Page 42 of Just Can't Fall for the Enemy

“Yeah.”

I hesitated. “When you were in the navy, was it hard to have a long-distance relationship with Emily? Eleven months is a long time, and you did it twice.”

“Yep, the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But she was worth it.” He paused, then a note of interest appeared in his voice. “You seriously thinking about a long-distance relationship?”

“No. Maybe.” I groaned. “I don’t know.”

“Then your relationship isn’t going to make it, because you have to know 100 percent she’s the one for you. And, no offense, but you don’t exactly have a strong record in that department.”

I groaned, suddenly weary of being lectured about this. “Let me sum it up and save you the trouble. I’m a self-absorbed lost cause who’s obsessed with his work and avoids his family. Did I forget anything?”

My brother paused. “Obsessed, yes. Maybe a little self-centered too. But it’s more like your channel has become your identity, and not a healthy one. Like no amount of attention will ever be enough. It’s almost as if you’ve become . . .”

“Dad,” I finished for him, and muttered a curse. Not because his accusations were harsh, although they were, but because there could be a grain of truth to them. My work had indeed become my entire life over the past years. I didn’t know how to unravel it all and start again without the whole thing coming completely apart. Even if I mended things with Sophie, where did she fit? Life on the road had never been great for my relationship with Olivia.

My brother wisely changed the subject. “Do you like this woman?”

I lay flat on the bed. “She’s different, Ben. She’s funny and mischievous and smart. So smart. She’s completely different from the others and . . . she’s everything.”I meant every word.

“Then you’re going to have to make some sacrifices for her.”

“Like what, quitting the channel? You didn’t quit the navy for Emily.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then whatdidyou mean?”

He sighed. “Tanner, I know Olivia ripped a giant hole in your life. We can all see that. And I know you’ve been trying to fill it with other shallow relationships, but that’s not how it works. You have to lay your heart on the line again sometime.”

I wanted to deny it. But, as usual, my brother—who also had excellent legal advice from his lawyer mind—was right. Maybe Olivia, too, as much I hated to admit it.

“I know,” I said softly. “The scary thing is, I think I already have.”

“Then I wish you luck, little bro. You’re going to need it.”

When we hung up, I grabbed my keys and did a quick web search on my phone. I had a beyond-brilliant idea for an apology gift. Any other woman would find it strange, but Sophie wasn’t any other woman.

Ready or not, I was taking this to the next level.

Seventeen

“Let me guess,”I heard Grammy say to someone in the entryway. “You’re Tanner. Sophie told me all about you this afternoon. What do you have there?” By the sheer volume of her voice, she wanted me to overhear. And by her enthusiasm, she hadn’t listened to a word I said today as I wept and babbled on the way home from picking her up from the airport. She’d ended up driving because I was in no condition to—a fact that left me humiliated and Grammy happy to be able to help.

Tanner said something I couldn’t make out, his voice sending an odd shiver through me I liked but also resented. What was it about the man that held me rooted in the kitchen, hiding behind the refrigerator and also hoping he’d come find me and sweep me into his arms? His voice set my heart racing and my skin shivering all at once. Clearly, my body was as confused as my heart.

“Sophie!” Grammy sang. “Your man is here, and he looks very sorry. Don’t you, young man?”

“Couldn’t be sorrier,” he called. I could hear the grin in his voice—sheepish and mischievous.

Well, he wasn’t going away on his own. I’d have to send him away myself or it wouldn’t happen at all. I stepped around the corner and came to a stunned halt, gaping at him. “Is that a tree?”

Tanner stood in the entryway, gripping a huge pot with a baby evergreen bursting from the top. He tried not to look strained, but from the way the veins in his biceps popped through the tanned skin beneath his T-shirt sleeve, it was heavier than he made it look.

“A ponderosa pine, in fact—native to Huckleberry Creek and the northern Montana wilderness as well as your official state tree.”

I reached the doorway, barely noticing Grammy sneaking off with a smile. “You did your research. I’m impressed.”

“Good. It took me the entire way here to memorize that. Which took four times longer than normal, by the way.”

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