A Date with an Admirer Read online

  I peer over at the sun shining through the window and give in. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Tanner smiles triumphantly and nods toward the back door in the living room. “Go on out there and I’ll grab us some towels to sit on.”

  I walk out the back door and slowly stroll through the backyard down to the dock. There are people out on their boats, enjoying the warm day. The water, however, has to be cold. I definitely don’t plan on finding out.

  Tanner catches up to me and we walk the rest of the way to the dock together. I look up at him and it’s hard not to smile. He has such a fun, laid back presence about him. I feel comfortable around him. “Do you have to start work on Monday?” I ask.

  He nods. “Yep. I already have projects I need to work on. Looking forward to it too. I have to drive out to Charlotte one day a month to meet with my boss, but other than that, I can work from home.”

  We make it to the dock, and he lays our towels out. “Must be nice,” I say, sitting down on my towel. I stretch my legs out and tilt my face up to the sun. “I can’t complain. My office is closed on Fridays. A three-day weekend isn’t too bad.”

  Tanner moves closer to me. “What do you usually do on your day off?” My answers seem boring compared to the life he lives. In a way, I’m too embarrassed to even mention it. Tanner bumps me with his leg. “Sophie? You okay?”

  I bite my lip. “Yeah.”

  His brows furrow. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know,” I say, shrugging. “Your life seems so exciting, and here I am, an old lady in a twenty-seven-year-old’s body.”

  He bursts out laughing. “Let me guess, you sit at home and do nothing on your days off?”

  I smack his arm. “No. I go to the grocery store and order things online. When I was with Warren, we’d go play golf and meet with friends.”

  Grinning mischievously, Tanner pats my thigh. “Don’t worry, sunshine, I’ll help you find your wild streak again. From what I remember in high school, you were a firecracker.”

  I groan. “That was so long ago.” But he’s right, I used to be fun. I let my relationship with Warren completely change me. My phone rings and I pull it out of my back pocket. I figured it’d be Ellie, but when I look at the screen, it’s definitely not. “Great,” I grumble.

  Tanner’s gaze narrows. “Who is it?”

  I show him my phone. “Warren. I have no clue what the hell he wants.”

  Tanner holds out his hand. “Want me to answer it?”

  A part of me wants him to, but I don’t want to be childish. “I don’t know,” I say.

  His grin widens. “Come on, Soph. Firecracker, remember?”

  Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and hand him my phone. “Fine.”

  Tanner chuckles once before putting on a serious face. “Hello,” he answers, his voice deep and sexy. He puts it on speakerphone so I can hear.

  There’s silence on the other end, but then Warren clears his throat. “Uh … is Sophie around?”

  Tanner waggles his brows. “Hold on, she’s in the shower.” He holds the phone away from him and calls out, “Babe, you almost done in there? You have a phone call.”

  I try not to laugh. “Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute.”

  Tanner brings the phone back to his ears. “She’ll be here in a sec.” He sets the phone down on the dock and puts it on mute. “Let’s leave him hanging for a while.”

  We both laugh and I stare down at my phone. “Wonder what he wants.”

  Tanner huffs. “You don’t think he wants you back, do you?”

  I scoff. “Please. He can forget that shit. Him cheating on me was the best thing that could’ve happened.”

  Tanner moves closer. “You sure? It seems like you two have a lot of history.”

  I look right into his eyes. “I’m positive.”

  His gaze drops to my lips. “Good. I’m starting to enjoy being around you.”

  He moves closer, and I know I should stop him, but I can’t. His lips touch mine and I melt into him. He lays me back on the towel, his body covering mine. “Is it time to practice again?” I ask.

  He kisses me again. “Yep. I’m thinking we should take it up a notch.” He glances around the backyard and I do the same. His neighbors aren’t close by which does give us a little privacy.

  “Take it up a notch how?” I wonder.

  He slides his hand over my stomach and down to my waist. “Just a little touching. We need to look comfortable together.”

  I can’t argue with him there, and I sure as hell can’t tell him no. I want to feel him touch me in more ways than one. “What about Warren? He’s still on the phone.”

  Warren is still waiting on the line, and I can hear him huff with impatience. Tanner chuckles and shrugs. “What about him? He can wait a little longer.”

  I have a feeling he’s going to be waiting a long time.

  6

  Tanner

  The lady behind the counter at the car rental agency stands taller and smiles brightly as soon as she hears the door chime announcing my presence. It’s almost as if she thinks I’m going to fall for her in the time it takes to complete the transaction on my rental and take her with me tonight. I suppose it’s not every day they see a man walk in dressed in a tux walking in to rent a car, yet here I am. The thought never occurred to me until I climbed into my Wrangler that while my car may be fun, some call it sexy, it is not a vehicle you take a woman to a gala in.

  “How may I help you?” she tilts her head to the side.

  “I need to rent a car for the night.”

  “Just the night?” she pushes their laminated spec sheet toward me. They have everything from what I refer to as a human roller skate to the stranger danger van.

  “Yes, I’ll return it tomorrow. Do you have any luxury vehicles?” I ask, pushing the placard back toward the desk agent.

  “What are you interested in?” she starts typing rapidly as if she’s chatting on social media. There’s no way a six-letter word could take more than five seconds to type.

  “Lambo,” I tell her.

  Her eyes go wide and her fingers stop their aerobic routine. “Lamborghini?” As if saying the full word takes the sting out of the cost. Honestly, I don’t care what the price tag is, I want Sophie showing up in style, and hopefully right in front of her douche bag ex.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Okay, well we have two in stock. White or yellow?”

  I think for a moment. White seems practical. Yellow sends a message. “Yellow.” I reach into my back pocket for my wallet and pull out my driver’s license and credit card. The clerk takes them from me and starts typing again, making me wonder if she ever gets tired of listening to her nails clack against the keys.

  While the clerk finalizes my request, I glance at my phone, hoping to find a message from Sophie. Earlier, I asked her what she was wearing for the ball, and she sent me a picture of something red. I have no idea if it’s from her dress for tonight or what she was wearing at the time. The rest of my pleading messages went unanswered, which I’m okay with. I know she spent the afternoon with Ellie, getting her hair and nails done. I told my sister to make sure Sophie went all out. If I have my say, every woman will be jealous of her and every man of me, especially the man who thought he’d have it better with his dental hygienist.

  Even though I’ve been here for ten minutes, my impatience is growing. I hate being late, even if it’s only a few minutes. I told Sophie I would be there at six to pick her up and I’m an hour plus away from her. Of course, I could’ve rented a Mustang or something similar, but no, I wanted Sophie to show up in style, to turn heads, and only a Lambo will do that.

  Finally, the sweet sound of a printer echoes in the small office. The clerk slides a pen toward me, and I happily pick it up. She goes over every part of the contract, the extra insurance which I opt for, and when the car is due back. I initial, sign and give her a pint of my blood in the form of a credit card and a four-digit expense, wh
ich is worth every single penny. Once the paperwork is signed, I’m told to follow the agent out to the car.

  We wind through the parking lot until we come to a large carport, where sitting pretty is the yellow sports car. Just looking at it gives me a fucking boner. The clerk presses the key fob and the door opens.

  “Go ahead and sit down, I’ll show you how to operate the car.”

  I do as she says and melt into the fine Italian leather. Sweet baby, I’m in love. There’s no way I could afford to own one, not after I blew my savings on my dream home, but for the next twenty-four hours, I’m going to drive this car until I can’t see straight.

  The agent goes over everything, and honestly, I’m so enamored with this fine piece of machinery, I hear nothing she says. Yeah, I’m going to need a car like this in the future.

  Once everything is set, she hands me the fob and sort of lingers around the car. Her hand is on the roof, preventing me from shutting the door and her hip is jutted out, totally flirting. I reach for the door and give her a smile. “My wife is waiting,” I tell her, sending the message loudly.

  “She’s a lucky woman,” she replies, sounding disappointed.

  “She deserves the best.”

  The clerk steps away, allowing me to shut the door. I drive slowly out of the lot and through the streets until I’m on the freeway, where I tap the accelerator and let the car do half of what I know it can. This is a car you take out on the open road, where you don’t have to worry about police officers pulling you over and other people trying to cut you off, because there’s always that one guy who thinks it’s funny when he pulls in front of you, trying to slow you down.

  I make it back to town, in record time, thanks to my newly adopted speed racer lifestyle. I love owning a Wrangler but going seventy-five in a Jeep is like going thirty in a Lambo. When I get to Sophie’s, I realize my one mistake—speed bumps. I have no choice but to park the car on the street and walk through her complex. Of course, her neighbors are outside, staring.

  When I get to Sophie’s door, I pause before knocking. I questioned whether I should’ve brought her flowers or went totally Pretty Woman and brought her a dazzling necklace of some sort, something she can show off all night. The car is only good for when we pull up and all eyes are on who is getting out but is this enough? I raise my hand to knock but the door flies open, and I’m standing there, taking in every single inch of the woman in front of me. I don’t know where to look first. Her shoulders are bare, and the straps of her dress direct my eyes to her breasts, which are perfectly cupped by the fabric of her red dress. My eyes travel down until they land on the thigh high slit and I’m forced to swallow hard. I’m hoping to take everything off of her at the end of the night.

  “Holy fuck,” I mutter as I try to gain some form of composure. I thought I had a hard on from the car, but no—Sophie is hot and sexy as hell. “Holy fuck,” I say again because it’s the only statement my mind can formulate.

  “Do I look okay?”

  “Okay doesn’t even belong in the vocabulary of how you look, Sophie.” I reach for her and place my hand on her hip and kiss her lightly on the cheek. “You’re fucking gorgeous,” I whisper in her ear.

  Her hand goes to my chest and I feel her cheeks rise. I know she’s smiling because of me. “You make a tuxedo look sexy, Tanner.”

  I step back and look at her again. Her long hair is pulled up, exposing every inch of her tanned skin. I don’t care that she’s my sister’s best friend, I want to be with this woman in every sense of the word.

  “I have a surprise for you.” I take her hand and tug her slightly. She steps out and closes the door behind us. Together, we walk through the parking lot and the people who were staring earlier are now gawking, even the men. All I can think is, I’m a lucky fucking bastard to have this gorgeous woman on my arm tonight.

  We walk toward the car and when the door opens, thanks to the fob in my pocket, she gasps. “You did not.”

  “Oh, I did.”

  “Tanner, this is too much.”

  “Says who?” I hold her hand and help her into the car. I lean down when she’s seated and say, “You need to make a grand entrance and I’m here to help you with this.” I kiss her again on the cheek, wishing like hell we were in her apartment or my house, taking our clothes off. I rush to the other side and get in. The motor purrs and we take off. In between shifting, I place my hand on her bare leg, enjoying the feel of her skin against the palm of my hand. I’m desperate to know what she’s wearing underneath, but don’t want to be crass and ask her. Mostly because if I know she has nothing on or confirms she’s wearing a thong I can’t be held responsible for my reaction.

  We pull up to the Governor’s mansion and as I suspected, there are cameras everywhere. The doors open and I hand the valet my key fob before I rush to the other side and push the other valet out of the way. I’m the only one helping Sophie out of the car. I have no idea who Warren is, but by the look of the guy who arrived seconds before us, he’s standing in front of us, watching our every move.

  “Fucking gorgeous,” I mutter when she stands tall. Cameras flash, and I’m sure when the pictures come out, they’ll all show me looking at Sophie instead of the crowd, and I’m more than okay with this.

  Inside, Sophie gives her name to the attendant and we’re shown to our table. “How do we feel if your douche bag is at our table?” I ask her.

  “Not ideal, but whatever. I’m happy you’re with me tonight, Tanner.”

  “I wouldn’t be anywhere else, Soph.”

  Once we know where we are sitting, we head to the bar. It’s time to mingle and Sophie is the best, introducing me to the movers and shakers of Raleigh. With her on my arm, I talk about my firm, my recent move back, and what my pipeline looks like. The Richie Riches ask if I’m interested in any “on the side work” which makes me chuckle because I don’t know one person who doesn’t hustle with side jobs.

  Sophie and I make our way around the room, finally coming face to face with her ex. My hand is wrapped possessively around her waist and I take a sip of my cocktail while keeping my eyes focused on this Warren guy as he approaches with his side chick walking next to him.

  “Warren,” Sophie says bluntly. Ha, she’s not happy to see him, doesn’t compliment him or even acknowledge the woman who came between them. I will though, because of her, I’m with Sophie.

  “I’m Tanner,” I say as I reluctantly remove my hand from Sophie’s waist.

  “Jessica,” she says, giving me a weak handshake, which lingers a bit too long. I suspect she’s a bit jealous because it’s clear Sophie has leveled up in the man department. I know I’m good looking, Warren can’t say that about himself.

  “Sophie, I didn’t expect you to be here.”

  She laughs. “Why? Because you started screwing your hygienist?” The words come out flippantly as if she doesn’t give a shit, and I love it.

  Warren turns red. Jessica smiles. I chuckle.

  Warren nods my way, his words thick with anger. “Is this the guy you were screwing on the phone the other day?”

  We weren’t screwing, but he doesn’t need to know this. “Come on, man.” I say as I pat him on the shoulder. “You know what she looks like when she comes out of the shower. How could I resist?”

  Warren is fuming and it’s fucking awesome. Most of all, I love that Sophie doesn’t care at all what I say to this moron.

  “Come on, babe. I see Mr. Jensen over there. I’m going to bid on his rebuild and I want to make sure he knows who I am.” I have no idea who is at this party but by the look on Warren’s face, he doesn’t either.

  “Bye, Warren.” Sophie gives him a little finger wave and clutches her hand around my arm. “I could kiss you right now,” she says quietly.

  “Let’s see, there’s the coat room. The bathroom. Or we can drive out to the airport, put the doors up and you can let me fuck you in the Lambo.”

  Sophie stops walking and stares at me. Her eyes are goi
ng back and forth, and I suspect she’s about to choose the airport option. At least, I know I am.

  7

  Sophie

  Dammit to hell. Who am I kidding? I should’ve known Tanner would go all out for tonight which only makes it harder. I want him. Each time he touches me, I want more. And with the way he handled Warren … Dear God, I felt everything inside of me tighten.

  “Why’s your face red?” Tanner asks, his lips right by my ear.

  Holding onto his arm, we walk through the room. “I don’t know,” I murmur back sarcastically. “Maybe it was the mention of you fucking me in the Lamborghini.”

  Tanner holds me closer. “It was an invitation. I’m game if you are.”

  I’m so game it’s not even funny. Usually, I’m very logical and have my head on straight, but with Tanner all that goes out the window. I haven’t been this reckless since high school. I’ve spent years building my career and doing things right. Then again, maybe that’s the problem. I forgot what it was like to have fun. Not tonight. There’s nothing wrong with having fun for one night, right? Tomorrow it’ll all go back to the way it was. Tanner will do his own thing and I’ll do mine like nothing ever happened. No one has to know … not even Ellie.

  No, Sophie. Stop thinking like that. Turning my attention back to the crowd, we walk around the room and I nod at some of my old classmates, hoping I can get my mind off Tanner and the way he makes me feel. I love how he makes me feel sexy. We’re on our fifth round about the room when Tanner stops and stands in front of me. His skin is warm as he touches my chin, lifting it so I have to look in his eyes. “Why are you not talking to me now?”

  I don’t know what comes over me, but I can’t get the words out. I know what I want to do, and I just do it. Cupping his face in my hands, I lean up on my toes and kiss him. It catches him off guard for a second, but then he pulls me into his arms, deepening the kiss. I melt against him.