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“You think I need a shrink? That’s great.” He turned away from me and collected his tools.
“Tanner, stop.” I tugged on his arm until he turned to face me again. The pain behind his eyes matched the pain behind mine. Maybe, if I could help him move past the hurt and the anger, it would somehow help me move past mine too. “We all have issues. I could lie on a couch and fill a therapist’s entire pad with all the things that are wrong with me.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Trust me. I have rage inside me, just like you do. I’ve done things that I can’t take back. Things that are unforgiveable.” Admitting it aloud, I was hit with a realization: I was no better than him. Actually, I was worse. Much worse. He was impulsive and angry, but I was calculated and deliberate. His flaws were out in the open for all to see. I was the one with the skeletons locked in my closet. I was the one pretending to be someone I wasn’t.
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “What have you done that’s so bad?”
If only I could tell him. I wanted to tell him whatever he needed to hear just to make his aching stop.
“Let me guess. Did you wash your clothes without checking the tags first?”
I tried to hold it in, but a laugh escaped. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“I’ll bring it up every day if it makes you laugh like that.” He stepped toward me and reached out to caress my cheek with the back of his hand. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with you, Charlotte. I think you’re perfect, and if I wasn’t terrified that you would never speak to me again, I would kiss your perfect lips right here and now.”
His touch against my cheek sent a wildfire throughout my entire body. My heart slammed against my chest like a pent-up animal in a cage. I wanted to set it free. Just one kiss couldn’t hurt, could it? Looking into the black abyss of his eyes, I felt certain that it could.
I took a step back and averted my eyes. “So, did you fix it?” I motioned to my car.
“It’s fixed.” His intense stare remained on me.
“What do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“Tanner, you worked on my car. Let me repay you.”
His brow quirked. “You can repay me by having dinner with me.”
“What?”
“On Friday.”
“You’re going to let me repay you by buying you dinner?”
“No. You’re going to let me buy you dinner.”
My response left my traitorous lips before I could catch it. “Okay.”
His lips broke into a wide grin. “Friday, then.”
As scared as I was to go further with him, I continued to put one foot in front of the other right in Tanner’s direction. I knew I shouldn’t let him in. I shouldn’t let myself trust him. I knew he had the power to take me down, and when he did—I would be to blame. I’d be the one who handed him the weapon.
Seven
Charlotte
“What’s the difference?” Is that a dumb question?
The man eyeing me from behind the counter held up the larger gun. “The revolver is heavier. It holds fewer bullets.” He raised the gun in his left hand. “The pistol is lighter and holds more bullets.”
“Why would someone pick one over the other?”
“It all depends on your preference. The revolver is easier to use for beginners. I’m assuming this is your first time owning a gun?”
“Yes.”
