Page 63 of Why Not Forever?

Vic holds my arm as we walk back to our hotel. The night is clear and crisp, the village lit up with sparkling lights and the trees covered in a rich display of fall colours. It’s incredibly romantic. If only that were the kind of relationship we had.

“What are we going to do tomorrow?” Vic asks as we reach the front doors of the hotel.

I chuckle. “Oh, I have a few ideas. You’ll just have to trust me.”

She pulls me to a stop, and I face her.

“I do trust you, Tanner. I want you to know that.”

I search her eyes, finding nothing but sincerity in them, and I’m overwhelmed with the idea that this strong, independent woman has faith in me. She sees me in a way no one else really has. I’ve always been good at pretending, at being the person everyone wants me to be—the shrewd businessman, the doting son, the reliable brother. The only ones I’ve ever truly been myself around are Wyatt and Vic. She’s always made it easy for me to just be me.

My hand cups her face and her eyes drift closed at my touch. I lower my head and brush a soft kiss against her lips, asking permission, asking if I can please kiss her for real.

She hesitates, moving away a fraction, and the moment is lost.

“Tanner, I—”

I shake my head, cutting her off. “It’s okay, Vic. You’re right. It’s a bad idea.”

“That’s not…”

I wait for her to finish, but she looks away.

I take a step back. “You head on up. I’m going to go for a walk.”

“Tanner—”

I hold up a hand and give her a smile. It’s as close to a lie as I have ever given her. “It’s really okay, Vic. I just want to stretch my legs a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

I walk away then because I’ve fucked up and I need a few minutes to myself to figure out where we go from here. I have fallen in love with my wife, and I need some time to remind myself that, after Richard gives me the business, it’s all going to end.

Chapter 23

Vic

Iwatchhimwalkawayand curse myself for hesitating. It’s not that I didn’t want to kiss him. In fact, it was that I wanted to kiss him so much. I want to feel his arms wrap around me. He makes me feel so safe and I want more of that.

Which is admittedly terrifying to someone who has always had to rely on myself. Yes, I have friends I can rely on. Spencer has been there for me since we were practically babies. We learned to rely on Derek and Adalie, too. As the three of them met and fell in love with their people, I trusted that if they could rely on those people, so could I. But when it comes to a romantic partner—someone who is supposed to have my back one hundred per cent—I haven’t ever really felt like I could count on any of them. Not the way I can count on Tanner.

Except our relationship has an expiration date.

I go up to our hotel room, calling myself a fool. Today had been perfect. I’d been caught up in the magic of the fall colours and Tanner’s jokes and how we click so well. In addition, the memories of him taking care of me when I was sick, and standing up for me at that family dinner, are fresh in my mind.

I kick off my shoes as I enter the room, frustrated, and grab my phone as I pull the pins from my hair, letting it out of its style to tangle around my head. I open my contacts and hit one.

It rings a couple times before Spencer answers.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” he asks by way of greeting.

“Don’t start.”

“Uh oh. What went wrong?”

I sigh and unzip my dress, stepping out of it. “He kissed me, and I backed up.”

“And you didn’t want to back up?” he says slowly.

“No. Yes? I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

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