Tanner
Connor threw the queen-sized inflatable mattress in the back of Tanner’s truck with a muttered curse. “I like how you screw up your marriage and we’re the ones doing all the work.”
“What the…” Tanner rammed his brother’s shoulder with more force than necessary. “I’m not asking you to do a damn thing. I just wanted to borrow this mattress for one night. I’m working my ass off to prove to Belle that I deserve a second chance and that she and the kids are more important than anything to me. So back the hell off and get the friggin’ air pump.”
His brother shoved him just as he finished talking, and Tanner stumbled back a couple of steps. “You’re the biggest dumbass I’ve ever seen. Izzy practically worships the ground you walk on. She doesn’t complain about a damn thing, even when you’re gone constantly, and the first chance you get,” Connor pushed him again, “the first chance you get, you shove your tongue down some buckle bunny’s throat. What the hell?”
Connor’s words held a stronger punch than his fists ever could. Tanner’s breathing was shallow. “How long?”
He pushed his fingers through his hair and regarded Tanner with a sneer. “How long what?”
“How long have I been a total prick to her?” He sat on the rear bumper of his truck and braced his hands on his knees. Belle wasn’t the only one who saw a change in him. Well, shit. “I’ve been looking for someone to kick my ass. Wanna start the line?”
Connor sat down beside his brother. “You know, you owe Wyatt big time for grabbing you before you did anything you couldn’t fix. You can fix this.”
The fear that plagued him every moment of every day for the past week bubbled to the surface again. “And if I can’t? Shit. I haven’t even taken her to a game in years, and she never said anything. She never complained, never yelled, never got mad. What kind of lousy asshole treats a woman that damn perfect that way?”
He chuckled at Tanner’s discomfort. “You. But now that you know, you can do better.”
Tanner shook his head and looked over at Connor. “When did you get so damn smart?”
Connor clapped him on the back and stood up. “I’ve always been the smartest. You were just too arrogant to notice. Now get the hell out of here and make Izzy fall in love with you again, because if I don’t get her scalloped potatoes at Christmas dinner like always, I’ll take you up on that ass kicking.”
A fresh cloud of shame rolled through Tanner as he ran the last few errands he needed to before tonight. For several years he’d been too occupied with work to take Belle to any football games or go to Noah’s soccer games and, shit, he only showed up for one of Ava’s piano recitals. When the hell had he become that guy?
He threw the bags filled with twenty various pillows in the back of his truck ruthlessly. Son of a bitch. He tossed five packages of queen-sized comforters on top of the pillows and climbed in the truck, slamming the heel of his hand against the steering wheel for good measure.
How many times had he promised Belle he would take care of her? That he’d never walk away? That he’d never treat her the way her father…
Oh. Hell.
He was behaving just like her father. Ignoring everything important and letting his hands go every place they didn’t belong. The one thing he swore that he’d never do, not just to her but to himself, he had done.
The realization made Tanner more determined than ever, not just to prove himself to her, but to prove how much better she deserved. And how much better he could do. He’d spent the first several years they were together trying to find any and every way he could to make her feel special. She deserved it, and he loved doing it for her. When did he get lazy and stop trying?
Tanner drove past their house and down into the field behind it, far enough to be out of sight of anyone inside. He checked his watch quickly. Shit, it was already four o’clock and dinner was at six. He needed to be back.
He shoved the mountain of pillows and comforters inside his truck and laid the air mattress out, then flicked the switch on the small air compressor to start it inflating. He hopped down from the bed and pulled the long box out of the back seat of his truck with a grin. Belle was going to love this part. Carefully sliding all the components out, he was grateful there were only a few pieces and quickly assembled the telescope.
When the thought first occurred to him of using the time between his confession and their anniversary as a way to win her back, he had a lot of thoughts on the best way to use that time. Ideas of taking her for an extended stay at a resort in the Bahamas, renting out the movie theater and spending an entire day watching movies significant in their lives, or touring castles in Europe for weeks on end all floated through his mind.
But that wasn’t Belle. She wasn’t impressed by the amount of money he spent on something. What she loved most was when he took the time to create something just for her. And that thought alone had been the catalyst for every date he planned. As he spread the stacks of covers on top of the air mattress, he grinned to himself, feeling just a touch of pride. Tonight might be her favorite.
He glanced at his watch again, a little after five. Tanner ripped open the plastic bags covering the last few pillows and threw them on the pile. Okay, maybe twenty pillows was a tiny bit of overkill, but he wanted to do whatever he could to make this comfortable for Belle.
And if all went well, he’d be holding her in his arms by the end of the night.
Tanner trekked back to the house and couldn’t help but smile that he walked through the door two minutes before six. He was still on time for dinner.
The smile stayed fixed on his lips through dinner and as the kids wrangled both he and Belle into a game of Twister in the middle of the living room floor. It grew bigger when Belle led the kids upstairs to bed a long time later and a soft knock came at the door.
His youngest brother stood on the threshold with a backpack hitched over his shoulder. “Reporting for duty,” Dean quipped as he pushed past Tanner, bumping his shoulder intentionally.
Tanner rolled his eyes and sighed. Obviously all his brothers were firmly in Belle’s camp.
Just then, Belle descended the stairs and visibly brightened when she saw Dean. As ridiculous as it was, Tanner felt a stirring of jealousy at the sight.
“Dean,” she wrapped his brother in a warm hug, “what are you doing here?”
The younger man squeezed her back tightly and for much longer than Tanner was happy about. “Ask Casanova over there,” he answered with a lift of his chin in his brother’s direction. “I’m going to head up to the guest room and read for a bit.”
Belle’s face clouded with confusion as she watched him climb the stairs, and she turned her gaze to Tanner, her face asking an unspoken question.
“We’ve got a date, sweetheart.” He grinned at the excitement lighting her eyes. “Dean is going to stay with the kids.”
“Where in the world are we going at this hour?” She didn’t sound upset and easily slid her hand inside his as they walked out the door. Definitely making progress.
He flicked on the flashlight in his hand and held her close to his side, squeezing her hand lightly as his only response.
Yeah, Belle was going to love tonight’s date.
***
“Last week you all agreed to twenty each.”
“New week, new price. You’ve been shadowing Dad long enough to know renegotiations happen all the time.”
Tanner shoved his fingers through his hair and locked his hands behind his neck, facing off against all three of his brothers. Shit. He did not have time for this. “Fine, I’ll pay thirty. Hell, I’ll pay you fifty bucks each if you get to work and stop your bitchin’.”
Wyatt, the self-appointed spokesman for the group, quirked an eyebrow for a moment. Then he offered a grin and stuck his hand out. “You got a deal, big brother.”
He smacked away the hand and grabbed the drop cloths off the couch, throwing them at Connor and Dean. “You two cover everything in the bedroom. And I mean everything, got it? No half-assing this project.”
Tanner turned to Wyatt and pulled him out the front door of the apartment. “And you, Mr. Ringleader, are gonna help me carry all this shit out of my truck. We’ve got six hours until she gets home, and I’d like all of you assholes to be long gone by then.”
With barely an hour to spare, Tanner managed to get all three of his brothers to finish the job at hand and clean up every single speck of dirt. After a speedy shower, he stood in front of the bathroom mirror buttoning the long-sleeved sapphire-colored shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone. Belle always liked that. He was just adjusting his cuffs when he heard Belle’s keys in the door and grinned. Showtime.
He sauntered into the living room, his smile fading momentarily when he saw how exhausted she looked. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
Belle smiled lightly, but his heart constricted when he realized it didn’t come close to touching her eyes. “Thank you, baby, but I told you last year, I’m not really that into birthdays. Well, not my birthday. I can’t wait to get out of this uniform and take a long hot shower and—”
“Get ready to go out to dinner,” he cut her off. When her mouth fell open and Tanner was certain she would argue, he stepped in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. “Listen, sweetheart, it’s your birthday and I want to take you out to dinner. That’s all. Just dinner, okay? Nothing big, nothing extravagant, just dinner.”
Pouting playfully, Belle wound her arms around him. “You don’t play fair.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss before releasing him and walking toward the bedroom. “Fine, let me just go find something—”
“No! No, no, no, no, no.” He leapt over the back of the couch to stop her in her tracks. “W-what I mean is, I got something. For you. To wear.” Tanner closed his eyes and willed his mind to concentrate and, hopefully, form a cohesive sentence. “I bought you a dress. And shoes. As a birthday present. They’re in the bathroom.”
Finally a genuine smile spread across her face, and he almost sighed in relief when he noticed the twinkle in her eyes. “You bought me a dress, huh?”
Tanner steered her toward the bathroom door and gave her ass a soft swat. “Yes, sweetheart. And everything you need is in the bathroom. That’s the only place you need to go. Just to the bathroom. Now, scoot, we have reservations.”
As soon as it was safely closed and he heard the shower turn on, Tanner leaned against the bathroom door and released the breath he had been holding. He could do this. He just had to get her out of the apartment without her wandering into the bedroom. No big deal. He could do this.
But every thought of keeping Belle out of the bedroom fled twenty minutes later when she emerged in the sleeveless, sparkling, and far shorter than he’d imagined, black dress he had picked out. His mouth went dry when she rounded the couch and the long expanse of her olive-complected legs came into view, topped off by the strappy silver heels he was relieved to see fit.
“Damn. Sweetheart, you look so good I’m pretty sure it’s my birthday instead of yours.”
She laughed and tilted her head back, her long, wavy locks falling over her shoulder. She put a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. “I love it, baby. Thank you.” Belle tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow. “Now, let’s go. I’m suddenly famished.”
As much as Tanner wanted to sit back in the upscale restaurant and enjoy the view of Belle across the table, he felt restless and uneasy. What if she hated his surprise? What if she was disappointed? Belle didn’t even want to celebrate her birthday, but what if his gift screwed it up more?
Lost in thought, he almost jumped when her soft hand covered his. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, sweetheart. Not a damn thing.” He nodded over to her mostly empty plate. “How was your dinner? Do you want dessert? Do you need another drink?”
Her finger traced over the back of his hand in a random pattern, and she flashed a mischievous smile. “Dinner was great, I don’t need anything else to drink, and I think dessert at home would be better, don’t you?”
Well, hell. The greedy little vixen showed up again, and he couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, sweetheart, let’s go home.”
Home. Bedroom. Surprise.
And just like that, his nerves shot through the roof again. As he drove them home, he began mentally reciting all the very calm, very understanding, and most definitely very gracious responses he could offer if she hated his surprise.
He paused outside their bedroom door and turned to face her. “Okay, I know I said I just wanted to take you to dinner for your birthday, but I may have a little surprise for you.”
Belle scrunched her nose and looked so damn adorable, he nearly forgot everything he was going to say. “Baby, you are sweet and smart and the hottest guy at this school, but you are pretty bad at keeping a secret. I figured there was something lurking in there.” She looped her arms around his neck and grinned. “So what is it? Chocolate-covered strawberries? Rose petals covering the bed? Some sexy, lacy lingerie?”
He planted a deep, passionate kiss, bending her backwards slightly over his arm. “None of the above, sweetheart, but I hope you like it.”
Tanner flipped the switch to kill the lights in the living room and swung the bedroom door open. He followed her inside and hoped the sharp intake of breath was from pleasure and not utter disappointment.
In the room only lit by the faint glow from above, Belle swung her eyes from left to right along the ceiling, taking in every detail. “Tanner.” She finally breathed his name, reaching for his hand blindly, not willing to lower her gaze. “You gave me the entire sky.”
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “Nah, not the entire sky.” He rested his chin on top of her head. “I was thinking about how much you love to lay out under the stars at night, so I decided to bring the stars inside for you to look at whenever you want.”
And he had done just that, hanging glow-in-the-dark wallpaper across the entire ceiling of their small bedroom. Screw the security deposit. The smile on Belle’s face as she kissed him and pulled him toward the bed was worth losing every penny.