“I wanted to talk to Babs before I did that. Ask her why she did it. Get her side of things first before I go pointing fingers.” She tilted her head up. He was looking right at her. “Only, I don’t know if I can face her yet without yelling or crying.”
She would also rather leave the state than start a confrontation with someone who sounded like Mrs. Claus. But she would have to, and soon. Abby had to know why Babs had set her up to fail. She had to set things right for Tanner.
“How did it go with Ferris?” she asked. “Did you smooth things over?”
Tanner didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. The frustration and disappointment was right there in his eyes. “Tanner. I am so sorry. How bad is it?”
“He’s going with the Santa Barbara property.”
“What?” She sat up. “Oh my God.”
She didn’t know what she expected him to say. Maybe that Ferris needed more time or he was going to micromanage the project, but not that Tanner had lost out. Totally and completely. And all because of her.
“Is there a way to change his mind? I mean, if it would help, I could call him, explain I messed up but now we have the information we need.”
Tanner shook his head. “He signed on the other property this morning. It’s a done deal. We’re out of the running.”
She cupped his face. “Sorry doesn’t even begin to convey how badly I feel. But I am so sorry, Jack.” He turned his head and kissed the inside of her wrist. “How did Colin take it?”
His whole frame fell a little. “Not good. He lost it, and like Colin does, got all dramatic. It didn’t end with beer and watching ball. Not that I blame him. He worked his ass off for this project for over a year. It should have been a slam dunk.”
Tanner froze as though surprised at what he’d said.
“Jesus.” He choked out a bitter laugh, pressing his hand to his forehead. “Did you hear that? It should have been a slam dunk because Colin worked his ass off.”
“You’ve worked hard on that property too.”
One of his gorgeous but troubled blue eyes speared her through the slits of his fingers. “Unless you call dropping a wad of cash on the table and signing on the dotted line work, then nope, this whole project was Colin.”
“A project that would have never happened if you didn’t buy the land.” When he didn’t move, except to snort, she removed his hand, placed a kiss in the middle of it, then wrapped it around her. “All right, then what work would you have done?”
“Abby,” he said on a tired breath.
“Humor me.”
Tanner gave her a long-winded sigh but played along, making it clear it was solely for her benefit. “For starters, I could have at least shown up to more of the meetings with Ferris. Shown him how dedicated I was to the project. Taken a bigger interest in what he had planned for . . . what? Why are you giving me that look?”
“Because I don’t care what Ferris wants,” she explained. “I meant, what would you have done with the land? If there was no Ferris, what would you have done?”
He blinked as though no one had ever asked him that question. Actually, he looked so lost she wondered if he’d ever asked himself. And suddenly, Abby was starting to understand part of Tanner’s problem.
“You said you’d put your house on the eighteenth hole, which I think is a perfect idea.” She leaned up and snagged a little kiss when he smiled at her compliment. “So where would you put the eighteenth hole?”
“At the highest point on the bluff. I talked to one of my golf buddies about it a few years back.” When he mentioned the golf buddy in question, it was a three-time Master’s champion. “He said it would add a level of difficulty to the course that locals would have to go all the way to Pebble Beach to match. Plus, a little flag in the hole would flow with the land a hell of a lot better than some big Tuscan-style clubhouse.”
She blinked up at him. “I thought you liked Tuscan style. Isn’t that why you chose it for your house?”
“No,” he said as though she’d asked him to hand over his man card. “When people move to the Napa Valley, they want Tuscan, so I chose Tuscan.”
Abby tried really hard to hide her smile, but it was impossible since his answer made her beyond happy. “Tuscan bad, got it. Then what style would you choose? I mean if you were building a house for yourself and not taking into account resale value.”
“I don’t know. Craftsman, maybe.” His fingers played absently with her hair, slid through the strands and down her spine, only to start over when they reached the small of her back. “I like indoor-outdoor living that works with the land, blends. Which is why I always thought it was crazy that Ferris wanted to drop three hundred homes on that land. That land is the highlight, not some cookie-cutter McMansion.”
“I agree,” she said, loving how excited he was getting. Tanner had thought a lot about this property. He knew exactly what he wanted it to look like, feel like. “When I saw the land, I pictured more of a Pebble Beach feel, with fewer homes on larger plots, meshing with the course and environment.”
He looked down at her, and the smile he gave warmed her entire body.
“Have you ever considered Tanner Construction heading up the entire project?” she ventured cautiously. “No Ferris, no outside boss, just you and Colin developing the course the way you imagined.”
He chuckled as though he thought she was cute. “I have money, darling, but not that kind of money.”
“Then take out a loan, darling,” she said, and his smile faded. “If you cut down the homes to fifty high-end ones, you’re talking what, two hundred million, give or take?”
“Give or take,” he said, but he was sitting straighter, no longer amused by her cuteness.
“Go out and talk to a few private equity people. I guarantee they will want in. Plus, with the kind of people you know, all it would take is a few of your football buddies or that golf friend you just mentioned to buy a parcel for you to build out, and before you know it you will have sold the houses even before they’re built.”
“Do you have any idea how many moving parts there are to this kind of project?” he asked, but she could tell he was thinking about it. He was thinking hard and he was getting excited. Not to mention a little scared, which made her want to hug him. “I have no idea how to even go about running a project like this.”
She had no doubt it would be hard, but she also had no doubt Tanner could pull it off.
“Then do your research and find the best people for the jobs you aren’t sure about. Ferris doesn’t run the entire project. He hires people to do what he can’t.”
Tanner sat back and looked her dead in the eye. “You really think I can do this?”
“I have no doubt. As far as I’m concerned, there isn’t much you can’t do,” she whispered, running her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. “I look around this shop and take in everything you’ve done, all the hard work, and God, Jack, just look at the beautiful brick walls and the counters. I don’t know what to say . . . I am blown away and so in love with . . .” You. “It. I am so in love with it.”
Abby’s chest burned and her stomach clinched because she had almost ended that sentence with you. She wanted to end that sentence with you.
She looked into his eyes, saw a hint of vulnerability, as though her belief in him meant the world, and Abby felt everything inside of her shift. Reaching out toward him, desperate to be a part of him, to show him what an amazing and capable man he was, she knew she was in serious trouble. This wasn’t some silly attraction or hormones talking. Her heart was involved and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Tanner had obliterated her heart, world, soul—take your pick. He’d broken her so badly she’d married a man she didn’t love to stop the ache.
But the serious and vulnerable man who sat in front of her now was nowhere near the same cocky, se
e-where-it-falls guy he’d been back in school. Just like she wasn’t the same desperate and lost girl.
None of that meant, though, that he was ready to give her what her heart needed. So she took a mental step back, shifting gears to something she could handle. Funny, charming Tanner didn’t make her want to hand over her soul. Funny, charming Tanner they both knew how to deal with.
“I am so in love with it that I have been seriously considering promoting you from sidekick to bona fide superhero.”
“Superhero, huh?” He ran a hand over his jaw, erasing every ounce of vulnerability and replacing it with swagger. Panty-melting swagger. “I don’t know how I feel about wearing leggings. They make my butt look big.”
Speaking of butts, that was where his hand was firmly planted. The other was on her thigh, moving right up and under her dress.
“Just your butt, huh?” Abby asked.
He never answered her question. He was too busy kissing her silly, too busy moving his hand higher and higher until she felt a tug on the zipper of her dress, then it was smooth sailing—exposing the entirety of her back.
“You know what I love about these counters?” he asked, taking her mouth in another searing kiss. When they came up for air, her dress was like a Hula-Hoop around her waist, his jeans were pressed against her inner thighs, including all the space in between, and the cool steel of the countertop was under her butt. “How sturdy they are.”
Abby bounced, giving a little test of her own, and Tanner’s hand went right to her chest. His smile said her decision to go braless received a solid two thumbs up.
“I can’t wear a bra with this dress,” she explained with a smile. “The straps show.”
“Remind me to write to the designer personally and thank them from the bottom of my heart. Then order you one in every color they make.”
She gave the counters a mischievous little pat. “Now, about this sturdiness you claim. Am I going to get the full demonstration?”
“Darling, you’re going to get all the bells and whistles.”
“How about we start with a kiss?” she said, running her hands through his hair. She loved his hair. Thick and soft and a little too long to be considered a style.
“Thought you’d never ask.” His voice had a low rasp that ignited a hum of anticipation under her skin, because he wasn’t looking at her mouth. Nope, Tanner was looking at the barely-there red thong he’d exposed by yanking her dress up and over and buh-bye.
Abby watched breathlessly as he lowered his head to brush his mouth along the inside of her thigh, sliding ever so slowly up to the lower edge of her panties, where he gave a sexy tug with his teeth that had her shaking with want.
But he didn’t give in to her want. Tanner, the ultimate tease, made her wait, skipping right over the best part in the middle, to kiss down her other leg. And, because Tanner was never one to be rushed, he pulled up the barstool, settling in for the long haul on the return.
By his third pass Abby’s body was on fire, so desperate for friction that when he came back up, she shifted her hips slightly, trying to line up his mouth with where she craved him most. He chuckled, instead placing an openmouthed kiss right below her belly button.
Then one lower.
And another even lower.
“Lay back,” he ordered, scooting her forward until she was teetering on the edge of the counter and she could feel his breath against her core. His gaze met hers through his thick lashes and he smiled—with so much wicked promise her mouth went dry. “Or watch.”
He gently took her ankle and lifted it to kiss the little freckle on the top of her foot. “Your call.”
Another kiss. This time right below her knee. Then he placed her foot on the arm of the barstool, locking the heel of her shoe against the inner rim, and gave her a little squeeze, telling her to leave it there. As if she could even move when those intense blue eyes of his were locked on her like she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
“Although I must admit, I’ve had a reoccurring fantasy about doing just this.” He lifted her other foot, caressing and securing it the same way. “While you watch my every—move.”
And moves he had. Starting at her calves, he trailed his fingers all the way up, caressing and touching every inch of skin with purpose until settling on her inner thigh. Slowly pressing them farther, he forced her to rest back on her palms to keep her balance. Then he dropped an oh-so-thorough kiss right to the center of her silk.
Abby gasped, but she didn’t look away. And he let loose a smile that curled her toes.
“I take it my biggest fantasy is going to come true?” he said.
He didn’t wait for her to answer, instead gently tugging her panties aside, watching her watch him, and Abby felt her stomach tremble with anticipation, and if the fate of the world depended on her looking away, she decided they’d all die. Because without breaking eye contact, Tanner slid his soft tongue all the way up her center.
Abby fought the urge to arch her back, fought the urge to scream, not wanting to miss a single second of what was about to happen. And she was rewarded, because the next pass he used his teeth, and finally his entire mouth, taking his time to drive her right to the edge and keep her there.
Then, well, she wasn’t sure what happened, but she must have closed her eyes at some point because suddenly her panties were gone and she was flat on her back.
There was something incredibly erotic and empowering about being completely naked and laid out for his viewing pleasure. And he took a few moments to appreciate before he went back to her pleasure, keeping the pace slow, purposeful, taking her higher and higher without rushing her. But there was something genuine, reverent about the way he held her hip, the way his thumb slid back and forth over her stomach, offering her comfort and connection.
“Bells and whistles,” she moaned, starting to understand. Because every bell and whistle she owned was ringing and sighing all at once. Then he pressed his tongue flat against her bundle of nerves and slid a finger in and she felt it. It started deep in her belly, pushing up and out until she flew apart.
When Abby was finally able to open her eyes, she found herself smiling up at Tanner, who leaned over her, a forearm on either side of her head. His biceps were taut and flexed as he held himself above her, and a condom sat on the counter within her peripheral view.
The way he looked at her, gently brushing her cheek with his lips, as though she were precious. Abby had never expected to fall again—ever—but the warm ache that had taken up residence in her heart told her that she had. Completely.
Without asking what he had in mind next, she slid his shirt up and off, and she couldn’t help but give a little sigh of appreciation as she ran her hands down his chest to divest him of his belt.
He raised a brow and she matched the challenge with a flick of the fingers, unbuttoning his jeans. Then went the zipper. And right as her greedy fingers disappeared inside his briefs, he rose in one fluid motion with her in his arms and settled her on his lap. Only this time she was straddling him, the hard ridge of him pressing deliciously against her sensitive flesh. “Much more of that and we won’t be able to test out the barstool.”
“Oh?” She reached between them and gave a little stroke. He bucked into her hand.
“You want to test out the chair or not?” He leaned back, arms folded behind his head, content to let her keep going. “Because, darling, much more of that and it will be over before we even get to the touchdown dance.”
Her hand slowed. “There’s a dance?”
He cocked a single, sexy brow. “For what I have in mind? Oh yeah.”
“Then have you decided yet?” She rose up and pulled his boxers down, freeing him. “Which half you want first?”
Tanner opened his mouth to say something light and flirty—she saw it in his eyes. Only nothing came out. He tried again but his smile f
altered. He faltered. And all of the distance that was Jack Tanner disappeared, and with it that easygoing charm faded into something deeper—something real. Something that gave her hope.
“That’s always been the problem, Abby,” he finally whispered a good minute later. He was cradling her face in his hands and staring at her as though everything had changed for him. As though in that moment he finally allowed himself to feel the same intensity and connection she always had. “I can’t choose, and that scares the shit out of me. Because with you, I want the whole fucking package.”
“Then don’t choose.”
He whispered her name right as he took her mouth and never let go. Not as he rolled on the condom, not even as he lifted her up to gently slide home. And Abby’s heart caught because that was what it truly felt like this time, finally coming home.
“You drive me . . .” he said.
“Crazy,” she said between kisses. “I know.”
He pulled free from her mouth. “But this thing between us. It’s . . .”
“Crazy,” she repeated, but he just stared, searching her gaze . . . for what, she didn’t know. But she knew it was important, so she let him see everything he did to her, everything he meant to her.
“Abby,” he said, sounding a little lost and whole lot off balance.
She couldn’t help herself. She took his face in her hands, letting her fingers slide against the smooth warmth of his skin. “It’s okay Jack, I feel it too.”
She felt a lot of things. With him, she felt everything.
“Thank God.” His arms came around her, tight and unyielding, plastering her to him, and he was kissing her. Hard and all-consuming and she felt him let go. Actually felt the moment Jack Tanner went all-in.
It was crazy. And it was incredible—how could it not be? The man was a Kissing Hall of Famer. But it was also breathtaking and raw and so beautifully different.
From the Moment We Met Page 25