Page 74 of Trusting Tanner
Juliana glanced up at the scorecard projected onto the wall above the lane. “The lovebirds?”
Tanner’s head jerked up. “That’s real original.”
“It was Ryder’s brainchild. I wanted the ‘Wannabe Porn Stars’ but I was outvoted.” Xander sipped from his beer then set it down. “Ladies first.” He nodded at Lora, who giggled and stepped up to the lane.
When it was Juliana’s turn, she used Lora’s ball and rolled a perfect strike. When she turned to go back to her seat, everyone stared at her. “What?” she asked self-consciously.
“Are you some sort of secret bowling champ or something?” Finn smiled. “I’ve never seen anyone with such perfect form.”
She shook her head. “Beginner’s luck.”
Tanner motioned for her to sit on his lap. When she did, he nuzzled her neck. “You’re sexy when you bowl.” He nibbled on her earlobe, and she leaned in to him, closing her eyes and moaning softly.
“Aw, c’mon, you two! This is supposed to be Finn’s birthday party, not a make-out session,” Ryder said.
Tanner flipped his middle finger at Ryder and then kissed her again. She really didn’t want to bethatcouple, the one constantly kissing and touching and being sickeningly “in love.” It annoyed the living shit out of her when she had to watch other couples act that way. But this was the guy of her dreams. There wasn’t a force on earth that would convince her to stop him.
“Can you pry yourself away long enough to take your turn?” Xander asked.
She broke the kiss, not wanting to push her luck with Tanner’s brothers. It was important they like her. When Tanner got up to take his turn, she sat in his spot. Like metal to a magnet, Xander and Ryder swooped in. She took a deep breath, knowing it was only a matter of time before they decided to question her.
Ryder grinned, one corner of his mouth lifting a tad higher than the other. It was creepy how much he looked like Tanner, right down to the way he smiled. “How long have you and my brother been hooking up?”
And there it is.“We’re not hooking up.” What they had wasn’t some cheap booty call. “We’ve been hanging out for about two months. It’s no big deal.” Maybe if she played it off as nothing serious, they wouldn’t interrogate her too much. She watched as Tanner threw his ball down the lane. They hadn’t really defined their relationship yet, but she wanted to. Labeling what they had would make it more concrete and real in her mind.
“Do you love him?” Xander asked.
Her eyes widened as she turned to glare at him. Did he seriously just ask her that?
“Of course she does.” Ryder shrugged. “Who doesn’t love a Collins?”
Xander laughed. “True.”
“Besides, watch how she looks at him. It’s written all over her face,” Ryder said.
Her head was spinning with the way they were talking about her like she wasn’t sitting right there between them.
“Yeah.” Xander nodded. “She’s got it bad.”
“She’s sitting right here, you know,” Juliana snapped.
“Sorry.” Ryder nudged her shoulder.
“Yeah, sorry.” Xander nudged her other shoulder.
Great. Now she was their personal ping-pong ball. She needed some air, some room to breathe and gather her thoughts. She moved to get up when Tanner approached, his eyes narrowed.
“Are these two harassing you?”
If she told him the truth—they were making her uncomfortable and asking inappropriate questions—Tanner would leave. But she didn’t want to put him in a position where he had to choose between her and his brothers.
“No.” She shook her head. “Everything’s fine.”
Tanner studied her for a moment as if trying to decide whether she was being truthful. “I’m going to get a beer. Want one?”
“Yeah.”
He looked back and forth between Xander and Ryder, some sort of unspoken communication passing between them. When he walked away, she blew out a breath. She could verbally spar with Devon without breaking a sweat. Surely she could handle these two.
