated up the stairs to collect the kids. Despite the warring emotions still swirling through her, she couldn’t help but laugh. Making out with Tanner had never been just making out since the first time they made love, but she knew tonight would be different.
She just couldn’t decide if she was grateful he was taking everything slow with her or highly annoyed at the knowledge she was going to go to bed alone again.
***
Izzy rearranged the dishes on the table for the fourth time. In spite of her fears, living with Tanner had been so easy. She smiled and bit her bottom lip as she looked at the table one more time before turning her attention back to the stove. She peeked at the chicken baking in the oven and hoped he would get home before it dried out.
Today was their first day back at school and Tanner’s course load this semester was unreal. She couldn’t help but worry that between his classes and football, he was overdoing it.
Just as she poured the pasta into the strainer in the sink, she heard the front door of their apartment click closed followed by a heavy sigh. “Belle?”
She poked her head around the corner and smiled at him. “I’m in the kitchen. Dinner’s ready, baby.”
He crossed the floor quickly and locked his arms around her before stealing her words, her thoughts, and her very breath with a passionate kiss. She pushed her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer against her, and smiled against his lips when she heard the deep groan.
“Holy hell, sweetheart, I don’t know if I can handle this,” he finally gasped when they broke apart. “You make me dinner every night.” He dropped a quick peck on her lips. “You pack food for me every day to take to practice.” Kiss. “And you take care of every other…appetite. You’re damn close to perfect.”
Izzy laughed and pulled him into the kitchen. “And since this is the first day of your senior year with the most ridiculous class schedule I’ve ever seen, you get your favorite.”
Tanner closed his eyes and lifted his nose, inhaling a deep breath of the tomato, basil, and oregano scented air. “Chicken parmigiana?” His smile fell a little as he looked at her seriously. “This was your first day back too, Belle. You didn’t need to do all of this.”
She just shook her head, kissed his cheek, and pushed him into one of the chairs at the small table. Their apartment was cozy, at best, but she loved every inch. Even when she had to dance precariously around the table to set a plate in front of Tanner or when she had to have him move his chair to the side to open the refrigerator.
“Is it good?” she asked with a small laugh after he inhaled half of his plate before she could even sit down.
“Damn, woman, just when I think you can’t possibly get better.” The words were mumbled in between mouthfuls of food, and Izzy laughed harder.
When he’d polished off a second helping, he sat back and patted his hard six-pack abdomen with a heavy sigh. “I’m gonna wind up getting cut if I gain much more weight.”
She abandoned her own seat and half-full plate to sit in his lap and loop her arms around his neck. “I’m glad you liked it, baby.” She dropped a soft kiss on his lips. When his arms tightened, she deepened the kiss and speared her fingers through his hair again. She ran her tongue across his bottom lip, relishing the shiver she felt from him, slightly drunk with the knowledge she could drive him as crazy as he did her.
Tanner groaned into her mouth and pulled away. “Sweetheart, this is my last night free from practice for a while.”
Izzy frowned, sitting back slightly, and she battled against the feelings of rejection that always seemed to simmer just beneath the surface. “I know, baby.” What was he saying?
A soft smile spread across his face. “Oh, that’s definitely happening tonight, sweetheart. At least once before Coach starts kicking my ass so bad I can’t move when I get home.”
She flashed him a mischievous grin and quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t have to be the one doing the work, baby.” She leaned down and nipped at his earlobe, eliciting another groan from Tanner.
He barked a short laugh. “Damn, my sweet Belle has turned into a greedy little vixen. What the hell did I ever do in my life that was good enough to deserve you?” He cupped her cheek. “But what I meant was I want to just sit with you for a while tonight. Watch a movie or read a book or something. I want to spend a little time with you before all hell breaks loose.”
Her heart constricted painfully. Tanner had a way of saying all the things she never knew she needed to hear. “That sounds perfect, baby.” She dropped a kiss on his cheek and tried to hide the effect his words had on her. She’d never had anyone in her life that just wanted to be with her without wanting something. In that moment, she felt certain there was nothing in this world strong enough to make her stop loving him.
He slid her off his lap and stood, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Go pick a movie and I’ll clean up.” He turned to clear the table but then turned back to her with a smirk. “Make sure you pick some crappy adventure so we can practice making out.”
Chapter Ten
Tanner
Connor threw the queen-sized inflatable mattress in the back of Tanner’s truck with a muttered curse. “I like how you screw up your marriage and we’re the ones doing all the work.”
“What the…” Tanner rammed his brother’s shoulder with more force than necessary. “I’m not asking you to do a damn thing. I just wanted to borrow this mattress for one night. I’m working my ass off to prove to Belle that I deserve a second chance and that she and the kids are more important than anything to me. So back the hell off and get the friggin’ air pump.”
His brother shoved him just as he finished talking, and Tanner stumbled back a couple of steps. “You’re the biggest dumbass I’ve ever seen. Izzy practically worships the ground you walk on. She doesn’t complain about a damn thing, even when you’re gone constantly, and the first chance you get,” Connor pushed him again, “the first chance you get, you shove your tongue down some buckle bunny’s throat. What the hell?”
Connor’s words held a stronger punch than his fists ever could. Tanner’s breathing was shallow. “How long?”
He pushed his fingers through his hair and regarded Tanner with a sneer. “How long what?”
“How long have I been a total prick to her?” He sat on the rear bumper of his truck and braced his hands on his knees. Belle wasn’t the only one who saw a change in him. Well, shit. “I’ve been looking for someone to kick my ass. Wanna start the line?”
Connor sat down beside his brother. “You know, you owe Wyatt big time for grabbing you before you did anything you couldn’t fix. You can fix this.”
The fear that plagued him every moment of every day for the past week bubbled to the surface again. “And if I can’t? Shit. I haven’t even taken her to a game in years, and she never said anything. She never complained, never yelled, never got mad. What kind of lousy asshole treats a woman that damn perfect that way?”
He chuckled at Tanner’s discomfort. “You. But now that you know, you can do better.”
Tanner
shook his head and looked over at Connor. “When did you get so damn smart?”
Connor clapped him on the back and stood up. “I’ve always been the smartest. You were just too arrogant to notice. Now get the hell out of here and make Izzy fall in love with you again, because if I don’t get her scalloped potatoes at Christmas dinner like always, I’ll take you up on that ass kicking.”
A fresh cloud of shame rolled through Tanner as he ran the last few errands he needed to before tonight. For several years he’d been too occupied with work to take Belle to any football games or go to Noah’s soccer games and, shit, he only showed up for one of Ava’s piano recitals. When the hell had he become that guy?
He threw the bags filled with twenty various pillows in the back of his truck ruthlessly. Son of a bitch. He tossed five packages of queen-sized comforters on top of the pillows and climbed in the truck, slamming the heel of his hand against the steering wheel for good measure.
How many times had he promised Belle he would take care of her? That he’d never walk away? That he’d never treat her the way her father…
Oh. Hell.
He was behaving just like her father. Ignoring everything important and letting his hands go every place they didn’t belong. The one thing he swore that he’d never do, not just to her but to himself, he had done.
The realization made Tanner more determined than ever, not just to prove himself to her, but to prove how much better she deserved. And how much better he could do. He’d spent the first several years they were together trying to find any and every way he could to make her feel special. She deserved it, and he loved doing it for her. When did he get lazy and stop trying?
Tanner drove past their house and down into the field behind it, far enough to be out of sight of anyone inside. He checked his watch quickly. Shit, it was already four o’clock and dinner was at six. He needed to be back.
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