Torn by Love (Scarred by Love #4) (2 page)

Chapter Two

Tanner

“So what’ll it be, kid? Cheerios, Rice Krispies, or oatmeal?” I asked Paisley as I stood with my back to her and Lily. I was doing everything I could not to look at Lily, but the damn dress she had on wasn’t helping me at all, and getting turned on in Paisley’s presence wasn’t a good idea.

“I want your cereal. The chocolate kind,” she stated.

I hung my head and laughed. Looking back at her, I tried not to focus on Lily’s chest. Her dress was cut entirely too low. “Shh, your sister doesn’t know I still have that. She told me I wasn’t allowed to buy it again after you and I ate the entire box in one sitting.” Paisley smiled brightly and I heard Lily giggle. “What?” I asked. “Okay, okay, so we ate a bag of M&M’s and half a box of caramels too.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine why Bree would have a problem with that,” Lily replied.

I reached into the cabinet above the refrigerator and was just about to pull out the Cocoa Krispies when I heard Bree’s voice behind me. “Don’t even think about it.”

Lily laughed once again, and I heard Max chuckling too. Bree poked my side, and I spun around to face her. Very few people knew about my weak spot; I was ticklish on my sides more than I would ever admit.

“No cereal, Princess,” Max announced as he picked Paisley up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “We’re going over to Grandma Ray’s. She made French toast.”

It was still crazy to see Max being a daddy. He was always so determined to stay unattached. Now things were completely the opposite. Bree and Paisley were his world,
his girls
, and everyone knew it.

He walked up to Bree still holding Paisley close and leaned forward to kiss her. A soft moan fell from her lips as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

My gaze shifted to Lily as she watched the exchange with a deep longing evident in her eyes.

“Hey, Lil, how are things going with that cop you’re seeing? What’s his name again?” Max of course took the opportunity to bring up the fucker that was smarter than me. After all, he was the guy that had the balls to go after something he wanted. I went about getting breakfast with my back to them as they continued talking about something I had no desire to hear about.

“Good, I guess,” she answered. “We’ve gone out a few times. His shift got changed to evenings, so it makes getting together hard. We’re going out to dinner tomorrow night.”

I slammed down the bowl I was holding and spun around. Max looked at me with a cocky grin, stupid fucker. Bree and Lily both looked surprised, and Paisley was scowling at me.

“Tanner, that was my
Frozen
bowl,” she said.

I looked back to the sink to make sure her favorite bowl wasn’t broken. “Sorry, kid.” It was still in one piece, and I was thankful for that. She could throw one hell of a fit when she wanted to, and I wasn’t in the mood for one of those. “It slipped,” I stated, glaring back at Max. He chuckled again, and if I thought I could take him, I would have decked him right then.

“Well, uh, we better get going,” Bree said, trying to break the obvious tension in the air.

Lily caught my attention as she slid from the stool and grabbed her bag from the countertop. “Yeah, okay,” she said. Her demeanor had changed. She didn’t seem to know what to say.

I turned around and leaned back against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest. Our eyes focused on each other for a few seconds before she quickly averted her stare. I watched as she followed Bree out of the room, and I instantly felt the loss of her presence.

“You’re still dragging your feet, little brother,” Max said. “You’ll be sorry if you keep waiting for her to make the first move. Shawn’s moving in fast. Carson says she’s all he talks about. They’re getting closer, and you’re wasting time.”

Max was pissing me off. If Paisley wasn’t still clinging to his neck, I would tell him how I really felt about his meddling. Instead I narrowed my eyes and pushed off from the counter behind me. “Don’t need your help. I’m fine with the way things are.”

I was halfway up the steps when he hollered after me. “Keep lying to yourself, T. I know you. You need to just man up and admit you’ve got a thing for Lily.”

He was right, but the last thing I would do was let him know that.

Chapter Three

Lily

“Hey, gorgeous,” Shawn said as he leaned in and kissed my cheek. “You ready?”

I nodded as I pulled the door shut behind me. He rested his hand on my lower back and led me to his car.

We were going to a steakhouse just at the edge of town. I was looking forward to a night out. Logan left this morning, and being home alone was just a little unnerving. I really needed to stop being paranoid. Maybe a night out would help. Shawn had the ability to make me laugh. He was so sweet and the complete opposite of Tanner. The intense feeling I had in Tanner’s presence was overwhelming. He was always so hard to figure out. Shawn, on the other hand, was laid-back and almost predictable. I really had a great time with him. It was comfortable.

“I was thinking we could maybe go over to Richard’s after this. Have a drink, listen to the band. What do you think?” Shawn asked as he placed his hand over mine and flirtatiously toyed with my fingers.

He was handsome in that boyish kind of way. I smiled back at his hopeful stare. “Okay, sure.”

***

The moment we entered the bar, the hairs on the back of my neck stood. Tanner’s eyes locked with mine, and I could sense his anger. I offered him a smile before allowing Shawn to lead me to a table in the back.

Shawn himself appeared slightly nervous, yet it was directed to the opposite side of the bar. He continued to look in that direction, his arm propped up, hiding his face. I was just about to ask him if everything was okay when the chair scraped across the floor.

I turned almost too quickly, and my eyes locked with a pair of green eyes that made my stomach drop.

“Hey, Lil, how’s your date going?” Tanner asked, his eyes never leaving mine. He stared at me as if I had done something terrible. I really didn’t understand what his problem was.

“Can you excuse me for a minute? I’m gonna run up to the bar and order our drinks,” Shawn said as he stood from the table. I could only nod as he hurried away.

“What are you doing with him?” Tanner asked, his voice slightly slurred. I quickly turned around to him, wondering what he could mean. He stared back at me, his gaze shifting from my eyes to my lips. “I waited too long,” he whispered, confusing me. I felt weak in the knees from the look he was giving me. He was without a doubt the most intense person I had ever met.

Tanner trailed his fingertip along my jaw before standing up and walking away. I stared at him retreating back, feeling like the room was closing in around me. I sat there alone, wondering what was taking Shawn so long. The night had shifted into unknown territory, and I honestly just felt like leaving.

“Hey there, pretty lady,” Kate’s voice cooed next to my ear, and for the first time in the last thirty minutes, I felt at ease. “I figured by now Shawn would have you cuffed to the bed.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure not every cop uses his handcuffs for that purpose.” I laughed as she took a seat next to me.

“Oh, but they should.” She wiggled her brows in a suggestive manner.

I caught movement over her left shoulder and found Max and Carson talking to Tanner. Their backs were to me, but Tanner’s eyes were locked on mine.

“Where is Bree?” I asked without looking away from his fierce stare.

“She’s around somewhere.”

I managed to pull my gaze from Tanner and looked back to the bar. Where the hell was Shawn? Honestly, how long could it take to get drinks?

“Bree! There you are.” Kate waved to get her attention.

The moment she saw me, her face fell. She tried to hide it, but I knew how to read Bree. An uneasy feeling filled my stomach as she cautiously approached the table.

What the hell was wrong with everyone tonight? Was it a full moon?

Bree took a seat at the table, motioning with her head toward the bar. She was trying to be discreet as she signaled to Kate to look in that direction.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked, turning around to look over my shoulder.

“Don’t,” Kate growled as she placed her hand on top of mine. “I can’t believe this.”

Choosing to ignore their warnings, I looked anyway. Shawn was in the farthest corner of the bar, almost completely hidden from sight—almost. He had an arm wrapped around a brunette’s waist and was holding her close as he whispered in her ear. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy as she ran her fingers through his hair.

My stomach tightened, and an overpowering anger ran through me. I was generally a quiet person, the kind of girl most people found it easy to walk all over, and they often did. I wore my heart on my sleeve, and that only continued to set me up for heartbreak. Chalk this up to another one of those times.

I swiped my handbag from the table and stood up, then squared my shoulders and zoned in on my target. It was time Lily Rose Peterson stood up for herself. Kate said my name, attempting to gain my attention, yet nothing would stop me from giving Shawn a piece of my mind. I walked across the bar with purpose. Shawn was about to be on the receiving end of years of pent-up frustration. I hoped he was man enough to handle what was coming his way.

I rounded the end of the bar, and Shawn looked up from kissing the brunette’s neck. His face lost all its color, and he let her go and turned to me, eyes locked on mine.

“Lily,” he stuttered, “I was just—”

I held my hand up to stop his lame attempt. “Save it. Because I honestly don’t really give a shit. I don’t want to hear what pathetic excuse you’re about to throw my way.”

The brunette was gawking back and forth between the two of us, puzzled. “How long have you been seeing him?” I asked her.

Her eyes grew wide, and she took a step away from him. “Listen, I had no idea he was married,” she stammered.

“We’re not married.” I looked back at him. “We
were
dating.”

“A few weeks,” she whispered.

It wasn’t her fault. She was just as shocked as I was. I could read it all over her face. I stepped a little closer to Shawn, glaring at him with all the hatred I could gather. “You’re an asshole. A disgusting pig. I thought you were a nice guy, but you’re just like the rest of them. All you want is a warm body, it really doesn’t matter whose.”

“Lil…” He reached out toward me, and I jerked my arm away.

“Don’t you fucking touch me. You don’t get that privilege. You are a lying, cheating bastard, and you make me sick,” I said, holding back tears. I’m what you could call an angry crier. The overwhelming rush of adrenaline when I was mad always made me weep.

Before I could say another word, I heard a scuffle behind me. I turned to find Carson and Max holding Tanner back as he shoved, unable to get past the hard wall of muscle. You could almost feel the anger rolling off him in waves.

I couldn’t take this, I had to get out of here. It was all too much.

Chapter Four

Tanner

I could hear her voice from across the bar, and the hurt in it was like a knife to my chest. Carson stood up and started in her direction, and I followed close behind, pushing through the crowd that had started to form around Lily and Shawn.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what was happening once we rounded the corner. I was buzzed, but you didn’t have to be sober to know Shawn had fucked up.

I tried to push past Carson only to be held back by Max. “Let go, man,” I said, shoving against his chest, my anger boiling harder at his resistance.

“She’s got this, T, it ain’t your fight.” Max was like a damn brick wall as he held me back. All I wanted to do was get past him long enough to bust that prick in the mouth.

I stopped fighting against Max as I took in the devastated look on her face. Her lower lip quivered, and my knees felt weak instantly. Lily looked back at us, and her reddened eyes gutted me. Watching her rush past us, as Bree and Kate ran after her, was just another punch to the gut. Max made the mistake of trying to shift to get a better hold on me, and I took the opening. One swing to the jaw of her fuckwad date had him stumbling back.

Carson wrapped his arms around me from behind and held on tight as I struggled. “You stupid motherfucker,” I growled as he pulled me farther away. “Don’t you see what you had in her? Lily deserves better than this.”

The bouncer approached us, and Max held him off, telling him we were leaving.

I jerked out of Carson’s hold after he dragged me out the door “Calm the fuck down, T,” he said. “I can’t keep you out of jail, you dumbass. You just assaulted a police officer.”

“What?” A shuddering voice came from the darkness.

All three of us turned to see the girls standing just to the side of the entrance. Lily stepped closer, holding her purse to her chest. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and she looked so frail.

“Are you okay?” I asked, reaching out for her.

“Stop,” she said, her voice sounding so direct. “What did you do?”

Everyone stood in silence, looking at us. The girls mirrored Lily’s expression of irritation. The guys steered clear, throwing me to the sharks. The alcohol running ahead of my brain made me speak before thinking. “I busted the fucker in the mouth. I would have done more if five-zero over there would have stayed out of my way.” I nudged my thumb in Carson’s direction.

“This has nothing to do with you,” she said coldly, no sweet Lily behind her words. “You have no right. This is my life, Tanner, mine. I didn’t want or need your help.”

“I don’t like to see you hurt.” The confession fell from my lips before I could stop it. “I can’t take it.”

Lily stepped toward me, looking me dead in the eyes. “Well, if that is even remotely true, then why was it okay for you to hurt me?” She cocked an eyebrow at me. “All those times you flirted when you knew I would fall for it, only to throw your newest flavor of the week in my face.”

“Lily, I—”

“Back the fuck off. Your games are old and I’m done playing.” No one spoke as she stepped past me; the only sound was the shuffle of Lily’s feet as she walked away.

I spun around to chase after her, and a delicate hand encircled my forearm. I turned to see Kate looking up at me, shaking her head. “We’ll take her home. Let her cool off before you try again. Her emotions are running wild right now. It won’t help trying anything more tonight.”

She didn’t wait for me to agree or fight her on this, she just walked after Lily, leaving me to feel like the biggest ass there ever was.

Lily was right. I played games. I toyed with her because I knew she was crushing on me. At first her attention was an ego boost, but in the end it was so much more.