“Then why is she here?”
He whirled around. “Will you be my girlfriend?”
“What?”
“I’ll explain everything after she leaves, but right now we need to be dating.” His expression was frantic. “Please, Anita... be my girlfriend.”
Had she heard him right? All these years of wishing he wanted to date her, and now that she was over him—almost—he changed his mind?
“Tanner,” Heather yelled from the dining room. “I know you’re back there. I saw you through the window.”
Okay, that sounded weird. Like, stalker weird. Coupledwith Tanner’s panicked expression, she could see he needed help. “What do you want me to do?”
“Pretend you like me.”
Easiest request he’d ever made. “Done.”
He stared at her a second, then scrubbed his hand over his face. “Never mind. This isn’t fair to you.”
“Hey,” she said, moving close to him. “Friends help each other out, right?”
He nodded, still looking off kilter—and Tanner Castillo never looked off kilter.
“I’ll go talk to her,” she said.
“No.” He shook his head. “I won’t let you solve my problems for me.”
“Helloooo!” Heather’s shrill, annoyed voice pierced the air.
“We’ll talk to her together, then,” she said.
After a last pained look, he nodded and they left the kitchen. When Anita saw Heather looking at Tanner like he was a snack, she automatically slipped her hand into his. He gently squeezed her fingers and didn’t let go.
“Hey, Heather.” Tanner led Anita over to the far side of the counter. When they stood in front of the other woman, he dropped Anita’s hand and moved it to the other side of her waist.
She almost gasped at the pleasant shiver traveling down her spine. Even though they were pretending, she could enjoy the fringe benefits.
Heather’s gaze zipped to Tanner’s hand, then back to his face. She smiled and leaned forward, ignoring Anita. “I wanted to let you know my Jeep is A-okay. You were rightabout the oil. The mechanic changed it, and now she purrs like a kitten. I tried calling to tell you about it, but there must be something wrong with your phone.”
Did this woman own anything other than low-cut shirts? Anita’s face turned red as she averted her gaze from Heather’s revealing top. This was so embarrassing. The woman didn’t have to be so overtly sexual.
Tanner’s hand tightened on Anita’s waist. “Glad it’s fixed.”
Somehow he was managing to keep a straight face. She glanced at him. This close up she could see the tension at the corners of his mouth. He was struggling, and that made her want to help him more.
“When do you get off work?” Heather asked. “There’s a great little bar in Hot Springs I just discovered. Small. Intimate. We could get a drink and talk about old times.”
How dare this woman hit on Tanner right in front of her? “He’s working late tonight,” she snapped.
Heather turned to her, rolled her eyes, then focused on Tanner again. “Or we could skip the drinks, go back to my place, and... talk.”
Anita narrowed her eyes. “Why, you—”
“Heather,” Tanner said, his voice as calm as a waveless sea. “This is my girlfriend, Anita. The one I told you about, remember?”
Anita jerked her head toward him. He’d told Heather they were together?
“Riiiight.” Heather sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not an idiot, Tanner. You two act more like brother and sister than a couple.”
