Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Tanner
As much as I would have loved to spend the entire day with Holly—most of that time being in bed—I got that she had a life and responsibilities and other people.
I might have felt a neediness when it came to this woman I’d never felt before, but I wouldn’t be that guy.
The kind of guy who would monopolize all her time and want to be the center of everything.
I’d known plenty of people like that. Hell, I’d dated women who acted like that.
Who expected me to dump everyone else in my life and make it all about them.
It was a toxic trait I didn’t abide by in others, and I refused to behave that way myself.
The silence that filled my car as I drove us back into town wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. It was the opposite, in fact. It was two people comfortable enough with each other that they didn’t need to fill the silence.
At least that was the case until her phone started chirping.
She pulled her hand from mine, placing it on her knee—I couldn’t be this close to her and not touch her—and leaned forward to pull it from her purse.
The vibe coming off her changed as soon as she saw whatever was on it.
The atmosphere that was light and easy just a second ago was now suddenly thick with tension.
Hell, even the muscles in her leg locked up tight beneath my palm.
“Everything good, Sunshine?”
She jolted at the sound of my voice, like she’d gotten lost in thought and forgot I was even there. “What? Oh, yeah. Yeah, it’s fine,” she said distractedly.
It was the first time I could say with certainty she was lying.
Whatever was on that phone rattled her, and she didn’t want me to know.
She hit the button on the side of the phone to black out the screen, then shoved it back into her bag.
On a deep inhale, she sat back and offered me a little-too-bright-to-be-real smile.
“Just a spam text.” She attempted to sound casual, but it didn’t ring true. “I need to get one of those blocker apps to catch them before they can come through.”
I had to remind myself even though it might have felt like I’d known her forever, that wasn’t actually true. If Luke were here he’d be the first to remind me of that little fact.
After she guided me around the building to the parking area, I pulled into a spot close to the door and killed the engine.
“I’ll get that,” I said when she reached for the door handle. “You just sit tight.”
I climbed out and rounded the hood quickly, pulling the door open for her. The smile she was wearing hit me in the solar plexus. It was so damn beautiful it nearly knocked the breath from my lungs.
She took my offered hand, and I helped her down onto the pavement. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Please. If my mom knew I let you open your own door, she’d skin my ass alive. Then she’d probably send Andrew to finish me off.” My mother had instilled manners and chivalry in me as far back as I could remember, and most of her lessons still stuck with me today.
“Oh?” Holly arched her brow as she leaned into me, pressing her tiny hands into my chest as she grinned at me. And just like that, any concerns I had earlier were gone. “Now I’m curious. What were some of the other things she taught you?”
Wrapping my arms around her was as easy as breathing.
“Well, let’s see.” I thought over all the lessons she taught me growing up.
“Always take the side closest to the street whenever walking on the sidewalk. Always hold the door and let the woman enter first. Oh, and the most important one. The woman is always right.” My mouth stretched into a wide smile. “Even when she isn’t.”
Holly’s head fell back on a laugh, her spine arching as I held on to her. Her tits pressed against my chest, causing my dick to stir. Then again, there wasn’t much she did that didn’t cause that reaction.
“Your mother is an incredibly smart woman.”
“That she is. She’ll love to hear you said so.”
Her cheeks pinched as her smile grew. “You’re going to tell your mom about me?”
It was taking everything I had not to go completely hard. “I see you like the thought of that.”
She attempted a mild shrug, but anyone would have seen right through it.
“It’s only fair. I mean, my whole family lives here.
Our grapevine is faster than a racehorse on speed.
The ones that don’t already know about the date will soon enough.
Your mom knowing about me would put us on equal footing. ”
I nodded, humming in agreement, but that wasn’t why I planned to tell her about Holly.
I was going to tell my mom about her because I shared the important things in my life with the woman who raised me.
And something in my gut kept telling me that Holiday Bradbury was quickly on her way to being very important.
I bent my head closer to hers, cradling her neck and using my thumb to tilt her face up to mine so I could press my lips to hers.
She made it hard as hell to keep the kiss chaste when she parted her lips and swiped her tongue across my bottom lip.
I fisted the hair at the nape of her neck and deepened the kiss, unable to help myself.
I forced myself to break the kiss before it could get too heated and I ended up fucking her in the alleyway behind her bookshop.
A pained groan rumbled in my chest as I took a step back.
I had to fist my hands and stuff them in my pockets to keep from reaching for her again.
The only thing that helped was that Holly was in just as much pain as I was.
Or at least that was what I assumed from the little whimper she let out and the way her bottom lip stuck out in a pout.
“Christ, you make me lose my head.”
“I know the feeling,” she whispered back, and I could have sworn that my poor dick had a heartbeat.
“All right, baby. Get to work. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”
She popped up on her tiptoes and pressed one last kiss to my lips before she started walking backward. “Absolutely. Have a good day.”
I could have headed back to the cabin, but I didn’t feel like going back to that quiet. I had no problem being alone, but after spending the last several hours in that house with Holly, the thought of going there without her wasn’t sitting too well.
Climbing behind the wheel of my Range Rover, I headed out of the alley toward the local grocery store, one of the things I enjoyed about Hope Valley.
You didn’t see any big box stores or chain fast food places.
This town was run by the people, from the locally owned grocery store, to the restaurants, to the shops, and I was all about supporting anything locally owned and operated.
As I pushed my cart through the aisles, it hit me that this was the first time I’d stepped into a grocery store in a really long time.
The cabin had been stocked when I showed up, and in D.C.
it was easier to use an app and have my groceries delivered.
I’d shopped for myself a few times after joining the Rebels, but it didn’t take long to realize it was mistake.
It took twice as long as it should have to get a couple of things because there was a hockey fan around every corner.
If I wasn’t being stopped by people who loved the team, it was people who wanted to critique every move I made on the ice and tell me how to do my job.
It was just easier not to have to deal with it.
But wandering through Fresh Foods was a totally different experience. People waved as I passed, offering smiles or hellos. A few even addressed me by name. But the vibe was more like I was one of them, not that I was some hotshot athlete they wanted a selfie with.
I had to admit, it was really nice.
Since no one was being intrusive, I took my time, scanning the shelves for things that Holly would hopefully like.
I got the impression that wasn’t something the men in her past had done much of, which was a shame.
I was thrilled when she told me it had been the best first date she ever had.
But it made me want to find those asshole exes and beat some sense into them.
That wasn’t even the bare minimum, for Christ’s sake.
But if something as simple as cooking for her made her happy, I’d do it as much as possible.
“Tanner Fine.”
My head swiveled toward the sound of my name, and a smile instantly pulled at my face when I saw where it came from.
“Zach Paulson.” I took his offered hand and pulled him in for a slam on the back.
“Good to see you, man.” I met Zach on my first trip to Hope Valley when I stayed at the ranch’s lodge he and his family ran.
And it was his wedding I’d attended with Ivy.
He’d been a rough and tumble cowboy and his bride was a high-society nepo-celebrity back in L.A.
They met when she’d landed in some hot water and her parents shipped her off to work on a ranch to try and knock some sense into her.
Not only did she find her work-ethic, she’d also met her husband.
He clapped me on the arm. “Hey, it’s good to see you too. Heard you were back in town for a bit.”
Something about that very last word made my stomach twist. “Yeah. I needed to get out of the city and Hope Valley was the very first place I thought of.”
Zach stuffed his hands in the pocket of his jeans and rocked back on the heels of his boots. “Heard about the injury; I’m really sorry about that. It was a shitty situation, but you’re doing better, right?”
That was the moment I realized I hadn’t thought about my injury in a day and a half, when it was usually front and center in my brain all damn day. Holly Bradbury was the only thing running through my brain.
“Oh, yeah. I’m all good. And the truth is I needed the break.
” That sure as hell wasn’t something I would have admitted a few months ago.
Hockey had been my life for as long as I could remember.
It was what I existed for. When that doctor told me I was out for the rest of the season, it had felt like the worst moment of my life, like nothing could ever be worse than that.
But as more time passed, it was harder to ignore that I no longer needed those five extra minutes in the morning just to loosen my body up enough to climb out of bed, and I felt better, overall.
I still felt my age—and maybe a few extra years tacked on—but I hadn’t been popping ibuprofen like breath mints to take the edge off the pain.
“Well, as long as you’re good.”
“I am, thanks. What about you? How’s married life?”
His grin was instant. His features softened as he gave his head a shake. “It’s the best, no other way to describe it. And I don’t know if anyone’s told you yet, but Rae’s pregnant.”
My eyes widened and I clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s awesome, man. I’m really happy for you both.”
“Thanks. We’re pretty excited ourselves. She’s due in the spring. Don’t know if you’ll still be here by then, but if so, maybe you’ll get to meet the little sprout.”
I didn’t know if I’d be here either. The idea that I wouldn’t sat heavy like a brick in my stomach, though. “I’d like that.”
“Same. We’re always happy to have you back.” He shot me a wry smile. “Word around town is there’s one resident in particular that’s very happy to have you back.”
Christ, I was a grown-ass man knocking on the door to forty, and I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks. “Holly’s an incredible woman.”
“I know. We all do. Which is why I feel like I should tell you, you screw with her, there are at least twenty people willing to bust your kneecaps and more than double that who’d make you suffer without committing a felony.”
I should have been scared. Okay, I was a little scared, but more than that, I was happy to know Holly had so many people who cared about her.
Those willing to commit felonies and otherwise.
“You don’t have to worry,” I assured him, smiling as memories of my date with Holly began flipping through my brain.
“I’d rather cut off my own damn arm than hurt her.
She’s . . . she’s something really special. ”
His grin indicated I’d answered correctly. My knees were grateful, for sure. “Glad to hear it. You know, me and some of the guys have a monthly poker game, and this month’s game is tonight. You should join us.”
“That sounds good.” A game did sound like a good time, but so did spending time with Holly. “I’ll see what Holly’s got going on tonight and let you know.”
We exchanged numbers in the middle of the canned goods aisle, then Zach had to get back to the ranch. But as I finished my shopping, I realized I was starting to feel like maybe this was where I belonged.
Which meant I was going to have to make some tough decisions really soon.