Once the truth finally came out, the other partner tripped all over himself trying to get Jade back.
“No amount of money could make you go back?” Melanie asked.
“None. I’ve saved enough over the years, but I’d rather downsize everything and live simply than go back there. Maybe I’ll even build one of those tiny houses. I don’t need anything major in my life.”
“Good for you.” Melanie peeked into the oven. “Just a few more minutes.”
Jade’s brow quirked. “Enough time that I want to hear more about you and Tanner.”
Rolling her eyes, Melanie let out a groan and set her cup on the counter. “He’s hot, okay? Is that what you want to know?”
“Obviously you’re attracted or you wouldn’t have slept with him. I want to know how you really feel.”
“I wish I knew the answer to that as well. I mean, I go back and forth between wanting to get to know him more and then pulling back because I feel like I’m trapped. That’s a terrible thing to say, but I’m being honest.”
Jade came to her feet and circled the island. “Trapped because of the baby?”
Melanie nodded. “Not that the baby is trapping me, but I’m going to be part of Tanner’s life forever, no matter what.”
“Tanner isn’t Neville.”
A fact Melanie had reminded herself of, over and over. “I’m learning that. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t make Tanner and me some perfect couple. We had sex once and it’s been awkward since.”
“Awkward from sexual tension,” Jade stated with a wry grin. “I’ve seen how that man looks at you and it’s no wonder you couldn’t hold out from sleeping with him. I don’t know how he feels about you, but it’s damn obvious he wants you. Bad.”
Well, at least their physical attraction was on the same page. It was everything else that remained fuzzy.
“Why don’t you just go to his house and have your wicked way with him?”
A bubble of laughter escaped her. “Jade, I was ballsy one night and ended up pregnant. You know that’s not usually me.”
Jade shrugged. “You can’t get pregnant again and there’s no way he’d turn you down. Why don’t you just go?”
Nerves spiraled through her. She wouldn’t go because. . . well, just because. Sex and attraction was one thing, but shouldn’t she be more controlled, focusing on her baby? Melanie’s sex life wasn’t top priority, which was a shame because Tanner was the second man she’d been with in her life and she was still reliving their passionate night together.
“I do like that gleam in your eye,” Jade murmured. “But if you could fantasize later and get that dish out of the oven, I’d be grateful.”
Melanie jerked from her thoughts and spun toward the counter for a pot holder. “Damn it. I almost forgot.”
“Which is precisely why you need to go claim your man.”
Her man? Was Tanner hers? Did she want him to be hers?
Melanie swirled one question after another around in her mind as she served Jade the new dish.
One thing was for certain, she wasn’t so sure she could just march over to Tanner’s and “claim” him. She may have gotten stronger and more courageous since her divorce, but she was still a woman longing for a man, and the fear of rejection of any kind kept her from what she wanted.
Chapter Ten
Cupcakes are muffins that believed in miracles.
—Mel’s Motivational Blog
“Tell me again why I can’t just beat the hell out of them?”
“Because Tanner doesn’t want to arrest you,” Jax told Cash.
Tanner propped his feet up on the edge of Jax’s desk in his small office. They’d met up earlier in the day to get some demolition done. By doing some things themselves, they were saving money on these renovations.