Still The One: A Small Town Friends to Lovers Romance (The Heartbreak Brothers Book 2)

by Carrie Elks

  The movie was coming to an end. Van was laying back against Tanner, his arms circled around her as he leaned back against the grill of the car. His fingers were tracing circles along her abdomen, his lips pressed against the top of her head as they watched Jerry walk into his house. It was full of women. They all stared at him as he declared his love for his wife.

  Jerry’s voice cracked as he told Dorothy that his life wasn’t complete without her, and it made Van’s breath catch.

  Tanner shifted her slightly on his lap, leaning forward until his chin was against her shoulder. “Are you crying?”

  “Not yet.” She bit her lip. “Give me a minute.” Jerry told his wife that he missed her, and Van felt her throat tighten as tears pooled in her eyes.

  “Don’t cry, baby,” Tanner said, kissing her cheek.

  “I can’t help it. It’s just so beautiful.”

  “You think Tom Cruise crying is beautiful?”

  She shook her head. “I think a man admitting he’s lost without his woman is just…” Van sighed. “It’s just everything.”

  “I was lost without you.”

  She sniffed. “Stop it.”

  He brushed his lips against her ear. “I was. I fucking missed you. Every day. I’d meet new people – friends – and wonder if they could ever fill the space you left.” He scooped her hair over her shoulder, then kissed her neck. “And they didn’t. Not one of them.”

  He splayed his fingers across her stomach, pressing her closer into him. “It was always you, Van. Always. And I’m so damn glad you came home.”

  She was crying now. Hot tears trailed down her cheeks to her chin, dropping onto her chest. He turned her around until she was straddling him, his hands cupping her face.

  “Don’t cry.”

  “I can’t help it. You’re beautiful, too.”

  He shook his head. “I’m a cartoon next to an old master.”

  “I missed you, too,” she whispered. “So much.” And maybe she hadn’t realized how much until now. All those victories when she’d turn to tell somebody, but he was never there. The sad movies and the happy parties, the wins at work and the nights she couldn’t sleep. He was her ghost limb, a memory that never left. And now he was here, in beautiful Technicolor.

  “You’re mine,” she whispered, as much to herself as to him. She was full of wonder as she touched him, tracing the line of his nose, the swell of his bottom lip.

  “Damn right I am.” He leaned his face into the crook of her neck, kissing her skin. “So now will you let me tell everybody?”

  “I already told Zoe.”

  He chuckled against her neck. “You did?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s good. Because I told Logan,” he said sheepishly.

  She grinned at him. “I think Maddie’s guessed as well. We’re such terrible liars, aren’t we?”

  “Nah. Some things are just too good not to share. So when are you going to let me parade you through town?”

  She shook her head. “Not happening, Hartson. But maybe we can start, I don’t know, being seen together or something? After the opening gala, maybe. Let’s get through that first.”

  “The day after the gala.” He nodded seriously.

  “Yeah. We can go for brunch or something. Keep it casual.”

  He slid his hands beneath her, his fingers cupping her behind as he dropped his lips to hers. “One thing you need to know, babe, is that there’s nothing casual about us.” He kissed her hard. “I’m serious as hell about you. Just so we both understand.”

  She leaned forward to kiss him again. “Understood and reciprocated,” she whispered against his soft lips.

  For the first time in forever, it felt like her life was sliding into place. Piece by piece, things were getting better. Zoe was happy, her mom was sober, and she was in love with Tanner Hartson, the first boy to ever steal her heart.

  Maybe it really was possible to have it all.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Zoe, your friends are here,” Tanner called out, pulling open the office door. As soon as he saw her sitting with Van at the brand new desk they had delivered yesterday he grinned. “And the refreshment booth is officially open. Show time is in twenty minutes.”

  Van had been showing Zoe around the drive-in while they waited for her friends to arrive for the dry run. And of course she’d been most excited by the refreshment stand. The construction team had finished the installation three days earlier, and this was the first time they were trying everything out in real time.

  “They’re here? Oh boy!” Zoe’s face lit up as she looked up at him. Van was pretty sure he had a fan for life.

  She was still choked up that Tanner had been so thoughtful to let Zoe’s friends come to their dry run. Last weekend they’d all gone to Maroon 5 without her, and Tanner had taken Zoe and Van over to Gray’s studio, where he’d played her some of his new songs, and put a photograph of the two of them on his Instagram account. For the past week, Zoe had been like a superstar at school, especially now that her entire class was invited to watch the newest Troll movie with free refreshments.

  “A few of the parents are hanging around,” Tanner told Van as Zoe rushed out of the office and down the metal stairs. “I told them I’d give them a backstage tour and grab them refreshments. I figured the kids won’t want them cramping their style.”

  Van smiled at him. “You’re pretty good at this, aren’t you?”

  “At what?”

  She slid her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his. “This almost-uncle thing. You have Zoe wrapped around your little finger.”

  He kissed her back, his hands sliding down her hips. “Yeah, well you Butler girls have me pretty much whipped. I live to make you happy.” He slid his lips down her neck, pushing her hair away with his hands. She let out a little gasp as the sensation overtook her.

  “Van?”

  Tanner pulled back, a horrified expression on his face. Van turned to see Zoe standing at the doorway, the sun spilling in behind her.

  Van swallowed hard. “Um… I didn’t know you were there.”

  “Obviously.” Zoe wrinkled her nose. “I was just wondering if you guys were watching the movie with us. But now I’m really hoping you’re not because if you do that in front of my friends I’ll die of embarrassment.”

  She could hear Tanner chuckle softly behind her. “You weren’t meant to see that.” Shooting Tanner a warning look, she smoothed her hair back over her shoulders.

  “I’m not a kid. I know that you two kiss.” She wrinkled her nose. “And do other stuff.”

  Van’s mouth dropped. “You are a kid,” she pointed out. “And what do you know about other stuff?”

  “Emily Mayburn’s mom has a book. We’ve all seen it.” Zoe shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

  “What kind of book?” Van asked, alarmed.

  “Let’s hope it’s not the kind of books you read,” Tanner murmured. Van bit down a grin.

  “The Girl’s Guide to Life. It’s about periods and stuff.” Zoe looked over her shoulder, as though she was afraid people were listening. “And babies.”

  Tanner let out another laugh. This time Van spun around to glare at him. “Hey,” he said, lifting up his hands. “That was an embarrassed giggle.”

  “You didn’t sound embarrassed,” Van told him, her eyes narrow. In fact, he looked like he was enjoying every minute.

  “Um, can I go now?” Zoe asked. “How long until the movie starts?”

  Tanner checked his watch. “Fifteen minutes until showtime.”

  “Okay, I’m gone.” Zoe gave them one last glance. “Do you think you can stop the kissing thing. At least until my friends have left?”

  Tanner gave Van a lopsided grin. “I’ll try,” he promised, looking back at Zoe. “But your sister needs a lot of kissing. She’s that kind of girl.”

  Zoe rolled her eyes and ran down the stairs again, and Van let out a deep sigh.

  “Why does s
he have to grow up?” she said, shaking her head. “Before we know it she’ll be getting her period and crying over boys.”

  “She won’t cry over boys,” Tanner said, stepping up behind her and sliding his arms around her waist. “I’ll beat them up before they can hurt her.”

  Van put her hands against her chest and pretended to swoon. “My hero.”

  His lips curled against her neck. “I like to think so. Now let’s go put on a movie.”

  It was almost ten o’clock by the time everything was closed up and they were ready to leave. Zoe had gone to her friend’s house for a sleepover. Van climbed into Tanner’s car and pulled the seatbelt across, watching as he walked across the grass after locking up the refreshment booth.

  “So that went well.” He smiled at her. “Apart from the popcorn burning.”

  “And the sound turning off halfway through.” Van shook her head.

  “Oh, and don’t forget that kid throwing up after she ate too many hotdogs.” Tanner wrinkled his nose. “That’s something I could do without seeing ever again.”

  Van grinned at him. “At least we know what’s inside a hotdog now.”

  “Yeah. That’s enough to put me off them for life.” He turned the ignition key then looked at her, a soft smile playing at his lips.

  “What?” she asked, loving the way he was looking at her.

  “You want to come back to my place?” he asked her, his eyes dark. She swallowed hard, loving the way he was looking at her.

  “You got the keys?” she asked eagerly.

  “Yep.” He nodded. “I thought you’d want to be the first one over the threshold.”

  “I’d be honored.”

  Five minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of a huge Victorian house. Her mom’s bungalow could fit in it three times without blinking. It was one of the old-style two-stories, with a wraparound porch and a brick chimney standing proud from the slate-tiled roof. The kind of house she used to dream of when she was a kid.

  Because that kind of house always had a mom who took care of you and a dad who came home every evening and played games with you until bedtime. Or at least it did in her childhood imagination.

  “Fairfax thinks the owner might be willing to sell it after the six month lease is over.” Tanner inclined his head. “Ready?”

  She was already halfway out of the car. He laughed at her enthusiasm, locking the car up and following her along the brick-lined path.

  Even in the dark it was beautiful. There was a tree in the expansive front yard with an old rope swing tied up to it. If it wasn’t completely dark, she would have launched herself on it.

  “Later,” Tanner said, as though he was reading her mind. “Let’s go inside first.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her up the steps. There was an old rocking chair on one side of the wraparound porch, and a wicker love seat and coffee table on the other. The kind of place where you could sit out in the evening with a glass of iced tea and watch the world go by.

  Tanner unlocked the door and pushed it open, stale air escaping through the crack. “It’s been empty for a while,” he told her. “Fairfax didn’t even show it to me at first. He thought it wasn’t modern enough.”

  Van followed him inside, her footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. It stretched for two floors, a grand staircase curving around the right wall, with enough room for a grand piano beneath it.

  “You’re going to rattle around in here,” she murmured, as he flicked a lightswitch. A chandelier lit up, casting patterns across the tiled floor.

  “I’m hoping I won’t be here on my own much.”

  She smiled at him. “I guess your family will visit.”

  “And you?” he murmured, tracing her collarbone with his outstretched finger. “Will you be here?”

  “If you buy some furniture.”

  “I’ll take that for now.” He brushed his lips against hers, sending a shot of electricity through her body. “Come on, let me show you around.”

  The house was everything she thought it would be. Full of character, from the old sanded floorboards on the upper level, to the gas stove that dominated kitchen. But it was the living room that took her breath away. Even without furniture it was impressive, with its high ceilings, beautifully carved molding, and huge wood-and-glass doors that led out to the backyard.

  “It’s an acre in all,” Tanner told her. “There’s a brook at the end that leads to the creek. The neighbors tell me there’s a herd of deer that sometimes run along it.”

  “And it’s all yours.”

  “For now.” He was looking at her with dark eyes. The smile had melted from his lips, replaced by a hungry expression that made her thighs clench together. He reached out to trail his fingers along her jaw, tipping her head up so he could press his lips to hers.

  “I’m hoping it will be yours, too. Sometime,” he murmured, his mouth moving against hers. Then he deepened the kiss, making her toes curl with delight as he pulled her close against him, their bodies arching together.

  She slid her hands into his hair, scraping her fingers against his scalp as he moaned softly against her.

  She could never get tired of kissing him. It was like he’d flipped a switch and brought her back to life.

  His hands slid down the back of her jeans, cupping her behind as he plundered her mouth. She pushed her hands inside his shirt, feeling his warm skin against her palms, her fingers tracing their way to the hard ridges of his stomach, then to his chest.

  He moaned again. Lower and rougher this time. It sent a thrill through her, pleasure knotting in her stomach as he moved his hands to the hem of her shirt, pushing it up.

  He cupped her breasts, his thumbs brushing against her nipples. It was her turn to gasp as he pushed the lace cups down.

  She pulled her t-shirt over her head, exposing her sensitive skin to the cool nighttime air.

  “You’re beautiful,” Tanner told her, reaching out to trace the swell of her breast. Then he was leaning down, capturing a nipple between his lips, and she had to bite down as to not let out a cry.

  It took everything she had to keep standing as he kissed and caressed her, moving from one breast to the other as if he couldn’t get enough. His tongue was slow and sensuous, his lips hot and demanding, and every time he pulled at her flesh she felt her legs tremble with desire.

  “Can I undo your jeans?” he asked her.

  She nodded. It was crazy that he even asked. He had to know what he was doing to her.

  He deftly unfastened the metal button, then pulled at the zipper. “Any time you want me to stop, you tell me,” he said, his voice rough. He dropped to his knees, pulling her jeans down, past her thighs, her knees, before she stepped out of them.

  “I don’t want to stop.” Her voice was sure. He looked up at her, his eyes shining as they connected with hers.

  “We’re not kids anymore, Van,” he said thickly. “I want to have sex with you.”

  “I want it, too.”

  “But before we do, you need to know something. This is it for me. You’re it. There’s no running away, no hiding. Once you’re mine, you’re mine.”

  She nodded, breathless. Not just from the way his fingers were tracing the edge of her panties, but from the way he was staring at her. As though he might die without her.

  It sent shivers of delight down her spine.

  “Don’t move,” he said, standing and walking over to the hallway.

  “Where are you going?” She felt vulnerable, almost naked compared to his fully-dressed state.

  “To grab a blanket from the car. You’re not lying on the dusty floor.”

  “Can you hurry?” she asked urgently. She didn’t want him to leave her for even a moment.

  He laughed. “I’ll run like I’ve never runned before.”

  He was back within a minute, shaking the blanket out and helping her down to the floor. He pulled his t-shirt off, and she stared up at him, her eyes scanning his sculpted chest.
>
  We’re not kids anymore. That was for sure. Back then they were playing at being adults. Their few attempts at sex had been furtive, fumbling, yet still the most amazing thing she’d ever done. But now, it was deeper than that. And more practiced, too.

  Tanner leaned over her, kissing her hotly, unfastening her bra and throwing it to the side. He moved his lips down her throat, kissing her collarbone then the swell of her breasts, kissing her nipples, her stomach, then pulling at her panties. She arched up, watching as he slid them down her shaking thighs, then he crawled between them, pushing them up to give himself room.

  As soon as he took her into his warm, practiced mouth she was gasping. He put a hand on her stomach to hold her down as he sucked and licked at her again and again. She could feel the pleasure coil inside her, snapping and fizzing as he grazed her with his teeth, sliding two fingers inside her to heighten her desire.

  “Tanner…” His name came out as a gasp. She didn’t know how much longer she could last.

  “Shh.” He dipped his head again, his tongue tracing a langorous line to her aching core. Then he sucked at her, making her cry out, her thighs tensing, her body arching as the pleasure burst from inside her.

  His fingers dug into the soft skin of her thighs, his mouth still licking and sucking as she rode the wave of desire. As she slowly came down, he was pulling his jeans off, followed by his boxers. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the thick lines of muscles on his thighs. He pulled a condom from his jeans and passed her the silver disk. “I want you to put it on me,” he told her, looking down at his thick hardness.

  She nodded, tearing the packet open and throwing the foil to the side. She wrapped her fingers around him, loving the way her touch made him gasp. Moving her hand up and down, she watched as his eyes closed, his mouth dropping open as he gasped in time to her movement.

  “The condom,” he said roughly. “Now.”

  Slowly, she unrolled it onto him, sheathing him before laying back on the blanket. He moved his powerful body between hers, bracing his arms on either side of her shoulders as his hardness slid against the neediest part of her.