Page 68 of Wanting You

It took another hour before they could leave, and he was mentally exhausted by the time the valet brought their car around. Neither said a lot on the drive back to her house, and he was okay with that. Right now, he needed a little peace and quiet to think about what he was going to say. Was tonight the right night to profess his love for her? Should it be something he did on a romantic night out? Would she freak out when he told her?

Or worse, would she tell him she didn’t feel the same way?

And then, because he was an overthinker, would she think he was throwing the L word out there to make up for the awkward evening? Would it appear trite or a bit like he was trying to mollify her?

Pushing that particular thought aside, he let out a long, low breath. Beside him, Chloe was staring out the window into the darkness.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said before he could stop himself.

Without looking his way, she said, “They’re not even worth that.”

Shit.

“Chloe, look, I know this night didn’t go quite the way I had hoped, but…”

Now she turned her head to glance at him. “Don’t, okay? You’re not responsible for the things that Margaret person said. I know that.”

“But I’m definitely going to make sure my publicist knows how rude she was. That was totally not cool. I probably should have said more, but…”

“But you have an image to uphold and a professional relationship with these people that you need to maintain. I get it. It’s not a big deal.” Then she returned her attention to the passing scenery and his heart sank.

This was her go-to reaction. He’d learned enough about her to know it. She retreated and got quiet when she was hurt or overwhelmed because she wasn’t confrontational. And as much as he didn’t want to argue with her, he certainly was going to fight for her.

Just…not here in the confines of the car.

By this point, they were literally only five minutes from her house, so Tanner was fine with finishing the drive quietly. Once they pulled into her driveway, however, what Chloe said kind of shocked him.

“I don’t think you should come in tonight.” Her words were spoken softly but firmly.

“Chloe…”

Even in the darkness, he could see her close her eyes as if to fortify herself. When she looked at him, however, he saw a world of weariness.

“Please,” he said gruffly. “I don’t want to just go home. We need to talk about this. You know we do. I won’t stay long, just…just enough so that we both feel good about what we say.”

She agreed, but he already knew he was losing her.

Following her into the house, Tanner mentally scrambled to find the right words—the words that would make everything okay again. Or maybe find some sort of magical time machine that would take them back to after school today and he could simply opt to go to the lodge by himself and leave Chloe out of the whole thing.

Only…he didn’t want to leave her out. He wanted her to be part of his world.

But he also just wanted his world to be kinder to her.

She tossed her coat onto the one oversized chair in her living room before sitting on the sofa and looking at him expectantly.

Okay, so…he was going to have to start the conversation.

Awesome.

Carefully, he began. “I know tonight didn’t go the way we were expecting. In my defense, I’ve never done a meeting or event like what happened tonight. This was all so random and even I wasn’t sure what exactly was going to happen.” Pausing, he sat down on the opposite end of the couch. “But it didn’t give anyone the right to speak to you—or about us—the way that journalist did. I’m going to ask to have the interview pulled. It’s only fair.”

For a moment, she looked a little confused, but then…she sighed. “Tanner, it wasn’t just the interview, it was…it was everything. From the moment we walked into the lodge, I disappeared. No one saw me. You got swept up in the excitement and I ended up following the group like some sort of reject.”

“No,” he argued, but then took a moment to think and…

Oh.

Shit.