“I am sorry. You don’t have to go with me to the Expansion Day event. I’ll tell Sasha you became sick or something. I know she’ll go to the dance. I’ll need some excuse.”
“You could skip it.”
He dipped his chin. “I’m afraid it’s a command performance. I might run the construction company here in town, but I own it with two other men. This day is set aside to celebrate the start of the Plux expansion—which Slade had a large hand in. Both Slade and Jace, along with their families, will be there. I have to go.”
“I see.” Ella totally understood command performances.
“I know I told Sasha that you lived out of town, but if you plan to stay in Plux for any length of time, we can say that you couldn’t stand being without me and had to move here.” He planted a hand over his heart and leaned his head back in a dramatic fashion.
Now she was the one who laughed. “Is that so? Because you are so irresistible?”
He grinned, and she had to admit her leopard was clawing at her insides. “Does it matter? You said you owed me, right?”
She did at that. “Yes.”
“Then come to the dance and pretend for one night to be mine. If you can’t stand being with me, then I’ll say we broke up.”
“What are you going to say when Sasha asks you out again?”
Tanner gave her a hang dog look. “I’ll say I couldn’t possibly date anyone, maybe ever again. I’m so heartbroken that the woman of my dreams shunned me.”
She smiled. “I see you are quite the actor.”
“Trust me, in this business you have to be. I have clients who think I live to serve them, and I have to pretend they are right.”
Her mother seemed to think she and her sisters were there to serve her. “I can see where that would get you down.”
“It does, which is why I look like I haven’t slept in weeks.”
“You’re that busy?”
“You have no idea,” he said.
“What are you working on now?”
Sasha came over and placed both coffees in front of them. With absolutely no sparkle in her eyes, she asked what they wanted to order. Ella really didn’t care. She was enjoying having a meal with a man for a change. “The hamburger sounds good. Medium rare, please.”
“For you?” she asked Tanner. Not using his name spoke volumes about her disappointment.
“The same, Sasha. Thanks.”
Once more their server spun on her heels and strode back to the counter. “You were saying?” Ella asked.
Chapter Four
“My firm is building an eco-tourism park.”
“That sounds intriguing. Tell me more.”
For the next fifteen minutes, he regaled her with the plans for housing rescued animals who couldn’t make it in the wild, along with rides, restaurants, and a zipline.
“I’ve been working pretty much non-stop for the last year on this. It will be incredible when it’s done,” he said.
“I’m sure it will be. May I ask what you were doing near the Thedia border today?”
“We ordered some wood from there that couldn’t be delivered because of the heavy snow fall. I went to check it out.”
Ella sipped her coffee, and it nearly burned her tongue. “Hot.”
“Be careful.”
She liked that he worried about her. “I trust they were telling the truth? Thedia can become rather isolated due to the snow this time of year.”
“They were. I had figured as much, but my client was demanding answers.”
Sasha rushed over, placed both meals in front of them, and then strode off. “Someone’s upset,” Ella said.
“She’ll get over it. I hope. I honestly haven’t done anything to encourage her.” Tanner placed his napkin on his lap. “My last name is McCarson, in case anyone asks you.”
The topic of Sasha seemed to be closed. “If we are supposed to be together, I should know that. I mentioned I was Ella Snow.” Once more, she left off the last three letters of her surname just in case he knew of her family. It was doubtful he’d give her dad a call, but her father was in the construction business as well. The two might know each other.
“You mentioned you didn’t have a destination in mind when you set off on your journey. Why was that?”
Well, crap. This was just the sort of thing she didn’t want to get into, but she couldn’t leave him hanging. Telling partial truths seemed to be the best. “I was tired of living in a small town.”
“You might not like Plux then, even though we are growing.”
She didn’t want to mislead him. “It was more about being around my demanding parents that drove me away—or rather my demanding mother.”
“I see. Do you have any siblings who have those same desires?”
“I have two younger sisters, Mori and Christa. They both seem to like their lifestyle. My father is a powerful Clan leader who enjoys living a rather isolated lifestyle.” It was her mother who decided how her girls should act.
“You’re almost royalty then,” he said followed by a smile.
“I suppose.” Maybe she shouldn’t have divulged that. “Fun fact: I love to ski, and I’m quite good at it.”
Tanner waved a hand. “I tried it once, and I nearly broke my neck.”
“Then you didn’t have a good instructor.”
He pointed a finger at her. “Actually, I didn’t have any instructor. My family was dirt poor, but like all kids, I wanted to do what other kids were doing. One winter, I flew to Thedia, rented some skis, and took to the slopes. It was fun until I hit a patch of ice and went tumbling.”
She’d seen that happen one too many times. “I hope you weren’t seriously injured.”
“No. Even if I had been, my dragon would have healed me rather quickly.”
“I’m a snow leopard, by the way. Being an animal who runs on the ground, I understand the lure of skiing, but I am surprised that being able
