Page 50 of Wanting You

“And as for my celebrity status? Believe it or not, that had nothing to do with my personal or sexual life. Yes, I competed, and yes, there were a lot of women who chased after me, but that doesn’t mean I slept with all of them. Because I was going to school—high school and then college—and I was always either training or competing, I didn’t really get a lot of time to date. So whatever number of women you have in your head, you need to seriously lower it. Like…really, really, really lower it.”

“Oh.”

Slowly, he sauntered back over to her. “You, Chloe Donovan, never have to worry about being enough.” Reaching up, he cupped her face. “You’re everything.” And then he kissed her thoroughly before lifting his head. “But I would very much like to take you to dinner. What do you say?”

Her first response was a giggle, but she shook her head. “I’d like that very much. I would like to change, though.”

“Why don’t you take the bathroom to freshen up, and I’ll change out here?”

The smile she gave him was radiant. “That sounds perfect. Thank you.”

Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom looking like the girl next door with a hint of vixen to her, and it hit him—not for the first time—how deceiving first impressions could be. How had he ever thought her to be plain?

Holding out his hand to her, he smiled. “Shall we?”

“Is it too early for our reservation?”

“If it is, maybe we’ll grab a drink at the bar or just stroll around and check out what else the lodge has to offer. What do you think?”

“I think that sounds lovely.” Placing her hand in his, they walked out the door and to the elevators. “That bathroom is amazing. I’m not usually in awe of stuff like that, but I feel like I’m going to go home and make angry faces at my bathroom after this.”

That made him laugh. “I have a feeling I’ll be doing the same thing.”

When they got down to the restaurant and checked in, they were told that their table was actually ready. Following the hostess, Tanner kept his hand on the small of Chloe’s back and marveled at the atmosphere—the dark paneling, the massive stone fireplace, the soft music. It was exactly what he was hoping for.

Holding out Chloe’s chair for her, he waited for her to sit before taking the seat beside her. “This is nice, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “Maybe I’m being dramatic, but I feel a little like Cinderella tonight. I’ve been to nice restaurants before, but…just everything about tonight just seems special.”

“And it’s only just begun,” he murmured before placing a kiss on her cheek.

After that, they looked at the menu, ordered a bottle of wine, and decided to share the chateaubriand for two. They talked about school—something they did a lot—and from there, the conversation flowed from one topic to another with seemingly no awkward pauses.

When they were done eating, Tanner led her across the room closer to the bar and held her close while they danced to the piano music. By the third song, Chloe grinned up at him, “I think I need to sit back down. It’s been a while since I’ve worn heels.”

“No worries.” Leading her back to the table, he asked, “What about dessert?”

“What if…we asked them to pack it to go and we ate it up in the room?” And there was that hint of vixen in her again. It was fascinating to see that side of her come out, and he couldn’t wait to see it more.

“That can definitely be arranged,” he told her, and within minutes, they placed their orders for a slice of chocolate mousse cheesecake and an order of the crème brûlée while acting like they weren’t anxious as hell to go upstairs.

Tanner paid the check; they accepted the bag with their desserts and thanked their server before he helped Chloe to her feet. Then, hand in hand, they casually strolled through the restaurant, commenting on the décor as they made their way toward the hotel lobby.

At the elevator, they each stared straight ahead. “Dinner was fabulous,” she told him. “And the wine was perfectly paired.”

He nodded and almost breathed a sigh of relief when the doors opened and no one was waiting to get in with them. As soon as the doors closed, he turned and pulled Chloe into his arms and kissed her. Neither said a word, but he could feel the tension building as they clung to each other—while keeping a precarious grasp on the dessert bag.

On the tenth floor, they broke apart and he took her hand and led her down to their room and cursed his impatience. They stumbled through the door with a laugh and he took a moment to carefully place the bag down before turning to Chloe and simply looking his fill. She kicked off her shoes and walked toward him.

“Thank you for a wonderful evening, Tanner. I’m glad we went down to dinner like we had originally planned.”

“Me too,” he said gruffly, reaching up to caress her cheek. “Why don’t you get comfortable? I can go down to the lounge and grab us something to drink and…”

She silenced him with a kiss. “I don’t want you to go anywhere. I want to pick up where we left off earlier and then do all the things we were both thinking of.” Another kiss. “And then we’re going to be totally decadent and eat dessert in bed.” When she paused this time, she giggled. “And maybe order some room service for something to drink. But only if you think that’s okay.”

“Whatever you want, beautiful, I’ll make it happen.”

Her smile went from sweet to sexy in the blink of an eye. “Whatever I want?”

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