Before she could politely decline, a new thought occurred to her. Caroline had opened her own studio a year ago. She may need another teacher, but she certainly wouldn’t risk her reputation on having an instructor that wasn’t competent leading classes. And what was that last thing she said?
“Partner?” Izzy squeaked out the single word. “Did you say partner?”
Caroline bobbed her head excitedly. “It would be great, Iz! You’d be perfect and we’d get to spend more time together. And maybe Prince Charming will help us with marketing and stuff.”
She snorted at Caroline’s nickname for Tanner. Unwilling to commit right then, Izzy promised to think about it. But the hopeful smile that had taken up residence on her face didn’t fade on her drive home as she considered the idea.
Her thoughts and, she was sure, her expression turned much more suspicious when she walked into the living room and spied two very well-behaved children sitting calmly on the couch, flanking their father, giggling at an animated television show.
Noah caught sight of her first. “Mommy’s home! It’s time to go on our date!”
Tanner tilted his head back and chuckled, the sound of the deep rumble making Izzy’s toes curl. “Mommy has to take a shower and get changed first.” He threw her a wink and a lopsided grin. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
She should be immune to this by now, shouldn’t she? She shouldn’t feel excited butterflies in her stomach at his smile. She shouldn’t feel a rush of heat when her husband flirted with her. And she really shouldn’t be wishing the children were spending the night with their grandparents tonight.
She sped through her shower, trying to calm the excitement churning in her stomach and temper the trepidation. She was loving each and every date Tanner planned. The creative ones and the simple ones. Even more, she loved the nights they spent with the kids watching movies and the Sunday mornings sitting around the table eating whatever Tanner had made for breakfast.
But was this all just temporary? The day after their anniversary, would everything go back to exactly the way it had been? And would Tanner feel the need to look for whatever he was missing in the arms of someone else again?
Thoughts of her, which Izzy was surprised hadn’t plagued her for days, began to bubble to the surface again as she stepped out of the shower and dried off. She wrapped the towel around herself and knotted it at the top, pushing the dark thoughts from her mind and focusing on what to wear when she had no idea where they were going.
Thinking of the light blue shirt and khaki shorts Tanner was wearing, and wearing so well, she began rummaging in her dresser drawers for something casual and flattering. She curled her top lip in irritation at her body that refused to tighten despite the hours she logged on the treadmill and in yoga.
Izzy was holding the cream-colored top up, debating internally on the wisdom of wearing something so easily stained, when Tanner burst through the bedroom door. As soon as he saw her, still clad only in a towel, he skidded to a halt and his eyes grew wide.
She loved that look. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“We don’t need to leave just yet.” He sauntered the few feet to stand in front of her and slid a hand between the folds of the terrycloth, resting it on the bare skin of her back and pulling her close to him. “The festival is going on until eleven. It’s okay if we don’t leave for another ten minutes.” He buried his face in her neck, planting soft kisses. “Or twenty.”
Izzy fitted herself closer to Tanner and twined her arms around his neck with a small laugh. “We’re going to the festival? We’re gonna eat funnel cake and corn dogs and ride a Ferris wheel?”
“Later.” He mumbled the single word against her shoulder before lightly sinking his teeth into the flesh, making her breath exit on a sigh.
She bit her bottom lip. “How about we make a deal, Mr. MBA?”
He pulled his head back, giving her the crooked grin that made her heart forget to beat, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “I thought I burned those damned textbooks.”
Lifting up on her tiptoes, Izzy intended to plant a soft kiss on Tanner’s cheek, but he turned his head just then and captured her lips with his, tightening her arm around her waist. Her mouth opened against his as she gasped at the contact. His tongue slid inside, wreaking havoc on every ounce of self-control she was trying to muster.
She flattened her palms against his chest and pushed him away. “Ring toss.”
Tanner blinked a few times with a small shake of his head. “Ring toss?”
Izzy nodded, stepping away to release the knot on her towel and dress as slowly as possible. “We play the ring toss game.” She did her level best to affect a nonchalant tone, reveling in Tanner’s obvious agony as she slowly dressed. “I win, I choose. You win, you choose.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed twice. “Choose what?”
She buttoned her denim shorts and flashed him a smile, pointing at the front of his shorts. “Choose where and how we take care of that little issue.”
He folded his arms across his chest and furrowed his brow, but his blue eyes twinkled mischievously. “Little? Sweetheart, that isn’t what you were saying last night.”
***
The first stab of pain made Izzy sit upright in bed.
The second followed closely and took the breath from her lungs.
When the third stroke of searing pain ran across her abdomen, she shook Tanner’s shoulder.
This wasn’t right. She’d read dozens of books, talked to countless other mothers, and felt she had a pretty good idea of what labor, at least early labor, was supposed to feel like and it wasn’t this. It shouldn’t feel like this, and it shouldn’t be happening now. She still had eight weeks to go.
“Tan-ner.” Her voice broke over his name as a sob rolled through her. “Tanner, baby, wake up. Something’s wrong.”
Before she finished speaking, he’d thrown back the covers and turned on the light. The sight of bright red blood covering her nightgown and the sheets made her throat close. She reached a shaking hand down to touch the pool of red surrounding her—warm, sticky, and far too real.
No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Her hands covered her swollen abdomen and cradled it protectively.
Tanner pulled her head against his shoulder with one hand while the other dialed 911. She barely registered his careful, measured tone. Something was wrong with her babies and there was nothing she could do. Nothing Tanner could do.
She hiccuped and her body shook violently in his arms. Her teeth even chattered, the loud echoing in her ears, but she was helpless to stop it. She couldn’t tell if he was still on the phone, but she couldn’t prevent the screams coming from her mouth. “Tanner! Fix it! You need to fix this!”
His grip tightened around her. “The ambulance is on its way, sweetheart. The babies are fine. Nothing is going to happen to them or to you.”
Part of Izzy wanted to believe every word he said. Tanner had always taken such good care of her. But another side wanted to scream in his face there was no way he could know that the babies were okay. No way he could possibly promise that nothing would happen. Bad stuff happened all the time and bad stuff was happening right now.
Instead she soaked the front of his white shirt with her tears, reminding herself how to breathe in between choking sobs.
After what felt like an eternity, the sound of an approaching siren had Tanner releasing her. He smoothed the hair away from her wet face and cupped her cheeks. “I’m going down to let them in, but I will be right back, Belle. Thirty seconds, tops. I will be right back, sweetheart.” He planted a kiss on her forehead and raced out of the room.
Breathe, she reminded herself once again, you need to breathe. Within minutes, hulking men in navy blue uniforms invaded their small bedroom. Her mind struggled to keep up with the questions. How long had this been going on? Was she dizzy? Was she still in pain? Where was her pain on a scale from 1–10? Was she allergic to any medication?
Her chest constricted further. Where was Tanner?
“Tanner?” Her voice sounded shaky to her own ears, ignoring the interrogation from the men towering over her. A bubble of hysteria began to rise in her throat. “Tanner?”
The bed dipped to her right. “Right here, sweetheart. I’m right here.”
She turned to look at him, grasping for his hand, and the tears that had momentarily dried began to fall again. “I-I-I…”
He held tightly to her hand, never letting go as the paramedics slid a board beneath her and lifted her onto the gurney. “I’m right here. I’m coming with you, sweetheart. I’m not leaving your side.”
Izzy’s mind stalled through the ride to the hospital. She could register little more than the feel of Tanner’s hand stroking her hair and the low murmur of his voice even though the words didn’t make any sense.
Finally, after an IV was placed in her hand, a fetal monitor attached around her stomach, and more annoying questions were asked, Tanner and Izzy were left alone in the small cubicle. The tightness in her chest began to ease with the first whooshing heartbeat she heard.
She slid to the far side of the bed as much as possible. “Baby, I need you to hold me.” She spoke in a whispered tone, illogically afraid the slightest disturbance in the atmosphere of the room would cause the modicum of peace she felt to disappear.
Before she could blink, he was lying next to her, one arm under her head, the other hand on top of her stomach. His touch seemed to set off a flurry of activity, and Izzy found herself being kicked from seemingly every angle.
A haunted smile tugged at her lips. “They love their daddy.”
He hooked a finger under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “They love their mommy, and they are going to be fine. And you are going to be fine. And in a couple of months when we are walking around like sleep-deprived zombies, we are going to forget that this ever happened.”
The cubicle door slid open and Dr. MacMillan walked in, an obviously disapproving look on his face when he saw Tanner and Izzy laying in the small hospital bed together. Izzy glared back, silently daring him to say something.
He cleared his throat, glancing over at the monitor beeping beside her. “Mrs. Carlisle, after reviewing your tests, it appears that you are in preterm labor. It isn’t uncommon in a multiple pregnancy, but you also have placenta previa, causing the bleeding. Your contractions aren’t responding as well to the medication we’ve given you as we’d like, and we feel it’s in your best interest to have a Caesarean section in the near future.”
Izzy’s throat closed and she felt the grip Tanner had on her shoulder tighten. She could only hear a faint buzzing sound in her ears. Every so often a word would make its way through the haze and register in her brain: “NICU,” “lung development,” “breathing problems.” Her heart slammed against her rib cage.
Then her fear began to give way to anger. Anger at her body for failing her and her children. Anger at the middle-aged doctor standing at the foot of the bed with a monotone voice and detached expression. Anger at the stupid machine affixed to her bicep for choosing that moment to take her blood pressure yet again.
Her teeth ground together and she sat upright in the bed. “I don’t care what you have to do, you save my babies.” She spat the words. “There is not a single person in this hospital I want you to focus on other than my children, do you understand me?”
Dr. MacMillan’s eyes widened, and he backed out of the room. “The nurse will be in to administer the first dose of betamethasone.” He spoke from the safety doorway before retreating.
When the door swooshed closed behind him, Izzy’s anger dissolved and she melted back into Tanner’s arms.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Tanner
Chestnut eyes sparkled up at Tanner. “I win.”
In spite of the throngs of people moving around them and Ava and Noah standing between them, every muscle in his body tightened at the seductive tone. He loved when she negotiated deals with him, even more when she got her way because damn she was cute when she gloated.
She put a hand on his shoulder and raised herself up on her toes. The whisper of her breath against his ear sent shivers down his spine. “I get to choose. When, where, and how.”
Well, hell.
He could do little more than trail behind as Belle led the kids away to the funnel cake stand, trying to reign in his body’s reaction to the greedy little vixen swinging her hips in front of him.
Tanner hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed her playful nature until it showed back up in his life. He knew with certainty it had been much more than a few minutes in the arms of another woman that caused it all to disappear. Long hours at work, more business trips than were actually necessary, and completely screwed-up priorities were all to blame.
But now that he saw it all with such devastating clarity, there was no way in hell he’d ever take this, take them, for granted again.
He moved close behind Belle where she stood placing the order, pressing against her back and sliding money across the counter. He bent down so only she would hear his words and feel his desire. “I do love your ideas, sweetheart.”
Tanner heard the sharp intake of breath and a grin spread across his face. Who knew flirting with his wife could be so much fun?
Just then, a hand fell on his shoulder, and he spun around to meet a pair of blue eyes identical to his. “Wyatt? What the hell are you doing here?”
His brother managed to lean his head back and offer a deep chuckle without dislodging the tan cowboy hat perched on his head. The perfect finishing touch to Wyatt’s uniform of a button down western shirt, slightly tighter than necessary Levi’s and scuffed boots.
“It’s nearly the Fourth of July, brother. You know I’d never miss competing in my hometown.”
Tanner’s jaw immediately clenched when he heard an excited squeak behind him. “Wyatt!” Belle wrapped her arms around his brother’s neck, stirring his jealousy. “Oh, it is so good to see you.”
Wyatt grinned and pulled back slightly. “I missed you too, Iz.”
As irrational as it felt, the words stung. Had he said that to Belle when he’d come home from business trips? Had he ever told her how empty his arms would feel when he laid in a hotel room without her by his side? His stomach turned. It felt like the more he tried to fix things, the more his shortcomings came into focus, and dammit all to hell, he hated failing.
He cleared his throat and pulled Belle from his brother’s arms, fitting her back against his chest and holding her tightly around the waist. “Get your own girl, asshole.” He intended the words playfully, but he couldn’t help the slight bite that accompanied them.
Wyatt held his hands up, palms forward, and took a step back. He threw Ava and Noah a wink and grin, the adoring gazes they graced their uncle with only furthering Tanner’s irritation. “I’ll catch you two cowpokes tomorrow at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.” He exaggerated his drawl to a degree that made Tanner roll his eyes before touching the brim of his hat and tipping it at Belle. “Evenin’, Izzy.”
The light tinkle of laughter from Belle at his brother’s overt flirting caused Tanner’s nostrils to flare. It was nothing new; Wyatt had been doing the same thing since the first time he’d brought Belle home to meet his family, but this time was different. Their relationship was still too fragile, too recently rebuilt. And it pissed him the hell off to see any other man lay eyes on his Belle, much less his selfish, conceited brother—
A soft hand on the back of his neck pulled him from his thoughts, and he looked down to see Belle had turned in his arms and was facing him. “You’re really sexy when you’re jealous, but…Wyatt? Really?” Her eyes darted down to the kids standing beside them before pinning him with a lusty stare and quirking a brow. “I think they’re ready to go home and go to bed, don’t you?”
He had no clue about Ava and Noah, but he knew for damn sure he was ready to find out what was going thro
ugh her mind and what plans lay hidden behind her smile. Her hand slid down his arm and her fingers laced through his.
His mind couldn’t stop contemplating all the options during the drive home and as she climbed the stairs to tuck in two exhausted children. She had always loved showering with him. And more than once they’d been unable to make it beyond the couch when watching a movie. What could his sweet little Belle have up her sleeves tonight?
Tanner decided to brew a cup of Belle’s favorite chocolate mint tea while he waited. She’d love that. She loved all the little things he’d been forgetting to do so much more than any grand gesture.
“Hey there, handsome.”
Three words. Twelve years together, eight of them married, two kids and yet all it took was three words falling from her lips to make Tanner forget his own name. “H-hey yourself.” Did he just stutter?
He leaned his back against the counter and braced his hands on either side. He was calm and nonchalant. He certainly wasn’t dying of anticipation.
Belle glided across the room until she stood in front of him with a small smile. Her hands wound around his waist and under his shirt. “I don’t think you’re gonna need this.” She grasped the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head.
Tanner’s eyebrows shot up. “Here? Now?”
She planted a soft kiss in the middle of his chest and nodded. “Here. Now.”
Before his mind could catch up, her hands dropped to his waistband and began unbuttoning his shorts. The hissing of the zipper pulled the air from his lungs. When she fell to her knees in front of him, he was fairly certain his heart stopped beating.
His grip tightened on the edge of the counter. “Belle, I…you…dammit all to hell. Sweetheart, you don’t have to do this.”
She licked her lips and looked up at him. “But I want to, Tanner. So much. I miss the taste of you.”
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