Meant to be Kept Read online

  He shoved the mountain of pillows and comforters inside his truck and laid the air mattress out, then flicked the switch on the small air compressor to start it inflating. He hopped down from the bed and pulled the long box out of the back seat of his truck with a grin. Belle was going to love this part. Carefully sliding all the components out, he was grateful there were only a few pieces and quickly assembled the telescope.

  When the thought first occurred to him of using the time between his confession and their anniversary as a way to win her back, he had a lot of thoughts on the best way to use that time. Ideas of taking her for an extended stay at a resort in the Bahamas, renting out the movie theater and spending an entire day watching movies significant in their lives, or touring castles in Europe for weeks on end all floated through his mind.

  But that wasn’t Belle. She wasn’t impressed by the amount of money he spent on something. What she loved most was when he took the time to create something just for her. And that thought alone had been the catalyst for every date he planned. As he spread the stacks of covers on top of the air mattress, he grinned to himself, feeling just a touch of pride. Tonight might be her favorite.

  He glanced at his watch again, a little after five. Tanner ripped open the plastic bags covering the last few pillows and threw them on the pile. Okay, maybe twenty pillows was a tiny bit of overkill, but he wanted to do whatever he could to make this comfortable for Belle.

  And if all went well, he’d be holding her in his arms by the end of the night.

  Tanner trekked back to the house and couldn’t help but smile that he walked through the door two minutes before six. He was still on time for dinner.

  The smile stayed fixed on his lips through dinner and as the kids wrangled both he and Belle into a game of Twister in the middle of the living room floor. It grew bigger when Belle led the kids upstairs to bed a long time later and a soft knock came at the door.

  His youngest brother stood on the threshold with a backpack hitched over his shoulder. “Reporting for duty,” Dean quipped as he pushed past Tanner, bumping his shoulder intentionally.

  Tanner rolled his eyes and sighed. Obviously all his brothers were firmly in Belle’s camp.

  Just then, Belle descended the stairs and visibly brightened when she saw Dean. As ridiculous as it was, Tanner felt a stirring of jealousy at the sight.

  “Dean,” she wrapped his brother in a warm hug, “what are you doing here?”

  The younger man squeezed her back tightly and for much longer than Tanner was happy about. “Ask Casanova over there,” he answered with a lift of his chin in his brother’s direction. “I’m going to head up to the guest room and read for a bit.”

  Belle’s face clouded with confusion as she watched him climb the stairs, and she turned her gaze to Tanner, her face asking an unspoken question.

  “We’ve got a date, sweetheart.” He grinned at the excitement lighting her eyes. “Dean is going to stay with the kids.”

  “Where in the world are we going at this hour?” She didn’t sound upset and easily slid her hand inside his as they walked out the door. Definitely making progress.

  He flicked on the flashlight in his hand and held her close to his side, squeezing her hand lightly as his only response.

  Yeah, Belle was going to love tonight’s date.

  ***

  “Last week you all agreed to twenty each.”

  “New week, new price. You’ve been shadowing Dad long enough to know renegotiations happen all the time.”

  Tanner shoved his fingers through his hair and locked his hands behind his neck, facing off against all three of his brothers. Shit. He did not have time for this. “Fine, I’ll pay thirty. Hell, I’ll pay you fifty bucks each if you get to work and stop your bitchin’.”

  Wyatt, the self-appointed spokesman for the group, quirked an eyebrow for a moment. Then he offered a grin and stuck his hand out. “You got a deal, big brother.”

  He smacked away the hand and grabbed the drop cloths off the couch, throwing them at Connor and Dean. “You two cover everything in the bedroom. And I mean everything, got it? No half-assing this project.”

  Tanner turned to Wyatt and pulled him out the front door of the apartment. “And you, Mr. Ringleader, are gonna help me carry all this shit out of my truck. We’ve got six hours until she gets home, and I’d like all of you assholes to be long gone by then.”

  With barely an hour to spare, Tanner managed to get all three of his brothers to finish the job at hand and clean up every single speck of dirt. After a speedy shower, he stood in front of the bathroom mirror buttoning the long-sleeved sapphire-colored shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone. Belle always liked that. He was just adjusting his cuffs when he heard Belle’s keys in the door and grinned. Showtime.

  He sauntered into the living room, his smile fading momentarily when he saw how exhausted she looked. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

  Belle smiled lightly, but his heart constricted when he realized it didn’t come close to touching her eyes. “Thank you, baby, but I told you last year, I’m not really that into birthdays. Well, not my birthday. I can’t wait to get out of this uniform and take a long hot shower and—”

  “Get ready to go out to dinner,” he cut her off. When her mouth fell open and Tanner was certain she would argue, he stepped in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. “Listen, sweetheart, it’s your birthday and I want to take you out to dinner. That’s all. Just dinner, okay? Nothing big, nothing extravagant, just dinner.”

  Pouting playfully, Belle wound her arms around him. “You don’t play fair.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss before releasing him and walking toward the bedroom. “Fine, let me just go find something—”

  “No! No, no, no, no, no.” He leapt over the back of the couch to stop her in her tracks. “W-what I mean is, I got something. For you. To wear.” Tanner closed his eyes and willed his mind to concentrate and, hopefully, form a cohesive sentence. “I bought you a dress. And shoes. As a birthday present. They’re in the bathroom.”

  Finally a genuine smile spread across her face, and he almost sighed in relief when he noticed the twinkle in her eyes. “You bought me a dress, huh?”

  Tanner steered her toward the bathroom door and gave her ass a soft swat. “Yes, sweetheart. And everything you need is in the bathroom. That’s the only place you need to go. Just to the bathroom. Now, scoot, we have reservations.”

  As soon as it was safely closed and he heard the shower turn on, Tanner leaned against the bathroom door and released the breath he had been holding. He could do this. He just had to get her out of the apartment without her wandering into the bedroom. No big deal. He could do this.

  But every thought of keeping Belle out of the bedroom fled twenty minutes later when she emerged in the sleeveless, sparkling, and far shorter than he’d imagined, black dress he had picked out. His mouth went dry when she rounded the couch and the long expanse of her olive-complected legs came into view, topped off by the strappy silver heels he was relieved to see fit.

  “Damn. Sweetheart, you look so good I’m pretty sure it’s my birthday instead of yours.”

  She laughed and tilted her head back, her long, wavy locks falling over her shoulder. She put a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. “I love it, baby. Thank you.” Belle tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow. “Now, let’s go. I’m suddenly famished.”

  As much as Tanner wanted to sit back in the upscale restaurant and enjoy the view of Belle across the table, he felt restless and uneasy. What if she hated his surprise? What if she was disappointed? Belle didn’t even want to celebrate her birthday, but what if his gift screwed it up more?

  Lost in thought, he almost jumped when her soft hand covered his. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, sweetheart. Not a damn thing.” He nodded over to her mostly empty plate. “How was your dinner? Do you want dessert? Do you need another drink?”

  Her finger trace
d over the back of his hand in a random pattern, and she flashed a mischievous smile. “Dinner was great, I don’t need anything else to drink, and I think dessert at home would be better, don’t you?”

  Well, hell. The greedy little vixen showed up again, and he couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, sweetheart, let’s go home.”

  Home. Bedroom. Surprise.

  And just like that, his nerves shot through the roof again. As he drove them home, he began mentally reciting all the very calm, very understanding, and most definitely very gracious responses he could offer if she hated his surprise.

  He paused outside their bedroom door and turned to face her. “Okay, I know I said I just wanted to take you to dinner for your birthday, but I may have a little surprise for you.”

  Belle scrunched her nose and looked so damn adorable, he nearly forgot everything he was going to say. “Baby, you are sweet and smart and the hottest guy at this school, but you are pretty bad at keeping a secret. I figured there was something lurking in there.” She looped her arms around his neck and grinned. “So what is it? Chocolate-covered strawberries? Rose petals covering the bed? Some sexy, lacy lingerie?”

  He planted a deep, passionate kiss, bending her backwards slightly over his arm. “None of the above, sweetheart, but I hope you like it.”

  Tanner flipped the switch to kill the lights in the living room and swung the bedroom door open. He followed her inside and hoped the sharp intake of breath was from pleasure and not utter disappointment.

  In the room only lit by the faint glow from above, Belle swung her eyes from left to right along the ceiling, taking in every detail. “Tanner.” She finally breathed his name, reaching for his hand blindly, not willing to lower her gaze. “You gave me the entire sky.”

  He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “Nah, not the entire sky.” He rested his chin on top of her head. “I was thinking about how much you love to lay out under the stars at night, so I decided to bring the stars inside for you to look at whenever you want.”

  And he had done just that, hanging glow-in-the-dark wallpaper across the entire ceiling of their small bedroom. Screw the security deposit. The smile on Belle’s face as she kissed him and pulled him toward the bed was worth losing every penny.

  Chapter Eleven

  Izzy

  All the air left her body in a whoosh and Izzy blinked a few times, certain she was seeing things. When the telescope and the mountain of blankets and pillows filling the bed of Tanner’s obnoxious yellow truck didn’t disappear, she spun around to face him.

  “Tanner.” She breathed his name and lifted her hand to his cheek. So many thoughts ran through her mind, but none formed into coherent words. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling closer to him than she had all week. Closer than she had in years.

  His deep chuckle vibrated against her, and she closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation. “I’m glad you like it, but we haven’t even gotten to the surprise yet, sweetheart.”

  She pulled back but held onto his shoulders. “What do you mean? We’re going to lie under the stars together on a huge pile of pillows and you even got a telescope which is something we never had before. Tanner, what more could there possibly be?”

  “Well, I’m glad you asked, sweetheart.” He stepped away from her with a grin and pulled something off the driver’s seat of his truck. When he turned back around, her eyes widened at the present wrapped in dark blue paper. “A little something for you.”

  Izzy shook her head, not accepting the proffered gift. “It’s not my birthday.” Her brow furrowed. “And it is still, what, thirty-six days until our anniversary? So why am I getting a present?”

  A brief flash of disappointment flitted across his face and served to only deepen Izzy’s confusion. But just as quickly as it had come, it disappeared. “No, it’s not your birthday or our anniversary or Christmas, even. You’re getting this because you deserve to get something you love simply because you love it, not just because I’m sorry for what I did. Which I am. Extremely.”

  She couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips when she finally took the nearly flat rectangle from his grasp. She took a few steps closer to the truck, needing the help of the interior light. Izzy’s breath caught when she pulled the paper away. She looked from the gift she held in her hands to Tanner’s expectant face and back several times before jumping in his arms, still clinging to the picture frame. “Tanner.” She choked out his name past the tears clogging her throat.

  His grip on her tightened under her thighs, holding her close.

  Izzy put her hands on his shoulders and pushed back enough to look in his face, tears streaking down her cheeks. “You bought me a star.” A bubble of laughter escaped past the happy tears. “First you bring the sky inside and now you buy me a star.”

  He grinned and carried her around the bed of the truck, setting her down on the tailgate before climbing up beside her. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s lay down for a bit. Unless you want to look for your star. I got the telescope to see if we could find it. Or we could look for what—”

  She put a finger against his lips, silencing the stream of words. A tiny part of her enjoyed seeing always confident and capable Tanner just a little nervous. She slid back on the inflatable mattress and laid down on the pile of pillows. “Being right here sounds perfect.”

  Izzy had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing at how quickly he scrambled up beside her. He stretched out next to her, sliding his hand in hers and intertwining their fingers. “Belle, being anywhere with you is perfect.” He whispered the words, but they had the effect of a powerful windstorm.

  “It’s been way too long since we’ve done this.”

  Tanner stayed silent for a long time after her comment, and part of her wondered if she shouldn’t have said anything. She chewed on her bottom lip and tried to think of anything she could say to ease the sting.

  Finally he propped himself up on an elbow. “How long, Belle?”

  She turned her head slightly, and the earnest look on his face made her scoot closer to his side. “At least three years,” she said softly. “With the kids and work, we were just too busy.”

  Tanner leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. “Not we. Me. Dammit, Belle, I’m sorry.”

  She reached up to bury her fingers in his hair and pull his lips more firmly against hers. The taste of his lips drove her to wiggle her body beneath his. His scent wafted over her, and she barely contained a groan. She was finally surrounded by Tanner in every way and she never wanted it to end.

  “Belle.” He murmured her name against her lips and began to kiss down her jaw, planting moist kisses along the column of her neck.

  Izzy pulled Tanner until he was fully on top of her and her thighs were locked around his waist. When she lifted her hips and pressed against the evidence of his need, she felt a gasp against her neck where Tanner had been licking and biting softly.

  His hands slid under her shirt, caressing her back and drawing her closer to him. Tanner lifted the shirt over her head and began making a path of hot kisses across her bare chest. She arched into him again, her fingers tugging on his hair to bring his mouth back up to hers.

  “Tanner.” She whimpered his name in between kisses, the soft cotton of his shirt rubbing against her skin, teasing every overly sensitized inch.

  She’d always loved playing with Tanner’s hair and gave her fingers free rein to get reacquainted with each strand. When his hands skimmed down her sides and flicked the button open on her waistband, she couldn’t help but shiver against him.

  His mouth curved against hers. “You like that, sweetheart?”

  She hadn’t realized until this moment just how much she missed his touch and his lips leaving a scorching trail along her body.

  His hands.

  His mouth.

  And one week ago they had been kissing someone else. Holding someone else. Touching someone else.

  Ice
trickled down her spine, freezing her movement. She pushed Tanner away and scooted to the far corner of the mattress. She grabbed her shirt and held it against her chest. Why didn’t I put on a bra? she chastised herself.

  Even in the darkness she could see his face fall. “Belle, what’s wrong?”

  “I can’t.” She sobbed and gripped the shirt tighter against herself. She waved her free hand in a sweeping gesture. “Tanner, this is beautiful and perfect, and you gave me the most amazing gift…but I can’t stop thinking about her. And you.” Her heart splintered. “And you don’t feel like mine anymore.”

  She tugged her shirt on over her head, jumped out of the truck, and ran toward the dimly lit house in the distance as fast as she could.

  ***

  Izzy had already found Orion four times and Perseus once, but it didn’t stop her from searching the ceiling again for more familiar constellations. She didn’t want to close her eyes and sleep. This was far better than any dream.

  She’d dreaded her birthday ever since her parents’ divorce. It had become just another reason for them to bribe her into loving one more than the other, to fight over whose turn it was to have her, or to badmouth the other parent. Each year made her feel exhausted and manipulated, but mostly unloved.

  A smile spread across her lips. That was all before Tanner.

  His arm came over her stomach and he pulled her next to him. “I’m gonna take that down if you don’t stop looking at it and get some sleep, sweetheart.” His voice was sleep-roughened and possibly the sexiest thing she’d ever heard.

  Izzy rolled onto her side and moved even closer against him. “This was the best birthday I’ve ever had.” She leaned forward and pressed a soft, moist kiss on his bare chest. Neither had the energy to pull their clothes back on after a thorough birthday celebration under the star-lit ceiling.

  Eyes still closed, Tanner’s lips curved up. “Yet, sweetheart, yet. That was just the beginning. I’ve got a lifetime of birthdays to spoil you.”