Page 2 of Home Run

He let me cry for a minute, then carefully eased the towel from my grip, and before I knew what was happening, he’d shifted over the center console and pulled me into his chest, his verysolidchest. If I’d been a betting woman, I’d have dropped large amounts of money on Tanner Simpson running in the opposite direction of a girl crying, yet here he was wrapped around me, palms soothing my wet hair while telling me things would be okay.

It only made me cry harder. The upheaval of the last twenty-four hours, the resurfacing of memories I’d forgotten, was too much to swallow.

I don’t know how long we were stopped at the side of the road, but it was enough for the windows to have steamed up and a policeman to come by and knock on the glass. As Tanner eased away from me and lowered thepassenger side, the cop took one look at my face and walked away.

Swiping an arm under my nose, I took a big sniff and sat back. I dare not look in the mirror, though I’d been in too much of a hurry this morning to apply any makeup. I might be puffy, but at least I wasn’t also contending with panda eyes.

Taking the corner of the towel, Tanner wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Do you feel better?”

“A bit.” I shrugged, my eyes shifting over to him and the wet patch I’d left on his sweater. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,” he replied, reaching into the backseat and emerging with another sweater, which he handed to me. “Put this on. You’re soaked through, and I’m taking you for some food and coffee.”

I was about to tell him that I didn’t want food, when my stomach rumbled loudly. Tanner’s brows lifted, daring me to argue otherwise.

If it was a ploy to see me shirtless, it didn’t work. He was too focused on getting back into the bumper-to-bumper traffic, wiper blades on full power, to notice me stripping off. I slipped the sweater over my head and once more the heady scent of Tanner Simpson enveloped me to the point where the racing in my chest calmed a fraction.

“What are you hungry for? You want breakfast?”

I nodded. “Yeah, breakfast sounds good. Thank you.”

He turned to me with a wink. “You got it, I know just the place.”

Five minutes later, we’d pulled up outside a diner with its striped yellow awnings rolled up to protect them from the pouring rain. Once again, Tanner showed his total disregardfor parking regulations by stopping in the entrance of an alleyway to the side.

“You wanna bring that with you?” He glanced down at the box on my lap. From the way his eyes widened, I had the feeling if I’d said yes, Tanner would carry it for me and guard it with his life. I was almost tempted to find out.

“No.” I shook my head, my mouth twitching with a smile.

“That’s better. Now, let’s go and get the best eggs and waffles New York has to offer. But don’t tell Lux.”

It was clear from the way Tanner was greeted, like a long-lost son, that he was a regular in this place. Within two minutes we were ushered to a table, a cup of steaming hot coffee was in front of us, and a guy called Giuseppe was bringing over the specials.

Tanner barely sipped his coffee before he leaned back, arms crossed, and pinned me with a curious look.

“First things first, why were you crying? Did someone make you cry?” he asked.

I needed my coffee far too urgently to answer immediately, waiting for the warmth of the caffeine to hit my veins. I also wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him.

“You’re not put off by me crying?”

“No, why would I be?”

“I dunno.” My shoulders lifted while I sipped again. I had two brothers, and I knew for a fact they’d run in the opposite direction if I’d burst into tears in front of them. After they’d told me to suck it up, that is. “You’re a guy. Guys don’t like girls crying.”

Tanner chuckled, ripped open two packets of sugar,and dumped the contents into his coffee. “Hey, you’ve met my sister.”

For the first time in twenty-four hours I genuinely grinned. He had a point. Tanner’s sister Holiday was an actress—a real, A-list, red carpet–walking actress—the darling of Hollywood. If the rain wasn’t pouring quite so much, causing minimal visibility, I could look out of the window and see a billboard of her somewhere modeling in the latest Gucci campaign, or her most recent movie. I’d spent enough time with her to know that she was the sweetest human, while also a touchdramatic.

“Come on,” he pushed. “Tell me what’s wrong. I promise I’m a good listener. Is it to do with the box you were guarding with your life?”

Tanner Simpson, a good listener. They weren’t words I’d have put together. Tanner Simpson and playboy. Tanner Simpson and infuriating. Tanner Simpson and attention seeking. They all worked well together.

It dawned on me that this was the first time I’d ever spent time in Tanner’s company, just the two of us. Usually, I avoided him at all costs, because as I said before, he was the most annoying human being I’d ever met. Like an Energizer Bunny on steroids, and for some reason, that energy was usually directed at me. In the year since our best friends started dating each other, Tanner seemed to have made it his life’s work to get me to notice him.

Oh boy, I’d noticed him all right, but not in the way I imagined he was used to. Or the way he wanted.

No doubt it was a chase he played with all girls, except I had no intention of getting caught. Guys like Tanner Simpson went through girls like a kid through candy. Itseemed the only reason he was yet to get bored was because I ignored him most of the time, if I wasn’t ignoring him, I was arguing with him. It was a game I’d become an unwilling participant in. Plus, I wasn’t looking for some awkward entanglement, especially as my best friend was in love with his best friend.

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