Blindsided (12 page)

“I don’t,” he whispered, his voice husky with emotion which shouldn’t have been there, yet there it was. He kissed each cheek and squeezed her hands. “Go out to dinner with me tonight on our first real date. Please?”

Her face, so sad a moment ago, lit up. “I’d love to.”

He smiled back. Making her happy made him happier than he’d been in a long time.

Emma worked for Izzy’s party crashing business a few days a week and also worked the lunch shift at a nearby café. She’d barely made it to work on time after her meltdown and Tanner’s subsequent appearance. He’d asked her why she didn’t quit the waitress job, and she said she’d consider it.

Tanner had money, but it wasn’t hers and never would be hers. She believed him when he said he’d make marriage to him worth her while. Only she didn’t want his money. She wanted his heart. If she couldn’t have that, she’d take him up on a start at a singing career, regardless of how angry it might make her sisters. This was her life, darn it. Not theirs.

Emma left the cafe around four o’clock and spent the rest of the afternoon fretting over what to wear on her first official date with Tanner. She laughed at the ludicrous position she’d found herself in, never on a date but engaged to be married. Seriously? She must have fallen into an alternate reality or something.

After trying on almost every dress she owned, she decided on a soft pink sundress with a flirty skirt and simple white sandals. She left her hair down in loose curls and put on her usual conservative makeup. She was ready over an hour early. So typical of her.

Unable to stand being cooped up in her small apartment, she went downstairs and ran into Avery, just finishing up with a horse. Avery glanced at her, looking away quickly, but Emma caught the hurt in her sister’s eyes.

“Go ahead, hit me with your best shot. Bella already took aim first thing this morning.”

“She must have been thrilled to have another sister follow her into debauchery,” Avery said, still not meeting her gaze.

“Actually, she wasn’t.” Emma stared at her pink toenails for moment. “Ave, I’m sorry.”

“You should’ve told me.” Avery busied herself, taking the saddle off the gelding and rubbing his back with a towel.

“I—I wanted to.”

“You’ve had a crush on him forever. That’s been no secret in our family. But this?”

“I know.” Emma pushed her guilt to the side, too weary after her confrontation with Bella to deal with another heavy dose of sister love in the form of attempting to control her.

“When’s the last time he’s been with Bella? Don’t you find that way too weird?”

“I don’t know,” she lied, hating herself for lying to her twin.

“Tanner said you’ve been seeing each other for a long time. Define long time.”

Emma wouldn’t lie to her twin, not anymore. She heaved a huge sigh. “Less than a month, and we haven’t really been seeing each other. We met at karaoke a few times on Wednesday nights.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it. You know how Tanner loves to spin tales.”

“That’s a good amount of spinning.” Avery blew out a breath and leaned against the large horse, while scratching his neck.

“Sure is.”

Avery laughed then sobered quickly. “What about the singing? How long?”

“Several months.”

“Everyone knows you’re the most talented among us, and that’s saying a lot. Why keep your singing a secret?”

“Because we had a pact never to get into music.”

“Izzy had a pact; we just went along with it. You have awesome talent. Why not use it?”

“You honestly think that?”

“Yes, I do—it’s just karaoke, after all—but right now I’m more concerned about this ridiculous marriage. This is nuts. You don’t even know the guy. He’s using you to make himself look good to Steelheads’ management.”

“Maybe I’m using him, too. Do you know what a boost marriage to him could give my singing career?”

“You want a singing career?” Avery frowned and stood up straight.

“I don’t know. I have no idea what I want. I’m going to finish my senior year, get my degree, and worry about it later.”

“You’ve always wanted to teach, Emms.”

“I still do. I love little kids, but I love to sing, too.”

“You never mentioned wanting to be a singer.” Avery slumped down onto a nearby bench and scrubbed her face with her hands, a gesture she must have picked up from Isaac.

“I wasn’t sure. I still don’t know.” Emma met her sister’s gaze and dropped next to her on the bench. “I’ve always wanted to know if I had what it took. If I could do it. Make it.”

Avery shook her head. “I’m all about following dreams, but I don’t think this is a dream you truly want, Emms. Look at our parents and what fame did to them and the bigger mess they made trying to get back on the charts again.”

“I know, but this would be different.”

“No, it would not.” Avery shot to her feet, hands on her hips, and glared at Emma. “You don’t belong in that world of free love, drugs, and parties every night. I don’t want to see you changed into a person like our mother.”

So that was what this was all about. Her sister’s issues had everything to do with her wanting to make it as an artist in a dog-eat-dog entertainment world, and not so much to do with Tanner.

“Trust me, Ave, I have a better head on my shoulders than Mom.”

Avery didn’t dispute that. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I didn’t either when I saw you falling for Isaac, but I got to know him, and I supported you. Support me, Ave. Please, of all the sisters, I need you in my corner.”

Avery chewed on her lower lip and stared straight ahead. “With Tanner, too?”

“Yeah, unless that’s asking too much.”

Avery laughed. “Oh, probably, but who am I to judge? You love him, don’t you?”

“I’ve always loved him, ever since I first saw him playing for the U-Dub, I knew he was for me.”

Avery started to roll her eyes, but Emma shot her a glare.

“I want to make this work, and I think I can. I want the chance.”

“I understand your motives. It’s Tanner’s motives that are questionable.”

“Time will tell.”

“Yeah, and I’ll be here to pick up the pieces of your broken heart.” Avery hugged her, and Emma hugged her back.

She hoped there’d be no pieces to pick up.

* * * *

Tanner walked out of the Bridge, shaking his head in amazement. Carson Reynolds had just offered the use of his family’s Madrona Island estate for the upcoming wedding. The estate and old mansion had been built by Reynolds’ ancestors a century ago. The family sold it in the fifties, after which it became a resort. A few years ago, they picked it up in a fire sale after the previous owners went bankrupt. Carson’s brother Jake had taken on the painstaking task of restoring the mansion to its former glory, one small bit at a time. Now Emma and Tanner would be a small part of the grand old estate’s history. He liked that idea.

Tanner’s purposeful strides carried him from the building. He couldn’t wait to tell Emma. She’d be so excited. He recalled Izzy had once told him Emma was the romantic of the family, and he couldn’t think of a more romantic place to get married than on the front lawn of an old waterfront mansion with the islands laid out before them.

He imagined the radiant smile on her face when he picked her up tonight for their first real date, something he’d been looking forward to all day.

The wedding location wasn’t his only surprise. A realtor friend had found a house for them, just down the road from Isaac and Avery’s place. While he wasn’t thrilled being close to his brother, Emma would like it, and he liked pleasing her, which was a new thing for him.

Tanner paused as he noticed a figure lingering next to his truck in the players’ lot. He narrowed his eyes as he recognized the profile of the man lounging against his vehicle.

Shit
. Just what he needed. He glanced at his watch. Plenty of time for a confrontation and still pick Emma up on time. He steeled himself against what was to come next.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Tanner growled, taking the offensive, and stopping a few feet from his truck.

“Waiting for you,” Isaac answered casually, as if they met like this all the time.

“No shit?” Tanner propped his hands on his hips and squared off against his brother, wondering who would actually win a fist fight now that they were grown men, not teenagers pitted against each other by a cruel father for the entertainment of him and his drunken buddies.

“What the fuck took you so long in there?” Isaac leaned against the driver’s side door, arms crossed over his chest, blocking Tanner’s escape route.

“I work out. I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept.”

“Very.” Isaac almost smiled, a rarity for the brother Tanner knew. He noted other changes, too. Ice’s normally artic blue eyes held a hint of warmth. His hard jaw was more relaxed, not so uncompromising, as was his normally tense stance. All in all, Avery had been good for him. Tanner momentarily wondered if Emma would be just as good for him.

Shaking off his brief introspection, Tanner reminded himself this was the man who played a huge part in destroying the one person in Tanner’s life who’d truly meant anything. Tanner would never forgive, no matter how much Isaac had changed.

“Let me guess, you’re here to warn me off Emma and tell me you’ll kick my ass if I so much as hurt one hair on her pretty little head.”

One corner of Isaac’s mouth twitched. “Not exactly.”

“You don’t believe I really love her.” Tanner second-guessed his brother one more time, jumping on the offensive.

“Oh, actually, I believe you do.” Ice’s shrewd smile came slow and easy, reminding Tanner just a little bit of their father.

“What?” Tanner frowned, not expecting that answer. The dickwad was jerking Tanner’s chain, trying to get a reaction out of him, and he had. Totally. Tanner fumbled for a clever comeback and had nothing.

“I knew it.” Isaac chortled with laughter.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Tanner hated being left out, and right now he didn’t get what the hell his brother was talking about.

“You dumb ass, you love her, and you don’t even know it yet.” Isaac continued to grin.

Tanner couldn’t come up with an answer without blowing his cover so he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t love Emma. Yeah, he was fond of her, but hell, love? Not that he’d recognize love if it bit him in his ass or hit him over the head with a two-by-four.

“Emma’s a lot stronger than she looks, and she’s got her act together. You, Tanner, do not. You see, little bro, it’s you I’m worried about.”

“Me?” Tanner choked out the words, while pointing at his chest. He backed up a few steps into the shadows so Isaac couldn’t see the effect of his words. His brother was toying with him, lulling him into believing he might actually be on his side. Tanner knew better.

“Yeah, you. Don’t bullshit me. You’re desperately trying to save your career, and Emma is part of your new image, only the joke’s on you.” Isaac’s smug grin deserved a fist to the mouth, but Tanner held back.

“How’s that?”

“Because I’ve seen you with her. As far as acting, you might be good, but you aren’t that good.”

“What the fuck are you trying to say?”

“That she could hurt you more than you could ever hurt her. You see, we’re both tough guys on the outside, but on the inside with the right woman, we’re as vulnerable as a newborn baby because when it comes to love, that’s exactly what we are, newly born, and struggling to understand our new world.”

“I’m nothing like you,” Tanner ground out the words between gritted teeth.

“You’re everything like me. Remember, bud, we share the same damaged childhood, the same dysfunctional genes.”

“Don’t call me that.” Isaac had used an old nickname for Tanner that went way back to when they were little boys, and their mom was still alive to be a partial buffer against their father’s cruelty. Back when Isaac had actually felt like a brother, so long ago Tanner had almost forgotten.

Isaac nodded, as if he understood the turmoil he’d just unleashed. “Emma is the best thing to ever happen to you, and you can’t see that yet, but you’ll need to trust her enough not to push her away.”

“Is there a point to this conversation?” Tanner used irritation to mask how off-balance his brother made him.

“I’m just concerned that you’re getting in over your head.”

“Me?” Tanner snorted. “I think I can handle one sweet, naive woman just fine, but your concern is touching.” Tanner made a dramatic show of clutching at his chest.

Isaac’s deadpan expression didn’t change. He wasn’t falling for Tanner’s act, and he never had.

“Now move your ass so I can get in my truck.”

Isaac moved and Tanner reached for the driver’s door handle. His brother watched him for a moment, then turned and walked away. Tanner’s chest twisted inside, leaving him oddly sad Isaac was leaving with things unsettled between them.

But Isaac paused. “Tanner? One more thing.”

Tanner almost smiled. He should’ve known Isaac wouldn’t give up that easily. “Yeah?”

“If you hurt her, I will kick your sorry ass from here to Mount Rainier.”

“That’s more like it,” Tanner quipped. He got in his truck and drove away, even as part of him longed to ask Isaac to join him for a beer, or whatever it was Isaac drank now.

He really was getting soft.

* * * *

Tanner walked Emma to his truck, pausing to open the passenger door and help her into the seat. His truck sat up pretty high, and the sundress rode up her legs to mid-thigh. Noticing his wolfish grin, she pulled the skirt down and shot him a glare. He grinned all the more. Even though her sundress didn’t show a lot of skin, it appeared to show enough to put a glint in Tanner’s green eyes.

Tanner wore a pair of black slacks and a green button-down shirt open at the neck. He’d tamed his blond hair somewhat, and she itched to run her fingers through those thick strands and mess it up.

Before he shut the passenger door, he leaned in to give her a gentle kiss. Emma touched a finger to her lips, feeling him there. Tanner hopped into the driver’s seat and tore down the driveway and careened onto the main road. Emma forgot about admiring the man next to her as she gripped the dashboard and prayed she’d live to see dinner. Noticing, Tanner winced and slowed to a tamer pace.