Zoe is single-minded about this. “You didn’t answer me! Ethan is the first of all the Cocker cousins to have a child! You’re so lucky you’ll have a niece already. I don’t think my brothers will ever have babies, and if they do, I will steal them.” She grins while I laugh. “But Ethan is going to be a wonderful dad! Charlie will be such a cool mom, too, don’t you think?”
I nod, “Hannah and I are becoming closer to Charlie and she’s such a good woman. So powerful it’s scary, until you get to know her.”
Baby-struck, Zoe stares off wistfully. “And they’re having a little girl! I can’t wait to meet her and hold her and then run off with her!”
Checking my outfit for wrinkles I smile, “My brother might kill you if you tried. He’s obsessed with being a dad.”
“Did you go to Gabriel’s concert?”
On a grimace I admit, “No. I guess you didn’t either?”
“I was designing the most beautiful floral arrangement, and taking pictures of it for my future portfolio. Completely lost track of time. Plus, you know me. Loud music makes me nervous. But I know Elijah wasn’t in town either. Did Hannah go, at least?”
“I’m not sure, to tell you the truth.”
“But you guys are best friends!”
Frowning at the ground I remind her, “She’s got a new best friend now, Zoe.”
My young cousin blinks at me like it’s not possible. “Tobias is her man. You’ll always be her best friend!”
Biting my bottom lip a second I wonder if I should pop the bubble Zoe lives in. She’s so damn optimistic all the time. It’s like talking to a fairy. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I am! Your life doesn’t change when you find the one you love.” Her smile is sweet yet final, as if the problem never existed in the first place.
Samantha and Lexi return with warm donuts that normally make me drool. But the truth is I haven’t been able to eat since I got the call scheduling more time with Tanner.
I should be viewing this as a huge sale and a chance to show Cora what I’m made of. These other feelings are not professional or appropriate in the slightest. Had the sexiest dreams of my life last night. It’s so close to our meeting time now, since I went to twelve o’clock Mass today and it’s only an hour and a half, that my stomach won’t stop fluttering, knowing soon I will be alone with him again.
Pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear, Lexi takes a bite of jelly donut and moans. With white powder stuck to her lip, she asks, “Not hungry, Emma?” Samantha licks her thumb and smudges the sugar off her big sister. Lexi takes another bite of donut, this time leaving more on her face on purpose. “Better?”
Sam laughs, “Oh, yeah, that’s perfect.”
I take advantage of their distraction to bow out of the party and the question regarding my lost appetite. “Have some houses to show this afternoon, so I have to go. Here, take my chocolate bar.” Samantha snatches it, so much like her father, Uncle Jason, while Zoe and Lexi look at me like I’ve lost my mind. “What? It’s just a donut.”
The three of them exclaim at once, “Just a donut?!”
With a shrug I hurry away and check my phone. It’s only one-forty-five. An hour to go. What to do with all that time? But I couldn’t hang out with my younger cousins a second longer. They were a couple of heartbeats away from playing detectives and I don’t have this mystery solved yet, either. I don’t want them digging around my psyche until I know why Tanner is all I can think about.
Okay, now I’m in my car and...
I have nowhere to be for an hour.
Dammit.
Ethan’s mansion is near the one I’m showing today and Charlie will be home on a Sunday, so I could go rub her big ol’ belly. Ask her how she’s hanging in there. Last time we talked she was grouchy as hell.
Or I could see Hannah, instead. I don’t have time for both stops, but they do live next to each other now, so…
I’ll just do that.
Makes sense.
Do de do de do.
Okay, why am I ducking my head and driving by their homes this slowly?
Because…I’m a terrible liar.
Ethan would ambush me if he knew I was headed to a man Dad warned me never to be alone with. This is what they get for being so protective—me sneaking behind their backs.
This is totally their fault.
I’m just going to go to the vacant mansion and hang out there. I can read a book on my phone and pass the time, make it seem like I arrived early so I could be prepared.
Wait, why is his silver Maserati parked out front? We have almost an hour until our scheduled time. What is Tanner doing here?
Parking quickly I jump out of the car and glance inside his. It’s empty so I hurry up the long path and up the steps to find the door cracked open a little. I push on it and am about to call inside but stop myself.
I’m worried he tried to see the house before I got here so he would spend as little time with me as possible.
Struggling to stay calm I briskly walk through the house and listen for footsteps other than my own, but it’s silent, despite hardwood floors. In the kitchen I cast a quick glance out back and stop, heart skipping.
Tanner is seated on a stone bench under a live oak, grey Spanish moss floating in the breeze above. He has one foot up, the other laid comfortably on the grass, and his suit has been replaced with tan slacks and a white button up, sleeves rolled to the middle of his forearms. He’s reading a paperback book and from the looks of it, it’s not the first time
