Tanner
Despite his mounting frustration, Tanner turned on a placating smile. “I understand you usually have people select one of your packages, but I want my wife to be able to choose whatever she wants.”
The young girl with sleek blonde hair and an overly made-up face batted her lashes at him and it was all he could do not to roll his eyes. “Well, isn’t she a lucky woman.”
“Hell, no.” The words popped out before he could catch them. He was rapidly losing patience and had no desire to negotiate. This certainly wasn’t the only spa in Asheville. “Listen, my wife is going to have a guest with her. I’m going to give that person my credit card and you’re going to take it without complaining.”
Instead of his words inspiring a level of respect or professionalism, the clerk behind the counter only kicked up the flirting a notch. Shit. He should have sent Dean to do this. He was more than happy to spend Tanner’s money.
“Sure thing, Mr. Carlisle.” She practically cooed his name and leaned over the counter. “We will happily take care of anything she needs.”
He shot her a glare. “Thanks.” The single word came out dryly and he made a quick exit.
What the hell was all that? An overly affectionate blonde had gotten him into this situation to begin with; he certainly had no desire to deal with another one.
Tanner muttered curses under his breath the entire way to his truck. His lips curled into a sardonic smile at the dent in the rear fender. Maybe he should leave it there as a reminder to not be such a total and complete asshole to his wife again.
If he still had a wife at the end of this. His stomach clenched as the familiar reminder rolled through his mind. No. This was going to work. This had to work.
He hit the button for the window to roll down as the air conditioner worked to cool the cab of his stifling hot truck from an hour in the sun. He grabbed the notebook off the passenger’s seat and checked off the spa. When the hell had he turned into the guy who needed a friggin’ to-do list?
Oh right—when he decided to break every promise he ever made to his wife.
Tanner leaned back on the headrest as the cold air began pouring out of the vents. He’d always regret each decision that led up to the moment his brother dragged him out of that bar, but a small part of him couldn’t help but feel a small measure of gratitude. He hadn’t realized how detached he had become from everything, especially Belle, until he started this plan to win her back.
And he had to admit, despite the overwhelming fear that he couldn’t fix this, he was actually having fun. Trying to invent creative dates that would make that sparkle light up her eyes and that soft smile curve her lips and…
How the hell could he have ignored her for so long?
With a sigh, he glanced at the list again before tossing it on the seat beside him and pulling out of the parking lot. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. The florist was next. All right, maybe having flowers delivered at the spa was a bit of overkill, but she’d love it. Her cheeks would turn pink and she’d close her eyes and bury her nose in them, breathing in deeply.
Damn. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Just thinking about Belle was driving him crazy. No matter how busy he’d been, when he crawled into bed at night she would curl into him and show him exactly how much she’d missed him. He’d never gone longer than a couple of days without touching her and tasting her.
And now it had been two weeks. Dammit.
He pulled himself under control long enough to order an obscene arrangement of roses and daisies. As an afterthought, he ordered a small yellow pitcher filled with sunflowers to be delivered with Belle’s flowers tomorrow. His mom always was a sucker for gifts from her boys.
And he damn sure needed every bit of help he could get. His entire family would happily kick his ass to the curb if Belle couldn’t forgive him. But if he was going to have a chance in hell of making this work, he’d need a little more help.
Tanner repeated the speech he’d spent half the night planning as he turned up the long driveway leading to his parents’ house. If the past two weeks had taught him anything, it was how to beg, and he had no problem begging his mom to do one tiny favor.
He snorted. Only his mother would require begging to go for an all-expense paid spa trip.
He’d briefly considered calling Belle’s best friend to join her, but she hadn’t talked about Caroline much lately. Maybe they’d had a falling out and he’d been too distracted to notice. Yeah, asshole fit.
All the preparation in the world, however, couldn’t have prepared him for his mother’s reaction when she agreed before he even told her the entire plan. “I’d love to, son,” she calmly stated, interrupting his grand speech.
He stood with his mouth gaping open for several long minutes. “Y-you would?”
Tracy Carlisle wiped her flour-covered hands on her apron and tilted her head to pin her son with an irritated glare. “As much as I don’t think you deserve to have Izzy forgive you, I don’t want to see you two…” Her voice trailed off, and he was dumbfounded to see tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. “She’s just as much my daughter as if I’d had her myself, and I want her to be happy. For some reason I really don’t understand anymore, you make her happy. Even when you’re barely home or off screwing around.”
Tanner sighed and hung his head. “Hell, Mom, why didn’t you ever tell me?”
She shrugged and picked up her rolling pin once more, attacking the dough in front of her. “Because you’re a grown man who shouldn’t have to have people telling him how to behave?”
Well, hell. The reminder this wasn’t just about what happened at some bar in Nashville hit him between the eyes once again. This was about years of Tanner screwing up his marriage. He wanted to punch something. Or kick something. But the itching from his left hand reminded him what happened when he lost control of his temper.
“So you’ll go with her tomorrow?” He repeated the question, stuffing down all the thoughts surfacing of just how long he’d been disregarding his family. If Belle could forgive him, he’d never fall into that trap again.
A smile kicked up the corners of his mother’s mouth as she laid the flattened dough across the pie pan. “What woman in her right mind wouldn’t love an afternoon at the spa and having her son foot the bill?” She raised one eyebrow at him. “Just don’t expect to have me to spend the whole time extolling your virtues to her.”
Tanner couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’d never dream of it.”
***
Where was she?
Where the hell was she?
Tanner paused in front of the couch to grab his cell. Ten thirty-seven. He tossed the phone back on the couch and resumed the path he was wearing in the carpet. He’d never felt closer to insanity in his life.
She could have had an accident. She could be hurt. She could be lost. She could be…
An icy feeling spread from his head to his toes. She could be with someone else. She’d never once given him a reason to doubt her, but wasn’t he always the one saying she was the hottest thing on two legs?
Just as he reached down to pick up the phone for the tenth time in the past twenty minutes, he heard the knob turn and the squeak as the door swung open. Belle practically burst through the door, her cheeks rosy and her eyes sparkling. Damn if she wasn’t the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen.
He crossed the room in a few large strides and pulled her close. The relief at finally seeing her, at finally knowing she was okay, superseded his anger. For a moment. After he’d assured himself she was physically okay, he held her at arm’s length. “Where the hell have you been?”
She grinned. She friggin’ grinned. His temper shot through the roof.
“Baby, I told you I had my study group tonight.” She stepped out of his arms, dumped her book bag and coat on the couch, and walked into the kitchen.
He clenched and unclenched his teeth. “That was supposed to be done nearly two hours ago. Where were you? And why didn’t you answer your phone?”
Belle rooted in the refrigerator for a minute before popping her head up and fixing him with another smile. Why the hell was she smiling? Couldn’t she tell he was worried? Pissed?
“I’m sorry, baby, our group went over and my phone was dead so I couldn’t call you. Did you eat? Do you want me to heat you up some leftovers? I’m starving.” She continued to pull out containers from the refrigerator before spinning around to pull two plates down from the cabinet.
Tanner closed his eyes in disbelief for a minute before storming into the kitchen and grabbing her upper arm. “Don’t you understand? Don’t you get that I was worried about you? That I was going out of my mind not knowing where the hell you were or what the hell you were doing? This is a big deal, Belle.”
Regret filled her face, and she bit down on her lip. “I didn’t mean to worry you. But I told you this morning I was going to my study group. You knew where I was and what I was doing.”
“Oh yeah? Is that all you were doing?” He folded his arms over his chest and leaned a hip against the counter.
Belle scoffed, scooping some of the leftover lasagna onto a plate. “I’m going to ignore the implication and chalk it up to you being worried about me.”
A small voice at the back of his mind told Tanner to shut the hell up and walk away before he said something he’d regret. He wasn’t very good at listening to that particular voice. “Or are you avoiding answering it because I’m right? Because you were out doing whatever with whoever?”
She sat the glass container down on the counter with a loud clatter and turned to face him with a glare. “That’s pretty funny coming from you.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Me?” His deep voice jumped two octaves with the single word. “What the hell have I ever done?”
A mocking laugh answered his question. “You mean besides spending four and five nights a week from August through January with cheerleaders prancing around you? What have you done other than have half-naked fans throwing themselves at you outside the locker room every time you’re leaving the field?” She rolled her eyes. “And don’t even get me started on the girls who watch baseball practice in cut-off shorts and bikini tops.”
He slammed his fist down on the counter. “And I don’t look at a single one of them! I come home to you. I wait for you. I don’t stay out until ten-thirty at night and leave you at home to worry about me, and I sure as hell don’t ignore your phone calls.”
A look of fear filled her eyes, tinged with anger. Her voice dropped, thick with emotion. “You honestly think I would cheat on you? After everything I’ve told you about my family, after everything we’ve done?” She pushed both hands against his chest. “If you don’t trust me, then why are we still together?”
Tanner swallowed deeply. “I don’t know.”
He spun away and grabbed his coat, shoving his arms in the sleeves. He had to get out of here before he said or did something he’d regret. The last thing he needed was to put his fist through the wall.
“Where are you going?” She wrapped her arms around herself and gnawed on her lower lip.
His heart urged him to stop, to shut the hell up and hold her. But his pride was stronger and louder and propelled him to leave. He paused, halfway through the door. “Anywhere that isn’t here. Don’t worry, my phone’s charged.”
He closed the door quietly behind him and raced down the stairs before he lost his nerve. He’d never yelled at Belle before and definitely never walked away from her.
It only took going twenty feet from the apartment building before he began calling himself every kind of asshole he could think of.