Page 47 of Billionaire Unforgettable: Tanner

I leaned my head back against the comfy headrest and let out a long breath. I felt like I should be honest with him. “Give me some time, Tanner. I want to build my reputation here in Montana. This business could fail miserably. Do I want to go back to having a successful business? Yes, of course I do, but I’ve had the experience of being successful before. Part of that satisfaction was knowing my partners and I had done it on our own.”

How could I possibly partner with Tanner anyway?

Every time I looked at him, I wanted to rip his clothes off and explore that hard body of his in the most carnal ways possible.

As hard as I’d tried, I couldn’t seem to shake the desire to be a lot more intimate with him.

I liked this new Tanner a lot, but I wasn’t sure I could be his friend and business partner.

“What if I just give you an interest free business loan that you can pay back whenever you can afford it?” he questioned.

“I’d think you were crazy,” I said wryly. “You’re a business genius. You of all people know that would be a horrible deal for you.”

I finally pulled my hand from his, and I felt that loss of contact almost instantly.

He took my hand back and rested our joined hands on the big arm rest between us. “This isn’t about business or making a profit,” he said in a graveled voice. “I want you to be happy. Believe it or not, I still care about you, Hannah. I can’t just turn that off because we aren’t together as a couple anymore.”

God, I still cared about him, too. Probably more than I should. But I couldn’t just take his money. “If I did decide to take you up on your offer, we’d have to work out better terms for you. This would be a huge risk on your part. And I’m not ready to take that risk quite yet. I’m not even established here yet.”

“The offer is always going to be open, Hannah,” he said. “Take your time.”

I let out a sigh of relief that he’d backed down and given me some space.

One thing I could say about Tanner is that he knew me.

I think he sensed that I wasn’t ready, and he wasn’t going to push me any harder yet.

I relaxed as the jet started down the runway, and I knew we were about to approach takeoff.

I loved to fly, and this was an experience I was going to enjoy.

I hadn’t gotten the opportunity to travel much in the past, but it had always been my dream to see more of the world. Especially the places that really intrigued me.

I closed my eyes as the jet started accelerating down the runway.

“Still dreaming about visiting Australia?” Tanner asked as we went airborne.

I opened my eyes and looked out the window as we climbed. “Yes,” I confessed. “I haven’t gotten there yet.”

Australia was the first on my list of places I wanted to go, and Tanner knew it. I’d been talking about it from the day we’d met.

We’d been planning that destination for our honeymoon because he’d never been, and he’d wanted to go there, too.

“Someday, I’m going to make good on my promise to take you there. I haven’t been there, either.”

I turned my head to look at him in surprise. “You’ve never had to travel there?”

He shook his head. “It wouldn’t have been the same without you there. Devon and Kaleb have been there on business, but I stayed behind and held down the fort at the headquarters.”

I almost melted as our eyes met, and I saw a flash of regret in those gorgeous eyes before he could shutter it.

He’d actually avoided going to Australia? Because it had beenourdream vacation?

“You made that promise a long time ago,” I said softly.

“I guess I never forgot that I promised to take you there on our honeymoon,” he grumbled. “I couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm about seeing The Great Barrier Reef with my brothers.”

“I can’t just go with you to Australia.”

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