Her heart said she wanted him. But it couldn’t be that simple, could it?
“Hey.”
Zoey looked up to find Cassandra leaning against the kitchen door jamb. “Hey. I didn’t think you were awake.”
“I was just having some tea. Emily woke up with a pretty bad headache and it took a while for her to settle back to sleep.”
Zoey tensed. “Is she okay? What caused the headache?”
“Calm down,” Cassandra said. “It’s nothing to worry about. Everybody gets a headache every once in a while. You look like you could use some tea. Want to join me?”
Zoey nodded and stood up, dropping her heels onto the couch before following Cassandra into the kitchen.
“How was the night?” Cassandra asked.
Zoey pulled up the skirt of her dress and sank into a kitchen chair. “Amazing. Magical. I met Jim from The Office.”
“Fun. But I’m guessing that isn’t what made the night magical.” Cassandra set a mug of tea in front of Zoey then nudged the honey toward her. “What was it like to be on the arm of the Harrison Beckford?”
Zoey smiled. “He’s pretty spectacular.”
Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. “And yet, you were still sitting there staring at your phone like someone just called to say your dog died. Why don’t I believe you had a good time?”
“That’s not it. I had an amazing time. It’s just . . . I don’t know if I can even explain it.”
“Try me,” Cassandra said.
Zoey heaved a sigh. “I felt myself . . . getting swept up, you know? It was intoxicating. The attention. The glamour. Having this incredibly gorgeous man that America is in love with put his arm around me. It made me feel important and . . . special, I guess.”
“That hardly sounds like something to complain about,” Cassandra said.
“No, I know. I’m not complaining. But it also made me miss my job.”
Cassandra’s brows furrowed. “How do you mean?”
“Tonight I was important because I was Harry’s date. But when I’m working I’m important because I’m me. Because I have something to offer. I guess there’s a part of me that’s afraid that if I date someone whose life is as big as his, my life might . . . disappear.”
It was the first time Zoey had actually voiced the fear out loud, but the truth of it resonated in her gut in a profound way.
“That’s not how he sees you though, is it?” Cassandra asked. “I’ve been around enough to see the way he looks at you. It isn’t like you’re an ornament on his arm.”
“I know. He’s never made me feel that way. He even had his publicist make sure that if people try to find out who I am, the information they’ll find will include stuff about my career. But if we’re going to be together, I’m going to have to move to California. That feels like a really big deal. I don’t know if I’m ready for it. And I think I’m maybe afraid that all the glitz and glamour and money will influence me without me realizing it’s happening. But that shouldn’t be what the relationship is about.”
“Now, wait a minute,” Cassandra said. “You’ve been on one glamorous date with the man. Most of the time, you’re hanging out with his kids, or your grandma. There’s nothing glamorous about that.”
“I know. But there’s still a polish to his life. Money does that. The house is perfect. The kids have closets full of adorable clothes and matching shoes and monogrammed towels. The cars all have leather interiors. There’s someone to clean the house and someone else to mow the lawn. And someone to watch the children, which, admittedly is a little weird since I’m the someone. But you know what I mean? It feels special being a part of a life like that.”
“But Zoey, Harrison didn’t grow up with all those things, did he? I’ve heard Emily talk about his humble beginnings. A man can have things without being defined by those things.”
“That’s true,” Zoey said. “But it still doesn’t fix the whole ‘my life is in Chicago’ problem.”
“How do you feel about him?” Cassandra asked. “If you set all that other stuff aside. The stuff about your career and his career and his money. When you just think about the man, what do you feel?”
That was a question that hardly required any thought at all. “I think I might love him,” Zoey said softly. “Is that crazy?”
“It’s not crazy,” Cassandra said. “And that’s the feeling you need to trust the most. Everything else will work itself out in time.”
Chapter 12
Harry was still in bed on Monday morning when he heard Zoey let herself in the front door. The patter of little feet running across the floor quickly followed, then the sound of Oliver’s sleepy morning voice.
“Zoey,” Oliver said.
“Hey, Ollie,” Harry heard Zoey say. “Are you the only one up?”
She sounded as tired as Harry felt. He should have told her to take the morning off. He’d barely managed four hours of sleep himself. She couldn’t have gotten much more than that. He glanced at his phone. Maybe it wasn’t too late. He could text Charlotte and see if the kids could hang with her for a couple of hours—at least long enough for Zoey to take a nap.
He had to be on site for a pre-renovation walkthrough by ten. There wasn’t anything he could do about his own exhaustion, but there was no reason for Zoey to be miserable as well. Before he could finish tapping out a text to his sister, Charlotte texted him.
MORNING SICKNESS SUCKS. Please send help. And ginger ale.
Harry frowned. Guess he probably shouldn’t ask her to watch his kids for a few hours. He keyed out a response. So sorry. I’m filming today. I’ll send ginger ale though. Need anything else?
He could probably have Jason swing by and drop a few things off, though Charlotte would probably hate having him just show up. Grocery delivery, maybe?
Brian out of town again? he texted. Charlotte’s husband was unfailingly supportive, but he traveled for work quite a bit. Charlotte always texted her brother more when her husband was gone.
Just ‘til tomorrow, she responded. Ginger ale and Goldfish. And beef flavored ramen. And chicken nuggets for the kids.
Got it, Harry texted back. I’ll have some things sent over.
He quickly keyed out a text to Jason, asking him to get the groceries ordered and delivered. Technically, Charlotte could have ordered the groceries herself; there were delivery services everywhere. But he suspected she mostly just needed someone to care. After sending Jason the list, padded with a few additional things he thought Charlotte’s kids might like, he ordered her a blueberry smoothie from the smoothie place closest to her house and paid a little extra for it to be delivered ASAP. Charlotte may think all she needed was ramen and ginger ale, but she’d probably benefit from something nutritious.
He was sitting on the edge of his bed, just finishing up the order when Oliver blasted into his bedroom and launched himself onto Harry’s lap.
“Daddy awake!” Oliver said. His voice had lost the sleepy tone of a few minutes before and was full of energy and enthusiasm. If only it were that easy for adults.
Harry swung his son around and plopped him onto the bed before tickling him in all the places Oliver loved. “Where do you get all this energy, huh?” he asked, mussing Oliver’s hair. “I wish you could give me some.”
“Maybe this will help,” Zoey said.
Harry looked up. She stood in the doorway of his bedroom, a mug of coffee in her hand. Even after only four hours of sleep, she looked rested and beautiful. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her face was bare, different than the glamorous look she’d worn the night before. But she was no less stunning.
She crossed the room and handed him the mug, her eyes roving over his bare chest and shoulders. “I tried to keep him busy hoping you were still sleeping, but once he realized you were awake, there was no keeping him from you.”
Harry ran a hand across his face. “That’s okay. I’ve been up a little while.” He took a sip of the coffee then placed it on the small ta
ble beside his bed. “How are you? Exhausted?”
She offered a small smile. “Not too bad.”
He reached for her from where he sat on the edge of the bed, curling an arm around her waist and pulling her close. At the same time, Oliver climbed onto his back, nuzzling his face into Harry’s neck, and reached a tiny hand out, curling it over Zoey’s shoulder to loop them in an awkward three-way hug.
Warmth bloomed in Harry’s chest. He’d missed feeling like a family. Feeling complete.
Hannah stumbled in a few minutes later. “Why are we all hanging out in here?” she asked, climbing onto the bed.
“Because your Dad was out super late last night,” Zoey said. “But now he’s got to get ready for work which means we need to go get some breakfast.”
She scooped Oliver into her arms and reached for Hannah’s hand. “Are you hungry?”
Hannah hardly looked Harry’s way before taking Zoey’s hand and following her to the kitchen. Contentment settled over him. His kids really did love Zoey.
Charlotte’s warning from a few weeks before pinged in his mind. It would likely devastate the kids if Zoey decided to go back to Chicago. Even though it had only been a month and a half, she was fully integrated into their lives. The kids trusted her, relied on her. Once the week before, Oliver had fallen and bumped his head and ran to Zoey instead of Harry for comfort. She’d said she wasn’t going anywhere the night before, and he trusted her. But for how long? That she didn’t want to talk about Chicago made him nervous, yet he wasn’t sure he wanted to push her. If he pushed too hard, would it do the opposite of what he wanted and push her away?
Still, Charlotte had been right. He had to think about his kids’ feelings. What was best for them? It was so much more complicated than just what he wanted.
After showering and getting ready, he found Zoey and the kids in the kitchen. He moved to the sink and rinsed out his coffee mug. “What do you guys have planned for the day?” he asked.
“I want to go see Spencer,” Hannah said from her place at the table. She scooped up a big bite of cereal. “Can we, Zoey? Can we go see Spencer?”
Zoey looked at Harry, an eyebrow raised. “Would Charlotte care?”
Spencer was Charlotte’s second oldest and was one of Hannah’s closest friends. She’d likely been missing hanging out with her cousin.
“Actually, she might appreciate a visit today. She texted this morning and she’s feeling really terrible. Morning sickness. And Brian’s out of town and I don’t know. She seemed pretty low. It’d probably be nice for her to have someone else around to help with the kids.”
Zoey didn’t respond right away, and Harry wondered if he’d overstepped by asking. Was it too familiar of a thing for her to do? They’d hung out with Charlotte a few times, and it seemed like the women got along, but tripling the number of children in Zoey’s care was a big ask.
“Are you asking like a boyfriend, wanting his girlfriend to help out his pregnant sister? Or are you asking as an employer who needs his nanny to watch his nephews for the day?”
Harry grinned. She’d said boyfriend.
“What?” Zoey said, mirroring his smile. “Why are you smiling?”
“Because you said boyfriend.”
She pursed her lips and folded her arms. “I did, didn’t I?”
Harry stepped close to her and rested his hands on her hips. He leaned in and kissed her quickly, not wanting to linger with the kids just behind them. “I would never pressure you into watching four extra kids all day as my girlfriend or as my nanny. I won’t be mad if you want to chill here all day and relax. Especially after how little sleep you got last night.”
“But?”
“No buts. Genuinely. I already had Jason order Charlotte some groceries, and I had a green smoothie delivered to her house for breakfast. I honestly wouldn’t have even thought about you going over there had Hannah not mentioned Spencer.”
Zoey nodded. “You’re a good brother. You know that, right?”
Harry lifted one shoulder into a shrug. It had been too many years since he’d had the bandwidth or the appropriate perspective to be as good a sibling to Charlotte as she had been to him. “Just making up for lost time,” he said.
Chapter 13
Just before lunch, Zoey ended up going over to Charlotte’s after all. Not because she felt any sort of pressure from Harry to go, but because Hannah had been particularly clingy all morning. Playing with her cousins might give Zoey a little bit of a break. She’d thought about texting Ashley to see if Rowan was available to play, but she wasn’t sure she was quite ready to face Harrison Beckford’s adoring public so soon after their appearance at the charity event. Ashley had been cool, but a picture of Harrison and Zoey had already been featured on multiple entertainment news sites that morning. It just felt safer sticking to family members who already knew the ins and outs of their relationship.
Charlotte’s oldest son let Zoey and the kids in. “Mom’s in her bedroom,” he said. He pointed down the hall. “That way.”
Zoey put Oliver in the living room where the Disney Channel was showing reruns of his favorite cartoon. After asking the other kids to keep an eye on him, she went to find Charlotte.
“Charlotte?” Zoey called from the bedroom door.
Charlotte appeared in the bathroom doorway, a rag pressed to her face. Dark circles lined her eyes and strands of damp hair clung to her forehead.
“Hey,” Zoey said, compassion filling her voice. “That bad, huh?”
Charlotte collapsed onto her bed. “I’ve seriously thrown up so many times in the past week. It’s the worst. I’m so hungry, but nothing sounds good.”
“Harry told me you weren’t feeling good. I’m going to stay a few hours if that’s okay. I’ll feed the kids. Get them outside for a little bit. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Charlotte shook her head. “Even just that is amazing. Thanks for coming over.”
“It’s not a big deal. Hannah’s been missing Spencer anyway.”
Charlotte smiled. “Those two are the cutest. They’ve been like that since they were tiny.”
Zoey picked up Charlotte’s water bottle from her nightstand. “Can I refill this for you?”
“Yes, please.”
After a quick trip to the kitchen, with a slight detour through the living room to check on Oliver, Zoey took the filled bottle back to Charlotte. She paused in the doorway when her phone beeped with an incoming message. She pulled it out of her back pocket and froze.
The message was an email from Channel 4 in Chicago. They liked the clips she’d sent in. And they wanted her to come in for an interview as soon as possible. She forced a breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. She didn’t have to respond right away. It’s not like they’d given her a specific day they wanted to see her. They’d just said as soon as possible. That could mean within a week, even two weeks, couldn’t it?
She pushed the worry from her mind. She for sure couldn’t figure things out while she was hanging out with Harry’s sister.
“I saw the pictures,” Charlotte said as Zoey set the water bottle down. “From last night. You guys make a cute couple.”
“Thanks.” She sat on the edge of Charlotte’s bed. “I’ve been afraid to look at them.”
“I bet. I’m sure it’s overwhelming to see yourself all over national entertainment news. But from what I’ve seen, it’s all complimentary. A lot of stuff about people being happy to see Harry dating again. Speculation about how long you’ve been together, whether or not there are wedding bells in your future.”
“Oh, geez. That might be a little premature.”
Charlotte smiled. “I don’t know. Harry tends to fall hard and fast into everything he does. It might not be as far off as you think.”
Zoey looked at her hands, squeezing them into fists in her lap. How was she supposed to respond to that?
“Can I be honest for a sec?” Charlotte asked.
Zoey looke
d up and met her eyes. “Of course.”
“He really likes you, Zoey.”
Zoey bit her lip. He loved her, even. He’d nearly told her as much the night before.
“He hasn’t dated that much since the divorce. Definitely not anything serious. But it seems like things are different with you. He’s different. I know you didn’t come to California planning to stay. And that’s totally your thing. I’m just worried about his kids. I don’t want Harry to get hurt, but I worry more about Hannah and Oliver. The more they spend time with you and the more they see you and Harry together, the harder it’s going to be for them to understand what’s going on.”
Zoey shook her head. “I know that. I’m not trying—”
“I’ve mentioned this to Harry, too,” Charlotte said, cutting her off. “I know he doesn’t want to pressure you because he doesn’t want to push you away. But you can’t string him along, Zoey. If you aren’t planning on sticking around? He deserves to know.”
Zoey tensed, trying to fight the defensiveness rising inside her. It’s not like she’d been dating Harry for months and months. It had been weeks.
“It feels really early in our relationship for me to feel that kind of pressure,” Zoey finally said, happy that her voice sounded so steady. “I’m not stringing him along. It hasn’t even been two months.”
“I know,” Charlotte said. “It isn’t really fair. But it is what it is, and it’s definitely more complicated because the kids are involved and because you never intended to be here full time. If it were me making the decisions, I wouldn’t have told the kids the two of you were dating. Just to make it easier on them should you decide to leave.”
Zoey sighed. “I had that thought. But Harry seemed so sure. So much of the time we spend together is with the kids. He didn’t want to have to pretend.”
“I get that. Harry also tends to give everyone and every situation the benefit of the doubt without always thinking through the consequences. Plus, when he finds something or someone that he’s passionate about, he’s all in. I’m sure he’s mostly thinking about the future you guys could have once you decide to stay.”
Always You: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (ABCs of Love Collection Books 5-8) Page 61
