Page 149 of Wildest Dreams

I squeal and practically throw myself on top of him, making a chuckle rumble in his chest as he splays his free hand over my back, hunching down to meet my kiss.

“Like it?” he asks gruffly, pulling back so that he can pass it to me.

“Cinnamon roll,” I whisper up at him, totally entranced.

He shakes his head as he laughs before dipping down to kiss me again.

“You know that I have no idea what you mean when you say stuff like that, right?” he asks, helping me climb back over to the passenger seat. The sunflowers are now sitting in the back and my rose is laid carefully on my lap.

“You’re the most thoughtful person ever,” I say, staring up at him as he backs out of the parking spot. “Why’d you even get it for me?”

He squeezes my thigh with his right hand. “A beautiful rose for a beautiful rose.”

Chapter 35

Aisling

Present day

Fifteen minutes later Tanner is easing his G-wagon to a stop outside of a large white house with two giant garages and a wrap-around porch. I blink up at it in confusion before flicking my eyes back to Tanner.

He puts the car in park, unbuckles our seatbelts, and spreads his quads, waiting for me to say something.

“Is that…” I breathe out a shaky exhale, eyes flickering between him and the house. It literally has a white picket fence, unironically.

With the exception of the lake house that I’ve spent the summer working on, I’ve never seen a home so perfect before.

He jerks his thumb toward the porch, knees bouncing as he grunts, “That’s us.”

I stare at him for a long moment before turning my eyes back toward the house.

“Oh my God,” I whisper. “You’re not just six-foot-four and gorgeous. You’rerichsix-foot-four and gorgeous.”

Tanner breathes out a laugh and grips firmly at the back of his neck. Then he reaches over to me and gently sets my rose on the dash, before removing my khaki cap, wrapping his hands beneath my jaw, and leaning down to chastely kiss me.

“That’s my parents’ cash, baby,” he murmurs. “That’s nothing to do with me.”

I pull back and shake my head up at him, my arms tight around his neck.

“That’s not what I meant,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean, like, ‘yay, he’s rich’. I meant more like… I can’t believe that you’re rich… while also being so kind and sweet and humble.”

When he just smiles and shakes his head I say, “Seriously, Tanner, that’s super rare.”

I grew up around people who had a lot of money, and absolutely none of those guys behaved the way that Tanner does.

He lifts my face up to his, shoulders swelling as he kisses me deeply.

“Maybe it’s ’cause this is still the holler,” he murmurs.

“What d’you mean?” I ask.

“We’re raised a different way.”

I wrap my arms tighter around his neck, urging him closer as he grips my waist. He strokes his tongue into my mouth and grunts quietly, squeezing harder.

Suddenly the sound of a door opening behind us punctuates our haze, and Tanner reluctantly removes his mouth from mine, blocking me from view as he scopes out the scene over his shoulder.

“Shit,” he grunts.

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