But standing in the kitchen waiting to meet people he loved, my vulnerability rose to the surface as I waited for his answer. His eyes softened, and he dipped his head a little lower, tipping my chin up to ensure I made eye contact with him. “Yes.”
And that was it.
No flowery words. No explanation. No big speech about the ways he was happy or even howImade him happy.
But that one word was enough. My smile stretched my mouth wide, and tension slipped from my body. His gaze roamed my face, and I wondered if he could see how that single syllable affected me, the ease it instilled in me.
I swallowed again, but this time it was to gain control of my emotions, keep in check my relief. My eyes landed on his lips when they curved. “We good?”
I nodded, not daring to speak in case my voice gave my emotions away. Nor did I want to break the spell of this moment.
With another quick glance at my eyes, as if he was making sure I was telling him the truth, he seemed satisfied. He bobbed his head once, gave me a quick kiss, then smacked my ass as he headed away from me.
“Where are you going?” I asked once I found my voice.
“He’s here.”
“Huh?” I sought out the time. Davis was early. “But how—?”
“Heard his car pull up outside.”
Huh?My senses beyond that of watching and listening to Tanner had apparently switched off over the past five minutes or so. I glanced at the oven, tempted to recheck it, but instead, I forced my feet to move. It was time to meet Tanner’s family.
* * *
I snorted,almost spilling the contents of my glass. “And then what did he do?” I threw a quick glance at Tanner and raised my brows when I saw heat creep across his cheeks. Obviously, whatever dirt Davis was about to dish was good.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Tanner growled at Davis. The sound was gravelly and so husky I mentally stored the sound away to see if he’d use it in the bedroom one time. I dragged my gaze away from him, mildly aware I’d probably had too much wine since I was struggling to keep my mind focused on Davis’s story and not Tanner and the bedroom.
“What?” Davis grinned, his eyes shining with glee. “You don’t want Carter to know about having to call fire and rescue?”
Now I was intrigued. “Go on. You can’t stop now,” I encouraged. I determinedly kept my eyes off Tanner, sure he was giving me a hard stare.
Davis grinned, threw Tanner the finger and me a wink. “He clambered to the men’s and tried scrambling out the window.” I snorted, wide-eyed, trying to imagine Tanner ever running from anything. “Then,” Davis continued, tears threatening to spill from his eyes in amusement, “the window was in one of the cubicles. He slipped and somehow got his foot wedged in the bowl.”
Loud laughter erupted from me, and I clamped a hand over my mouth, risking a quick look at Tanner. Despite his frown and squinting eyes, there was no hardness reflected there. He rolled his eyes in mock irritation. “Yeah, yeah, lap it up. It was the heel that did it. It was strapped so tight to my fucking foot, I couldn’t get the thing off. I still have no idea how it happened.”
Davis kept laughing, the sound loud and contagious. “When…,” he gasped. “When the firefighters arrived, it turned out that we knew one of the firemen. It didn’t take long for the word to spread that Tanner had been caught in fishnets and heels, trying to escape a gaggle of women.”
I could see it now. The image was ridiculous. Tanner—tall, strong, just the right side of muscular Tanner—dressed up in drag, and then having to flee from horny old women. My face started to hurt from the laughter and my wide smile, but I needed to know. “Please tell me you have photographic evidence.”
“Hey now.” Tanner snaked his arm around my waist and dragged me to him, holding me close with no chance of escape. Not that I had any desire to be released. “No, there isn’t.” His voice was gruff but held amusement.
I looked at Davis for confirmation. He shrugged. “Unbelievably no. It’s a fucking travesty really. I could have held it over his head on so many occasi—” A throw cushion landed in his face. “Oomph.”
Tanner chuckled and pressed a kiss to my neck. I sighed at the contact. “He didn’t tell you that I was only in drag for a charity event.”
“Oh,” I said with a grin, “you don’t make a habit of dressing up in women’s clothes and wearing makeup?” I twisted my head to look at him, throwing him a wink.
He twisted his mouth as if deciding just how to punish me for my ribbing. The look in his eyes had me swallowing in delight. Damn, just one look from this man and I was a needy mess.
“No,” he finally answered.
Davis’s snort brought our attention back to him. “It’s true,” he admitted. “And I will say, that group of women were fucking terrifying. I’d have run too.”
Aware I was practically sitting on Tanner’s lap, I wriggled against him and tapped his hand, intending for him to release me. Instead, a grunt of disapproval brushed across my ear. I bit my lip, embarrassment heating my cheeks since we had company.
“Don’t mind me.” I flicked my gaze to Davis in surprise. His smile was warm and genuine. “It’s a nice change. Never seen my brother here all loved up.” I held my breath at his words, and a moment later, Tanner’s arm gripped me a little tighter and his fingers found the flesh of my side, and stroked small circles there. Davis sent Tanner a chin lift. “Looks good on you.”
