Page 54 of Trusting Tanner
“No.” He shook his head. “No, absolutely not. I would never tell you who you can and can’t be friends with. Ever.” Because he knew if it came down to her making a choice between him and Devon, he’d lose. Big time. “But if we’re going to try to have a relationship, I need to know it’s you and me. Not you and me and Devon and Rebecca and whoever else decides they want to butt in.”
Her lips quivered and then curved up in a smile. “Are there other girls from your past who’re going to show up and try to butt in that I should know about?”
He laughed, deciding her teasing was a good sign. “No.” He took her other hand, caressing the backs with his thumbs. “I want to know that any decisions you make about me, about our relationship, are being made because it’s whatyouwant, not what someone else tells you you should want.”
She closed the distance between them and placed a kiss to his cheek. “I think I can manage that.”
“Good.” Releasing his hold on one of her hands, they turned and continued walking along the trail.
“Now it’s my turn to ask you a question,” she said. “What happened between you and Rebecca today?”
His heart skipped several beats, and he fought to draw in a breath. “Nothing. I knocked on your door to get you and she opened it naked. I looked away.”
Juliana frowned. “I swear she’s always naked. But I’m talking about earlier today. She told me you attacked her.”
“What?” he shouted. “I did not attack her.” Lying about having sex was one thing, but accusing him of committing a crime was taking things way too fucking far. Hot, undiluted anger bled through him, making his limbs feel heavy. He let go of Juliana’s hand, afraid he’d squeeze too hard and hurt her.
“She said you cornered her, grabbed her arm, and threatened her if she told me anything else.” She shoved her hands into her pockets.
“That is not what happened.” He swallowed the ball of rage threatening to erupt from his mouth. There were a lot of choice words he wanted to say about Rebecca and the whole situation. “I never put my hands on her. I asked her why she was lying to you, and then I asked her to please tell you the truth. She proceeded to tell me you were a gold digger plotting to steal all my money.”
“Wait, what?” She crossed her arms, a scowl taking over her expression. “She called me a gold digger?” She let out a harsh laugh. “Trust me. I couldn’t care less about your money, if you even have any. No offense.” She huffed. “I cannot believe her.”
“Why do you, then?” It was a genuine question, but one he probably shouldn’t have asked because it came out sounding ruder than he’d intended. “I mean, you’ve seen how she is. Why do you even give her the satisfaction of listening to what she says?”
“Let’s find a place to sit.” She headed toward a bench a few feet ahead, and he fell into step beside her. She sat with her hands tucked under her legs, head down.
Tanner sat beside her, arm extended along the back of the bench.
“When I first met Zach, he’d just gotten out of a relationship with this girl named Callie. I’d seen her around campus, but I didn’t really know her that well. Anyway, when Zach and I started dating, she got real nasty. Called me some awful names and tried to start a bunch of trouble. Kind of like Rebecca.”
He sucked in a breath. She could’ve stopped talking right then, and he would’ve been able to put the pieces together, but she kept going.
“Zach swore she was just a crazy ex who was pissed because he’d dumped her, and that it was nothing to worry about. Then, one day out of the blue, Callie approaches me. She tells me Zach is cheating on me. Of course, I didn’t believe her. She tried to tell me so many times, and every time I dismissed her as a jealous ex-girlfriend.” She shook her head. “I was so stupid.”
“Hey.” He put his arm around her and pulled her over to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. “You are not stupid. Under those circumstances, no one would’ve believed her.”
“She failed to mention he was cheating on mewith her. I walked into his room to find his dick in her mouth.”
Tanner cringed. “Damn.”
“That’s why this whole Rebecca thing has me so damn confused and angry. She’s making me question you…me…everything.” She flung her hands in the air then let them settle back in her lap. “I’m worried this is Callie and Zach all over again, and that I’m not willing to see what’s right in front of me.”
Well shit. How could he possibly get mad that she’d question him? Her fears and insecurities weren’t irrational. They were real and raw.
She put her hand on his leg. “I know you’re not him. I promise I do.”
He let his arm slide down to rest on her lower back and caressed her cheek with the back of his other hand. “I’d never do that to you, Jules. We’ll take this one day at a time, okay? For as long as it takes, but you will trust me. Eventually.” He kissed the top of her head.
Her eyelids fluttered, and she leaned into his touch. “Thank you.”
“Promise me if Rebecca says anything else, you’ll come talk to me.” He searched her face, memorizing every inch. When she opened her eyes and met his gaze, all the breath left his body, and his heart stopped. He swallowed hard, trying to shove away the one thought consuming him—he was falling for her. Hard. How was that possible when he barely knew her? It was like someone had rammed a tree trunk into his chest.
“Promise.” She smiled. “I don’t want to let her come between us.”
“Neither do I.” He kissed her forehead then the tip of her nose before tilting her head up and finding her lips. “So, can I take you out this weekend?”
“Actually, I’m going apartment hunting with Devon this weekend.”
