“Yes. I date men.” I wasn’t sure if his voice had dipped low or I was simply hoping it had. “I’m not dating right now. There’s no man, boyfriend, lover, or husband waiting for me at home.” He paused a moment before he continued, “I do have a brother, well, my friend, and a niece who I spend a lot of time with, and I help them out whenever I can. He’s a new dad and a single parent.” I nodded in understanding. Heck, Tanner was such a good guy, and his commitment to his family upped his sexiness from hot to scorching. “Davis is doing better though and is actively kicking my ass to get out from under his feet.” He grinned, seemingly amused by his brother. “I’ll put in a few Saturdays to get ahead of the work, too. If that’s okay?” With his hands still in the same position before him, his thumb resting on his bottom lip, his eyes focused on mine.
“Yes.” I practically squeaked the word. My heart pounded hard in my chest while my tightening pants were making it impossibly difficult to concentrate on anything else. It was in celebratory mode, currently sitting up and taking complete notice of Tanner’s mouth and thumb. I cleared my throat. “Saturdays are perfect. You’re more than welcome here whenever you need.” I grinned.
Nodding, he nibbled on the end of his thumb. While he still held the same confidence as earlier, his teasing seemed to have vanished. This time when he spoke, his voice was definitely deeper. “So with my new key I can come by whenever and not worry about interrupting you or anything?”
I shook my head immediately. What little cool I had went flying out the window and into the gutter with my dirty thoughts. “I’m not dating anyone. It’s been a while. While this place is friendly enough, it’s not the easiest place to meet a guy, you know?” Embarrassment flushed through me. What if he thought I was only interested because there were slim pickings? Hell, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In the short amount of time I’d known Tanner, everything I’d discovered, I liked. A lot. “Shoot, erm….” Heat rushed over me, but I was too far gone to hold back. “I don’t want you to think I’m hitting on you just because you’re gay.”
I considered jumping up and down in hopes that the floor would swallow me whole. My brain cells had vanished along with my ability to not sound like a turd.
“I mean….” What the hell did I mean?
Both of Tanner’s brows were high as he watched me struggle to extract my foot out of my mouth. “What? What did you mean?” he asked.
I clamped my mouth closed before blowing out a breath of air, puffing out my cheeks. I shrugged. A loud laugh burst from Tanner, and I grinned in relief.
“So you’re not hitting on me then? Is that it?”
My grin slipped. How on earth was I to answer that? While his smile remained in place, the air between us became charged. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, he said, “I’m joking.” But there was no humor in his eyes. “It’s all good. I’m pleased we cleared the air.” He looked at his watch. “But I need to get going. It’s getting late, so we best get all this cleared up.” Standing, he picked up both of our plates and headed to the sink, leaving me sitting dumbstruck.
I had no idea what had happened. The tension had been there, and not in the “I’m going to knock you out” kind of way. I was sure he’d felt something for me too. Could I have misread him completely?
I saidgoodbye to Tanner at the door before handing him the spare key. With a “thanks,” he’d left, not once looking behind him. Sighing, I finished tidying up and made my way to my room. I had an earlier start the next day than usual with a staff meeting, so I needed an early night. But sleep didn’t come swiftly. Instead, I lay awake for far too long thinking about Tanner.
He confused the sense out of me. I wasn’t an idiot to think just because he’d winked a few times he’d be interested. Christ, that would be a dick move of mine. I flirted with guys and women all the time, and usually—obviously when it came to flirting with women—it was nothing to do with attraction. It meant jack shit. I was a flirt and always had been; it came as naturally to me as breathing. So Tanner baffled me. His unobtrusive flirting moments, his friendly nature, there were times when I convinced myself real attraction fed those. But over dinner I received the message loud and clear. He wasn’t interested.
I was no novice and had been in a couple of fairly serious relationships since school, but nothing had ever stuck. I was far from desperate to settle down. Hell, I was only twenty-nine, but I saw something in Tanner that was different. And the crux was, that indescribable feeling, the invisible connection pulsing inside me, whether he was near or far, had my heart sitting up and paying attention. He made me want more, imagine something bigger, something real and palpable. And once I worked out what exactly it was, I didn’t know if I’d be able to let it go.
The thought terrified me after his brush-off at dinner. For an intelligent man, I’d been sidestepping labeling my feelings and acting dumb. I thought that was the safe play. It seemed I was wrong, because frick me, I was falling for Tanner hard and fast.
With Tanner on my mind and the memory of his hands on my arm when he’d stopped me from falling on my ass, I eventually drifted into sleep, not sure whether my dreaming of him was the healthiest thing for me to do.
* * *
My alarm blaredat stupid o’clock. Grumbling, I shut it off and prepared for work. Just thirty minutes later, I was heading out to the clinic, hoping that Denver, the director of Holmes Veterinary Clinic, wouldn’t spend too long droning on. He was a nice enough boss but had a habit of not knowing when to shut up and let us get on with it. The guy’s heart was in the right place, so it was hard to be too frustrated at him. It didn’t make the journey into work just as the sun was rising any easier though.
After parking, I made my way inside. Lauren greeted me with a grin and a takeout coffee. “For me?” I threw her a thankful grin. “You know I’m yours and will worship you forever, right?”
Lauren laughed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I have a tab going, and one day I will call it in.” She handed me the cup.
I kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you so much, Lauren.” I inhaled the fresh scent and then brought it to my lips. The magical coffee hit my tongue, and my brain gave a little cheer, promising to start functioning soon. “You are an angel. Seriously.” She really was.
I’d liked Lauren instantly. Not only was she a caffeine addict like me, but she also had divine taste in men. I could happily talk movies and models with her.
“So have you heard the latest?” Her voice took on the tone of conspirator, and she angled her face toward me.
I quirked my brow and grinned. Lowering my own voice, I asked, “I’m assuming not. What gives?”
“Well, Denver’s taking a three-month sabbatical.” She paused to take in my reaction. My eyebrows rising to my hairline was apparently the correct response, as she smirked before continuing. “He’s announcing his temporary replacement today.” How this woman managed to get the intel was beyond me, but she always seemed to be one step ahead.
“Any idea who?” I had no grand dream of being announced. Not only was I new to the clinic, but I was also the youngest by far. I imagined Terry would step up. He was in his fifties and would do a good job at managing the place. I paused at the thought. Something didn’t add up. “Why are you all cloak and dagger about this?” It wasn’t a big deal for Terry or even Holly to take on the position.
Lauren chewed on her bottom lip, barely containing her excitement. If that tell wasn’t a dead giveaway, her gripping my forearm was. “He’s brought someone in from the outside.”
“Oh.” I was genuinely surprised.
“Apparently, he’s Denver’s nephew or cousin’s nephew, or erm, I’m not sure.” A faraway, dreamy look cast over her features. “Just you wait.” She sighed elaborately, her breath causing her bangs to lift and sway.
So the dude was a hottie. Interesting. I always appreciated a bit of sex god in my day. Intrigued, we edged closer to the meeting room door and entered just as Denver cleared his throat to begin. We quickly took our seats, and I glanced around the room. All the familiar faces were present. There was no mystery nephew or whatever relation.
