by Robin Wells
“Wow,” he said.
“Yeah. Wow.”
“Are you okay?” He searched her face, his eyes dark as deep water. She could read his mind—she felt that connected, that close. He was worried that she was regretting it.
“I’m fine.” She put her hand over his on her belly. “Better than fine.”
“Good.” His dimple winked at her. “Because in a few minutes, I’m afraid we’re going to have to do that all over again.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He lifted his hand and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. “We’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”
They made up for lost time twice more that night. The second time was a slow, leisurely, full-bodied adoring and exploring of each other, emotional and soulful, that unexpectedly burst into something hot and wild that ended with Katie straddling his lap, then pushing him down and having her way with him. The third time was a hilarious romp full of laughter and inventive positions, which took an unexpected turn to tender at the end.
Zack fell into a deep sleep, fulfilled and happy and warm, his arm tight around Katie. He awoke at dawn to find her moving out of his arms, then out of the bed. He opened his eyes and saw her gathering her clothes. He sat up in bed, alarmed. “Where are you going?”
“Back to my room. I don’t want Gracie to know about this.”
“Gracie’s no dummy,” Zack said, propped up against the pillows, his hands behind his head. “She’s going to figure things out.”
“I need to figure things out first.”
“What’s to figure out?”
“Everything.” She knelt and pulled a sandal out from under the bed. “What are we doing?”
He adjusted a pillow behind his head. “We’re having a great time.”
“Yes, but what does it mean?”
“That we’re crazy about each other.”
“Besides that.”
“That’s not enough?”
“No.” She found the other sandal and straightened. “I need to know where things are going.”
Zack’s stomach clenched. Man, he hated these let’s-talk-about-our-relationship conversations. He wasn’t even awake yet. “Kate, it’s a little early to be having this discussion.”
“Until we have it, it’s too early for Gracie to know about us.”
The stubborn tilt of her chin sent him into risk-management mode. The first rule of risk management: Identify and avoid the worst-case scenario. In this case, the worst scenario would be Katie calling the whole thing off. “Okay. How do you want to handle this?”
“Well, for starters, we can’t see each other until Gracie’s asleep.”
He grinned. “By see each other, you mean see each other naked.”
She gave him a look that was supposed to be stern but only made him laugh.
“This isn’t a joke. I’m very serious.”
“I can see that.” Second rule of risk management: Don’t do anything that would jeopardize efforts to enact rule one. “What do you suggest we do?”
“Well, whenever Gracie’s around, we’ll need to act perfectly normal.”
“By normal, you mean…”
“Nonromantic. Nonflirtatious. Noninvolved.”
He didn’t think they were going to fool anybody, least of all Gracie, but he’d do anything Katie wanted. Anything at all. “Okay.”
She smiled. Wow, it was amazing how her smile could just light up a room. And not just the room; she made him feel all lit up, as well.
He patted the bed beside him. “Before you leave, I think you need to come over here and show me exactly what it is we’re going to pretend we’re not doing.”
She hesitated. For one thrilling moment, he thought she was going to comply.
Then she raised a finger, the strap of her sandal dangling from it, and gave him a mischievous grin. “Hold that thought until tonight,” she said before disappearing out the door.
He leaned back against the pillow and sighed. He wouldn’t be able to hold any other thought in his head all day.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“So are you going to talk about it?” Bev shot Katie a sidelong glance a week later as the two women readied the salon for the day.
“Talk about what? Gracie starting school? She hasn’t had a lot to say, except that the kids are stupid but classes are good.”
Bev grinned. “That sounds about right. But that’s not what I meant.”
“Oh, you mean Gracie’s doctor’s appointment yesterday afternoon.” Katie opened the cabinet in the storage room. “Dr. Greene said the baby is growing beautifully. The placenta is still too low, and that’s worrisome, but the doctor still thinks it will grow upward from here on out. She asked Gracie if she wanted to know the baby’s gender. Gracie’s not sure.”
“That’s all very interesting, but that’s not what I was referring to.” Bev reached into the dryer. “I was wondering if you want to talk about the reason you’re humming and smiling and floating around like you’re in a Heavenly Hash commercial.” Bev pulled out a towel and folded it in thirds. “I kept my mouth shut all last week, figuring you’d say something when you were ready, but Rachel is starting to take bets.”
“Bets?”
Bev nodded. “On how long you’ll keep pretending nothing’s going on between you and the hunk.”
Katie felt her face heat. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah.” Bev’s face broke into a big old smile. “And I think it’s wonderful.”
It was pretty wonderful. Beyond wonderful, actually. Katie smiled back, her heart feeling like a kite on a string. “Zack and I have a really good connection.”
Bev raised an eyebrow. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
Katie laughed as she pulled a gallon jug of shampoo off the shelf in the storage room. “Everything is so good that it scares me. I’m afraid it’s not going to last.” She took the jug to the shampoo sink. “I don’t want to get in over my head.”
“Too late, I’d say.”
Katie grinned. Her friend never pulled any punches.
“Honey, none of us ever know how long anything is going to last or where it’s going to lead. There are no sure bets in this world.” Bev placed the folded towel on the washer and pulled another one out of the dryer. “What made you decide to stop sitting on the sidelines and get into the game?”
“Something Emma said. She made me realize that I was taking a chance by not taking a chance.”
Bev nodded. “No decision is a decision. Inaction is an action.”
“Sounds like you two read the same book.” Katie unscrewed the lid of the large shampoo container, then removed the lid of the smaller sink-side bottle. “I just didn’t realize how fast I’d get in so deep.”
“You were already in deep, Katie. And it’s only natural; you two have a shared history. Heck, you have a child together!” Bev stacked the second towel on top of the first. “He’s got deep feelings, too. He wouldn’t be in Chartreuse if he didn’t.”
She hoped that was true. Zack had been completely closemouthed about his emotions. “I asked him where this was going, and he said it was too early to talk about it.”
“Typical male response.”
“Typical Zack response.”
“Well, it is too early. Easy does it, honey. Just take it one day at a time.”
“You sound like Dave, using all those AA sayings.”
“How is he? And how are he and Annette getting along?”
“They’re doing really well.” The herbal scent of shampoo filled the air as Katie filled the small bottle. “Better than I ever would have predicted.”
“Any chance they’ll get back together?”
“I don’t know if Annette can get over what he did.”
“What does she think of Zack?”
Katie’s conscience gave a twinge. “She gets a funny look whenever his name comes up. She hasn’t met him yet.”
Bev gave her a pointed look. �
�She’s going to need to.”
“Yeah. I’m thinking about inviting her and Dave over to dinner.”
“Great idea. But maybe you should wait another week or so.”
“Why?”
“To let some of that new-love sparkle that’s all over you burn off a little.” Bev grinned. “You don’t want to blind her.”
Two weeks later, Annette sat between Gracie and Dave at Zack’s dining table. Katie hovered nearby, coffeepot in hand. “Would you like more coffee?”
“No, thank you.” Annette put her yellow cloth napkin next to her place mat and glanced at Dave. “We really need to be going.”
“That was a wonderful meal,” Dave said, scooting back his chair. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“It was our pleasure,” Zack said.
“Your gumbo is always delicious, Katie, but this time you outdid yourself.” Annette looked at Zack. “And that was probably the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had. I’m impressed that you made it from scratch.”
Zack grinned, a dimple indenting his right cheek. “I got the recipe off a YouTube video.” Good heavens, but Zack was an attractive man—and just as charming as he was good-looking. Annette could see why Katie was crazy about him.
And she was clearly crazy about him. Throughout the meal, Katie had avoided eye contact with him and kept a careful distance at all times, but it was impossible to miss the spark between them.
“How about the cookies?” Gracie prompted.
“Oh, my heavens, Gracie—those were to die for!” Annette placed both hands on her stomach. “I must have eaten a half dozen of them. You’ll have to give me the recipe.”
The girl beamed. “It’s easy. Just peanut butter, eggs, and sugar.”
“No flour?”
“Nope. Just three ingredients.”
“She’s been baking them a lot lately,” Zack said. “Peanut butter is her latest craving.”
Dave grinned at Annette. “You went through a stage like that. I remember going out at midnight to buy you a jar of Skippy.”
The memory caused a little stitch of pain. She wondered if she’d ever be able to think of Paul without feeling loss. She glanced over at Katie and felt it again. It was so odd, seeing Katie here, looking like a member of another family.
Dave came around the table, took Annette’s arm and helped her up, then handed her her cane. She put it in her right hand, then rested her left one on Dave’s arm.
“I can’t believe how well you’re getting around,” Katie said.
Annette nodded. “I kicked that walker to the curb. I see the doctor next week, and if things go well, he’s going to release me from therapy and let me get around unassisted.”
Gracie’s brow furrowed. “So you’ll be moving back to New Orleans?”
“I don’t think she should go for another few weeks,” Dave said. “She’s not ready to deal with twenty-four stairs every time she leaves her house.”
If Dave had his way, she’d never be ready. But then, she wasn’t really ready herself. She never would have believed it was possible, but she was having a wonderful time living with Dave. He was considerate and kind, and he’d been careful to give her privacy. She’d forgotten how funny and thoughtful and insightful he was. She’d forgotten how much fun it was to just spend time with him.
But then, during the last years of their marriage, he hadn’t been around to spend much time with.
“I think you should stay in Chartreuse for good,” Gracie said.
Annette smiled. She’d grown very fond of the girl. Since she’d moved to Dave’s, she was just three blocks away from Zack’s home, and Grace often dropped by. She never stayed very long—just five minutes or so—but Annette was glad she was continuing to visit as she had at Sunnyside.
“I second that,” Katie said.
“And I third it,” Dave agreed.
“Hey, I have an idea!” Gracie said. “You could remarry Dave, and you wouldn’t even have to move out of his house.”
Trust a teenager to say the most awkward thing possible. Annette felt her face heat.
“Now there’s a grand idea,” Dave said, grinning down at her.
Taking a page from Gracie’s book, Annette rolled her eyes. Everyone laughed.
“You could teach at the high school again,” Gracie added, “and I’d get to see you every day.”
“They’d have to fire someone to hire me back.”
“I bet they’d do it.”
“I bet they wouldn’t. And if they did, it wouldn’t make me very popular with the other teachers.”
Annette squeezed Dave’s arm. He took the hint and stepped with her toward the door. Even after all they’d been through, they still had a way of communicating without words. The thought sent a pang of longing through Annette’s chest. She’d never felt this deeply connected to anyone else, and she doubted she ever would. Her cane softly thudded on the hardwood floor. “Zack, thank you for having us to your gorgeous home. It’s wonderful to finally meet you. And Katie, honey, thanks for everything.”
Katie kissed her on the cheek. “You’re more than welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow or the day after.”
Annette nodded and kissed Gracie. “Don’t forget to send me that cookie recipe.”
“Or better yet, just make us a batch and bring it by,” Dave said.
As everyone laughed, they walked out onto the porch. Dave helped Annette down the stairs and sidewalk, then into the car.
“So that was Zack,” she said as Dave closed the door and settled into the driver’s seat.
“Yep.” He turned the key and put the car in reverse.
“He’s a nice guy.”
Nodding, Dave put his arm over the back of the seat and turned his head as he backed out of the drive. “I like him a lot.”
“So does Katie, apparently.” She gazed out at the street as Dave shifted gears. “She positively glows around him. I think she’s in love.”
“Really?”
Men. Didn’t they notice anything? “Yes.”
“Now that you mention it, she does seem happier than I’ve seen her in a long time.” Dave cast her a sideways glance. “I’m glad to see it. It’s time she moved on.”
Moving on meant moving away from Paul. Annette still had mixed feelings about it, but the tight band of resistance that had bound her into knots at first was loosening and softening.
“It’s time she found a little happiness,” Dave said. “It’s time we all did.”
Oh, dear—she had a feeling he was going to turn the topic to something uncomfortably personal, and she didn’t want to go there. “Gracie told me that Katie’s been sneaking into Zack’s room at night.”
Dave laughed.
“You think it’s funny?”
“It is funny.” He pressed his foot to the accelerator, his mouth curved in amusement. “Does Gracie have solid evidence, or is she just suspicious?”
“She said Katie’s bedroom door opens about thirty minutes after Gracie goes to her room.”
“Purely circumstantial. Maybe Katie’s just going to the bathroom.”
“I mentioned that. But Gracie said the toilet doesn’t flush. One night she got up and checked, and both Katie’s room and the bathroom were empty.”
“Maybe Katie went down to the kitchen.”
“Gracie said she checked the whole house. Katie’s car was still in the drive, but she was nowhere to be found. So she must have been in the garage apartment with Zack.”
Dave’s smile widened. “I wonder if Grace put on a Sherlock Holmes cap to conduct this investigation.”
“Gracie also said she’s heard Katie sneaking back into her room around five or six in the morning.”
“Case closed, I’d say.” Dave chortled.
“You seem awfully amused.”
“Come on, Nettie.” The use of his old pet nickname disconcerted her. “Two grown-ups sneaking around their teenager, instead of vice versa.” Dave shook his head. “Remember how we caught Pau
l sneaking in at three in the morning when he was sixteen?”
As if she could ever forget. They’d been waiting for him in the dark. When he’d stepped inside the house, they’d flipped on the lights and given him the scare—and the lecture—of his life. She smiled.
“That Gracie—she’s a pistol.”
Annette nodded. “That she is.”
Dave looked over at her as he pulled into his driveway. “I have to say, I liked her suggestion that you remarry me.”
Annette’s heart pounded. “She’s the queen of the outrageous statement.”
“Do you really think it would be so terrible?” He glanced at her as he shifted the car into park. His hand moved from the wheel to the back of the seat, close to her neck.
“Yes.”
“I think you feel duty-bound to treat me badly.”
There was probably some truth to that. “Well, you deserve it.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.” His hand lifted off the seat, and his finger touched her hair. The follicles suddenly seemed electrified, sending little crackles of energy down her spine. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”
Annette’s pulse fluttered in her throat, fast as hummingbird wings. “No. And I don’t want you to now.”
“Why not?”
“Because it makes me uncomfortable. It’s too personal.”
“It’s just an observation.”
“It’s the sort of thing a man says to a woman when he’s trying to get on her good side.”
“It’s also a thing a man says when he looks at a woman and thinks, ‘Wow, she’s really beautiful.’ ” He turned off the ignition, throwing them into acute silence. Outside, tree frogs and cicadas trilled their evening serenades. “You are beautiful, Nettie. I didn’t tell you often enough when we were married.”
Her heart was pounding, and she didn’t like it. She felt breathless and confused and out of her depth. “Well, it’s too late now. ”
“It doesn’t have to be.” His finger moved to her ear.
Her breath caught. He knew that her ear was sensitive, knew that the slightest touch to it gave her goose bumps. He was doing that on purpose. She should move her head or swat his hand away—and yet for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
