Heat seemed to pool in his soft brown eyes. The hand that wasn’t covering hers on his cheek wrapped around her waist, anchoring her against him.
She could feel the hardness of him pressed up against her. For just a second she was tempted to throw caution to the wind and see if she could seduce him into staying. But she quickly pushed the thought aside. She didn’t want their first time to be because she had emotionally manipulated him in order to get out of a dinner.
Not to mention she didn’t know how to seduce a man anyway.
He groaned and pulled back. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Is that a good thing or bad thing?”
“The very best of things. Now, you wait right here five minutes. It’s time for the most important people in my life to get to know each other better.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Bree wanted to run; she really did. She wanted to run when Tanner made it back to the living room four and a half minutes later looking mouthwatering himself in jeans and a button-down shirt.
She definitely wanted to run when they pulled up to his mother’s house thirty minutes after that.
Bree had met all of Tanner’s family before. Noah at the ranch, of course. Mrs. Dempsey and Tanner’s sister, Cassandra, came to town sometimes and to the Sunrise. It was impossible not to have met them in a town the size of Risk Peak. But this was the first time she was facing them as Tanner’s girlfriend.
Grasping the box filled with Mrs. Andrews’s lemon pie from the Sunrise Diner, she walked stiffly with him toward the door.
He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her temple. “You’re going to do great. They’re going to love you.”
Bree was not nearly as sure about either of those things. This situation was pretty much her worst nightmare—a small group where she was expected to interact and banter wittily.
So basically to act like a normal person with normal personal interaction skills.
Yeah, this was not going to go well.
Dinner actually went by without her making any terrible faux pas. Between Tanner and Cassandra’s constant bickering, with Noah and Cassandra’s husband, Graham, occasionally chiming in, there wasn’t much conversation that was expected from Bree. Every once in a while, Mrs. Dempsey would try to bring her brood under control, but it was easy to see that the fighting was in good fun. Graham and Cassandra’s three kids, all between the ages of eight and twelve, ate as fast as they could then begged to be excused to go back out to the fishing pond. Cassandra agreed, sending them with the cookies she’d baked.
As soon as they were gone, she turned back to the adults at the table. “I’m no idiot. I made cookies for the kids so there’s more pie for us.”
“Damn it, I thought I was the smartest one in this family,” Tanner muttered.
When everyone got up and started carrying their dishes into the kitchen, Bree grabbed hers and followed suit.
“How are you enjoying living on the ranch?” Mrs. Dempsey asked. “It’s always been too isolated for my tastes. Is it the same for you? It must be much different than Kansas City.”
Bree’s life in Kansas City had been pretty isolated also. She’d been surrounded by people, but still alone.
“No, I actually like the isolation. Sometimes a lot of people can be a little too much for me.”
“Amen to that,” Noah muttered. “Give me horses over people any day.”
Tanner smiled and kissed her on the top of the head as he passed by with some dishes.
“Yeah, but what’s it like living with my idiotbrother?” Cassandra elbowed Tanner as she walked into the kitchen.
Bree wasn’t sure what to say. They weren’t really living together. Would Mrs. Dempsey think Bree was some sort of freeloader? “I’m only living there because of the crime scene at my house and the puppy.”
Cassandra grinned as she and Tanner sat back down. “Not if Tanner has anything to say about it.”
Bree could feel heat rising in her cheeks. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to that. “Um...”
“Ow!” Cassandra glared at Tanner. “Mom, Tanner just pinched me under the table.”
Mrs. Dempsey turned to them. “You two behave. Bree, why don’t we leave the infants alone and go cut the pie.”
