I rounded the building like she’d instructed when we’d texted earlier, finding the buzzer panel beside the only door at the back of the building. I pushed the button and a second later, Holly’s melodious voice carried through the speaker.
“Hello?”
“It’s Tanner.”
“Hi,” she chirped, the sound of her voice making me smile. “Come on up.”
At the buzz, I grabbed the knob and pulled the door open. There was a stairwell directly in front of me and against the wall to my right, and a short hall on the left that must have led into the bookstore from the back.
I had to make a conscious effort to go slow and not rush up the steps two at a time. Blowing a breath through pursed lips, I lifted my hand and knocked, and the instant the door opened, I nearly swallowed my tongue.
“Wow.” It was the only thing I could say, because I couldn’t think of a word to accurately describe how beautiful she truly was. “You look... just,wow.”
That flush returned to her cheeks, and the sight of it was enough my make my dick twitch behind my fly. But when she smiled at me, there was no stopping the damn thing from going fully hard. I had about as much control over the thing as I did back when I’d been a teenager scoping out my first nudie mag.
“Thank you,” she said in a low, genuine voice. “You look really nice too. I mean, more than nice. You look handsome.” She clamped her mouth shut, her nostrils flaring with a deep inhale. “You look very wow too.”
Christ, she was really something else, and it was taking everything I had to keep from kissing her right then and there.
Holiday
I couldn’t seemto stop making a fool of myself where this man was concerned, but just looking at him left me frazzled and nervous. He was just So. Damn. Sexy! And the megawatt smile he was wearing just then sent a shiver through my entire body.
Handsome didn’t even cover it. The man quite literally made my heart skip a beat. I thought I knew what tall was, growing up with brothers that towered over me, but even they had nothing on the six-and-a-half-foot goalie. And it wasn’t only his height that was impressive. He was just sobig. The power in a framelike his should have been intimidating, and honestly, maybe even a little scary. But something in his eyes put me at ease.
I might not have been the best judge of character, but I couldn’t imagine a man hiding a shitty side would have such warm, kind eyes.
Staring into Tanner’s smile, a lightbulb flicked on inside my brain for the first time, and I quickly realized Blane’s eyes never held that kind of reassurance, and maybe I’d been purposely ignoring signs that had been there from the very beginning. Maybe Sunny was right, and I’d only wanted to see the best in the men from my past instead of what was right in front of me.
The sharpness of his cheekbones, his prominent square jaw, and a masculine nose that had clearly been broken and reset—more than once, if I had to guess—should only have added to his formidable presence. I was willing to bet the men he faced on the ice pissed themselves, but the only vibes I felt from him were soothing.
“And who’s this little guy?” Tanner’s deep, rich voice broke through my rapid-fire thoughts, and when I blinked back into reality, he was crouched at my feet, one large finger scratching Yoda beneath his chin.
That was all it took to make my little man fall in love. Yoda was more like a dog than a cat, willing to give his loyalty and affection for life just for some pets.
I bent and scooped the cat into my arms, rising to my full height so Tanner didn’t have to remain crouched down. “Oh, this is Yoda. He’s my little man.”
The cat purred like the engine of a Harley as he received pets from both of us at the same time. “Wow, he’s really sweet for a cat.”
I lifted a beaming smile to Tanner. “I know. That’s why I got him. It’s the breed. They’re known for being really affectionate.”
To prove my point, Yoda let out his quiet little mewl, like he was trying to communicate, making Tanner laugh. “Okay, he’s really cute. And the name fits him perfectly.”
“Thanks. And I agree.” I gave Yoda one last squeeze before putting him back on his own feet so he could head back into my apartment.
I pulled the door shut behind me, taking a moment to lock it even though you couldn’t get into the building without the digital combination on the front and back exterior doors. “You think he’ll be okay by himself for a while?” Tanner asked, his brow tugged together with concern as he stared at the door I’d just shut.
“Oh, he’ll be fine. He’ll curl up on one of the pillows on my bed and be asleep in no time.”
He returned that deep amber gaze to me, making my insides melt a little. “If you say he’s good, I trust you. So... you ready?” he asked, extending his hand to me.
Butterflies took flight in my stomach, but I pushed the sensation away and placed my palm against his, letting him wrap his massive hand around mine. “I am.”
Sure, I still felt like I was out of my depth here, but seeing how he was with my cat worked wonders in untangling my frayed nerves a bit. I always believed a good indication of a person’s character was how they treated animals. Blane, for instance, couldn’t have been bothered to show Yoda an ounce of attention the few times he was around him. More often than not, he’d request I stay the night at his place instead of coming over to mine because he couldn’t stand my “cat’s constant need for attention”. I should have dumped his ass right then and there.
Walking down my steps and out of the building hand-in-hand with Tanner Fine was surreal. Not because he was a famous athlete, but because I couldn’t remember the last time I’d held hands with a man like this. Despite the casual way he’dgone about doing it, there was an intimacy in the act itself, and warmth bloomed inside my chest as he led me around the building toward the street.
“It gets quiet pretty early around here, huh?” he asked as we closed in on the expensive SUV parked in front of my bookstore.
