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He smiled. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to stop me.”
I ran my thumb lightly over the knot forming on his forehead. “You should ice it.”
Tanner’s eyes closed as he leaned into my touch. “This feels better than ice.”
Those pesky butterflies flitted around my heart as it thumped in my chest. I allowed my fingers to thread through his hair, gently massaging his scalp.
Tanner’s dark eyes opened, hungry as they locked with mine. He lifted his hand to my face, tracing my bottom lip with his thumb.
Instinctually, my lips parted and a breath escaped. My hand slid to the back of his neck and I pulled him closer. I was no longer in control of my body. The need to kiss Tanner, to touch him, overrode any sense I had.
“Charlotte, I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.” I gripped the collar of his shirt and tried to pull his lips to mine. I had no intention of stopping.
Apparently, Tanner did. “I want to be with you.”
“So then be with me,” I pleaded, pressing myself against him.
He closed his eyes as he let out a low groan. “You know what I mean.”
My shoulders slumped and I rested my head on his shoulder. I did know what he meant. I just couldn’t give him what he wanted.
“I don’t know why it’s so hard for you to just tell me the truth.” Tanner lifted my head, taking it into his hands to look me in the eyes. “Whatever happened, whatever you did, none of it matters. All that matters is who you are right now, and that we are together.”
“If it doesn’t matter, then why do I need to tell you?”
“It matters that you feel like you can’t tell me. I want you to give me every part of you. Even the parts you don’t like. I want to show you that my love for you is unconditional. I don’t know what you’re so scared of.”
“What happened in my past has nothing to do with the way I feel about you. I made a new life here, and this is it. You are it. I have given you all of me. My heart. My body. You consume my mind. I love you, Tanner. I love you so much. All I want is to forget about every bad thing that has ever happened to me, and just look ahead to the good things that are coming. I want to look ahead with you.”
The torture in his eyes killed me. I was doing this to him. My secrets. My lies.
“It hurts that you won’t tell me.” Tanner stood, quietly cleaning up his tools.
I searched for the right thing to say to make this better. I searched as Tanner turned his back and walked away. I searched as he stepped through the garage door and left. I searched as I drove back to my apartment. I searched for the rest of the night, as I showered, as I lay in my bed, as I tried to fall asleep. I searched into the late hours of the night … until the only answer I was left with was the one thing I swore I would never do.
Me: I’m ready to tell you everything.
Twenty-two
Tanner
Tonight was going to be special. I was taking Charlotte out to dinner, and she was going to tell me the truth about her past. I was surprised when she’d texted me late last night. I hadn’t expected her to give in. The wall she kept between us was finally going to come down.
I stopped at the florist to pick up the giant bouquet of Gerbera daisies I’d ordered, and then texted Charlotte that I was on my way to her apartment. I pulled up to her place several minutes later, listening to the sound of my rapid heartbeat. I couldn’t wait to see her.
Charlotte emerged from her building looking like the angel she was. The curled ends of her hair bounced as she walked toward me in her floral dress.
I left my car running and got out with her flowers in hand. I was so fixated on Charlotte’s stunning beauty, I didn’t notice the man walking briskly toward her. The rest of the world always faded away whenever she was around. Her eyes left mine and became glued to the suited man as he approached her. It wasn’t until I saw Charlotte’s face morph from happiness to horror that I realized what was happening.
I dropped the flowers onto the pavement, and ran across the parking lot as fast as my legs would carry me. As I ran, I watched Charlotte scramble to get her purse off her shoulder. The gun.
The man got to Charlotte before she could get what she was looking for. He covered her head with a black sack, and I heard her scream as he tossed her over his shoulder.
“Hey!” I bellowed across the lawn. “Put her down!”
The man turned around, revealing horrific scars covering the entire right side of his face. His eyes locked with mine, and he grinned.
