Once she's out of sight, Lesley eyes me. "Right, I want you inside and I want to know everything."
So different to her sister, and yet completely the same. I bet the Taylor sisters have broken hearts all over the place. The only difference would be that while Lesley probably knows it, I don't think Juliette has a clue about the spell she weaves.
I put my arm out to indicate she should go first. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."
She stares at me for a moment while her lips slowly curl up into another smile. "Oh, boy, you are going to be good for my sister."
Chapter Nine
JULIETTE
I'm going to kill her.
Slowly.
With a very sharp object.
"Star sign?" Lesley's been interrogating Tanner over coffee at my kitchen table for the last fifteen minutes. She set Danielle up with a movie so she could have all the time in the world with him.
"Libra," he fires back, not even minding in the slightest all the questions.
Her eyes widen and a giddy look crosses her face. Lesley is all about star signs, whereas I have no interest in them so I don't understand why she seems so happy all of a sudden.
"A man who was made for love," she murmurs almost to herself.
His eyes twinkle. "There's nothing better than love."
Now she frowns. I can't keep up with her changing emotions, but that is my sister—all over the place. "Shit, I bet you fall fast and often."
With a very, very, very sharp object.
"Lesley!" I snap. "Stop asking so many freaking questions."
"What?" She seems genuinely confused, and she would, because she never stops to think how her actions might embarrass me. "I'm just trying to get to know the guy you're dating."
"We are not dating." My voice comes out a little harder than I intend. "We're just having fun."
Her lips purse together. "Right, I forgot… this is just a little bit of fun." She's saying those words, but her tone implies that she doesn't believe them.
My gaze flicks to Tanner and I find him watching me thoughtfully. The world around me blurs for a beat while we share a moment. It's as if he understands the mortification I'm feeling and is saying "It's okay, I'm not judging." When he cuts into the conversation, I could kiss him.
"What's your star sign?" he asks me.
"Leo, but I don't follow astrology, so it means nothing to me."
"Me either," he admits.
Lesley butts in. "Leos fall hard and completely, and it's an all-or-nothing kind of deal." She looks at Tanner. "You know… just so you know…." Her voice trails off as he chuckles.
"Good to know, Lesley," he says, and while I am again horrified that my sister would even say that, his easy nature makes me feel okay about it in a way I never have before. Usually Lesley completely embarrasses me and I want the world to swallow me whole.
"Do you have a job? I mean, it's a weekday and yet here you are," she demands of him and I know where she's coming from. As much as I dislike her style of questioning, I can't be upset with her for looking out for me. After growing up with a father who was often happily unemployed, she and I are both adamant in our need to find a man completely different.
"I own a tattoo parlour and was able to take today off."
"I thought you were booked months ahead," I say, slightly confused.
"I am, but that doesn't mean I work every day."
"Wow, how old are you?" Lesley asks.
"Twenty-six."
"And you've already gotten your business to the point where you don't need to work every day?" She seems impressed and she should be because what Tanner has achieved is impressive. He inspires me and I hardly know him yet.
Yet.
I want to know everything about him.
"Some months I work fifteen to twenty hours a day and then I have months where work is a lot less hectic," he explains.
"The life of an entrepreneur," Lesley muses before flashing me a smile. "You two seem to have a lot in common."
Before I can shoot Lesley another dirty look, Tanner stands and announces, "My half hour is up so I'm going to leave you two girls to it."
Lesley stands, too. "What do you mean your half hour is up?"
"I promised Juliette I would only interrupt her for half an hour today." He's answering Lesley's question, but his eyes are firmly on me as he speaks. The desire I see there causes butterflies in my tummy.
"You did," I agree softly, holding his gaze.
I don't want him to go.
"Will you walk me out?" he asks.
Nodding, I direct Lesley, "You wait here."
She holds her hands up defensively. "I wasn't even thinking of doing anything but waiting here." She's grinning at me and I can't help it—I shake my head and smile at her. For all her faults, my sister loves the hell out of me and would do anything to protect me. From myself as much as from other people.
Tanner holds his hand out for me and I place mine in it. The moment his hand closes over mine, an overwhelming desire to have him hold my hand like that all the time fills me.
You've got it bad.