Page 12 of Dreaming of Dawson

“Was there a reason you moved in so quickly?”

He chuckles, sipping the last of his wine. “Not the one you’re probably thinking of.”

“So, Nash isn’t about to become a big brother?”

“Not yet.”

“Yet? That implies it’s something you’re thinking about.”

He nods again. “It is. One day. But we’ll need to discuss it with Nash first, and we feel like he’s got enough to deal with right now. We’ve just moved. Then there’s the wedding, and Sabrina breaking up with Dean, and getting together with Gordon, or Gremlin, or whatever his name is. It’s probably best if we leave it for a while…” His voice drifts off to silence.

“Is that something you regret?”

“No. We’ve got time. Zara’s very young.”

“Even if you’re not.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” he says, although he’s smiling, so I know he’s not offended.

“Okay, so if Zara’s not pregnant – yet – then why did you move in such a hurry? Let’s face it, you only met in September, and you’ve been in your new house for over three weeks already.”

I remember thinking they were crazy for moving right before the holidays, but Tanner was adamant it was happening, even if he wasn’t forthcoming with any explanations… until now.

“To be honest, it was the layout of the apartment.”

“What about it?”

He shakes his head and leans in closer, lowering his voice. “We established quite quickly that not having a door on our bedroom was kinda limiting.”

His apartment above the bookstore had an open-plan upper floor, but it had been like that all the time he lived there, and I’m confused.

“Are you saying it was never a problem while you were with Sabrina?”

“Not really. You’ve gotta remember, Sabrina and I only moved there after she cheated with Mitch. Our sex life was patchy at best. And besides, Nash was still quite young. He wasn’t aware of what was going on… not like he is now.”

“No, I guess not.”

“Zara and I rigged up a set of drapes so she could at least get dressed in peace, without having to worry that Nash might see her in her underwear, but…”

“It wasn’t ideal?”

“Far from it.”

“Because your sex life with Zara isn’t patchy?” I ask and he smiles.

“No comment.”

“We both know what that means.”

“It means I’m not giving you any details, and while we could have constructed something more permanent than the drapes, we also had to think about the dog.”

I nod my head. My brain doesn’t rattle like it did earlier, which doesn’t surprise me. I seem to have an alarming capacity, not just to drink, but to sober up.

“How does Bentley like the house?” I ask.

“He loves it.”

Tanner brought Bentley in here to meet me not long after they returned from Vermont with him at Thanksgiving. He’s a golden retriever puppy, bred by a neighbor of Zara’s mom’s, and even I have to admit, he’s adorable.

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