“Oh look,” Spike said as he squeezed past Zach and winked, “there’s…a place I should go to.”
Deidre waited until Spike was well on his way to nowhere before speaking. “Thanks for the invitation, Zach, but I think I’m going to head home.”
“Home? As in the B&B?”
She smiled sadly. “No, Golden.”
Zach stood speechless for what seemed like an hour. She’d just arrived, and she was leaving already? Maybe something at her job as a biomedical engineer had come up.
“Is everything okay? Did you get called back to work?”
Deidre took his hand in hers, giving him an ‘Oh, you poor idiot’ look. “No, nothing’s come up. Unless you mean the fact my date for the festival is completely and hopelessly in love with another woman.”
Zach gaped at her in disbelief. Even as guilt curdled in his stomach, he tried to tell himself he had no idea what she was talking about.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” There, that proved it.
Finally, her smile became genuine, but no less sad. “Zach, you seem like a really great guy, and maybe if things were different, this might have turned into something, but I follow one iron-clad rule taught to me by countless girlfriends: Always maintain your dignity. Dating a guy who is so clearly in love with someone else would blow that rule to smithereens.”
“Listen, Deidre—“
She touched her forefinger to his lips to silence him. What he saw in her eyes startled him. A little sadness, certainly, but not pain. More than that, he saw the truth. He was still in love with Mike. And the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt a kind, wonderful woman like Deidre. She was right to end things before that sadness turned into something even worse.
“I’m sorry, Deidre.” He placed her hand on his cheek and begged for her forgiveness with his eyes.
“It’s okay, honey. I get it. I mean, I have no idea what’s going on between you two, or what has gone on in the past, but until you’re over her — and I mean completely, totally, absolutely over her — you should stay away from the singles scene. Your next date might not be so…understanding.”
She gave his cheek a stinging pat and pointed to her purse. He started to hand it to her, then pulled it back.
“You know you’re a catch, right? I’m not sure why cats would even wear pajamas, but you’re the ones they’d pick if they could. You deserve to know that.”
Deidre laughed as she lunged for her purse. Smoothing her hair and running a hand down the side of her curvy body, she gave him a sly look. “Of course I know that, sweetie. That’s why no one ever gets a second chance to ride this ride.”
With that, she spun on her heel and Zach fully expected to never see her again, but she paused before she ever took a step. Whipping her blonde hair over her shoulder like an old-time movie star, she narrowed a suspicious gaze at him.
“You know, right?”
“Huh?
“You know,” she insisted, then tipped her head curiously. “Don’t you?”
Zach was honestly flummoxed. Of course, women had always mystified him…one especially. “What do I know?”
“Oh my God, you don’t!” Deidre lit up in amazement.
The woman seemed to delight in torturing him. He was getting pretty tired of this little back and forth, but tried hard to keep the irritation out of his voice. “What are you talking about, Deidre?”
“That hot little piece of—“
“Watch it,” Zach growled.
“Sorry.”
He could tell she wasn’t, but let it drop.
“That girl you’re so hot for? Mike?”
Zach clenched his jaw and reminded himself to remain polite. She’d have her petty revenge by no doubt saying something rude about Mike, or him, or both of them, then she’d be on her way. He’d never have to see her again, and he was surprisingly happy about that.
The couple of dates they’d gone on in Denver had been fun and different, but the last few days with Deidre here in Silver Springs had felt wrong somehow. There was nothing wrong with her, per se — she was cheerful, gorgeous, and far too sophisticated for someone like him — but he’d found himself avoiding showing her around town, or anywhere too public. Only now that she’d told him he was still in love with Mike did he understand why. Dummy that he was, he’d felt as if he was cheating on Mike.
Can you cheat on someone who doesn’t want to date you?
With a resigned sigh, he grudgingly took the bait. “What about her?”
Deidre leaned in, her blue eyes sparkling. “She’s in love with you too.”
She dropped a peck on his slack cheek and sauntered out of sight, leaving Zach utterly speechless.
8
The small crowd gathered in Silver Springs Training Center cheered and applauded as Spike and Amy rappelled down a rock climbing wall. They both wore huge grins, and Amy looked a little teary as she was encircled by women, including Mike, wanting to check out her new engagement ring. Zach let Spike’s family congratulate him before approaching.
“Dude, I did it!” Spike said, then howled like a rabid wolf and pulled Zach into a fierce hug.
“Congrats, man. You two are perfect together.”
“Thanks, Zach.” Spike grew earnest. “I mean it. If it hadn’t been for you, I probably would have screwed it up by now. You’ve kept me thinking straight, which I know is a challenge.”
Zach laughed and wrapped an arm around his buddy’s shoulders. “Let’s just put it this way: I’m more than happy to hand over my duties in that regard to Amy.”
“Oh, no you don’t! You aren’t getting rid of me that easily.”
A fresh wave of family and friends swept Spike away, but Amy only had a few people around her. Zach tried not to be too obvious as he scanned the group for Mike. She stood a little ways from Amy, chatting with her sisters. Her laugh echoed across the gym, drawing an upwelling of love in Zach. It had taken a while — ten years and a few weeks — for him to understand it, but what he felt for Mike was real, not some juvenile fantasy. And he couldn’t wait to tell her, but right now, he needed to congratulate Amy.
“Were you surprised?” he asked after they’d hugged tightly.
“That’s an understatement,” Amy laughed. “I couldn’t figure out why that top fingerhold was so far from all the others. I almost quit, you know.”
Zach grinned. “I’m really glad you didn’t. Spike would have killed me for removing too many of the holds in between.”
Amy pretended to be shocked. “That was you? Sneak!”
“Mama, Mama!” Amy’s small son, Ethan, leaped into her arms and took her face in his tiny hands. “Grampa Bob says he’ll make a fort for me to sleep in at his house tonight, if you say it’s okay. Can I? Please!”
“I’ll leave you two to negotiate,” Zach said, “but I think he’s going to prevail.”
Amy laughed. “Me too!”
Mike was now talking to Sam and Lina, probably about their own upcoming nuptials. Zach had been waiting for a chance to talk to Mike since Deidre’s surprise announcement the day before, but he hadn’t found an opening. She’d only stayed for a few minutes after returning to RMA’s booth with more posters, saying something about needing to get back to work, though he had no idea what she might have been working on.
This morning, he’d arrived at the gym bright and early to help get everything ready for the party. Mike had come in through the back door about ten minutes late and only five minutes before they all snuck out of the back office and changing rooms as Amy was nearing the top of the wall.
“Zach, have some cake.” Spike’s mom, Christina, handed him a piece of the giant sheet cake she’d wheeled out of the office only moments before. “Some day, huh?”
Zach accepted the plate, but kept one eye on Mike as he did his best to engage Christina in idle chatter. Only when she saw a random Roberts cousin walking around without a ridiculously huge slice of cake, did she finally release him. Zach made a be
eline for Mike, who had just walked away from Sam and Lina, but he was stopped by Amy’s mother, Martha. Zach smiled, even though he wanted to scream in frustration at being waylaid again.
“My dear boy, come give Martha a hug!” She pulled him into a tight, bony hug.
“Hey, watch where you touch my lady, son,” a gruff voice said from behind them.
Mo Brooks stood with his hands on his hips — if you could call the indentations under his big gut ‘hips’ — fake-scowling. The owner of Mo’s Diner wouldn’t normally have been invited to a Roberts family function, but he’d come as Martha’s date — a bit of a surprise, but not much of one to those close to Martha. Mo had a reputation for being surly, crusty, and more than a little foul-mouthed, but now that he and Martha were officially an item, the man was nothing but smiles.
“Sorry, sir,” Zach said, raising his hands so everyone could see them. “But let me tell you something, Mo…you’d better treat her right, or someone like me might just swoop in and snap her up. She’s a real catch.”
“Stop talking about me like I’m a fish or something,” Martha said with a huff, winding an arm through Mo’s. “Don’t you have something better to do, young man? Like maybe talk to a pretty girl?”
Martha’s gaze flicked over to Mike, then back to Zach. She winked, then led Mo toward the cake. Did the entire population of Silver Springs know he was head-over-heels for Mike Roberts? He sighed in resignation. Probably.
Mike was now standing much too close to Trent, the owner of the gym, for Zach’s comfort. Trent never had a shortage of lady admirers, so one more was nothing special to him. But Mike was special to Zach, and his internal alarms started clanging loudly at the way Trent smiled down at her.
Only, when Mike smiled back up at Trent did Zach really start to get worried. Maybe Deidre had been playing a mean-spirited joke on him when she’d told him Mike was in love with him. She didn’t seem the type, but anything was possible. He needed to stop whatever was happening between those two, and he needed to stop it now.
Marching toward the pair, Zach almost ran smack into Josh Bodin. Josh was the father of Amy’s son and had only come back into their lives about six months earlier. Spike, Amy and Josh — and Ethan, of course — had worked hard to create a strong, if unconventional, family dynamic.
“Whoa! What’s the rush?” Josh asked, holding a beer out to Zach.
“No, thanks.” Alcohol would only dull his wits, and he needed as many of them as he could scrounge up.
“Suit yourself,” Josh said with a shrug and twisted the cap off the bottle. “Pretty great party, huh?”
“Um, yeah.” Zach couldn’t focus on anyone but Mike. Josh must have followed his gaze.
“Zach, my friend, can I give you a little piece of advice? Don’t hesitate.”
Zach had been ignoring Josh, but his words caught his attention. “What?”
“With Mike. Don’t be an idiot like me. Tell her how you feel as soon as you can. Trust me, you’ll regret it if you wait.”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do for the last two days,” Zach ground out. “And exactly how many people in this town know about…Mike?”
Josh laughed and slapped his friend’s shoulder. “Pretty much everyone except her. Good luck, man.”
Finally, all obstacles to Mike had been cleared. The immediate threat of Trent had been neutralized when Lina had pulled him away. As she guided him in the other direction, she gave Zach a subtle nod and a smile.
Crap, everyone really did know. Well, no sense in wasting the opportunity.
Time slowed down with every step he took toward Mike, who’d started talking with her Uncle Steve. Telling her how he felt would be a risk. Deidre could have lied, or simply been wrong, but if either was the case, he’d look like a fool. If that happened, he’d have no other choice but to accept the job offer in Golden. Living in such a small town after that kind of humiliation would be impossible.
But the fact remained he knew his love for Mike was true, even if she didn’t feel the same. Since her return to town, the teenage fantasy he’d been harboring for years had given way to genuine, mature love. Since letting go of the crush, his mind and heart had opened to the woman Mike was now. What he’d felt for the teenager was a pale imitation of how strongly he cared for the woman.
Zach knew Josh was right. He absolutely needed to tell her how he felt, because what if Deidre had been right? If one of them didn’t make the first move, they’d forever be dancing around each other and living in misery. At least he would.
“Excuse me, Steve,” Zach said, surprised by how relaxed he sounded when he actually felt like a tight wire about to snap. “Mind if I steal Mike for a minute?”
Steve’s eyes darted between the pair, before he gave Zach a knowing smile. “Please do!”
“Hey, dorkus malorkus,” she said, grinning up at him.
He wanted to dive into the hazel depths of her eyes and never come up for air. Blood pounded in his ears as he psyched himself up for his big confession.
“Hey, chickadee.”
“Where’s your girlfriend?”
Was that a catch in her voice, or was he imagining things? The not knowing was as torturous as waiting for her to come home for so long. This had to end. Now.
“First of all, she’s not my girlfriend. She went back to Golden yesterday.”
“Oh.”
Mike’s cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink, and he thought he caught a hint of a satisfied glint in her eye. That gave him the courage to go for it.
“Why did she leave?” she asked, not quite meeting his eyes.
He stepped a little closer to her and lowered his voice. “She seems to think I’m in love with someone else.”
That got her to meet his gaze. Her eyes grew wide, and he could see a vein in her neck pulsing nearly as quickly as his own.
“W-who?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Zach reached out and grazed her fingers with his. “You can’t guess?”
Mike stared up at him for a long moment — a very long moment — before finding her voice. “Let’s go somewhere private.”
* * *
The moment the door to Trent’s office closed behind them, Mike spun around and pulled Zach into a deep kiss. He went rigid with surprise, but quickly relaxed into the embrace. As he buried his hands into her hair and devoured her, Mike reveled in every jolt of electricity zipping through her. She hadn’t felt this way about a man since…well, Zach. Their one kiss had been the benchmark by which all other kisses had been judged. No one had ever come close to beating him.
After a few years, she’d decided she’d built the kiss up in her mind as some unobtainable ideal that couldn’t possibly have been as good as she remembered, but now, finally in Zach’s arms again, she knew the truth. No one had ever — or would ever, if she had anything to say about it — kiss her the way he did. It didn’t hurt that she was completely and utterly gaga for him.
A small part of her wanted to cry for the time they’d lost, but she knew they were coming together at precisely the right moment. She’d been far too focused on her career to ever give a serious relationship the attention it deserved — that he deserved. Any other guy she’d ever dated could suck eggs, for all she cared.
The door she’d pressed Zach against jostled them when someone tried to come in.
“Occupied!” Mike shouted, then grinned up at Zach.
“Um, but it’s my office,” they heard Trent grumble, but he didn’t try again.
They both burst out laughing and fell into each other’s arms. Their laughter died down into a warmth she’d never experienced with anyone else. When Zach’s fingers started playing with the ends of her hair, goosebumps rippled along her arms. She breathed him in and sighed happily. Heaven would be staying nestled in his embrace, her face pressed against his chest, and his cheek resting on the top of her head, forever.
“You have no idea—“ A catch in Zach’s voice forced him to
stop what he was saying, but she was pretty sure how that sentence was going to end.
Tipping her head way back to smile up at him, she said, “I think I do.”
He shook his head and cupped her cheek with one hand. His thumb brushed along her eyebrow, drawing another sigh from her.
“No, Mike. I’ve wanted this for so long, longer than I can even remember.”
She reached up and pressed his hand against her face, before kissing his palm. The moment she’d been longing for had finally come, and all she wanted to do was drag it out so it would last longer.
“I know,” she whispered, so happy, so content — possibly for the first time in her adult life.
“Know what?” He sounded amused. Amused and in love.
She tilted her head so she could meet his gaze, while keeping his hand firmly in place. “That you’ve loved me since high school.”
His eyebrows pulled together in a puzzled frown, then he shook his head and snorted. “Of course you do. Just like the rest of the town.”
It was her turn to be confused. She’d only talked about it with Bri, who wouldn’t have spread that rumor. “The whole town knows?”
“Apparently,” he said with a laugh, pulling her tight against him again.
They stood that way for a moment before Zach’s grip loosened.
“Man, I really need to work on my acting skills. All this time, I thought I’d played it so cool. When did you figure it out?”
“The other day.” She snuggled into him like he was a down comforter on a lazy Sunday morning.
“What did I do the other day to tip you off? Was it when I brought another girl to town?”
She giggled into his shirt. “No, just before that. And it wasn’t anything you did; it was what I found.”
“And what did you find, my love?” he murmured into her hair.
She could tell he was smelling her hair and it made her almost giddy. Being here with Zach was like coming home — not “Silver Springs home” but really, truly home.
“Your box.”
He stiffened in her arms. “What box?”
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