What Might Have Been (4 page)

“Hello yourself.” She smoothed her hand down his thigh. “Here comes Stafford with a full load.”

Tanner draped his arm across the back of Macy’s chair. The faintest hint of a smile danced on her lips and she scooted a little closer to him.

“Well, don’t you two look sickeningly cute?” Stafford placed the short glass before Macy. “It’s been a long time since we’ve all been together. Brings back memories.” He elbowed Tanner and shoved a bottle of beer into his hand. “Hey, do you still sing?”

“Me?” She nearly choked on her drink. “Unless you count the steering wheel, no one has heard me sing in years. People cringe when I open my mouth unless it’s to say ‘My next book comes out in three days’ or ‘I’d love to speak to five hundred people in twenty minutes’.”

“You have a lovely voice.” Tanner punctuated his words with a gentle squeeze to her shoulder.

“It’s too low.” She leaned in a little closer to him and murmured, “But I’m glad you remembered.”

“It’s sexy, like a purr,” Tanner rasped. The scent of her perfume permeated his senses. What this woman did to him… One night might not be enough.

Stafford grabbed a chair from a nearby table and scooted close to Macy. “Yeah, we all thought you sang like a man, but you always were a tomboy.” He downed a long draw on his beer and smacked his lips. “If
I
remember, you two liked to sing in the choir together.” As he scratched the wilting label on his bottle, Stafford’s grin thinned and his eyes narrowed. “Do it again.”

“What? Here?” Her eyes widened.

“Sure.” Stafford wriggled his brows. “I double-dog dare you.”

Tanner shook his head, sure he’d heard Stafford wrong. “You’re not serious.”

“Oh come on. You don’t want to sing to your smoopy-woopy?”

As if to further emphasise Stafford’s dare, the announcer at the karaoke stand called Tanner’s name. “Macy and Tanner Connolly singing ‘
You and Me’
.”

Shock and fury puddled in Tanner’s stomach, mixing with the potent alcohol. “What did you do?” He bit out each word.

Stafford leant back in his seat and folded his arms. “I slipped your names into the line-up when I got our drinks.”

“You could’ve said something first.” The tips of his ears burned. Stafford wanted to hear her sing? This couldn’t be anything other than a damned joke.

“Never let it be said that Macy Shibley wussed out on a dare.” She stood and smoothed her skirt over her hips. Twining her fingers with Tanner’s, she tugged him out of his seat. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Four

Tanner grinned as he followed her to the makeshift stage. She didn’t know how much she turned him on with her sexy walk and pure confidence. A quick glance at the crowd backed up his opinion. Every man there watched her with rapt attention. He thought back to their high school days, when she had roamed the hallways with paintbrushes keeping her hair out of her eyes. Even then he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her.

Screw Stafford and his sophomoric joke. Hearing the announcer call her name combined with his added an extra spring to his step.
Macy and Tanner Connolly
sounded pretty damned nice. He yearned to feel her soft body pressed against his as he tasted and sampled every inch of her sweetness. Would she scream as she came? He needed to know—once they had finished singing the stupid-ass song.

He thought twice about the dare when the music started. Macy smiled and nodded to the audience. When the lyrics slid across the screen, she began to sing the female lead of the song. Her strong contralto soothed his soul and settled in his mind. She sounded like an angel. He stared at her, mesmerised by her confidence. Her hands shook as she sang, but she never caved.

“
You never know what you can do unless you try,
” she sang and turned to him. Tanner froze. Sweat slicked his palms and his heart hammered. He should know the next line. Should look at the damned screen and really romance her. Fuck.

Without missing a word, she slid her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. “
You can do this,”
she mouthed. Her brows rose a fraction of an inch as she nodded once. She believed he could do this, and if he did finish the song, he’d show Stafford he wasn’t a patsy. Tanner clasped her hand tighter and started his verse.

Macy swayed, caught up in the song. Her eyes closed and her smile softened just like it had when they’d sung together after school. With each word, the past came back to him. Cramming for the SAT, learning to ballroom dance, going to foreign films. She’d been his strength before and had helped him to become a better man. He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. She opened her eyes and sang the chorus in harmony with him. The confident, spirited Macy of old seemed to be cracking his shell all over again. She’d romanced him.

“Get a room,” Stafford shouted. He squished his lips in an exaggerated kiss.

For a moment, Tanner considered giving him the finger. Macy’s shoulder rose a fraction of an inch in a shrug. Forget the asshole. Tanner had Macy in his arms. The rest of the room melted into nothing as he blended his voice with hers and finished the song.

“I’m not me if I’m not with you.”

Tanner stared into her eyes and the last strains of the tune faded. Macy bounced on her toes, placing a kiss on his cheek. As soon as the announcer called the next singer, she made a beeline for her seat. Tanner strode to keep up with her. Her spunky streak hadn’t faded at all. She’d grown into her true self. She took life by the proverbial horns and damn, it was sexy. At the table, he caught her in an embrace.

 
“You sounded awesome.” She giggled in his arms and dropped her head to his shoulder. “All these people think we’re a couple.”

Her words were music to his ears. “So?” The scent of her shampoo, something flowery, twirled around his brain. “I’d like to couple up with you.”

“You two should just fuck and get it over with.” Stafford downed the rest of his beer and smacked his lips. “I’m so outta here.” He waved his arm in a combination of defeat and goodbye and shuffled into the hotel.

“He’s a jerk, through and through.” Macy placed both hands on his chest, searing him with her touch. “I want to get something straight, though. The reunion weekend is a time to go back and reminisce, yes?” She stepped away. “I might be casual, but I don’t do relationships.”

He tugged her forward and tightened his embrace, splaying his fingers across her back. “You think too much about things I haven’t said.” He saw past her bravado and the tough-as-nails façade to the sweet, sensual woman inside. She felt so small in his grasp, like he could snap her in half.

“And you don’t think enough.” She leant back in his arms, but didn’t totally pull away. “Look, I asked you here so we could have a good time. I’ve had my heart broken more times than I want to admit.” Her brows knotted together. “I’m not ready to settle down, but you’re the one man I never could resist. I wanted to see what would happen if we kissed again.”

“Then let me do this.”

Tanner lowered his lips to hers, giving in to his deep-seated desire to take her. To drown in her sweetness. He slid his tongue over her mouth and, when she opened to him, he drank deeply of her. Her whimpers, barely audible over the rumble of conversation, turned him inside out. He wanted to take things further, to touch her everywhere, but he remembered where they stood. Her room wasn’t close enough.

When she broke the connection, he missed her warmth.

“Tanner?”

“Yes, babe?” God, he could listen to his name on her tongue for the rest of his life. He rested his forehead against hers. Shit. The rest of his life? Was he out of his mind? This was a fling. A chance to find out if what might have been could be explosive, the sexual Super Bowl—not the start of a relationship.

“We need to go somewhere else.” She nodded over his shoulder. “We have an audience.”

He peeked in the direction she had indicated and suppressed a chuckle. A middle-aged woman with platinum curls winked. She pursed her crimson lips as she leant forward. Sure, she gave him a luscious view of her cleavage, but hers weren’t the breasts he wanted to savour.

“Why don’t you let me walk you to your door?”

“The foyer is fine, if you have to go.” Macy stepped away from him and waved her hand, as if to swat him away.

“A kiss like that and you want me to leave you in the foyer?” Tanner stopped short. Had he misread the connection? He crooked a brow, not content to give up and play dead. “Couldn’t we negotiate a bit more?” At least enough to melt her defences a little further. “I’m not the same heartless shit I was in high school.”

“You don’t give up.” As she spoke, she led him into the foyer, her fingers tangled with his. “Unless you get what you want, you won’t back down, will you?”

At the elevator, he caught her up in another embrace.

“I’m a guy. We’re hardwired to keep trying even when we know we’ll be shot down.” He traced his index finger over her kiss-swollen bottom lip, proud that he had created her reaction. “And I’m not ready to give up until you’ve called my name at least three or four times tonight. But hey, I’ll back off if you’d rather. I’m thick, but I’m not stupid.”

“Oh, fine.” The bell dinged and signalled the car’s arrival. Macy’s words came out flippant, but the glitter in her blue eyes told a different story. “You can take me upstairs, but don’t get any ideas that this will lead to anything other than a night of hot sex and scintillating memories.”

Tanner thanked God when the door shut before other riders could enter the elevator car. He wanted Macy to himself. “Which floor?”

“Fourth.” Her voice came out gravelly and low. She averted her gaze.

“Mace, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.” Tanner pressed the button and cocked his head to consider her. Maybe she had just needed the time to come into her own. Did she realise how amazing she looked? Were her hands trembling? “I’m all for starting a fire with you, but I don’t buy your BS about wanting to be alone. I’m willing to bet that tonight you’ll decide you really do want to settle down—with me.” He clamped his lips shut, afraid to say more.

“I don’t know why this is so hard—I want you, you want me. Seems pretty simple without the settling down part.” She spoke to the floor, but he heard every word. “I love a good fire, but I’m warning you, I’m just not a relationship type of girl.”

The car stopped at her floor before he could question her further. When her wide-eyed gaze met his, he melted for her a bit more. She toyed with the strap of her purse, picking at the beaded decoration.

Tanner measured his words carefully, sure she’d changed her mind. “I’ll walk you to your door and bid you goodnight.” He yearned to push, to make her see how much he cared but, at the same time, he wanted to give her an out.

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

“I want you to come in…me.” As she stepped from the car, she hooked her fingers into his belt loops and tugged him to her. “I asked you to come here and the night’s just beginning.”

Desire flooded his body. Forgetting where they stood, he scooped her into his arms and fused their lips. He swallowed her whimper and delighted when she dug her nails into his shoulder to draw him closer. “I’ve waited for this moment for so long,” she murmured. “No, I don’t want you to go.”

He took an extra moment to process her declaration. His blood raced through his veins and settled in his cock. “Good, because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Besides in you.

“Care to show me?” Macy slid from his arms and led him down the hallway. She
stopped in front of the last door. “Because you can still chicken out.” She slid her card into the slot to open the lock.

“I have no desire to run away—” Tanner stilled her hand “—but once we cross the threshold, I won’t be able to hold back. Are you sure you want me here?”

Macy stood on tiptoe and sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. The sensation crackled from his brain to his heart and exploded in his balls. Holy shit.

“I want everything.”

Chapter Five

Macy sucked in a ragged breath as she walked into her room. She strained to listen for any sign of Kealie or her entourage. She loved her best friend more than just about anyone, but she really didn’t want to walk in on someone else making use of her bed. Maybe giving Kealie the spare key hadn’t been such a great idea.

When Macy stopped, Tanner bumped into her and wrapped his strong arms around her middle. Then the thought occurred to her. Had she bothered to clean up the clothes strewn all over the floor? And why was she worrying about a little dirty laundry? Did guys care about such things?

Why did it matter if he wasn’t staying longer than the night? Her drink reversed course in her throat. Relationships were bad. Very bad. Guys got ideas and got possessive.
She squeezed her eyes shut. He wasn’t Will and this wasn’t fifteen years ago.
Tanner could break her heart in an instant, but she knew he’d never break her bones or leave bruises.

Somehow a broken heart seemed worse.

“What’s wrong, Mace?”

“Nothing.” Macy opened her eyes to forget the repercussions of her first serious boyfriend—the welts, the screaming, the time alone.
Focus on Tanner.
She turned in Tanner’s embrace and forced her brain to function at regular speed. “Make yourself comfortable.” As she gazed into his blue eyes, the tension waned into relief. Why did Tanner, in her room, seem so right? “It’s temporary, but it works.”

He cupped her cheeks in both work-roughened hands. “You have a lot of temporary homes, don’t you?”

“I spend a lot of time on the road. It’s easier than having strings.” She studied the dusting of hairs on his cheeks and chin. How could the man look so criminally sexy without any effort? She shifted her hips, wriggling in her cream-soaked panties. Just his gaze made her horny, but happy.

“Where does your heart lie?”

The truth teetered on the tip of her tongue.
With you.
She couldn’t admit the truth—not after only a few hours. “Somewhere.” That sounded nice and safe. Baring her heart meant baring her soul. They had a past, albeit a puppy-love-slash-friendship kind of connection, but it wasn’t something to build on. Besides, love at first sight only happened in her novels, never in real life.