Page 34 of Make It Last

My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

“Yup.” He shrugged, like it didn’t bother him anymore. “Beige. That was the exact word she used. I was too beige for her.”

“Tanner,” I said firmly, narrowing my eyes. “For starters, there is nothing wrong with the color beige. And you are not boring.”

His laugh was dry, but I could hear the bitterness laced within it. I understood that. I leaned across the counter, looked him straight in the eye, and said, “You’re not boring. What she said was hurtful and mean.”

As his gaze held mine, the air shifted between us. Just like that, this simple, sweet night felt like more than dinner.

Chapter Fourteen

Ava

Ties it all together

Fierce protectiveness rose in me so fast it startled me. I curled one hand into a loose fist, resting it on my hip even though I was still seated, feeling a little defiant.

“Anyone who says that is not a nice person,” I declared.

Tanner’s brows lifted, his lips twitching slightly at the corners.

“Seriously, who says that?”

“My ex,” he replied dryly.

I snorted, dropping my fist from my hip and wagging a finger at him. “Well, that is not okay.” I threw my hands in the air. “For crying out loud, you are a hotshot firefighter—total badass. You carry women off mountains. That’s sexy. That’s heroic. That’s very not boring, or beige, or whatever.”

“There is such a thing as beige,” Tanner said, deadpan. “It’s a color.”

I narrowed my eyes. “It’s the kind of color that ties everything together.”

He blinked, amused. “Ties everything together?”

“Like the rug in The Big Lebowski,” I added.

He chuckled. “The rug?”

“Exactly! It tied the whole room together. Beige is a versatile color.” I waved a hand airily. “Anyway. Fuck your ex.”

Tanner raised a brow. “Well, I’m not planning to do that.”

I burst out laughing. “Okay, good point.”

He laughed too, and for a second, the tension emanating from him eased before he sighed.

“We all have our baggage, huh?” I said softly.

He nodded, his gaze warm. “We do. I’m sorry for what you went through with your ex.”

I shook my head, still weary from it, with the sting of humiliation always there.

“He’s an idiot and an asshole,” Tanner said, with so much conviction I could have cried.

All my shattered insecurities loved it. “You know,” I said softly, “it’s such a mindfuck. My trust got blown to smithereens.”

He nodded solemnly. “I get it.”

“It’s not comfortable,” I added.