Page 57 of Just Can't Fall for the Enemy

It had to be the two glasses of expensive champagne I’d consumed last night. A deep exhaustion beckoned me to my room and bed and the TV, to a life that made sense and didn’t throw mirages of my ex-girlfriends’ roommates into the mix.

The woman peered around the corner, caught my eye, and smirked. Then she disappeared again.

No question this time. It was definitely Carmen.

She clearly wanted me to follow, so I did. She darted past several closed doors and plunged through an open doorway into darkness. I paused to listen but heard nothing.Why did I suddenly feel like a child walking into a haunted circus?

“Come in, you dolt,” she hissed from the darkness.

I obeyed. The instant I did, the room flooded with light. The small conference room didn’t have any chairs or tables set up, but someone had obviously spent hours decorating it. A line of cafe lights hung from the ceiling. Pictures of exotic lands covered three of the walls, and a huge wall-sized map of the world covered the fourth. I instantly recognized the tiny red markings on it as the places I’d featured on my channel.

Sophie stepped out in front of me. “Hello, Tanner.”

I gaped. She wore a stunning pale-pink dress that perfectly hugged her curves and a side bun that accentuated her slender neck. Above all, she wore a smile. The combination made my heart soar.

“You once told me I felt like home,” she said. “I thought you were sweet-talking me. But when you left, I realized I knew exactly what you meant because I felt homesick. The town I thought was my safe haven, my protection? It wasn’t those things anymore. Huckleberry Creek was only a stand-in, a placeholder until I discovered my real home—which, as I found out, is where you are.”

“Sophie,” I began, that single word encompassing a world of emotion.

“Shh. Don’t interrupt, or I’ll forget what I memorized. So anyway,” she said, formally, and I realized Carmen filmed this from the doorway. “You’ve seen a lot of the world alone, but there’s a whole lot of empty space on that map we need to fill. Together.”Her gaze darted to the camera, then back at me. “I think what I’m saying is that I might just love you too, Tanner Carmichael.”

I stood there, admiring how her perfect hair fell in soft waves around her perfect face and emphasized her perfect neck. I had every inch of them memorized and suspected I always would—including the shy smile she now wore.

“So?” she asked. “Are you going to say something? Actually, I should clarify. We have some new cities to see, but only the ones we can drive to. I’m not sure I’m ready to fly yet. Oh! Or maybe we can take a cruise ship—”

I swept her into my arms and silenced her with a decisive kiss.

She returned it hungrily, and I deepened it, forgetting we were being filmed until Carmen cleared her throat. “I think . . . um, yeah. Definitely going to turn this thing off now.”

Sophie pulled away and chuckled. “Sorry.”

“For the record,” I told them, winking at the camera, “I’m not sorry. Not a single, tiny bit.”

And I kissed her again.

Twenty-Three

“It’s sonice to chat with you,” Grammy’s warm voice said through my phone’s speaker. “Are you sure you have to go? All my neighbors are out of town, and bingo night got canceled, so we can talk all night if you want.”

“There’s someone I need to see,” I whispered. “Someone who seems a little lonely and maybe needs a friend.”

“Aw, that sounds nice. Such a good girl. But why are you whispering?”

I grinned at Tanner, who quietly counted. “One. Two. Three.”

We jumped out of the bushes at the side of Grammy’s house and yelled, “Surprise!”

Grammy, who was sitting in a white plastic chair in her tiny backyard, dropped the phone into the grass and squealed, whirling around in surprise. “Oh, Sophie. I take that back. You’re a naughty, blessed girl. Trying to give me a heart attack.”

I closed the call and wrapped her in a warm hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too.” She pulled away but kept my arms firmly in her grip. “Wait. You’re here! I thought you swore off flying?”

“Turns out it’s a beautiful drive.”

“Especially for me,” Tanner said with a wink. Grammy laughed as I elbowed him in the ribs. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my head.

Grammy sighed. “It’s so good to see you two together again. I knew you would come to your senses, Tanner.”

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