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He made a scoffing noise. “That’s such a cop-out.”
“It’s not,” she told him, grabbing his hand to try and emphasize her point. “I’m trouble, Tanner. You don’t want to be near me. I’ll just . . . I’ll just bring all of my bad luck to you. There are things you don’t know . . .”
“Then tell me.” He leaned forward, placing his hands on the bench on either side of her.
“You don’t want to be involved in my life, Tanner. It’s a mess.” Tears dripped down her face. What would it be like to have someone to lean on? To help her? Of course, she had Opal and Ryleigh. But Ryleigh was fragile. She was always so eager to believe the best in everyone that Lilac felt like she had to protect her.
And Opal? She’d had such an awful life, even worse than what Lilac had experienced. She just wanted to make things better for her. To not burden her further.
Lilac wanted to take care of them . . . but that meant everything fell on her. And she wasn’t coping.
At all.
“Lilac. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I ghosted you. I left without a word. Then reappeared and I’ve caused so many issues since. Why would you care about my life and what I’ve been through? I was just a fling, remember?”
He closed his eyes. “I might have said that in the heat of the moment, all right? I didn’t actually mean it.”
He didn’t?
“I care about you, Lilac. And as much as I’ve tried, I haven’t been able to forget you. But I need to know what is going on with you. Why you left. Why you’ve shown up here now. With a baby.”
Had he wanted to hurt her? She couldn’t blame him for that. Or for wanting an explanation.
“I know you wanted me. You couldn’t fake that,” he said. “And I think you want me still.”
She sat there, frozen. She couldn’t deny it, but she also couldn’t move. Tanner wrapped his hand around the back of her neck. “Shall we test that?”
God, no.
Please, yes.
His lips brushed hers and she stayed still. She couldn’t participate. Shouldn’t encourage him. That would be wrong.
And yet, as his mouth continued to move against hers, she started to cave—so much for self-control. Her hands drifted up his arms as he grabbed her, pulling her onto his lap. Her legs went around him, his arms supporting her as he kissed her like he wanted to eat her. Like he couldn’t imagine not touching her.
A sound interrupted them.
Her phone.
It buzzed against her thigh, where she’d placed it into the pocket of her apron.
That was Opal’s ringtone.
“Ignore it,” Tanner ordered.
“I can’t.” And she shouldn’t be sitting here in the freaking staff area of the diner, letting him kiss her. Fumbling for her phone, she drew it out.
“Opal? What’s wrong?”
19
Tanner wanted to snatch the phone off her. But he held back, knowing that wouldn’t win him any favors.
She grew pale and climbed off his lap. Worry filled him. He stood, watching as she grabbed a handbag from a locker, pulling the strap over her.
“I’ll be right there! I’m coming now. I’ll run! Yep! Okay.”
