He gently set her on the bed and propped her up against the mountain of throw pillows that she had collected. “You need water and aspirin,” he said.
“In the bathroom.” Emma pointed toward the doorway that led to the master bath.
Zack returned shortly and set the glass and pills on her bedside table. “Do you think you can handle some water?”
Emma’s hands covered her face, and she had kicked off her heels onto the floor. ”Light. Too bright.”
“On it,” Zack replied, and he jumped up to switch off the light. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
The bed creaked as Zack perched on the edge. “Sit up for a sec and drink some water.”
He held the glass for her, and Emma sipped the cool, clear liquid.
“I’m going to hate myself tomorrow,” she moaned and leaned back against the pillows.
“Yeah, probably,” he affirmed and brushed her bangs back from her damp forehead.
They were silent for a few minutes, and Emma realized that she must have fallen asleep, because the sound of the bed creaking awakened her.
“Where are you going?”
“You fell asleep. I was just going to let myself out.”
Suddenly Emma didn’t want to be left alone. Being drunk was bad enough, but being drunk and alone was much worse. “Can you stay a little longer? Please.” In other circumstances, her plea might have sounded suggestive, but she was pretty sure she could get away with it in her inebriated state.
“Ok,” Zack said. “Scoot over a little.”
Oh boy, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“Don’t panic, Em. If I’m going to stay for a while, I just want to be comfortable.”
Emma moved over so that Zack could prop himself up next to her. She had exchanged the king-sized bed she had shared with Mark for a queen-size, because she wanted as few reminders of them as possible. The new bed gave her plenty of room to spread out, but with Zack’s large body lying next to her, the bed suddenly felt very small. She was afraid to move over too much lest she fall onto the floor.
“Emma?”
“Yes?”
“I can practically hear your brain working. You can relax. I’m not going to try and seduce you.”
“I didn’t think…” she stammered.
“Rest assured, if you and I ever have sex, I want you to be fully aware of it!”
Chapter 15
The next morning, Emma finally roused around nine o’clock. Her first thoughts were that her head hurt, she had a horrible taste in her mouth, and she was still wearing Kelly’s purple dress. Then images from the prior evening flashed through her mind and made her wince with each recollection. What a disaster! Zack must have covered her with blankets and left a full glass of water on her bedside table before he’d left last night. She would definitely have to call him later and thank him for taking such good care of her.
Emma extracted herself from the covers, drank the water, and slowly rose from the bed. She felt a little shaky, but at least her stomach wasn’t roiling. In fact, she actually felt hungry. Since today was Sunday and Brett was working at the bookstore, she could take her time getting ready. She decided to change out of the dress and go downstairs in search of food.
She slipped into her gray sleepshirt with the phrase “I Woke Up Like This” stamped across the front and had just opened her bedroom door when she heard a noise and stopped in her tracks. The kitchen was out of her sight, but she swore the sound had come from there. Emma stayed perfectly still and cupped her ear with her hand. Yes, the humming sound was definitely coming from the kitchen, and it could only belong to one person… Zack!
Emma saw no choice in the matter. He’d already seen her at her worst, so there was nothing left to hide. She carefully made her way down the stairs and around the corner into the kitchen.
Holy wow! Zack stood at the stove with his back to her while he cracked eggs into a pan… shirtless! He was clad in a pair of Superman boxer shorts and nothing else! The vision was enough to make Emma feel dizzy all over again, and as she leaned against the wall for support, she bumped against a kitchen chair, causing a loud clatter.
Zack whipped his head around and broke out in a huge grin. “Well, well, look who’s finally up.”
Emma didn’t know where to look. Now that he faced her full-on, the view was even more spectacular. She had seen the exercise room in his house and knew that he liked to lift weights. That explained the defined biceps, shoulders, and pecs tapering down to a narrow waist, and that sexy indention where his boxers hung low on his hips. Even the man’s feet were sexy! Add in the olive-toned skin, just-woke-up wavy black hair, and that confident-as-all-hell smile, and…
“How are you feeling this morning?” Zack asked, seemingly oblivious to her perusal. “Nice shirt, by the way.”
Emma glanced down at her sleepshirt and crossed her arms over her chest, realizing that without a bra, he could probably see the outlines of her nipples.
“Don’t worry about it, Em. We’re all friends here,” he said, chuckling before he turned his attention back to the stove. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes if you want to grab a robe.”
Emma battled with herself for a few seconds and then decided that if Zack could stand around in just his boxers, she could wear her sleepshirt. How did I know he was still going to be here?
Emma slumped into the nearest chair. “I feel ok, but I’m a little surprised to see you this morning. Where did you sleep?” The last thing she remembered was Zack crawling in to bed with her. Oh God.
“After you fell asleep, I came downstairs and crashed on the couch. I didn’t want to leave in case you needed me.”
Zack plated their eggs and toast and delivered them to the table. He brought her a bottle of water from the fridge and poured himself a glass of orange juice. Emma watched him move around her kitchen with ease and had to smile. This was the first time he’d officially been over, and he was the one making her a meal!
“You really didn’t have to do all of this, although I appreciate it,” Emma said when he joined her at the table.
“Wouldn’t a friend do this for you? Kelly, let’s say.” Zack plunked a large helping of scrambled egg in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
“Yes, but Kelly wouldn’t be sitting here in just her underwear.”
Zack leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I didn’t want to sleep in my suit. Besides, I thought I’d have time to get dressed before you came down. I had planned on serving you breakfast in bed.”
Emma arched her eyebrows at him. “That would have been going above and beyond friend duty.” In fact, that was perilously close to boyfriend/girlfriend territory.
Zack shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how you’d be feeling this morning, so I thought I’d stick around to find out. Now that I know you’re fine, I should take off.”
When Zack stood up to gather their empty plates, Emma found herself at eye level with his Superman boxers, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was underneath. Of course, she knew what was there, but she didn’t really know, know.
“Are you a fan?”
“Huh?” she asked, guiltily.
“Of Superman? Or do you like Batman better?”
“I like Superman,” she admitted, suddenly feeling overly warm.
“Me too,” Zack said and smiled softly.
Emma felt trapped. If she stood up, Zack would certainly see her tightened nipples straining against her sleepshirt, but if she remained seated, she would continue to have her face in his…
“I’ll just put these in the dishwasher, and then I’ll be on my way.”
“Ok,” Emma said, and she watched his fine backside as he moved away. Who knew having a sleepover with a friend could feel so dangerous?
Zack went to get dressed while Emma stayed at the kitchen table sipping her water. Physically she felt much better, but she couldn’t say the same for her emotional state. Having Zack in her house, taking care of her, mad
e her wish for things that she might never have. She worried that she was getting too attached to him for her own good. They talked and laughed together like friends would; however, there was no mistaking the electric charge between them. If Zack had been a different kind of guy, he might have taken advantage of her last night, yet he hadn’t. Other than a few flirty comments and some long glances—oh, and their sultry slow dance—he had been a perfect gentleman. Everything was fine and well as long as everybody kept their clothes on, but the Greek version of Superman moseying around in his boxers almost tipped her over the edge!
When Zack rejoined her in the kitchen, he was dressed except for his jacket and tie, which were draped casually over his arm. It looked like he had finger-combed his hair, and he still wore that sexy grin.
“I’ll walk you to the door,” Emma said, and she stood, immediately crossing her arms over her chest again.
Zack had his hand on the door knob when he turned to look her directly in the eyes. “Emma, I’ve been thinking…”
Uh-oh, this could be bad… very bad.
“And I wondered if you would like to have dinner with me and Gracie one night this week?”
Or it could be good… very good. “Yes, I would love that,” Emma replied, sincerely touched by his change of heart.
“Great. I’ll give you a call during the week, and we’ll set something up.”
Emma nodded, afraid that her voice would catch if she spoke. She knew how much Zack loved his little girl and wanted to protect her. It felt like a pretty big deal for him to invite Emma over.
Zack was just about out of sight when Emma called out to him, “Oh, and Zack?”
“Yes?” He turned around.
“About that question you asked me last night—the answer is yes.” Emma shut and locked her front door before he could respond. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest as she stepped away from the door. She had just admitted that she had been attracted to Zack on the night of Phil’s wedding. What will he do with that nugget of information? she wondered.
Emma couldn’t stop herself from peeking out her living room window and watching him drive away. Zack glanced up at the house, and although he couldn’t see her, she saw him perfectly clearly. He was still grinning—the rascal!
Chapter 16
“So nothing happened?” Kelly asked incredulously.
“Nothing,” Emma repeated.
“Wow, Em. You might be the only woman I know who could resist a naked man who makes your breakfast. Impressive.”
“He wasn’t naked. He had boxers on. Besides, I was a mess. I don’t know why he stayed with me as long as he did.”
“I think it’s pretty obvious,” Kelly said.
“What is?”
“The guy is just biding his time until he can get in your…”
Emma’s eyes grew wide, and she made a frantic motion to cut Kelly off.
“Hello, ladies,” Zack said as he sauntered up to the counter.
Kelly swiveled around in her chair and smiled sweetly. “Good afternoon,” she said.
“Hey,” Emma said, praying that he hadn’t overheard their conversation. Emma couldn’t recall hearing the door chime, and Zack had slipped in undetected, which is kind of difficult for a man of his stature to do.
Kelly hopped down from her chair and mumbled some excuse about having paperwork to do in the office.
“So, what brings you in?” Emma asked. This was the first time that Zack had popped into the store unannounced. Shouldn’t he be at work?
“I had to go meet with a client in White Lake, so I thought I’d stop by and say hi on my way back to the office.”
Did I imagine it, or do his gray eyes hold an extra sparkle today? “Oh. Well, hi then.”
Zack chuckled. “Emma, you’re not embarrassed about the other night are you?”
She shifted uncomfortably, glad that he couldn’t see her wringing her hands behind the counter. “Which part? The part where I threw up or the part where I begged you to stay over?”
The corners of his mouth curled slightly. “You didn’t beg me. I wanted to stay.”
They were interrupted by a frazzled-looking mother of two toddlers who approached the counter. Emma held her index finger up to Zack and answered the woman’s question about a popular book on child-rearing.
After the woman walked away with her kids in tow, Emma turned back toward Zack, who gave her a full-on smile. “What?”
“I like to watch you work,” he admitted. “You’re in your element here, and it’s cool that you get to do what you love. In fact, I should let you get back to work.”
“So that’s it? You just stopped to say hi?”
“Yep. Oh, and I wanted to ask you what night is good to come over and have dinner with Gracie and me?”
Emma relaxed her shoulders, glad to steer the conversation away from the wedding fiasco. “I’m free on Thursday or Friday night this week.”
“Let’s do Friday. I already mentioned the idea to Gracie, and she seemed excited. She asked me if you liked macaroni and cheese, and I told her yes, since that’s what we ate at The Union. I hope you don’t mind the boxed kind, though, because that’s Gracie’s favorite.”
Emma smiled. “No problem. Do you need me to bring anything?”
“Just yourself.”
The way he looked at her when he said that… “What time?”
“Six o’clock?”
“Ok.”
Zack had one foot out the door when he turned around and called, “I stocked up on the rum and Coke.”
She put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out at him as he went away laughing.
When Wednesday rolled around, Emma expected to hear from Zack, since Gracie was most likely with Alicia. When she climbed into bed that night, he still hadn’t called, and it struck her that maybe he had a date. Since they were just friends, it would be perfectly acceptable for him to go out with someone else—her too, for that matter. But why did the very thought of him dating disturb her? The idea of Zack focusing those gray eyes on some other woman and touching someone else with those amazing hands while smiling that devilish smile…
Ok, this was bad. Very bad. Emma had been skeptical about Zack keeping up his end of the friend bargain, and here she was thinking about his eyes and his hands and his mouth. Not good at all! She would have to ask him never to wear the Superman boxers in her presence again. Wait a minute, she couldn’t do that, because then he would know that she was still attracted to him. Thank goodness Gracie would be there on Friday night. Zack wouldn’t be able to strut around half-naked then.
Emma soothed herself to sleep with visions of creamy macaroni and cheese and the sound of Gracie’s laughter dancing in her head—until the damn boxers showed up again. “Ugh!” she shouted and buried her face in a pillow.
The next day, just before closing time, Emma decided to call Zack. Up until now, he had been the one to call her, and since she was a modern woman, there was no reason why she couldn’t call him. Besides, it wasn’t like she just wanted to hear his voice. She actually had an important question to ask.
“Hello?” Zack answered, sounding pleasantly surprised.
“Question,” she said. “What are Gracie’s favorite types of books?”
Zack lowered his voice and replied, “Just a minute.”
He must have covered the phone with his hand, because his voice was muffled when he said, “Go up to bed, and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Oops. I didn’t think that Gracie would still be up. Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” Zack said. “So, her favorite books right now are the Little Critter series.”
“Good taste. I want to bring her a book tomorrow night, but I wasn’t sure what she liked.”
“I can name some of the ones she already has.” He rattled off a few titles, and Emma jotted them down.
“Ok, that helps. Thanks.”
Emma wasn’t sure what else to say, so she was just about to en
d the conversation when Zack said, “I missed you last night.”
Huh?
“I wanted to call, but since you were coming over for dinner this week, I didn’t want to seem like a pest. I don’t want to be the kind of friend that calls too much, if you know what I mean.”
Emma giggled and was oddly touched by the sentiment. “You’re not a pest, Zack. I would have liked to hear from you. In fact, since we’re confessing, I missed you too.” Why was it always easier to say such things over the phone?
“Yeah?”
She heard the smile in his voice and knew she wore a matching one. “Yeah,” she replied softly.
“Good to know.”
Emma suddenly heard a very loud voice yell, “DAAAAAD!”
“Time’s up,” Zack said apologetically.
“Ok. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
“We can’t wait.”
Neither can I, Emma thought when she hung up the phone.
Chapter 17
Emma arrived at Zack’s house at exactly six o’clock. Clutching a bag from A New Chapter in one hand, she rang the doorbell with the other.
She heard Gracie’s voice yell, “I’ll get it!” followed by the sound of her feet pounding across the floor. When Gracie flung the door open, Emma melted. She hadn’t expected such an enthusiastic greeting. Plus, Zack was standing in the background looking all kinds of wonderful.
“Come on in,” Zack said, beaming.
“What’s in the bag?” Gracie asked.
Zack shot Gracie a disapproving look, but her curiosity kept her from noticing.
“This is for you,” Emma said and handed Gracie the bag.
Gracie eagerly tore into it and pulled out the Little Critter book When I Grow Up. Her face lit with excitement, and she exclaimed, “These are my favorite!”
“What do you say to Miss Emma?”
“Thank you, Miss Emma. I love it!”
“You’re very welcome. I love Little Critter books too.”
Gracie raced off to the living room with her new book, and Zack motioned to Emma to follow him into the kitchen. The table was already set for three, and a pot of noodles bubbled on the stove. Zack had also prepared a salad, and there was a fresh loaf of bread on the counter that had come from the local bakery.
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