“I’m kind of sorry about that. I mentioned taking the week off and, well, I actually stuck to my guns.” There’s no way in hell I’ll admit that I practically mourned the thought of not hearing from him.
“Glad to hear it. The way you were talking, it sounded much needed. If you’re not free tonight, we can grab a bite to eat tomorrow?” Tanner offers. I look down at my lap, comfortable in what I’m wearing, and as much as someone else cooking sounds good, I don’t not really want to deal with the hustle and bustle of the dinner crowd.
“I just went grocery shopping and am completely stocked. If you don’t mind hanging out at my place, we can eat here,” I suggest, hoping Tanner will go with my idea. If he doesn’t, I guess I’ll put on real clothes even though it’s not what I want to do on my staycation.
“That works for me. Since we’ll be at your place, do you mind if I bring my dog? I can keep him here and have my brother let him out if you’d rather.” Considering I was just thinking about adopting a pet of some sort, I may as well test out how it would be first.
“Sure, I have a fenced-in yard. It’s not huge but enough for him to run a little. What time?”
“Great, I’m just finishing up with a few things at the job site, so whenever is fine with me.” The bark of a dog and the subtle swish of movement can be heard through the phone.
“I’ll be home all day. Shoot me a call or a text when you’re headed this way?” This way, in case his work runs late, it’s not a huge ordeal.
“Will do, and Marlie?” Tanner’s voice deepens until it’s rough and full of husk.
“Yes?” I question back.
“Can’t wait to taste your lips again.” He clicks off the phone, leaving me with a tingling between my legs.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
tanner
“Come on, boy, we got lucky with Marlie letting me bring you. Don’t do anything bad, like fart and stink up her whole house, okay?” I tell Tim before climbing out of my truck. Having the forethought not to come empty handed, I picked up flowers, wine, and dessert. Sure, I had to call in another favor to get an idea of what Marlie likes besides the champagne she drank at Ridge and Taylor’s wedding. So, now not only do I owe Ridge and my sister, I owe Taylor, too.
Tim barks his consent, but we’ll see if he actually adheres to the stipulation. Shit, I’m lucky Marlie is even letting us still come over today. The job site I was only supposed to work on for a few hours turned into closer to seven and had me taking a break to call Marlie to let her know what was going on. Christ, this woman, she even offered to switch it to tomorrow without batting an eye. There was no damn way I was going another day without laying my eyes on her, let alone getting one of her sweet-as-fuck kisses.
I let Tim out of the truck first, grabbing the purchases for Marlie,“Tim, stay.” Thankfully, he listens well and isn’t one for going off half-cocked without a leash on and will stand beside you with commands.
“Hey, I saw you pull in and figured I’d come out to join you.” My eyes whip over to Marlie. Tim barks, and then my traitorous dog wags his tail, walking sideways to greet her.
“Sweetheart,” I reply, taking her in. She’s in some kind of matching set of a sweater like top, hanging off one shoulder, draping loosely, and shorts that show off her thighs and legs. The deep burgundy color makes it perfect against her flawless complexion.
“Hi, big guy.” She squats down to give Tim more attention, petting his head, and when he gets closer, Marlie sits down all the way. My big old lug of a dog thinks he’s a lap dog when he practically plops on top of her, well, as much as he can at least.
“Shit, I’m sorry. He usually has more manners than that.” I shut the passenger back door of my truck that Tim just jumped out of and make my way towards them.
“He’s okay. My parents’ dogs are the exact same way. The second they see someone new, or I make it back home, their inner puppies come out.” I move the items to where I can help Marlie up, even when Tim decides to roll over on his belly and beg for more attention.
“Tim.” My hand reaches for Marlie’s. Once he realizes the tone of my voice, he rolls over to stand up. He doesn’t miss out on giving us his puppy dog eyes, though.
“Thanks for having us.” She stands up. My arm moves from her hand to glide around her back, my head dipping the moment hers tips up, and her soft lips meet mine. I wasn’t sure Marlie would give this to me so freely, which is why I don’t take it farther, not on her front lawn at least.