What Might Have Been by Wendi Zwaduk Page B

fingers and led her to the fringe of the dance floor. A tendril of Macy’s caramel-coloured hair swept forward across her eyes, obscuring his view of her face. Although a slow, romantic song blared over the speakers, Tanner stood transfixed. He’d never seen a woman look so adorable, yet so sexy. The black, halter-neck dress clung to her curves, accentuating the gentle swell of her hips and the V of her cleavage.
    “What are you staring at?” She leaned in close enough for him to catch a hint of her perfume. “I don’t bite—unless you want me to.”
    Visions of their lovemaking sessions flicked through Tanner’s mind. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against his body. Heat flooded his veins, engorging his cock. He gritted his teeth to stave off his need to take her, to make her his. God, how horny could one man be with the love of his life in his arms? When she sighed and rubbed against him in time to the music, he nearly came unglued. “Macy, this isn’t fair to your date.” Or me.
    “We’ve got things under control,” she murmured. “Berto and Remi have him occupied.”
    Yes, Tanner wanted to continue the dance, to hold her all night long. But if she had another man there in the wings, Tanner Connolly wasn’t going to play the patsy. Without another word, he wrapped an arm firmly around her shoulders and hustled her to the stairwell at the back of the gymnasium.
    “What’s the matter?” Macy pulled out from under his arm and stared at him in shock.
    “We need to get a few things sorted out.” He strode down three steps to regain his bearings. “What did Will do to you? I need to know the details.”
    When he stole a glance at her, Macy slowly sat on the top step. “He liked verbal abuse. I started writing to occupy my time. I wasn’t making any money with my paintings, but the short stories I sold to magazines brought in a little cash here and there. Truth is, I liked writing more than art.” She shrugged. Sadness dulled the sparkle in her eyes.
    “Will didn’t want to help me research the love scenes. He thought I spent more time with the—” She hooked her fingers in the air. “—little people in my head than I did with him. When I got the contract for Wicked Moves , he demanded half the advance or he said he’d beat the shit out of me. I’d already been through the wringer with him and wasn’t about to put up with it a second longer, so I walked out that night and never looked back.”
    Tanner grasped the railing and leaned against the wall while he processed her information. Fury built in the back of his mind and coiled down around his stomach. No one put a hand on a woman, and no man threatened to beat the shit out of Macy. He clenched his fists tight. No wonder she thought she wasn’t good enough. The dumb fuck had never really loved her.
    “Why didn’t you tell me, damn it? He had no right.”
    “Cowardice, plain and simple. I should’ve said something, but I didn’t. I threw myself into writing and gave credence to the stories built up in my mind. After three years, Will must’ve realised I had money because he came back insisting he cared. That he’d never yell at me or demand money again. I said no.” Macy stared at her hands. “Thank God the cops were at the Books-A-Plenty café that particular morning. Otherwise, I’d have landed in jail for decking Will.”
    “You always did have guts.” She wanted love for the woman behind the books. Tanner nodded. He loved every inch of her, but what about Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome? Did he have a piece of her heart, too? “I saw you brought a date.”
    “Gerard?”
    “He looks more like Logan Malone to me.” Tanner leaned against the cinderblock wall and scrubbed a hand over his face. Control. He needed to keep his ragged nerves in check. “Does he make you happy?”
    “Gerard is my cover model.”
    “He wasn’t on the cover of Kendall .” Or any other book Tanner remembered buying, for that