Page 19 of Let Me Be the One
“Us?”
Without thinking it through, still caught in the pleasant memory, he replied, “Me first, and then Kam. She said having boys to appreciate her meals opened new possibilities for her.”
Consternation tweaked Callie’s slim brows as she tried to follow along. “Not to pry, and I swear you can tell me to butt out—”
Realizing what he’d revealed and knowing exactly what she’d ask, he said quietly, “Butt out.”
For a beat of three seconds, she stared at him, then her lips formed a smile. Not a real smile this time, not like he’d seen earlier. This smile was polite…and he hated it.
“Sorry.” She took another sip of her coffee, back to avoiding his gaze. “I promise not to go there again.”
“Shit.” Using both hands, Tanner rubbed his face. He hadn’t meant to take his contrariness that far. In fact, he was enjoying this. Enjoying her. “I’m the one who’s sorry. Hell, I brought it up. It’s just…it’s a defense thing, to shut people down.” He’d learned the hard way that few people had kind motives. “It’s not a secret and since you’re here”—hopefully not for long—“you’re bound to hear all about it.”
“No, really, it’s—”
He touched her hand. Not something he’d intended to do, but it happened. And then he couldn’t seem to draw away. He went still. She went silent. Christ, it was as ifhe’d touched a live wire and they were both reacting to the shock. It burned through his veins.
He considered it a proof of his strength that he was able, by small degrees, to pull back. “Addie took us in.” His voice had gone deeper, rougher, but damned if he’d clear his throat.
Callie hadn’t yet blinked. Her eyes were fixed on his, unwavering, slightly flared still from his touch. He noticed that her lashes were thick, dark. Fucking beautiful.
To keep her from more apologies and maybe get back those easy smiles that, finally, after years of waiting, were aimed at him, Tanner explained. “She brought me here first, and then Kam, as foster kids.”
Soft color washed over her skin and at last, she blinked. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
Disbelief and a touch of annoyance had him asking, “Are you blushing?” Women didn’t blush around him, and the nice ones sure as hell never apologized.
Callie pressed both hands over her heated cheeks. “I feel like a dunce. It never occurred to me.”
“What didn’t?”
“That you weren’t…that Addie wasn’t…”
In a weird way, her stammers amused him. Instead of pitying him, or asking more questions, she blushed and stumbled on her words. “You’re not a dunce. You just don’t remember me.” Hard to remember him when she’d never noticed him in the first place. “It was no secret from grade school on that my dad was a drunken prick who didn’t much like having a kid in his way.”
“I… I never knew. I hadn’t heard…”
“No reason you should have. Though we were both in Hoker, you lived in a different world.” Protected, insulated from the ugliness of an existence like his. Seeingthe horror on her face, he sighed. “And now you’re going pale.” He wasn’t used to anyone, other than Addie and Kam, giving a shit what happened to him. “When I was thirteen, he got himself killed and Addie took me in.”
If anything, Callie looked more dismayed. “Wow, that’s…”
“My life in a nutshell.”
“Not even,” she said, totally earnest. “You’re so big and capable now, so confident. And you live here, in this wonderful house, working on this wonderful farm.”
“In this wonderful neighborhood?” Tanner didn’t know what to make of her. “I’m aware of my size, where I live and work. I think it’s pretty great, but someone like you—”
Her chin hitched. “Someone like me?”
“A princess.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
He remembered, which was why he’d said it. “I imagine if you wanted, you could buy three farms like this and twice as many houses.”
“My parents, maybe, but I’m not them.”
He snorted. “You’re sure as hell not me.”
