What Might Have Been (9 page)

“Marry you?” He shook his head. “Go to hell.” With his piece said, he turned on his heel and headed away from Faith, but she grabbed his arm with her claw-like fingers.

“Why?” Tears splashed over her cheeks. “Why are you being mean to me? You love me. Listen to Staff. He said I have connections. Use them. Please!”

“You’re only showing me attention because Macy’s here. You want the spotlight just like that dickhead, Will. If you can’t have it, you’ll steamroll whoever gets in the way.” He gulped air in order to calm down. “Well, I’ve had enough, so leave me the fuck alone.”
I need to find Macy.

“She won’t marry you.” Faith’s eyes narrowed to slits. Her lips formed a tight, narrow line.

Tanner closed his eyes, biting back a response. No more wasting time with Faith when his relationship with Macy hung in the balance.

“Who says I won’t marry him?”

Tanner opened his eyes. “Macy?”

When he turned, Macy stood next to him with her delicate hands folded and a broad smile dancing on her lips. A flush infused her cheeks.

“I’d like a dance, Tanner.” Her bright-eyed gaze vacillated between him and Faith. “Are you interested?”

“I happen to be available.”

“Oh, God.” Stafford stood and pointed to the dance floor. “Get the hell out of here, Shibley. You’re not welcome here.”

“I really don’t care what you think.” Macy laughed and clasped both hands over her mouth. When her giggles had subsided, she shook her head. “I always knew you were an ass. Now I have further confirmation. Thanks.”

Stafford’s brows crinkled as his mouth fell open.

“There will be no second chances with me.” Faith squeezed between Tanner and Macy and tapped her sandal-clad foot. “I won’t take you back when she dumps you like hot lead!”

“I’ll manage,” Tanner replied and gave Macy a wink as he twined their fingers and led her to the fringe of the dance floor. A tendril of Macy’s caramel-coloured hair swept forward across her eyes, obscuring his view of her face. Although a slow, romantic song blared over the speakers, Tanner stood transfixed. He’d never seen a woman look so adorable, yet so sexy. The black, halter-neck dress clung to her curves, accentuating the gentle swell of her hips and the V of her cleavage.

“What are you staring at?” She leaned in close enough for him to catch a hint of her perfume. “I don’t bite—unless you want me to.”

Visions of their lovemaking sessions flicked through Tanner’s mind. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against his body. Heat flooded his veins, engorging his cock. He gritted his teeth to stave off his need to take her, to make her his. God, how horny could one man be with the love of his life in his arms? When she sighed and rubbed against him in time to the music, he nearly came unglued. “Macy, this isn’t fair to your date.”
Or me.

“We’ve got things under control,” she murmured. “Berto and Remi have him occupied.”

Yes, Tanner wanted to continue the dance, to hold her all night long. But if she had another man there in the wings, Tanner Connolly wasn’t going to play the patsy. Without another word, he wrapped an arm firmly around her shoulders and hustled her to the stairwell at the back of the gymnasium.

“What’s the matter?” Macy pulled out from under his arm and stared at him in shock.

“We need to get a few things sorted out.” He strode down three steps to regain his bearings. “What did Will do to you? I need to know the details.”

When he stole a glance at her, Macy slowly sat on the top step. “He liked verbal abuse. I started writing to occupy my time. I wasn’t making any money with my paintings, but the short stories I sold to magazines brought in a little cash here and there. Truth is, I liked writing more than art.” She shrugged. Sadness dulled the sparkle in her eyes.

“Will didn’t want to help me research the love scenes. He thought I spent more time with the—” She hooked her fingers in the air. “—little people in my head than I did with him. When I got the contract for
Wicked Moves
, he demanded half the advance or he said he’d beat the shit out of me. I’d already been through the wringer with him and wasn’t about to put up with it a second longer, so I walked out that night and never looked back.”

Tanner grasped the railing and leaned against the wall while he processed her information. Fury built in the back of his mind and coiled down around his stomach. No one put a hand on a woman, and no man threatened to beat the shit out of Macy. He clenched his fists tight. No wonder she thought she wasn’t good enough. The dumb fuck had never really loved her.

“Why didn’t you tell me, damn it? He had no right.”

“Cowardice, plain and simple. I should’ve said something, but I didn’t. I threw myself into writing and gave credence to the stories built up in my mind. After three years, Will must’ve realised I had money because he came back insisting he cared. That he’d never yell at me or demand money again. I said no.” Macy stared at her hands. “Thank God the cops were at the Books-A-Plenty café that particular morning. Otherwise, I’d have landed in jail for decking Will.”

“You always did have guts.” She wanted love for the woman behind the books. Tanner nodded. He loved every inch of her, but what about Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome? Did he have a piece of her heart, too? “I saw you brought a date.”

“Gerard?”

“He looks more like Logan Malone to me.” Tanner leaned against the cinderblock wall and scrubbed a hand over his face. Control. He needed to keep his ragged nerves in check. “Does he make you happy?”

“Gerard is my cover model.”

“He wasn’t on the cover of
Kendall
.” Or any other book Tanner remembered buying, for that matter.

“Retract the claws. He graced the reissue cover of
Wicked Moves
.” Macy slid from her perch and stood one step above Tanner, putting herself at his eye level. She fiddled with his lapels, running the pads of her fingers over the silk. “He’s a nice guy, but he’s all Chris’, unless Berto and Remi get their way.”

“Chris?”

“Tetrick, formerly number forty-one for the Wildcats. I’m sure you’ve heard of him. He played pro football for four or five years before he separated his shoulder.” She gazed up at him, just as she had when they’d made love. “And they left together twenty minutes ago. I love my friends, but I’ll put serious money down Remi and Berto didn’t let Gerard and Chris leave without at least a moment of idol worship.”

Tanner wobbled a little on his feet. Relief swept through him. A chuckle bubbled in his throat. He’d been jealous of a man who posed no threat. Alongside the relief, renewed desire filled his veins. He needed her…now. “Sweetheart, please stay here. Stay with me.” He threaded his fingers into her hair, loosening the curls to flow about her bare shoulders. “I pushed you away in the past, and I let you shove me to the kerb this morning. I’m not giving up this time.”

“I love you, Tanner.”

“I’ve waited too long—” He froze mid-sentence. Did she just say… “Mace?”

“I don’t have any roots and I want to start them with you.”

“I’m not moving too fast for you?”

“Fifteen years is a long time to some people.”

“I love you, Mace.” Tanner rained kisses over her cheeks, chin and lips. When she opened to him, his heart soared. Her sweetness blotted out the rest of the world. He needed to find a private spot to prove his love, over and over again.

When they parted, Macy panted. A gentle flush blossomed on her cheeks. “Good thing, because I love you.”

“Why don’t we forget about the Class of ‘97 and what might have been and test out the bed of your truck with what we’ve got now?”

“I rode here in a limo.”

“Then we’ll make good use of the blanket in the trunk of my Beemer.”

“Works for me.”

“What about the blonde who barged into your hotel room this morning?”

“Kealie? She’s my best friend, but I guarantee she’s busy with her mini-harem, so she won’t be worried.” She giggled and closed her eyes. Her smile faded a bit as she sobered. “You said no secrets. What about your date?”

“I showed up stag.” He roved his hands down her shoulders and along her back, only to stop on her ass. “I had this idea that a certain woman would show up and steal my heart.” He rubbed his cock against her pussy through the layers of fabric. “I have a pond and fifty acres on Old Butler North. Will you share it with me?”

“I might have backed down before, but no more. Take me home, Tanner, and make love to me under the stars.”

“Sounds perfect.”