Page 12 of All Night with the Cowboy
“Ms. Lewis? Would you like another glass?”
She turned when she heard her name and gratefully held out her glass. “Absolutely.”
Lauren took a little sip, wanting to take this one slow. It was easy to drink fast instead of trying to make conversation, but she wasn’t going to fall into that trap again.
“So tell me how it all happened. I’d actually like to know how you ended up with the Rangers.”
She settled back, deciding not to make direct eye contact with him again. What was it about this man that affected her still, after so many years? But she knew what it was: She’d never wanted to end things in the first place, and part of her had always wonderedwhat if. What if they’d stayed together? What if she’d turned her back on her family instead of her boyfriend? What if she’d told him the truth about why she’d had to call it off? She wasn’t unhappy with how her life had turned out. She’d landed her dream job and she’d worked hard for everything she’d achieved, but there would always be that little niggle, wondering what could have been.
“I suppose my college years were fairly uneventful,” she said, smiling as she remembered Casey dragging her to parties and insisting she wasn’t allowed to stay in their dorm room on her own on weekends. To start with, it had taken all her willpower not to call Tanner, to beg his forgiveness and apologize for what she’d done. Then she’d look around and remember why college was so important to her, why she wanted to have control of her future and do the work she’d always imagined herself doing. She’d never wanted to have to rely on a man, she’d wanted to create her own future and her own financial independence, and nothing had changed. “I wasn’t exactly the life of the party there, but I knuckled down and worked hard. When I graduated, I started working in the sports medicine industry, at a private practice, and eventually I had the chance of a lifetime.”
His chuckle made her pause and she chanced a quick peek at him, diverting her eyes the moment she saw his were trained on her face.
“Let me guess, you charmed your way in there?”
Lauren bristled. She hated anyone thinking that she used her looks or charm or anything else “female” to get where she’d gotten to. “You know, I’ve never had to charm anyone,” she said, taking a sip of bubbly and refusing to give him a reaction. “My work speaks for itself and it always has.”
“Hey, no offense,” he said, holding up a hand. “You’re a beautiful woman working in a man’s world, that’s all. I bet you charmed the hell out of them without even realizing.”
“You really want to know what I did?” she asked, not giving him the opportunity to say anything else. “I found out their therapist was retiring at the end of the season,and I gave up my job and worked for them for free so I could learn from the best and prove myself. I had to live off my savings and move into a tiny place that I could barely afford, but I was determined to land the top job.”
“Sounds like the girl I used to know. You never did change your mind once you’d decided on something.”
Like them breaking up.They were the words that hung unsaid between them. But he was right, that was something about her that definitely hadn’t changed.
“When the season finished, I was sweating big time. I didn’t know if I’d done enough to impress them or if they were interviewing other candidates, and I was down to my last few hundred dollars. There was no way I could keep paying my rent, and I was terrified I was going to have to tell my parents I was back bartending. I mean, it was fine when I was at college working part-time slinging beers at night, but their little girl all grown up and graduated working a bar would have killed them. They didn’t put aside all their savings for me to get a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree and then walk away from a paying job in the first place!”
Tanner’s laugh echoed around them, warmed her like a cashmere sweater being wrapped around her shoulders. How could he still do that to her? How could the soft, deep timbre of his laugh take her back years, reminding her of being in his arms and listening to that same laugh with her cheek pressed to his chest?
“But you got the job,” he said.
“Yeah, I got the job. Turns out they were just letting me sweat, but the players had all gotten together and requested me. I was able to make my rent check, and soon after I was able to put a down payment on my ownplace.” She smiled, thinking how much life had changed, and how proud she’d been inviting her parents over to see the house she’d brought with no help from anyone. “I’ve been with them for two years now and my contract has been renewed.”
“You did good, Lol. I’m proud of you.”
She froze. The warm feeling that had engulfed her had fallen away, replaced by a shudder of goose bumps that coursed rapidly across her skin. She hadn’t heard a man use that nickname since…since Tanner. Her sister was the only other person who ever called her that, and it had been years since she’d heard it even from her. It was a silly name that Tanner had started, because everyone always joked that she was always laughing out loud.
“It was an uphill battle for a while there, but life’s good now. I’m happy, the work is rewarding, and I don’t have a lot of downtime so it pays to enjoy my work.”
They sat in silence awhile as Lauren sipped her drink. The seat was so comfortable and she tucked her legs up beneath her as she went back to staring out the window. She’d never been to a tropical island, and Fiji sounded like heaven. The only part of the equation she didn’t like was not knowing what she was going to say to Tanner for the next three weeks.
“So while you were being a nerd studying at college, I was pretty busy too,” Tanner told her. She listened but she didn’t look. “I studied, my dad wouldn’t have it any other way and I agreed with him, but I only lasted long enough at Baylor University to get my undergrad degree, and even then it took me forever to get it. I rode bulls between semesters, and eventually I took up riding full-time.” He laughed. “I’ve secretly always wanted to doan MBA, maybe once I’ve retired, but it’ll probably never happen.”
Lauren was pleased she wasn’t watching him, because then he’d have seen the surprise written all over her face. He’d impressed her, but then wasn’t that why he was telling her? Or maybe he just wanted to make it clear that he hadn’t been moping around with a broken heart.
“You’d probably be the only rider on the circuit with an MBA if you did it,” she said. “You could do it online.”
“Haha, I probably would be. It’s not something I ever bothered to ask when we were shooting the breeze, waiting to climb aboard some asshole of a bull.” He sat back as she watched him. “Maybe Ishouldlook at doing it online—it’d be easier than having to turn up on campus somewhere. I’ll think about it.”
Lauren stroked her fingers up and down the stem of the glass. How were they just doing this? Suddenly talking like old friends catching up when earlier there had been such an overwhelming sense of animosity? And if talking to him was like this, what was it going to be like touching him? She was going to have to put her hands on him, she was going to have to breathe in the air around him and place her skin against his.
“Dammit,” he softly swore, his mutter commanding her attention.
“What is it?” she asked, pushing her glass away and turning in her seat. She could see the pain etched on his face, even though he was clearly trying not to let it show. She was used to men trying to be tough guys, and she was just as used to seeing right through any façade they tried to put up.
“Nothin’. I just—” He sucked back a breath. “Motherf—.” Tanner glanced at her, not finishing his curse. “I’m fine.”
She stifled her laugh. It was cute he’d stopped himself from swearing around her, and she remembered how polite and charming he’d always been. A true Southern gentleman, even when he’d been sneaking into her room late at night or roaring off down the road on his motorcycle with her hanging on from behind.
