Page 82 of Wildest Dreams

“Nothing,” I say quickly. Then I add, “Definitely not a bed.”

The van’s giantBESPOKE ALL AMERICAN BEDFRAME COMPANYslogan drives by painstakingly slowly in our peripheral vision.

Tanner’s handsome lips fight a smirk as he watches the van crawl past us at one mile per hour.

“Right,” he says dryly, grinning as he looks back down at me.

I drop my eyes and shake my head at myself, emotions bubbling up in my chest at all of the all-too-familiar full-circle feelings.

And Tanner can sense it.

“Aisling,” he begins, his voice kind and deep.

“Please don’t,” I say immediately, stumbling back a step. “Please just… I know that it’s only the two of us here but… I’ll be leaving soon anyway, so let’s not–”

“You’re leaving?”

Tanner’s eyes widen, frowning in shock and displeasure as he swiftly closes the small space between us.

“Tell me when. When are you leaving?”

I shake my head and look up at him, my right eye twitching when I catch another glimpse of the delivery van’s sign.

I swallow hard.

“I’ll probably be finished in two weeks, tops,” I whisper. “Let’s just not make this anymore… complicated than it already is.”

“Aisling.” Tanner’s voice is husky, his eyes raging and stormy. “I’ve had four years of complicated with you. I want to put our past to bed.”

I shudder dramatically at the b-word. “D-don’t say the wordbed,” I whisper, tentatively pressing my wrist against my forehead.

He huffs out a humourless laugh. “Why? Because it reminds you of how good it was before you got all freaked out on me?”

I drop my arm, frowning up at him. “I only got freaked out because I realised how foolish I’d been. I only got freaked out because I realised I didn’t know youat all.”

Tanner steps right up against me, pushing his chest roughly against mine. “This is good. Get it all out, Ash.”

I throw my arms in the air, releasing an exasperated growl. “Oh myGod, Tanner! Let itgoalready, I don’t want to think about it anymore!”

He nods down at me, eyes hard and unreadable. “So you admit that you have been thinking about it.”

I smack one of my palms against his chest and he grunts, his position unmoving.

“Fine. You want to talk about it? Let’s talk about it,” I snap.

I breathe in a big shaky inhalation and then flick my eyes straight up to his, the fire in his irises licking dangerously against my own.

“I thought that you were exactly what I wanted to find at Carter Ridge, but the morning after I realised that you were the exact opposite. There was this whole other side to you that you decided to withhold from me. After all of the cute stuff you’d said the night before can you freaking blame me for cutting this thing short? For pushing you away? For not wanting to trust you?” I swallow down the acid climbing from my tummy as I stare up at him and choke out, “We met. We fucked–”

Tanner shakes his head, our bodies pressing closer.

“The goddamnmouthon you,” he grits out, his palms shaking at his sides. “You wanna have it out like this? You wanna play dirty? Fine. We met and wefucked, over and over and over again.”

His eyes scorch against mine and I quickly blink away from him, my cheeks absolutely on fire.

“But I already told you before any of that happened exactly how I felt about you.” He exhales roughly. “I told you before we did it exactly how I wanted this thing to go.”

“You couldn’t possibly know how you felt about me, Tanner. No-one can make a decision that quickly.”

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