Too many emotions threatened to overtake her. She just wanted to get the wine and get out. There was no way she could go empty-handed to Livie and Jade and tell her two best friends about this pregnancy. Melanie needed a buffer, and wine, no matter how cheap, was always the answer . . . unless you were pregnant.
“Mel.”
She jerked from her thoughts. Neville hated when anyone called her Mel—which was precisely why she’d named her successful blog Mel’s Motivations.
Her ex had claimed that he’d taken her from the slums and she needed to remember that. Her name was Melanie, she was his wife, and his appearances mattered, so by default hers did, too. Considering she was a branch of him, she needed to always have those pretenses in place. Perfect clothes, perfect hair, always smiling with just the right responses when she was allowed to speak.
She’d failed in so many areas. Smiling in public had been so difficult when behind closed doors she’d been living a nightmare. Some wouldn’t understand because she’d had money, cars, a big house. But none of that had ever mattered to her. Not once did she ever care about material things. She just wanted to be with a man who loved her.
Neville had been the complete opposite. He’d hated quite a bit about her, looking back. She’d mistook his attention when they first met for affection. She’d thought the grass was greener on the other side when her parents urged her to jump at the possibility of a life with such a powerful, charming man
. Little did they all know . . .
Unfortunately, Melanie couldn’t change the past, and her future required all of her attention at the moment.
“I’m running late.” She gripped the bottle with both hands as if drawing strength from the inanimate object. “We’ll talk at the cookout.”
Again, probably not the best place to inform him he was going to be a dad. She’d have to tell him soon. Before Friday, because she wasn’t going to be able to keep the secret from her friends. She needed them now more than ever, and it wasn’t fair to let them in on the secret when Tanner was so unaware.
Melanie despised secrets and lies and swore never to be that person. Right now, though, she needed to gather her thoughts, her fears, her nerves, and figure out the best time and way to tell him.
Tanner propped his hands on his hips as he took a half step closer. Her body instantly tingled. Despite everything she’d been through, even what she dealt with now, Tanner Roark was one impressive man and demanded attention. Oh, he didn’t do so with words or fists.
Tanner’s strength and power had her captivated, though she’d fought it for months until six weeks ago, when she’d given in. She’d gone to Taps for a girls’ night out with Livie and Jade. A little flirty banter led to a little more, then to a harmless dance . . . well, she’d thought it had been harmless.
Being torso to torso with Tanner hadn’t been harmless in any way whatsoever. That moment had awakened something inside her, something she hadn’t even known she possessed. She would’ve been a fool to ignore the burst of emotions that had spiraled through her.
They’d gone from dancing to long glances to featherlight touches. Then she’d been in his house, plastered against his front door as he’d held her wrists above her head and given her a night that would fuel her fantasies for the rest of her life.
And right there in the Quicky Mart her body betrayed her and started heating all over again. Damn hormones were all over the place.
Everything about the man was dangerous. Not in the sense that her ex had been a danger. No, Tanner made her think too much about what she wanted, what she’d finally taken. He made her crazy with that devil-may-care attitude. And he was dangerous because those lips could drive a woman out of her mind with need.
But she had no idea how he’d react to the news of a baby. Sex was one thing, but entering into a bond that would forge them together for life was a whole other level. It was that bound for life thing that had Melanie more terrified than anything. She’d finally gotten control for the first time, but now everything she’d built for herself, every decision she’d made in the last two years, were threatened. Not because of the innocent baby, but because of the man who stood before her.
She would not fall prey to another man again. And once Tanner found out about the baby, Melanie feared he’d become all too hovering and controlling.
“I want to see you, Mel. I never chase women and I don’t intend to start now.” His lips thinned slightly, the muscle in his jaw clenched. “If I thought you didn’t have a good time, then I’d back off, but I know you did. My shift ends at seven. You know where I live.”
So many emotions curled low in her belly as Tanner left her standing alone holding a bottle of Quicky Mart’s best white wine with a twist-off cap that money could buy.
Tanner had thrown out that invitation for one reason and one reason only.
What he didn’t know was that the girl who had gone home with him over a month ago was not the same girl she was on an everyday basis. She’d been in town long enough to get to know him through their friends. From the get-go she and Tanner had butted heads, they’d argued, they’d ignored each other, and finally shared witty banter. But beneath all of their heated exchanges, the sexual tension had been brewing.
Melanie had fought the good fight until she hadn’t been able to deny herself another second. Wasn’t that why she’d left Atlanta and her old life? Hadn’t she wanted to be free to make her own decisions? Free to live as she wanted and not be ashamed of herself or her past? More importantly, free to be out from underneath such a controlling thumb. For once in her life, she was finally in charge . . . and she wasn’t doing a very good job of things.
Turning to head to the register, and praying she wouldn’t run into Tanner again, thoughts swirled through her head. What was she going to do? She obviously had to tell him about the baby, and he’d just presented her the perfect opportunity.
Melanie knew the type of man Tanner was. Which was exactly why she’d chosen to give in to her desires and have a one-night stand. He was safe, he wouldn’t want a relationship. She’d been through enough hell to know that committing herself to another man might never happen and she was just fine on her own, thank you very much.
Oh, she still wanted that family with a devoted husband. She was just enough of a romantic to believe such faithful, loving men still existed, but she had also learned enough about herself to know she didn’t have to have a man to be complete.
And trying to form any type of a relationship with the first man since her marriage, was not smart. Getting pregnant by a rebound guy wasn’t either, yet here she was.
Melanie blew out a sigh and quickly paid for the wine. She headed out to her new-to-her car and brought the engine to life, then cranked up the A/C. Despite being the middle of November, Haven, Georgia, had delivered a warm afternoon with the sun shining bright. Of course the heat in her body wasn’t only because of the unusual weather. Running into Tanner when she hadn’t been prepared had set her body into all sorts of heated emotions.
Before they’d ever been introduced through their mutual friends, Tanner had pulled her over and given her a ticket. She’d hated him at that moment. Her life had been in a bad spot, she’d been struggling to find that strong woman within.