He reached across and took her hand before glancing her way for the briefest of seconds. “It’s just about my past. I was engaged before.”
“Okay. I didn’t think I was the first woman in your life.”
“She was pregnant,” he went on. “The doctors had told her she should never try to have a baby because of her health issues, but she wanted a family. The pregnancy wasn’t planned by any means, but it happened.”
Fear consumed her. She saw where this was going and her heart literally ached for him.
“I lost them both,” he murmured.
Melanie squeezed his hand and wondered what she could possibly say that would make this any better. Now she knew why he hovered, why he was constantly asking about her.
“Is that why you wanted me to move in?” she asked. “So you could keep an eye on me?”
She hated the question that came out, but she had to know. Did he care about her or was he reliving his past and terrified something just as tragic would happen?
“Honestly? That was part of the reason. When you first told me about the baby I was thrust back to that time, and the wind was knocked out of me.”
She remembered exactly what he’d looked like when she told him. Now that she knew, his reaction was definitely justified.
“You should’ve told me before now.”
“I know.”
Melanie threaded her fingers through his. “I understand why you didn’t. There’s still so much of me that you don’t know that I don’t want to dive into.”
His thumb feathered back and forth over the back of her hand. “Don’t feel pressured to tell me. I’m here whenever you’re ready. But I needed to fill you in before my mom said something. I didn’t want you going in blind.”
Melanie appreciated his honesty, appreciated that he had opened up something so painful just so she wouldn’t feel lost. Could Tanner be this perfect for her?
She’d been fooled by a charming man with a mesmerizing grin once before. She’d been led astray by her emotions when she didn’t know any better.
But she was different now. She had nothing to hide.
“Neville Prescott abused me,” she stated simply.
“Mel, you don’t have to do this.”
She stared at him for just a moment before looking back to the stretch of highway before them. “I know I don’t, but I’m not the scared woman I was before. He can’t hurt me because I won’t let him.”
“You’re one strong woman.” Tanner released her hand and shut off the radio before clasping her fingers in his again. “I know from working on the force it’s difficult to get women to leave. They’re afraid or they think they deserve the abu
se because they’ve done something wrong. It pains me to leave them, but there’s nothing I can do until they want to help themselves.”
There he went again with that passion-filled tone. She’d never stopped to consider what he saw at work or what he had to deal with day in and day out. She knew he couldn’t share anything with her, but knowing he’d worked with women in her situation made her appreciate their bond all the more.
“I stayed longer than I should’ve, but not as long as most women do,” she added. “In all honesty, things could’ve been worse. I’m not defending him, but there were days that would go by when I didn’t even see him, so that was a blessing. If he ignored me, then I knew I was safe.”
“You said you blackmailed him. Has he left you alone since the divorce?”
Melanie glanced down to their hands. How strangely their relationship had formed. Bickering banter turned to a one-night stand, then a pregnancy, and now she wanted to spend more and more time with him. Oh, and she was on the way for the obligatory mother meeting.
“Not exactly,” she said, slowly weighing her words because Tanner was one overprotective man. “He’s contacted me multiple times. He mostly has his assistants reach out to me, but he actually texted me the other day.”
“He what?” Tanner exploded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Melanie shrugged. “It’s not your problem to solve. He’s always going to be a menace, I’m afraid. He’s gearing up to run for the senate next year and thinks a dramatic reunion on camera will do wonders in the polls.”
“He can’t be serious.”