Chapter Four
Tanner studied the placement of the final three balls on the table. If he could sink the six and spin the cue just right, he’d be perfectly positioned to drop the eight ball. He smiled at the busty blonde who had latched onto him as soon as he and Kevin had stepped into the bar. Her friend, a leggy brunette, was hanging all over Kevin on the other side of the table. Tanner wasn’t even sure Kevin was aware of what was going on with the game of pool he’d insisted on playing. Good for him. But Tanner wasn’t feeling the connection with the woman that he’d hoped. Instead, everything she did reminded him of Isabella.
He shook his head. It did no good to think about her. He’d do best to focus on the woman in front of him who was, unless he’d misread the signals, more than willing.
He sucked down the last of his beer and ambled up to the table. “Prepare to go down.”
“We’ll see, man. Hasn’t happened yet.” Kevin laughed as he wrapped his arm tighter around the woman who had caught his eye.
“Very funny.” Kevin was baiting him, like he did every time they played. But it didn’t stop Tanner from picking up a cue stick with his friend. He circled the table one more time, making his next move. He’d just lined up his shot and pulled back when he took his eye off the cue for a moment. His gaze landed on the dance floor... and one of the women dancing there.
It was her.
He let go of the cue and it flew up, nipping at the top of the cue ball and rolling it about three inches from where it started. Behind him, Kevin’s raucous laughter rang out.
Tanner threw Kevin a stink eye, but he couldn’t blame his friend for being amused. Tanner scanned the dance floor again but Isabella was nowhere in sight. He glanced over the crowd. Maybe he’d just imagined her. That had to be it. He’d been thinking about her since the minute he left the studio this morning. It was only natural that he’d see her in every attractive woman since.
He headed back to the bar table where, what was her name…Jeanette, yeah, that was it. Jeanette was waiting, her red pouty lips wrapped around the straw poking out of the pale pink drink she’d ordered. Before he reached the woman, he scanned the crowd one more time. Yeah, he had definitely imagined Isabella.
He took his fair share of good-natured ribbing about his shot as Kevin cleared the rest of the table and cleaned Tanner out of another twenty bucks. Jeanette tried to talk to him, rested her hand on his arm and leaned in close whenever she could, giving him a good shot of her ample breasts. But all he could picture was Isabella, moving her body to the beat of the music, sliding up against him.
He brought his bottle up to his mouth. Damn, empty. Although, that gave him a perfect excuse to escape for a few minutes. “I’m going for another beer. Anyone need anything?”
He didn’t hang around to listen to the responses, instead ambling toward the bar. He figured he could kill ten, or fifteen minutes before they’d notice he hadn’t come back. Maybe in that time he could get Isabella off of his mind.
* * *
“This was such a good idea.” Izzy yelled over the heavy thump of the music blasting out of the speakers, her hands in the air as she swayed back and forth.
“I’m so glad you had it.” Natalie laughed, her body pressed against a man she’d sidled up to when the song began.
FitzGerald’s was the most popular bar in Cedar Hill and often attracted partiers from nearby Philadelphia. But that didn’t change the intimacy of the dark wood that lined the bar, the familiarity of the bands that provided the soundtrack for weekend dancing.
Izzy was envious that her friend Natalie was so comfortable cuddling up with a guy she’d just met. Izzy, on the other hand, had never been that woman. She hadn’t dated much growing up, her teenage years focused on dance, and her time in the company had been spent with Erik.
Since she’d been home, she’d gone out on a few dates. Nice guys, every one of them, but they had each ended after a perfunctory good night kiss on her porch. There had been no sparks, no attraction. Which was probably her own fault. She hadn’t given herself permission to take a chance on a new man after Erik. And most recently, her sole focus was opening the studio. Why, then, had she offered to give Tanner Ross and his daughter a tour at the end of the open house? Something about the man intrigued her.
She’d spotted him in line speaking with a lady she presumed was his wife. That had been the end of any fascination she’d had with his square jaw and mussed brown hair. But then he’d approached the table with just his daughter Hayley by his side. A quick glance at his left hand confirmed no ring. Not even a faint line where a ring may have been. But lots of men didn’t wear a wedding ring, right?
She couldn’t have misread the signals, though. He’d seemed interested… the slight touch of his hand at her back as they walked into the building, the looks thrown her way when Hayley was spinning across the studio. The man loved his daughter; that much was clear. Maybe that was all it was—excitement over doing something wonderful for Hayley.
Izzy hadn’t had quite the same relationship with her own father. Many of her memories of her Dad were tainted by his drinking. But even now that he’d been gone for three years, she found herself hoping for his approval. She’d spent her entire life trying to live up to his expectations. He’d always pushed her to make something of herself, to strive to be the best at whatever she did. And she’d done that. She’d been the prima ballerina in a premiere company in New York.
At least Dad had seen one of her professional performances before he’d died.
He hadn’t been far from her mind as she built her studio, but what she and her siblings had found out about him this summer had forever tarnished her image of him. To think that he’d had an affair that produced a daughter none of them had known about. Had Dad kept up a relationship with that girl and her mother? There were so many unanswered questions.
Natalie nudged her shoulder, her hands still resting on the hips of her dance partner. “Where’d you go? You’re a thousand miles away.”
Izzy shook the negative images of her father out of her head. One thing she could thank her father for was her love of kids. He hadn’t been the warm, loving father that she’d wanted or needed. In turn, she hoped to one day have a child of her own that she could love the way they deserved to be loved.
But instead, she’d hooked up with Erik. He’d made it clear from the beginning that he wasn’t interested in marriage and family. He’d wanted to rise to the top of his profession. Being a professional ballerina had always been her goal, and Erik had promised her they could do it together. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The upbeat song she’d been dancing to ended and was replaced by a love ballad. She finally shook her head and answered Natalie. “I’m gonna sit this one out.” She motioned toward the bar, but she wasn’t sure Natalie saw her as she was wrapping her arms around the man again.
It took a few minutes for Izzy to work her way through the crowd enjoying one of the last Saturday nights of the summer. She swiped at the sweat on her forehead. Maybe she should head out to the patio. It was probably cooler, and she could relax for a minute.
“What can I get you?” the bartender yelled over the sounds of the crowd and the music as he slapped a cocktail napkin in front of her.
She eyed him for just a moment. Dark hair, soothing eyes. The kind she could get lost in if she tried hard enough. But… nothing. Not a twinge of attraction, not a heart flutter at the wink he threw her. All his grin did was remind her of the man she’d met today.
“How about an apple martini?”
“Coming right up.”
She turned her back to the bar and eyed Natalie, her arms still wrapped around her partner. One more song and Izzy was going in. Sometimes being a wingman sucked. Regardless, Izzy would keep an eye out for her friend.
She turned back to the bar just as her drink slid in front of her. Reaching into her bra, she slipped out a bill and reached her hand out. Another hand covered hers. What the hell? She reeled and snapped her head around.
“Allow me. Barkeep—a bottle of Sam Adams and the lady’s drink.” Tanner’s gaze locked on hers and never broke as he finished his order and threw a few bills on the bar.
Izzy couldn’t speak. Couldn’t connect her brain to her mouth for the words to come out. Just the touch of Tanner’s hand on hers had her heart thumping in her chest. She hoped he couldn’t feel her hand shaking beneath his. Oh yeah, she was still holding his hand. Well, not holding, exactly, but he hadn’t pulled his away.
He hadn’t taken his eyes off of her, and the intensity of his gaze had butterflies dancing in her stomach. His thumb whispered across her hand, and her breath hitched.
A minute, an hour, later, she wasn’t sure, he released her hand and grabbed a napkin-wrapped bottle off the bar. He brought the beer to his lips, and her eyes locked on the length of his neck as he swallowed. He smirked and then turned to face her more fully. “Fancy meeting you here.”
She fumbled and motioned behind her. “I, uh, I’m here with, uh, my friend.” What had this man done to her, leaving her tongue tied?
“Me too. I saw you guys out there on the last song. You looked…”
He didn’t finish his thought. What was he going to say? What did she look like? She opened her mouth to ask when someone shoved her from behind. She stumbled forward, right into Tanner.
His arms came around her, and she resisted the urge to sink into him. He held her close while yelling over her shoulder. “Watch it, buddy.”
Before she could object to Tanner’s outburst, to tell him that she was plenty capable of taking care of herself, he steered her away from the bar and toward the outdoor patio. As soon as they stepped through the door and it closed behind them, the loud sounds of the music quieted.
He steered her to an empty corner. “That’s much better. No one shoving and we can actually carry on a conversation.”
With her back to the wall, Izzy threw a nervous glance toward the door. “What did you want?”
He propped his hand beside her head and leaned in. “I’d just like to get to know you. We didn’t have much time to talk today.”
Well, she could at least put her questions about Tanner to rest. “You mean when you were registering Hayley for dance classes? What would your wife think of you wanting to get to know your daughter’s dance teacher?”
His eyes sparkled, and he grinned as he took another sip of his beer. “No wife.”
Thank God. She’d dealt with a man before who kept other parts of his life a secret. She wouldn’t do that again. “Hayley’s mother?”
“She’s got one, sure. But she’s long gone. It’s just Hayley and me. But I didn’t come here to go on and on about my daughter, because I could. I want to talk about you.”
So no wife and Hayley’s mother wasn’t around. Izzy breathed a silent sigh of relief. It was so hard to know these days, and she didn’t trust her own instincts when it came to men. Not anymore. “What do you want to know?”
He reached out and ran his finger between her eyebrows. “I want to know what put those worry lines on your face, and I want to know what makes your eyes light up like they did today at the dance studio. I want to know what I can’t read on a website about Isabella Harper.”
His words shocked her speechless. When was the last time she met someone who didn’t want her for what she could do for them, who she could introduce them to? She extended her hand. “For starters, it’s Izzy. At least to my friends.”
His large hand dwarfed hers as he took it. But he didn’t shake it… exactly. He wrapped his fingers around hers and squeezed. “Is that what we are? Friends?”
His touch sent a jolt straight to her core. She’d never reacted with such intensity to a man. Certainly not with Erik. Their relationship had been more of a slow burn, one of convenience. Nothing like the sparks flying between her and Tanner from a simple touch.
“I wouldn’t go that far. We just met. But we could be.” She threw him a saucy grin and waggled her eyebrows. It had been so long since she’d met a man who interested her, who was attracted to her just for her. She’d forgotten how fun it was to flirt.
“I hope to change that. Soon.” He crowded closer, his hand resting on her hip. ”Tell me something about Izzy.”
What could she tell him? That she had to have everything organized just right in her home because the rest of her life felt so out of control? That it took her an extra ten minutes to climb out of the bed in the morning because her knee stiffened up? That wasn’t first date stuff. Not that this was a date.
Family was always a safe topic— at least it had been until recent revelations had rocked her and her siblings. She plastered a smile on her face. Tanner didn’t want to know about her father and how everything he said and did impacted her, even now. “I have a nephew that I adore. He’s five years old and busy every minute of the day.”
“Boy, don’t I know that. There are some days I fall into bed exhausted as soon as I get Hayley to sleep.” Tanner took a sip of his beer, his gaze staying locked on hers. “But tell me something about you. Something that people wouldn’t know for looking at you.”
She studied him for a minute as she pondered the question. For some reason, this man tempted her to reveal things that she barely even admitted to herself. She lowered her eyes, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze. “I’m scared… of failing.”
Tanner inched closer to her. His face was barely a breath away from hers. If she leaned forward, she could press her lips to his. “Failing what?”
She scoffed. “Everything. For my entire life, I knew what I wanted to do. Who I wanted to be. Everything I did was to that end. Until things changed. I never envisioned opening my own studio at this stage in my career. What if it flops? I’m just a dancer. What if I don’t know anything about teaching others how to dance?”
Tanner rested his hand on her arm. “I saw you with the kids today. They love you and really connected with you. Kids are pretty smart. They know when you’re feeding them a line and when you are genuine, and you, Izzy Harper, are the real deal. I don’t have any doubt that your studio will be wildly successful.”
From his mouth to God’s ears. She hadn’t realized how much she needed reassurance until he’d asked the question. Sure, Natalie had always encouraged her, but she was Izzy’s friend. She had to say those things. Tanner… he’d just met her. “Thanks. I hope so. So now that I’ve shattered any initial impressions you had of me, it’s your turn. Tell me something about Tanner Ross. Something that’s not in the official bio.”
He chuckled and broke her gaze. As though he didn’t want to look her in the eye. Much like she had felt when the intensity of his gaze bore down on her. “There’s not much to tell. I grew up on a ranch in Colorado where my family still lives.”
So he wasn’t from around here. Interesting. She’d met all types when she was living in New York but didn’t remember anyone from Colorado. “So you’re a cowboy?”
He hooked his thumbs in his jeans and leaned back. “Yes, ma’am. Born and bred.”
She laughed out loud at the thick accent that he adopted. “How did you end up here in Cedar Hill?”
“I went to Columbia University and got my business degree. I met Hayley’s mother in college. We moved to Philadelphia and got married after school. After she, uh… Well, I didn’t want to raise Hayley in the city, so I moved from Philly out here to Cedar Hill a few years ago.” He leaned in closer. “And I know you haven’t been back long or I would have met you already. I never forget a beautiful woman.”
The deep timbre of his voice washed over her. She trembled at the thought of that sound whispering in her ear as she…
He crowded her against the wall. “What are you thinking?”
Heat rose on her cheeks. If he knew she’d been imagining the two of them together, bodies entwined, she’d die of embarrassment.
“On second thought, I’m not sure I want to know, if the color on your cheeks is any indication.”
She pressed her palms to her face, the heat now a result of embarrassment more than attraction.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Crap. She’d forgotten about Natalie. “Excuse me a moment,” she said to Tanner as she pulled it out and read the message.
Where’d you go?
I’m outside. Izzy debated what else to share with her friend. For some reason, she wanted to keep this conversation, this start of a… friendship, to herself for a while.
Mick invited me to go somewhere quieter. Gonna go grab a coffee. Wanna come with?
Like she wanted to be a third wheel with Natalie’s flavor of the week.
“Bad news?” Tanner spoke over her shoulder, his voice next to her ear.
No. CU tomorrow. Izzy dashed the words off and slipped her phone back into her pocket. “My friend Natalie says she’s leaving. I should probably head out, too. It’s getting late.”
He shook his head, the intensity of his gaze cutting through her. “Nuh-uh. Not yet.”
What? Who is he to tell her what she would and would not do? She squared her shoulders and opened her mouth to respond.
He chuckled as he raised his hands and stepped back. “Whoa, I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. I just wanted to ask you to dance.”
How was it that he could already read her so well? She stared at him a minute but he didn’t say anything else.
Izzy couldn’t help but tease him. “Well, are you going to ask me?”
He laughed and extended his hand. “Miss Harper, may I have the honor of this dance?”
She stared at his offering for a minute. She really shouldn’t. She’d do well to say goodbye right now and leave it at that. She had no business getting involved with one of her student’s parents, no matter how good he looked in the tight denim wrapped around his legs. Not that she’d noticed.
Who was she kidding? She’d barely managed to keep from staring at him today at the studio. And now here he was, wanting to dance with her. What harm could it do? She drew in a deep breath and laid her hand in his. “I’d love to.”
* * *
Tanner didn’t know what possessed him to ask Izzy to dance. He just knew that he didn’t want his evening with her to end, and he’d blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. But now that she was in front of him, her hips swaying to the rhythm of the music, he was glad he did. Her entire body embraced the music, like she was one with the beat. She told a story with her hands and her head and her hips.
And he was listening. At least his body was. Tingles built in his gut and his cock stood up and took notice of the sexy woman.
His hands drifted to her hips as he attempted to keep up with her, but he wasn’t sure she noticed. Until her hands covered his. Their bodies pressed together, back to chest, hip to hip, ass to groin as they swayed to the beat.
She had to feel the thickness in his crotch.
She pulled his arms around her waist and sank into him. The musky scent of her perfume had him grinding his groin into her backside as his erection grew practically painful. He rested his head on hers and pressed his lips into her hair. Was this moving too fast? Absolutely. But she had cast a spell over him, and he was powerless to resist.
When he’d come out with Kevin tonight, his goal had been to have a little fun, a few drinks, and maybe meet a woman to spend the evening with. But now that he was with Izzy, he wanted more. Izzy was not a woman you spent just a few hours with. He’d never scratch the surface of what made her tick in that short time. He was intrigued.
The upbeat song ended and the music tailed into a slow ballad. Izzy started to step away from him, but he grabbed her hand, spun her, and wrapped his other arm around her waist. Their clasped hands rested between them. Her eyes widened for a moment and then she settled in. A minute later, her free hand slid up his chest and wrapped around his neck.
He stared into her eyes until the hazel deepened to a deep green color. Her hand squeezed his and he felt her body tense up, but she didn’t break his gaze. The other sounds of the bar faded away, and it was just the two of them, swaying to the romantic strains of a country song. A sea of emotions swirled in her eyes, and he wondered if she was as confused by this turn of events as he was. He’d just met her today—when he was in “dad mode,” no less—and now here they were, wrapped up in each other’s arms.
There was no way he had misread the attraction in her eyes. But there was also conflict. Like she was interested in him but didn’t want to be interested in him. If anything, that made her even more attractive to him.
Her hair hung long, a stark contrast to how severe it had looked pulled off her face and in a bun at the open house. The honey-colored curls tumbled around her shoulders and down her back. He itched to run his fingers through it, to see if it was as soft as it looked, to wrap the silky strands around his hand and gently tug her head back. To position it as his lips lowered over hers, their breaths mingling together just before he…
She stiffened and pulled back from him. Then he realized the music had stopped. He’d been so wrapped up in his daydream that he hadn’t even noticed. The silence grew uncomfortable between them as he continued to stare at her. He couldn’t look away. It was like he was caught in her web and she was drawing him in.
“Tanner?”
“Sorry.” He raised his hands and backed a step away. The sounds of the room began to filter into his mind. The crowd had thinned considerably. “Thanks for the dance. Can I…?”
Her brows furrowed, Izzy looked as confused by the turn of events as he was. “Can you what?”
He gestured for her to walk ahead of him and rested his hand on her lower back as he escorted her into a quieter corner of the room. She leaned against the wall and he crowded close to her, one hand pressed beside her head and the other on her hip. She was tall. At six foot three, he often towered over women he dated. But Izzy came up well past his shoulders. He could easily look her in the eye. “Can I see you again?”
She bit her lip and gazed up at him from beneath her lashes. The move made her look even more sexy. But she didn’t answer right away.
As the seconds ticked away, he worried that he’d come on too strong. “Too soon?”
“No, it’s not that.” She lowered her gaze so he could no longer see her eyes. Could no longer see what she was thinking. He slid his knuckle under her chin and raised it before he leaned in.
“What is it? There’s a connection between us. I feel it and I think you feel it, too. I want to see where it could lead.”
“What about Hayley? I’m going to be her teacher.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. Hayley had connected with Izzy in a way he hadn’t seen with his daughter in a long time. In the past, he’d made sure not to bring his dates around Hayley. He wasn’t about to have her build a relationship with someone only to have that woman abandon Hayley when they broke up. “That could be a problem. I saw how she warmed up to you today.”
A grin broke across Izzy’s face, and it was all he could do to not cup her cheeks and brush his lips over hers. “She’s a really sweet girl. She reminds me a lot of me at that age, when all I wanted to do was dance. My father…”
The smile fell from her face, and her brows furrowed.
“What about your father?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. But I am worried that if we were to, you know…”
“Date?”
“Yeah, if we were to go out on a date, Hayley could get the wrong idea.”
As much as he regretted it, they were pretty much on the same page. “And then, when it didn’t work out—”
She scoffed. “What makes you think we wouldn’t work out?”
Her indignation made him want to kiss her all the more. This woman was a spitfire, sexy and passionate. And what he wouldn’t give to see her unleash that passion in a more intimate setting. “I’m just saying that I agree with you. That it’s a risk.”
“It’s important for me to focus on building my business, and that includes my relationships with the students. That has to be my first priority right now.”
“And I don’t want to put Hayley in a position to be disappointed.”
“So, we’re agreed.”
Well, damn. That conversation had gone sideways quickly. She could have at least shown some disappointment about not pursuing a relationship with him. “I guess. It’s just…”
“What?”
“This.” He wrapped his fingers around her neck and pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers. She resisted for a moment and then her arms wound around his neck.
He reveled in his first taste of Izzy Harper. She tasted sweet and sexy, and she was no wilting flower. No, this sexy woman could give as good as she got. He nudged her into the wall, pressing his body to hers, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. Her breasts pressed against him, her nipples teasing his chest. His cock grew even thicker as she snaked her hands around his back and grabbed his ass. He teased her lips open and slid his tongue against hers, his mind going blank as he consumed her. It had been a long time since he’d been this aggressive with a woman, but Izzy cast a spell over him and he was powerless to resist.
Resist was exactly what he needed to do. They had agreed that this wasn’t a good idea. He had Hayley to consider. But his first taste of Izzy had him reconsidering.
He pulled back, brushing his lips gently against hers one more time before drawing in a deep breath. He rested his forehead on hers while he caught his breath. The heavy rise and fall of her chest told him she was as affected as he was.
“That was…”
He waited for her to continue.
“We shouldn’t have done that.”
His heart fell. He knew, deep down, that she was right. He’d worked so hard to protect Hayley. Getting involved with her dance teacher wasn’t smart. He backed up a step and locked his eyes on hers. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I just…”
“What?”
“Nothing.” He scanned the room. “Your friend left. I guess mine did, too. Can I offer you a ride home?”
She shook her head. “I drove myself.”
He gestured toward the door. “At least let me walk you to your car.”
She hesitated a moment, as though considering that thought. He wasn’t sure himself, but his father had raised him to be a gentleman, and Tanner wouldn’t let a woman walk alone in the dark while he was around.
Eventually she nodded and headed to the door. He fell into step beside her. His hand slid to the small of her back, but he thought better of it and tucked his hand in his pocket. Staying away from Izzy Harper was going to be a challenge.
The quiet of the street outside the bar was a stark contrast to the sounds of the music and patrons inside. It was too quiet. Izzy didn’t say a word as she headed through the parking lot, which left him alone with his own thoughts. Thoughts that betrayed him, trying to convince him that he could find a way to be with Izzy and protect Hayley at the same time. Who was to say Izzy would leave like Vanessa? Izzy’s eyes weren’t on the horizon. She’d just opened a business here. She’d grown up here. You couldn’t get more permanent than that.
Maybe they could explore this attraction between them without Hayley knowing. It could be private between he and Izzy until they figured out whether this was more than the intense attraction arcing between them.
Now he had to convince her.
She stopped in front of a little blue-green convertible and turned to him. “Thanks for walking me to my car.”
“Izzy, I—”
She raised her hand. “Don’t say it. That shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry I let myself get carried away.”
He sank back on his heels and shoved his hands further into his pockets. It wouldn’t do to reach for her now. Not when she was so skittish. But he couldn’t help the grin that turned up the corners of his mouth. “I’m not.”
“We agreed this was a bad idea.”
“I reconsidered.”
“Well, un-reconsider. Friends is all we can be. I have my business to focus on, and you have Hayley to consider.” A blush rose on her cheeks, and she stuck out her hand. “It’s been nice to spend time with you, Tanner. I’m sure I’ll see you at the studio.
He studied her hand and then took it, her soft skin sliding over his. Her eyes fell to where they were joined. She quickly snatched her hand away, like she regretted the contact, and pressed the button on her keys. The car beeped and the inside lit up.
He reached beside her and swung the car door open. He took a step back and gestured for her to climb in. She didn’t say another word, and once she was buckled in, he leaned down. “I will definitely see you around the studio, Isabella Harper. But this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”
“Is that a warning?” Her words might sound ominous, but the sparkle in her eye betrayed her true feelings. She was as interested as he was.
“No, it’s a promise.”