“It’s okay, Ronnie. I’m very aware that out stepsibling thing is in name only. We didn’t grow up together. We never spent Christmas morning together. And from what I’ve heard, the father you had for such a short while doesn’t sound anything like the one I ended up with. Mac changed, and it’s completely unfair that he didn’t do that before he left you, but there’s nothing we can do about that now.”
Tanner’s understanding meant a lot to me. “I am glad I’m here with you. Honestly, this has been a wonderful day. And I’m looking forward to our next trip, too.”
“Me too.”
“And you’re right about the stepbrother stuff. Honestly, I’m not too hung up on it, but I didn’t want to make you feel like I wanted Tonio here instead of you. I just miss him.”
“I get it. I have a brother too. Though I have to admit that right now I’m glad I’m here with you instead of him.” He winked. “And I’m cool with not leaning into the stepsibling thing. Because quite often, I have thoughts about you that are decidedly unstepbrotherly.”
I smiled. “My mind sometimes goes there, too.”
“You know, I checked with Tina,” he said. “The convention has booked us into a suite. Now, it’s not exactly a five-star hotel, but the suite’s got a master bedroom, a living room and kitchen, and two other bedrooms. So we’ll be sharing a living space.”
“We share a living space now,” I pointed out.
His eyes gleamed. “But next week, it’ll be just the two of us.”
“Sounds like fun.” Ever since Tanner, Ford and I enjoyed that lust-filled evening together, things had cooled off a bit. I felt awkward letting them touch me when Aiden was around. And as for Aiden and me, neither of us had mentioned that amazing kiss during the sex scene practice or how worked up I’d gotten from his hands on my body.
Then there was the training accident, which had put Ford in a sour mood. I wasn’t entirely sure if he was mad at me for being distracted or mad at himself for hurting me, but either way, he hadn’t been in the best of moods lately. To top it all off, the filming was reaching a critical stage, and pretty much everyone on the cast and crew was feeling the pressure.
A night in a hotel suite with Tanner sounded like the perfect antidote to all of that.
We finished up our meal, or at least Tanner finished his. The platter they’d given me was so large that I hadn’t been able to eat it all. I felt full, I felt content—and I felt incredibly grateful to Tanner. “Thank you,” I told him again. “This has been an amazing day.”
“I’ve enjoyed it, too.”
“You deserve fans,” I said, catching him by surprise.
“Huh?”
“The fans who’ll be at the convention next week. You deserve to have people realize how great you are. Aiden’s the star, yes, but he never would’ve planned a perfect day like today.”
Tanner set down his napkin. “He had a hand in this too, Ronnie.”
“He did?”
“Yes. They wanted to just send me, but I asked if you could come, since I knew how miserable you were stuck in Tina’s office, and because I wanted you to come. Aiden backed me up. He carries a lot of weight with the studio.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. “I’ll have to thank him when I get back.”
“He’d like that,” Tanner said. I wasn’t sure it was true, but it was common courtesy, so I’d be sure to do it. Tanner started to say something else, and then he appeared to change his mind.
“What?” I asked.
He hesitated, and then spoke up. “Don’t throw your enchilada at me, but I think part of the reason you don’t get along with Aiden is because he reminds you of Mac.”
“That’s a tamale,” I said absently, but my mind was on the other part of what Tanner said. “Mac and Aiden aren’t even related, at least not by blood.”
“So? Mac’s been a part of his life for almost two decades. They’re a lot alike.”
I thought it over. They both were kind of larger-than-life figures. They both liked telling other people what to do. And neither of them appeared to be as patient, kind, and understanding as Tanner. But Aiden had proven himself recently. At least more than Mac had. Aiden had come through for Sierra. And now I knew that Aiden had helped make this incredible day happen.
Tanner was studying me closely. “When we get back, could you maybe make more of an effort to interact with Aiden?”
I looked into Tanner’s dark, earnest eyes. “Is it important to you?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will.”
I didn’t get a chance to that evening. It was late when Tanner and I got home, and we were both tired from the long day. Aiden and Ford weren’t even back yet from the bonfire. I was more than ready to head to bed—well, after spending some quality time with Tanner’s mouth on mine.