by Kristy Tate
“But why?” Eva cried out.
“Why have I lost my memory, or why am I here?” Zach scratched at an itch behind his ear.
“Why did you come here with that nurse?” Eva spat out the last word like it was a curse.
Clive turned from the window as if the topic of conversation finally interested him.
“She’s kind.” Zach paused. “There’s nothing between us, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Eva sent Clive a questioning glance. “Do you think she’ll try to blackmail him?”
“For what?” Zach exploded.
Eva pinned him with a disgusted look. “She can make up something.”
Clive shrugged. “We can pay her off if we need to.”
“What are you talking about?” Zach asked.
“You’re so naive,” Eva said. “You always have been.”
“People have agendas,” Clive said, lifting one shoulder. “No one does anything without a motive.”
Zach blinked at Clive—his oldest friend. It was as if he didn’t know him. And Eva, supposedly the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. What had he seen in her? Had they talked about children? He tried to imagine Heath curled up in Eva’s arms and failed. Maybe she would be prettier when she wasn’t so angry.
A thought occurred to Zach and he smiled. “I wouldn’t say Charlie didn’t have ulterior motives.”
“I knew it,” Eva said.
“Well, of course she’s after his money,” Clive said.
“There’s more to me than my money,” Zach said.
“But that doesn’t mean you want to throw it away,” Clive said.
“Throw it away?” Zach echoed.
Clive swore and turned back to the window.
“Do you honestly not remember creating the app?” Eva asked.
“I don’t remember creating the app,” Zach assured her.
“Then you won’t be able to update it?” Clive asked.
“Update it?” Zach repeated. He really had to stop echoing everything anyone said.
Clive swore again. “Supposedly, you and Ricardo came up with a new and improved app.”
“Ricardo has been promising that it’s going to blow the socks off our users,” Eva put in.
“It’s supposed to go live in a few weeks,” Clive said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Zach tried to process this. “If it’s already in the works, then surely there must be a team of tech guys already working on it.”
Clive shook his head. “No. It’s just you. That’s how you work. You don’t collaborate.”
His old coach’s reprimand floated back to him. Be a team player… He’d liked being the quarterback because he called the shots. It wasn’t so hard to believe that he played business with the same sort of arrogance that he’d played football. “I had to have told someone. What about Ricardo? For him to be excited about it, I must have told him.”
“Ricardo, he’s a puppy!” Eva said. “He gets excited about everything. I’m surprised he doesn’t pee on the carpet more often.”
“Eva,” Clive said, and something about his tone struck Zach as odd.
Zach watched the pair, trying to read what wasn’t being said. There was something between them—an unseen but palpable connection. A memory scratched in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t pull it out of the darkness.
“When are you coming home?” Eva asked.
Zach felt the pull of his former life closing in on him and the panicked sensation in his chest returned. “I’m thinking of going to visit my mom.”
“Your mom?” Clive swore a third time and turned back to the window.
Zach stood. “Look, obviously, I have a lot to figure out.”
Eva also stood and touched his hand. Zach compared her touch to Charlie’s. If this was the love of his life, shouldn’t he feel something?
“Your memories will return,” Eva said.
“I probably need to be prepared in case they don’t,” Zach said. “In any case, I’m still me. I’m still the same person.”
“I’m not really sure that’s true,” Eva said.
Clive turned back to the room and rolled his eyes. “Eva, now’s not the time.”
“It’s true, though, isn’t it? People change. Events change us,” Eva said. “And most of the time, that’s a good thing. That’s how we grow and become better people.” She blinked at Clive. “I made him a better person. Before I came along, he was gauche...rough.”
When neither Clive nor Zach responded, she balled her fists and planted them on her hips. “It’s true! I make you both look good.”
“Not everything is about looks,” Zach said.
She pursed her lips and stared at him. “Are you sure you don’t have your memory? Because that sounds just like the Zach I know.”
Huh. So, he wasn’t as superficial as he’d thought. Good to know. “Look, why don’t you guys go home? I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“What about the nurse?” Eva asked with a sneer.
“She’s ready to go home, too. Her nephew had an emergency, so we’re just waiting for her brothers and sister-in-law to return from the hospital.” He told them about Ian’s severed finger.
They both looked more bored than concerned.
“You’ll come by the office tomorrow?” Clive asked.
“Yeah,” Zach promised. “It doesn’t matter if I’ve lost my memory. I’ve got to get on with my life. I can’t run and hide.”
Clive slapped him on the arm. “It’s good to have you back.”
Eva stepped in front of him, and for an awkward moment, Zach worried that she wanted him to kiss her. But she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a brief hug.
He felt nothing. Only relief when they’d gone.
#
Zach found Heath and Charlie snuggling on the sofa beneath a fuzzy blue blanket. Monty Python played on the TV while the coals of a dying fire glowed in the grate. Zach tossed on a few more logs and teased the embers into flames before settling down in front of the TV on the opposite end of the sofa.
He told himself that he should just go to bed, but hated the thought of being alone. Stretching out his long legs, he watched the antics of the Monty Python cast with only half interest while he fantasized of having a wife and child.
Did he and Eva have a wedding date? Did she want children? Did they plan on living at his house or hers?
Heath stirred. His eyes flickered open and he stretched out his arms, gurgling.
Zach didn’t speak toddler, but he got the gist that Heath wanted him to pick him up.
Charlie didn’t even stir when Zach took Heath in his arms.
“Ella,” Heath said.
Zach found the stuffed animal. Heath took it with one hand, pressed it against his chest, stuck his thumb in his mouth, and nestled against Zach.
Zach stood paralyzed, unsure where to go or what to do while the baby fell asleep. After Heath had turned into a limp dead weight against his chest, he got the idea to put him to bed.
He thought that maybe Heath would squirm or fight going to bed—after all, his little brother had always done just that—but Heath settled into his porta-crib and snuggled into his blanket without even giving Zach a backward glance.
Feeling ridiculously proud of himself for his brief moment of surrogate parenting, Zach tiptoed up the stairs to find Charlie still asleep, the fire blazing, and the Monty Python crew had been replaced by an Alfred Hitchcock movie—Rear Window, one of his favorites. Knowing her brothers could return at any moment, he sat at a respectable distance from Charlie to watch Jimmy Stewart spy on his neighbors.
#
Charlie stirred, stretched her toes out of the blanket, and hit something warm. Her eyes fluttered open.
Zach.
He sat sprawled on the opposite end of the sofa. With his head leaning back, his mouth open, and his eyes closed, he looked like a sniper victim.
Charlie fell back asleep, dreaming of an Italian
beach. How did she know it wasn’t a California beach? What made it uniquely Italian? Was it the sound of violins accompanying the crashing surf? Grace Kelly was there in a pink two-piece bathing suit, along with Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy, who sat in a wheelchair with a pair of binoculars around his neck and a tartan blanket thrown over his legs.
Like Grace Kelly, Charlie also wore an old-fashioned pink two-piece bathing suit. Zach emerged from the surf and the violins upped their volume while Jimmy and Grace disappeared. Charlie ran to join Zach in the tide. He caught her in his arms, and as a wave washed over them, they fell to the sand, entwined in a kiss. His lips tasted of the sea. They kissed like Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster in the movie From Here to Eternity, and despite the cool ocean breeze blowing around them, Charlie thought she might melt from her desire.
“I didn’t know it could be like this,” Charlie said. “Nobody has ever kissed me like this.”
“Nobody?” Zach asked, pulling away.
“Nobody,” she assured him, pulling him down and holding him against her.
A cold wave washed over her and her eyes flew open.
Zach.
He really was there—snoring softly on the opposite end of the sofa. Relief swept through her. It was just a dream.
Or was it? She glanced at her clothes. The bathing suit was gone, but she was wearing Zach’s sweater while he was bare chested beneath the fuzzy blue blanket.
What the hell?
Knocking shook the front door. Charlie roused herself from her sleep-drunk state and stumbled to answer it. She didn’t realize she wasn’t wearing pants until she pulled the door open and a cold breeze swirled into the room.
Dozens of flashing lights blinded her.
CHAPTER 8
The slamming door woke Zach. He bolted up, startled. Charlie stood with her back pressed against the front door, with a wild look on her face. In the basement, Heath cried.
Zach, embarrassed about last night’s interlude, ran his fingers through his hair, wondering what to say. He didn’t want to apologize, because to say he was sorry would be a lie—besides, she had initiated it. Who would have thought she could be so passionate? If he hadn’t put a stop to it, would she have gone through with it?
He didn’t think so.
Now, she stared at him, her eyes large and frightened.
“I’ll go get Heath,” Zach said.
She nodded without saying a word.
He didn’t notice the knocking on the door until he returned upstairs. Charlie had moved away from the door, but she stared at it as if it were a barrier between herself and monsters.
“Are you going to open the door?” Zach asked.
She shook her head. “Don’t,” she said.
He thought about asking for his sweater back, but since he wasn’t sure what she was wearing underneath, he decided against it. Especially since he spotted her jeans and sweater lying on the floor near her feet.
The door flew open and Ricardo Sanchez breezed into the room. Several reporters and photographers also tried to push their way inside, but Ricardo, wearing a good-natured smile, kept them at bay and slammed the door in their faces. “Well, this is a fine howdy-do,” he said, turning to Charlie. “You must be the nurse. But who are you?” He scowled at Heath before lifting his gaze to meet Zach’s.
Up close, Ricardo personified the words “a lot.” He had a lot of hair. A lot of teeth when he smiled. A lot of energy. He was exhausting.
“It’s too soon for a love child. Unless there’s something you haven’t told me.”
“This is Charlie’s nephew. We’re babysitting,” Zach said. Feeling protective, he tightened his grip on Heath.
Heath babbled and held out his arms for Charlie.
She took him and made a face. “He needs a change. I’ll be right back. Maybe you can explain things to Ricardo.”
“Yes, please do,” Ricardo said. He strode across the room and took a seat at the kitchen table. After Charlie had left the room, Ricardo folded his hands and gazed intently at Zach. “You don’t know me, do you?”
Zach slowly crossed the room, like a hunter confronting wary prey. “I know of you.” He sat at the table across from Ricardo, wishing he had his sweater.
Ricardo blew out a sigh. “I’m going to try and not let that hurt my feelings.” He scratched his head and looked up at the ceiling. “You are my best friend. I knew something had to be terribly wrong when you weren’t returning my calls.”
“Didn’t Clive tell you about my memory loss?” It seemed impossible that Ricardo would consider Zach his best friend, since Ricardo was like the antithesis of Zach. Not that he knew him well…or that he remembered knowing him very well. Zach drummed on the table, wishing for someone to fill him in on what he’d lost.
“Well, of course he mentioned it. But I really didn’t believe him.”
“Why wouldn’t you believe Clive?”
Ricardo gave him a hard, tight smile, but didn’t answer.
“Can I ask you some questions?” Zach asked.
“Of course, but maybe you’d like to hear the answers on our drive home.”
“Home?”
“Of course. You can’t hide out here forever.”
Zach slowly nodded. “Of course.” He knew this, but the thought of leaving Charlie actually hurt. “What about all those people outside?”
“They’ll follow you. Right now, leaving this girl would be the kindest thing you could do for her.”
Zach stood and went to peek out the high little window on the door. He had to stand on his tiptoes to look out, and when he did, he almost fell over. The size of the crowd shocked him. “Who are all these people?” Zach asked.
Ricardo flipped his hair off his shoulder. “Some of them are fans, but most of them are just jackals, waiting for you to trip up.”
“But why?”
“Everyone loves to see someone else fall,” Ricardo said with a shrug. “It’s human nature. And the farther the fall, the greater the spectacle. We’re all just like a piano being tossed out of a second-story window. It’s not fun if we’re not smashed. You don’t want her to get hurt…any further.” The last two words hung in the air between them.
Ricardo had more sense than his fluffball appearance had led Zach to believe. “You’re right,” Zach said. “Let me get my things together and say goodbye.”
#
While her thoughts raced, Charlie changed Heath’s diaper. Knowing that she also needed a new set of clothes, she placed Heath on the middle of the floor so she could rifle through her sister-in-law’s bag. With a silent prayer of thanksgiving, she pulled out a pair of pajama pants with an elastic waistband and a T-shirt. The fact that she still had her underwear on comforted her.
She finger-combed her curls and wished she had a toothbrush before she scooped up Heath and marched up the stairs.
Ricardo, who had been sitting at the kitchen table, stood and introduced himself.
“I know who you are,” Charlie said. “I’m pretty sure everyone does.”
“And what do you think of me?” Ricardo asked.
“I think you’re wonderful, and I know I’m not alone in my beliefs.” She explained to him her experience with the Wonder Weight Loss app. “I love it. It saved my life.”
“Well, aren’t you just a cupcake,” Ricardo said with a smile.
“Where’s Zach?”
“He’s gone to get his things. I’m taking him home.” He cocked his head at her. “It’s time, don’t you think?”
“If that’s what he wants,” Charlie said.
“It’s what he needs,” Ricardo said, emphasizing the last word.
Zach returned with his bag slung over his shoulder.
“Oh, your sweater!” Charlie said. “I’ll get it.”
“Never mind,” Zach said. “I’ll get it from you later.”
“Are you sure?” Because she wasn’t. She didn’t know how she felt about him leaving. What had happened last night? Had it all been a dream?
Zach grinned, stepped in, and kissed her cheek. She lifted her hand to cover where his lips had been moments earlier. As if a match had been struck to her internal furnace, her blood surged red hot.
He smiled as if he knew.
The room was suddenly colder with him gone. Charlie went to the window and peeked out at the crowd swarming around him.
Her brother’s car pulled up the driveway. Dan, Lisa, Jacob, and Kirk stepped out of the car. Charlie watched as Dan headed for the house, pushing through the crowd like a salmon swimming upstream.
Zach took Kirk’s arm, pulled him away, and said something in his ear. Charlie, of course, couldn’t hear what he said, but when Kirk’s gaze flicked toward the house, her ears burned. Someone’s talking about me. But then she realized that probably a lot of the people in the crowd would not only be talking about her, but also speculating on her relationship with Zach.
She was curious about that, as well.
CHAPTER 9
Charlie stood by her car, suitcase in hand. Without Zach, she felt empty. She’d already said goodbye to her siblings and nephews, and after one last glance at the smoke billowing from the Palmers’ cabin’s chimney, she deposited her bag into her trunk and closed it with a hollow thunk. Why did she feel so reluctant to resume her real life?
“Charlie! Wait up!” Kirk emerged from the Palmers’ cabin, wearing a brown leather coat and blue and tan tartan scarf that offset his hazel eyes and tawny skin. He sprinted her way. “I was hoping I could catch a ride home with you.”
“Really?” She looked around for his car, but couldn’t see it.
“Layla took the BMW.” He answered her unspoken question. “And my heart,” he added with a fake laugh—the sort that used car salesmen made when they were trying to be chummy. “Not really,” he tacked on in a completely different tone. “If it’s a problem, I can always hitch a ride with my parents, but they’re not leaving for a day or two.”
