Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Ivy

I 'd been so focused on the calendar app on my tablet that I didn't realize someone was standing in front of me until a huge, looming shadow blinked out the overhead lights.

"Oh!" I startled at Tanner's sudden appearance right in front of me before blowing at the pieces of hair that had fallen out of my makeshift bun. A smile pulled at my lips. "Hi. Sorry, I didn't see you there." Though I didn't know how that was possible given how massive the man was.

"No problem." He gave me that smile he'd been giving me all week long. The one I was sure melted panties all over the country. "Didn't mean to sneak up on you like that."

"You move really quiet for a guy so... big." I choked at my own spit as soon as I realized how that sounded. "I didn't mean—not like that . I just meant... you're a really big guy, and you're light on your feet." I quickly clamped my mouth shut before I could say anything else to humiliate myself.

He laughed, shaking his head good-naturedly. "I got what you meant. Guess you could say light feet is a part of the job."

I blew at the hair that kept falling across my forehead again before I returned his smile easily. I really appreciated that he went out of his way to make me comfortable after the embarrassing bout of word vomit I'd just suffered. The pads of his large fingers skated across my skin when he reached up to tuck those offending strands of hair behind my ear. I stood still, barely pulling in a breath while I sent up a silent prayer for tingles or butterflies or a rush of blood down south. But all I felt for the gorgeous hunk of man standing before me was kinship.

I had to admit, I'd been giving my friends' suggestion of asking Tanner to Rae's wedding a lot of thought. I felt like I'd gotten to know him a little over the past week he'd been staying with us, and the nice guy vibe I got from him had been consistent. There might not be any chance of romance, but I bet it could be a fun night. But something was holding me back from actually saying the words.

"Oh... thanks," I said, my body still reacting with a heated flush to my cheeks despite there being no romantic interest. He was still a gorgeous man, even without the tingles.

"Any time. You know, I was wondering if you'd changed your mind on that hike." He held his hands up innocently. "Just as friends. I promise. I don't know what the rest of your day looks like, but it's really beautiful outside, and I was just thinking that?—"

"Ivy."

The blood in my veins crystalized, turning into ice at the sound of his voice. I broke eye contact with Tanner on a slow blink as I silently willed myself to remain calm and collected. This was it—the moment I had been dreading, and although my heart felt like it was about to beat right out of my chest, there was no way I was going to let him see that. Inhaling deeply, I forced myself to face the man I would have gladly ignored for the rest of my life. The moment my gaze landed on his deep umber eyes, a riot of butterflies sparked to life in my belly.

Son of a bitch .

My nightly wish that the man would age poorly during his time away had been for nothing, because, if anything, he looked better than ever. Even in jeans, a faded concert tee, and dusty, well-worn boots, he was most women's wet dream come to life. And that freaking backward ballcap he was currently sporting only ramped the asshole's hotness up to eleven.

I couldn't let him see he still had any effect on me, so I forced my mouth to tilt up into a small grin. It was all I could muster, but it was something, at least. "Connor. Hi. It's good to see you."

His chin jerked back, his eyes widening with shock. "It-it is?"

The bewilderment carved into the angular planes of his face and his voice infused me with a sense of strength. The ball was in my court. I could do this, I assured myself. "Yeah. I know Zach's always happy to have you back, and with you being here, it means our friends are that much closer to their big day."

"Yeah. Sure." He nodded slowly as his thick, dark brows lowered over his eyes. It felt like his scrutinizing gaze was trying to drill inside my head to see what I was really thinking, but I held firm, keeping an iron grip on my composure.

Suddenly remembering that there was another person standing in our little huddle, I took the opportunity to make introductions, hoping to shift Connor's focus away from me and onto someone else. "I'm sorry. Connor, have you met Tanner Fine? He's staying with us for a couple weeks."

I didn't miss the way his eyelids narrowed as he took the other man in, his gaze sweeping over him from head to foot and back again, almost like he was trying to size the guy up. Connor was no slouch, that was for damn sure. Bull riding apparently built some serious muscle. Still, Tanner had a couple inches and several pounds of muscle on him. Something told me a fight between these two would not be evenly matched.

"We've met," Connor replied, his voice dull and his jaw ticking. It almost looked like he was jealous of the fact that I was talking to another man, but that was ridiculous.

Wasn't it?

I shook that thought off. It would only lead to more trouble. "Great." That chirped word came out overly enthusiastic, warning me that I was quickly reaching the limit on how much time I could be in Connor's presence. I needed to end this uncomfortable little stand-off and get the hell out of here.

"Well, it was good catching up," I told him, proud that the lie at least sounded believable. "But it's a busy day, and I should really get back to it." I was about to take off when I was hit with an idea. It was either incredibly brilliant or incredibly stupid, only time would tell. But once I got it in my head, that wild streak of mine gave me no choice but to act on it. "About that hike," I said, grinning up at Tanner like Connor no longer existed. "I'm swamped today, but if you're free later tonight, maybe we could do dinner?"

His features softened. "I'd like that."

Nerves flooded my system as I felt Connor's gaze drilling into the side of my face, but I refused to look in his direction. "Great. If you feel like getting away from the lodge for a bit, the Evergreen Diner in town has some of the best food you'll ever eat. I could meet you there. Say... seven o'clock?"

"Sounds perfect."

"Awesome." I kept smiling even though my stomach was twisting into knots all of a sudden. "See you then."

I stood just outside the diner, staring in through the picture windows as a sour taste coated my tongue. I was wrong for using an innocent person like a pawn, and I hated that I'd let my pride take control. Tanner had been nothing but nice, and I felt like a grade-A asshole for taking advantage of that. I might have made questionable decisions, but I wasn't cruel.

"Shit," I hissed under my breath. "Might as well get this over with." I pulled in a breath and prepared to head into the diner to confess to Tanner what I'd done when I heard my name from behind me.

"Ivy." I twisted to look back as he lifted his hand in a wave, that gorgeous smile firmly in place. The man caught the attention of pretty much everyone he passed by as he moved down the sidewalk. "Sorry I'm late. Hope you haven't been waiting long."

God, he was so damn nice. My stomach twisted painfully. "You aren't late," I assured him. "I just got here a minute ago."

"Great." His straight white teeth flashed. "Should we head in?" He took a step toward the diner's entrance, his eagerness to get this fake date started as guilt tangled my insides into knots.

"Tanner, wait." Reaching out, I wrapped my fingers around his forearm to stop him. "I need to tell you something."

He tilted his head and looked down at me with curiosity but was otherwise silent, waiting for me to get on with my confession.

"I'm really sorry. I asked you here under false pretenses, and I feel terrible about it."

"Is this about that guy back at the lodge who looked like he wanted to take my head off for talking to you?"

My jaw hinged open. "I—What?"

"That guy. What was his name? Connor?"

I gave my head a brisk shake. "How—I don't..." I stopped to clear the frog from my throat. "How did you know?"

One of his massive shoulders lifted in a shrug. "It was impossible to miss. The jealousy wafted off that guy like the stink coming from my gym bag when I've accidentally forgotten it in my trunk for a few days."

I snorted out a laugh at his colorful description while desperately tamping down the strange feeling in my belly his words had stirred to life.

"It's not like that. Believe me, he wasn't jealous." He couldn't have been, not when he was the one who snuck out that night. "But things are kind of... complicated." My mouth pulled into a wince. "We have history that's kind of embarrassing for me, and I'm ashamed to admit that I asked you here because he was standing there and I was, I don't know, hoping to maybe rile him up or something?" I held my hands up at my sides. "It was childish and a shitty thing to do, and you didn't deserve to be thrown into the middle of it."

Seconds ticked by as he studied me with a measured silence that made me squirm uncomfortably. I was nearly ready to come out of my skin when he finally spoke, and what he said was the last thing I had been expecting.

"I get it. But we're already here and I'm starving, so I say we head inside and eat anyway."

My head jerked back in bafflement. "I—Really?"

"We have to eat, right?" he asked, casual as could be. "I don't see why it should be awkward as long as we go in there with the understanding that it's just two friends having dinner together. I can do that if you can."

"I-I can do that too," I answered, smiling genuinely for the first time in hours as the weight of the shame I'd been carrying around finally drifted away.

"Awesome. Then let's eat. You can make it up to me by telling me what's going on between you and that guy." We started for the glass double doors, only taking a few steps when he stopped and looked back down at me. "Oh, and you should know, your plan totally worked."

My brows dipped down in the middle. "Huh?"

"To rile him up? It worked. I'm surprised smoke didn't start pouring out of his ears."

My heart started to beat faster and my belly swooped. It definitely wasn't the reaction I wanted to have, but I was quickly discovering I had no control over my body when it came to Connor Bennett.

After my confession, dinner went off better than I could have expected, and it wasn't only the awesome food that the crazy old couple who ran the place, Sally and Ralph, cooked. This diner, along with those two, was an institution here in Hope Valley. They'd been around since before I was born, and people liked to say they'd be around long after the rest of us were gone. Sally and Ralph joked that it was all the fighting they did that kept them going.

On top of being incredibly sweet, Tanner was also funny and managed to make me laugh several times throughout our meal. Even when I was sharing all the ugly details of how things went down between Connor and me.

By the end of dinner, Tanner had managed to demolish two slices of Ralph's famous meatloaf, a double helping of mashed potatoes, green beans, and at least half an apple pie. I was full just from watching him.

"Good lord. You really know how to tuck it away, don't you?" I asked with wide-eyed astonishment. "Where the hell does all that food go?"

He wiped his mouth with the paper napkin that had been used to roll his silverware and sat back with a satisfied expression on his handsome face. "All I can eat during the season is grilled chicken and steamed vegetables to stay in shape, so when I get to cheat, I cheat big."

"I'd say," I mumbled.

"You know, while you were talking about everything that went down between you and that cowboy, I got an idea."

I arched a brow in question and sipped some of my iced tea through the straw in my glass. "Oh? And what's that?"

"I think you should take me as a date to the wedding."

I quickly proceeded to choke on the drink I'd just taken. It took several seconds of hacking and wheezing before I could finally breathe again, and Tanner sat there, patiently waiting for me to get my shit together. I hadn't even brought up that my friends had been pressuring me to invite him as my date. He'd come up with the idea all on his own.

"You can't be serious."

"Why not?" He braced his forearms on the table and leaned forward, his face growing serious. "Look, I know nothing's going to happen here," he said, waving a long, thick finger in the space between us. "You made it perfectly clear your head is somewhere else, but I'm a fun guy, and I'm great at weddings."

I let out a snort and shook my head with humor. "How can someone be great at weddings?"

He brushed off my question and kept going. "At the very least, you'll have someone to dance with to all the slow songs so you don't have to sit at the table by yourself." Okay, he might have a point there. "And at worst, I can help you make the cowboy green with envy."

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. "I don't know," I started hesitantly.

"If you're worried about using me, don't be. I offered myself up this time."

"And I appreciate that, Tanner. I really do," I said, reaching across the table to place my hand on top of his. "But I'm supposed to be moving on, not trying to make an asshole who doesn't even deserve a moment of my time jealous. Not that I'm convinced he would be." Despite what he said earlier, I wasn't sure I bought that Connor got jealous over my interaction with another man. It didn't make sense. He'd clearly been banging his way from rodeo to rodeo after running out of my bed, so why would he be jealous?

"Then we're back to reason number one. You're obviously stressed about having to be in his company for an extended period of time, and it's not like I have anything else to do that night."

I gave him a flat look. "Thanks a lot," I deadpanned.

One corner of his mouth worked its way up in a smirk. "Let me help. I'll make sure you have fun."

I sat back in my booth, giving myself a few moments to mull over everything he'd just offered. "Okay, I'm in."

His eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah. We'll go and have a good time. But you have to give me your word you won't clear the buffet out all by yourself."

"Deal. This is gonna be a lot of fun, Ivy. I promise."

Surprisingly, I was actually starting to believe him.