Page 85 of Wanting You

“I had a ham and cheese sandwich on my way there this afternoon. My plan had been to grab a burger and fries to go from the restaurant and eat it when I got home. This is so much better.”

It was crazy how a simple conversation made her feel so happy.

Pulling the lids off of everything, she said, “Help yourself.”

As he began putting food on his plate, he asked, “How’s your mom doing? I’ll bet her recovery sped up once she got home.”

“It did, but only because she couldn’t wait for my dad to leave,” she said with a laugh. “He was the one staying with her and I really thought some sort of weird reconciliation was happening there, but it turns out they know they aren’t right for each other. Now they’re just friends and…I’m getting used to it.”

“That’s great! And if your dad being there motivated her to get up and around faster, then…even better!”

She agreed. “Apparently it didn’t take long for Dad to remember what a handful Mom could be, and for Mom to remember how Dad never did things the way she liked them. Still, his heart was in the right place and it helped me, Ash, Billie, and Levi a lot. We all struggled with finding the time to be there for her, and for a few weeks, we didn’t have to worry as much.”

“Is your dad still here or did he go back home?”

“He’s back home now. As much as he says he’d like to move back here full time, his heart is back in Laurel Bay. My Uncle Shane has a pub there—it’s really a Donovan family pub, but he’s the one who inherited it—and my dad’s worked there with him for a long time. I think this trip here was more to test the waters and see if he could handle being back here and if we’d really accept him back into the family on a more permanent basis.”

“And? Would you?”

“I think so. His relationship with my mom was so strained for so long that I think that was the last thing holding him back. Now that Levi’s married and he and Jade are planning to start a family any day now, Dad’s motivated to come back more often. Once Ash and Reid get married, I’m sure he’ll be here more than back in Laurel Bay.”

“And when you and I get married, he’ll definitely want to be here.”

“Exactly.” Gasping, she stared at him. “I mean…what? Did you just say…?”

Reaching across the table, Tanner took her hand in his. “I’m not asking you to marry me right this minute, Chloe, but someday I will. I love you. This is where I’m meant to be, and you’re the woman I’m meant to be with.”

Tears stung her eyes. “Oh my goodness…I love you too.” Then she was gently tugged out of her seat and found herself in Tanner’s lap while he kissed her senseless. It took several moments before they broke apart with goofy grins on their faces. “This is turning out to be quite the spectacular day.”

“Mm-hmm…” He kissed her throat and then groaned before giving her a tiny shove to go back to her seat. “Food. We need to eat before it gets cold.”

“Fine, but…”

“No, buts,” he interrupted with amusement. “Let’s talk about something completely neutral so we can eat and then go back inside and work up our appetites again.”

“Good thing I picked up dessert too,” she said with a wink.

“You’re killing me. But I love it.”

Even though she felt herself blushing, it wasn’t out of embarrassment. “So…neutral topics. Why did you want to teach at the ski school?”

He took a bite of his meal before responding. “It’s not really appealing to me like I thought it would be. When my student Alex mentioned it to me, it sounded like it could be a great way to ski before the season started, but I think I’d rather have my weekends and evenings free and then just ski when I want to during the actual season.” Another bite. “Although teaching you tonight was great, it was more because it was you.”

“Aww…you’re sweet. And I don’t think I would have felt as comfortable with another instructor. Being with you made me want to succeed even more.”

“See? A great team.”

“Definitely.” She took a bite of her shrimp and broccoli. “It might not be a bad thing to do once in a while. It’s good to have a hobby or even something for a small secondary income. I have an Etsy shop where I sell some stuff and it feeds my artistic and creative side while giving me some extra money. It’s not anything I’d like to do full time, but sometimes it’s just fun to do something a little out of my regular routine.”

“I don’t think you ever mentioned that before. What do you sell?”

The funniest part of this conversation was that it was something she never discussed. “I call it my secret side-hustle. Art is something I’ve always enjoyed and I know I’m good at.”

“Your classroom seriously blew me away the first time I saw it. I enjoy drawing too, but I rarely found an outlet for it.”

“That’s how I felt. I always had a sketch pad lying around in case inspiration struck, but about two years ago, I decided to get serious about it. I took up painting, but I also do a lot with pen and ink, and I do pictures of all kinds—landscapes and seascapes, but also a lot of character-driven stuff, especially superhero and sci-fi stuff. I’m also a seamstress and have a shop for custom costumes for cosplay. My goal was to build up my online inventory so I could generate enough income so I could buy a house sooner rather than later.”

“Chloe, that’s freaking amazing! Can I see your stuff?” Then he glanced around. “And are you still set on buying this place or are you maybe open to waiting and buying something else? Maybe something bigger that would be perfect for us and a family?”

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