“What?”Was he having some sort of nervous breakdown or something?
Tanner pushed off from the wall and took a step closer.“Ballerina.Dogs.And, quite unfortunately, in my opinion, pop.”
She stared at him, brows furrowed.“I don’t understand.”It was like some sort of code that seemed familiar, but that she couldn’t decipher.
“Your age.Favorite color.Favorite flavor ice cream.The city in Europe you’d most like to visit.Your favorite book as a child.The worst job ever.Best movie.”
“I—”
He took another couple of steps until he was standing right in front of her.“What you wanted to be when you grew up.Which is better, dogs or cats.And favorite genre of music.Sadly.”
These were the things they’d talked about on the way home from the diner each night.
“Every day I can get the answer to one question out of you.Sometimes one and a half.”He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.“I walk you here because, yes, I want to make sure you’re safe.But also because each day I get to learn something about you I didn’t know the day before.And that is very definitely not a waste of my time.”
“Oh.”
His fingers trailed down her cheek.“I know all those little things don’t make up the whole of who you are.But I still want to know them.And hopefully you’re learning about me as well...although not all involving frogs and Linda Dugas.”
He bent down until his lips were hovering just over hers, his other hand coming up to cup her other cheek.“Walking you home is the highlight of my day.So don’t try to give my job to someone else.”
She was completely lost in those brown eyes.“Okay.”
And then he kissed her.
His lips were soft against hers.Light, feathery brushes, but definitely different than the brief kiss of camaraderie he’d given her when they’d been hiding out in the bathroom in Denver.
When he began to nibble her lips gently, her eyes slid closed with a sigh.Her hands came up and wrapped around his wrists at her face, and she leaned into him.
But all too soon, it was over and he was pulling back, giving her a moment to regain her bearings.
“Thank you for allowing me to walk you home, Bree Daniels.I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And without another word, he was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
Bree wasn’t even going to be able to blame the babies for her lack of sleep tomorrow.That dubious honor fell directly on Captain Tanner Dempsey’s wide shoulders.
And lips.
She’d stood staring at the door for a good five minutes after he’d left, just trying to process what had happened.
Now here it was, after two o’clock in the morning, and she still was trying to understand it all.And stop replaying the feel of his lips on hers.
She’d fed the babies when they’d woken up around midnight and normally would’ve been fast asleep, getting as much rest as she could before they woke up again between four thirty and five.
But she wasn’t.And whose fault was that?
Captain hot lips, that’s who.
Why did he remember all that stuff they’d talked about over the last couple of weeks as he walked her home?
And why did that make her feel all soft and gooey in the middle?
She rolled over on her double bed and punched the pillow next to her.When she heard something rattle against her nightstand, she thought it was from her anger management session.But then it happened again.
The phone Melissa had given her was vibrating.
