Page 67 of Keeper
“Maybe. But you’ve got in spades what she can only pretend to have.”
I chuckled as I slammed the car trunk shut. “Which is?”
Gently, he turned me around, and our eyes met. “Something you can’t capture and brag about on Instagram,” he said. “Something natural—something inside you. It’s the way you move, the way you talk and think, the way youare,Ainsley. You’re elegant and graceful and smart and I knew it when I first saw you. You’re like no one I’ve ever met before.”
Who would’ve guessed the hockey heart breaker had a way with words? Certainly not me. I took a breath and centered myself, trying not to let my wobbly knees show.
“Thanks,” I muttered beneath my breath. “But I’m not Marta. Every guy in the whole world wants to bang her.”
“Not me.”
“You’re just saying that. If I weren’t here, you’d probably be all over her.”
“You think I’m not used to girls like her throwing themselves at me? I know where that road leads. I’m not interested in that anymore.”
“Right. You’re a pro athlete,” I said with a bob of my head. “You’ve had tons of girls, I’ve heard.”
“Okay, yeah, I’ve slept around.” He frowned. “But I’ve never met a girl like you.”
I didn’twantto believe what he was saying—I found this whole scenario completely absurd and unreal, almost like a dream—but I couldn’t stop my heart from swooning, no matter how much I tried.
“You barely know anything about me, Tanner,” I protested.
“But I like you,” he said, his voice a low and sexy rasp. “Isn’t that enough?” Taking my hand into his, he stepped nearer and gently pressed me against the rear of Marta’s car with his hips. “And I want to get to know you better.”
He pulled me snugly against his strong chest, a warm and fuzzy tension in my racing heart. His hand ran up my bare arm, my senses heightening as he lightly grazed my skin. I stared up at him as he cupped my cheek. Just like the other night, he made me yearn for his kiss.
But all around us, people walked through the parking lot. Some of them saw us and stared as they walked past. What if someone recognized him? What if someone took out their phone and took our picture? Just as Tanner began to lean in, I wrapped my hand around his thick wrist and stopped him before his lips could touch mine.
“Don’t,” I said. I gestured at the group that strolled past. “Last thing I need is someone to catch us together out here.”
He reached into his pocket and clicked a button on his key fob, and the Lamborghini doors slid open, waiting. “No one will see us in there.”
I glanced back at the park entrance “But Marta’s waiting for us …”
“She can wait a few more minutes,” he said, leading me by the hand to his car. “There’s still more I have to tell you.”
I bit my lip. “No weird stuff?”
“No weird stuff,” he said with a handsome smile. “I promise.”
25
Tanner
I pulled the door shut and we were alone, hidden behind tinted windows, shielded from the prying eyes of the public and bad friends.
“So what is it you want to tell me?” she asked.
“I hope I didn’t pressure you the other night,” I said.
“No. You didn’t.” She smiled. “I mean,yes,you were forward.” She bit her lip, conflicted. “But … I liked it. I liked it a lot.”
“Good. Because I want to see you again, Ainsley,” I said, cutting straight to the point. “Ineedto.”
“Needto?” Shestruggled with a smile, trying her best to keep it from spreading. “God, you’re persistent.”
“I’m an athlete. I know what I want and I go after it.”
