Page 10 of Tangled Up With You

“Oh, yeah. That,” Zach said, his voice full of humor. “That guy’s been here about a week now, and he’s been crushin’ on our girl the whole damn time.”

I suddenly understood what people meant when they said to never meet your heroes. It was a shame that Tanner was such a talented hockey player. It was going to make committing murder that much harder to get away with.

Chapter Six

Ivy

I’d been so focused on the calendar app on my tablet that I didn’t realize someone was standing in front of me until a huge, looming shadow blinked out the overhead lights.

“Oh!” I startled at Tanner’s sudden appearance right in front of me before blowing at the pieces of hair that had fallen out of my makeshift bun. A smile pulled at my lips. “Hi. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Though I didn’t know how that was possible given how massive the man was.

“No problem.” He gave me that smile he’d been giving me all week long. The one I was sure melted panties all over the country. “Didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that.”

“You move really quiet for a guy so... big.” I choked at my own spit as soon as I realized how that sounded. “I didn’t mean—not likethat. I just meant... you’re a really big guy, and you’re light on your feet.” I quickly clamped my mouth shut before I could say anything else to humiliate myself.

He laughed, shaking his head good-naturedly. “I got what you meant. Guess you could say light feet is a part of the job.”

I blew at the hair that kept falling across my forehead again before I returned his smile easily. I really appreciated that he went out of his way to make me comfortable after the embarrassing bout of word vomit I’d just suffered. The pads of his large fingers skated across my skin when he reached up to tuck those offending strands of hair behind my ear. I stood still, barely pulling in a breath while I sent up a silent prayer for tingles or butterflies or a rush of blood down south. But all I felt for the gorgeous hunk of man standing before me was kinship.

I had to admit, I’d been giving my friends’ suggestion of asking Tanner to Rae’s wedding a lot of thought. I felt like I’d gotten to know him a little over the past week he’d been staying with us, and the nice guy vibe I got from him had been consistent. There might not be any chance of romance, but I bet it could be a fun night. But something was holding me back from actually saying the words.

“Oh... thanks,” I said, my body still reacting with a heated flush to my cheeks despite there being no romantic interest. He was still a gorgeous man, even without the tingles.

“Any time. You know, I was wondering if you’d changed your mind on that hike.” He held his hands up innocently. “Just as friends. I promise. I don’t know what the rest of your day looks like, but it’s really beautiful outside, and I was just thinking that?—”

“Ivy.”

The blood in my veins crystalized, turning into ice at the sound of his voice. I broke eye contact with Tanner on a slow blink as I silently willed myself to remain calm and collected. This was it—the moment I had been dreading, and although my heart felt like it was about to beat right out of my chest, there was no way I was going to let him see that. Inhaling deeply, I forced myself to face the man I would have gladly ignored for the rest ofmy life. The moment my gaze landed on his deep umber eyes, a riot of butterflies sparked to life in my belly.

Son of a bitch.

My nightly wish that the man would age poorly during his time away had been for nothing, because, if anything, he looked better than ever. Even in jeans, a faded concert tee, and dusty, well-worn boots, he was most women’s wet dream come to life. And thatfreakingbackward ballcap he was currently sporting only ramped the asshole’s hotness up to eleven.

I couldn’t let him see he still had any effect on me, so I forced my mouth to tilt up into a small grin. It was all I could muster, but it was something, at least. “Connor. Hi. It’s good to see you.”

His chin jerked back, his eyes widening with shock. “It-it is?”

The bewilderment carved into the angular planes of his face and his voice infused me with a sense of strength. The ball was in my court. I could do this, I assured myself. “Yeah. I know Zach’s always happy to have you back, and with you being here, it means our friends are that much closer to their big day.”

“Yeah. Sure.” He nodded slowly as his thick, dark brows lowered over his eyes. It felt like his scrutinizing gaze was trying to drill inside my head to see what I was really thinking, but I held firm, keeping an iron grip on my composure.

Suddenly remembering that there was another person standing in our little huddle, I took the opportunity to make introductions, hoping to shift Connor’s focus away from me and onto someone else. “I’m sorry. Connor, have you met Tanner Fine? He’s staying with us for a couple weeks.”

I didn’t miss the way his eyelids narrowed as he took the other man in, his gaze sweeping over him from head to foot and back again, almost like he was trying to size the guy up. Connor was no slouch, that was for damn sure. Bull riding apparently built some serious muscle. Still, Tanner had a couple inches andseveral pounds of muscle on him. Something told me a fight between these two would not be evenly matched.

“We’ve met,” Connor replied, his voice dull and his jaw ticking. It almost looked like he was jealous of the fact that I was talking to another man, but that was ridiculous.

Wasn’t it?

I shook that thought off. It would only lead to more trouble. “Great.” That chirped word came out overly enthusiastic, warning me that I was quickly reaching the limit on how much time I could be in Connor’s presence. I needed to end this uncomfortable little stand-off and get the hell out of here.

“Well, it was good catching up,” I told him, proud that the lie at least sounded believable. “But it’s a busy day, and I should really get back to it.” I was about to take off when I was hit with an idea. It was either incredibly brilliant or incredibly stupid, only time would tell. But once I got it in my head, that wild streak of mine gave me no choice but to act on it. “About that hike,” I said, grinning up at Tanner like Connor no longer existed. “I’m swamped today, but if you’re free later tonight, maybe we could do dinner?”

His features softened. “I’d like that.”

Nerves flooded my system as I felt Connor’s gaze drilling into the side of my face, but I refused to look in his direction. “Great. If you feel like getting away from the lodge for a bit, the Evergreen Diner in town has some of the best food you’ll ever eat. I could meet you there. Say... seven o’clock?”

“Sounds perfect.”

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