“Fair enough.” I shake my head to clear it. “I can record your set for you. I’ll set up a tripod at the front to get it all, and I’ll give you anything I get with the gimbal.”
“The what?”
“Never mind. I’ve got it, okay? I’ll do you a solid.”
“Does that mean I don’t have to pay you?”
“Unless you want to bake me a cake or some shit, we’re good.”
“Works for me.” Molly gives me a hug I’m not expecting. I don’t hate the sensation of her soft arms around me, but they’re definitely the wrong ones, and I get the feeling she knows it. She backs away with a wink and inclines her head to the right. “He’s over there.”
I glance right and instantly forget her. Tanner is weaving through the crowded bar with a tray balanced on one hand. It’s piled high with empty glasses—too many for most people, but he makes it look easy. He’s wearing his standard jeans and black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and he hasn’t trimmed his beard for a few days. It’s thick and dark and I want to run my fingers through it. I’ve missed him more than I can say. Is it weird that I’ve missed the inky scruff on his jaw just as much?
Beside me, Molly sighs. Startled, I spare her a glance. I thought she’d gone.
She sighs again. “He’s so dreamy, isn’t he?”
“Uh, if you say so.”
“Oh, be serious, honey. I’ve seen how you look at him.”
“That right?”
Molly snorts in a way that doesn’t match her dainty beauty. “Yes, that’s right. If you don’t hook up with him soon, I’m going home to write some lemony fan fic about you to calm myself down.”
She walks away before I learn what that even means, and I’m not sure I want to. She makes me laugh, though, and when Tanner finally looks up, I’m grinning.
A slow smile warms his handsome face. Then he’s right there, standing so close his body heat warms me from the inside out. “You came back.”
“Course I did. Told you I wouldn’t go far.”
“I know, I just…”
“What?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing. Just worried I’d scared you off.”
The only thing that scares me about Tanner is how hard my heart beats when he’s anywhere within a mile radius of me, but I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit that I’ve stayed away for two days on purpose. Testing myself? Maybe. But I can’t decide if searching him out tonight means I’ve passed or failed. Whatever. I don’t care. I missed him, and I want him to know it.
He disappears with his tray. I expect him to pop up again behind the bar, but he comes back wearing his coat. “Wanna walk?”
“I thought you were working?”
“My shift finished an hour ago. I was only here to keep from knocking on your door.”
“You could’ve done that. Or, you know, like, called me or something.”
“I know.” Tanner inclines his head toward the door.
I shrug. “Okay, then.”
We leave the bar. Outside, he grips my shoulders and turns me to face him. “You finally bought a coat?”
“I guess. I gave a bloke in the office twenty bucks for his spare one.”
Tanner snorts out a laugh that reminds me of Molly. “Whatever. It looks good on you.”
He lets me go and we start walking in the general direction of my apartment. I’m not sure if he meant to walk me straight back home, but I’m not going to complain about strolling through the cinnamon-scented night with him. I knew Vermont was a nice place to be when I landed here all those months ago, but being with Tanner amplifies every sight and sound. The clean air and bright stars. The contented hum of people who live well. I could stay here forever.