Patting his arm, I smiled. “I know. This will be a great Christmas.”
“It will be. And Zach offered his house. He even offered to cook.”
For Hank, I wanted this to be a great Christmas.
Staying at Zach’s would make the holiday torturous and embarrassing. But I’d muddle through. Somehow.
Chapter 10
Walking on two feet was a joy I’d taken for granted. Free of my crutches, I hopped out of Nacha’s car. “Hopefully today goes better than last Friday.”
“I know. Cami should be here soon. I talked to her right before we left.” Nacha unloaded her camera gear.
“How’s her car?”
“Totaled. Poor woman. She’s had a horrible run lately. Her car had a flat and then got smashed. Her boyfriend dumped her. And to make matters worse, she’s not sure how long she’ll have a job because he’s her boss.”
“Yikes!”
“She only models on the side, but she’s hoping to get more bookings. I feel bad for her.”
Wind gusted, and I sneezed. “Dang Texas cedar. Every year it makes me miserable.”
“Take something for it.” Nacha waved as a silver pickup turned into the gate. “Cami sure traded up. That’s a nice truck.”
“It isn’t Cami.” I focused on my camera.
Nacha moved closer. “Why are you being weird? Who is it then?”
“Zach.”
“Oh.” She studied her camera. “With this light we should probably—”
“Hello, ladies. We got another call.” Zach slammed the driver’s side door.
I waved without turning around. “The owner knows we’re here.”
“You probably should have sent a memo to all the neighbors. They like to look out for criminal activity.”
Nacha rolled her eyes before turning around. “Hi, Zach. As Haley said, we have permission to be here.”
“Nacha, hi. I’m not trying to run you off. Haley was out here last week when I came by.” Zach had a big mouth.
She shot me a look that said I’d be answering lots of questions. I gave another backward wave. “Well, good. If that’s all you need, we’re going to get to work.”
The full minute of silence tickled my curiosity, and I spun around.
Zach stuck his hands in his pockets. “You have a minute, Haley?” He rarely called me Haley. What was he up to?
“Sure.” Making a scene in front of Nacha would only add to the questions. I followed him to his truck. “What do you need?”
“To apologize. Can I buy you dinner and do it properly?” Why did he have to be so sweet when I was upset? He’d earned his spot in the doghouse, and I had no intention of letting him out any time soon.
“Apology accepted. No need to buy me dinner.” I bit my lip, trying to decide if I should say more. Telling him that he made my thoughts a jumbled mess, and that no other guy had a chance of impressing me was not the way to end a conversation. And I wanted this conversation to be over.
Nacha wasn’t even pretending not to listen.
Zach’s fingers grazed my elbow. Even through my shirt, I felt the electric charge. Maybe it was static. The humidity was low. That would totally explain it.
“I haven’t apologized yet.” He stepped closer. “And you haven’t looked me in the eye once since I stepped out of the truck.”
Mistake number one: I met his gaze. Seeing sadness in those green eyes made me want to cry. Mistake number two: I opened my mouth. “I’m listening.” If I crossed my arms, hopefully he wouldn’t notice my heart banging on my ribs.
“I’m sorry I injected myself into your evening. Will you forgive me?”
I gave a small nod. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”
He touched my hand, and another zing shot through me. Zach needed to stop dragging his feet. He was a walking battery. “Call me.” Without another word, he climbed into the truck then rolled down the window. “Glad to see that ankle healed up. How’s your side?”
“It’s fine.” I shot him my do-you-want-to-die-slowly look. “You can leave now.”
The get-out-of-trouble smile was back. “Bye, Carrot. Have a nice evening. Nacha, good to see you again.” He turned his truck around and drove on his merry way, leaving me a mess. Again.
I turned up the radio while Nacha was closing and locking the gate. Maybe a really good song would come on, and I could avoid the questioning.
She dropped into her seat and turned down the radio. “What is going on with you two?”
“Zach still treats me like I’m the kid sister who follows them around and needs protecting. He ruined my date the other night.”
“Zach did? He followed you to the restaurant?”
“No! We just ended up at the same place. My date invited Zach to sit with us.”
“That was stupid.” Nacha laughed. “The Zach I saw today was not looking at you like a kid sister.”
“He feels bad. I should probably let him out of the doghouse. But what he did tanked my evening. It made it so much harder not to compare my date to Zach when he was right there.” I’d opened up to Nacha a little about my crush on Zach, but it had been a while since the subject had come up.
“Haley, Zach was asking you out.”
“No, he wasn’t. With my date standing right there, Zach said he’d put in a good word with my brother. Interested guys don’t do that, Nacha.”
“What was that about your side?”
I would get even with Zach for letting that part of the secret slip. “I fell in cactus. But I’m fine.”
“At least think about it, will you? Don’t shut him out.” That was gold coming from Nacha.
She hadn’t spoken to my brother since serving him with divorce papers. But wisdom was knowing when to keep my thoughts to myself. I hadn’t done nearly enough of that today.
Chapter 11
Listening to messages and deciding whether to call someone back wasn’t ignoring people. That was called screening calls, and I did it all weekend.
Eve stopped leaving messages. Who knew when she’d show up at the door? Hank had called twice, asking if I wanted to meet up with him and Zach. No, thank you.
But Sunday afternoon, I let my guard down. When Hank called for the third time, I answered, trying to sound upbeat and chipper. “Hi, are you having a good weekend?”
“You’ve been ignoring his calls.” It wasn’t Hank.
I pulled the phone away from my ear to check the number. “Does Hank know you’re using his phone, Zach?”
“He handed it to me and said to call you. How does barbeque sound?”
“Why didn’t he ask me himself?” I pulled my hair into a ponytail.
All the tease left Zach’s voice. “Because he thinks you’re avoiding him, so he wanted me to try.”
“I answered his call, didn’t I? And if I say yes to you, he’d think you were the only reason.”
“We both know that isn’t the case.” Zach closed a door. “What should I tell him?”
“Hang on. Someone is knocking at my door.” I inched up on my tiptoes, trying to see out the peephole. It was useless.
“Haley, it’s me. Open the door.” Eve sounded almost giddy.
I obeyed. “What’s up?”
Eve and Adam stood at the door, looking as adorable as ever. “We’re going to drive out to the Hill Country, have dinner, and look at Christmas lights.” She grinned. “Your ankle is better. You should come.”
I was tempted. It would give me an easy excuse to turn down the invitation from Hank and Zach. “I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
Adam smiled. “Not at all. Come with us.”
“I’ll run and get dressed. Make yourself at home.” I ran back to the bedroom, tossed the phone on the bed, and pulled off my pajamas. No judgment allowed. I’d had a rough weekend.
“Based on all that shuffling, it’s probably good we are only on a voice call. A video chat right now could be embarrassing.” Zach laughed.
I grabb
ed the phone. “Very funny. And I can’t make it today. I have other plans.”
“I heard you make plans, Carrot. Call your brother soon. I’ll steer clear. I know why you’re avoiding him. I really messed things up.” He sighed. “I should go. Hank is going to wonder why I snuck off to talk.”
“Zach, wait.” I sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ll check with Eve, but I don’t think they’d mind if you and Hank joined us.”
I had many talents, but staying mad at Zach wasn’t one of them.
“I’ll tell him. And thank you. I want us to be friends. I know I tease you. I’ve been doing it so long, it’s second nature, but if you don’t like it, I’ll stop. I’ll try. I’ll even stop calling you Carrot if you’d like.”
“I’ll think about it.” I ended the call and finished getting ready. Determined not to see Zach, I hadn’t even made it through the weekend without giving in.
Giving up Zach was as easy as giving up sugar.
I didn’t care what restaurant Adam chose . . . as long as it served pie. I needed a slice. Or two. I smiled as I walked back to the living room. “Thanks for thinking of me. Getting out of the house is probably good for me.”
Eve squeezed Adam’s hand. They’d already discussed that it seemed.
Lacing up my tennis shoes gave me a legitimate reason for not looking at Eve while I asked about inviting Hank . . . and Zach. “Hank called—would you mind if he joined us? He’d probably bring Zach along.”
“The more the merrier.” Adam smiled. “Do we need to pick them up?”
“They’ll meet us. I’ll text them the name of the restaurant.” I buttoned my coat. “I’m ready.”
I wasn’t ready to see Zach, but I could fake my way through the evening. At least things weren’t weird now. Having someone mad at him bothered that guy to no end. He just wanted to be friends again.
Buckled into the back seat, I texted both Hank and Zach the name of the restaurant.
Hank replied: See you there!
Zach responded almost a minute later: Forgiven?
For now.
Eve was kind enough not to ask questions. They’d all be saved for later . . . which reminded me that I was out of ice cream.
Hank and Zach were waiting in front of the restaurant when we parked.
“Hank, you know Eve. This is her boyfriend Adam.” I pointed around the circle. “And that’s Zach.”
Laughing, Zach extended his hand to Adam. “It’s good to meet you.”
As our group snaked through tables, I fretted about the seating arrangement. Zach seemed so excited about being forgiven I didn’t want to pop his bubble, but I also didn’t want to sit beside him.
Sitting between Eve and Hank was the best option. I could make that happen.
Eve sat down in the middle seat on one side of a long table. I grabbed the chair on her left, and Adam sat to her right. Zach sat across from Adam, and Hank dropped into the seat across from me. I could not have planned it more perfectly if I’d thought about it for hours and designed place cards for each spot.
Adam leaned forward. “So, Hank, Eve tells me you’re a paramedic.”
Hank loved talking about the job. He lit up. “I am. I worked in San Antonio then moved away. I’m working for Schatz County now.” He stood and nudged Zach’ shoulder. “Swap seats with me.”
“Sure.” Zach shifted to the seat across from me.
I studied the menu, reading over every item twice and still not understanding the words.
Eve leaned over to me as Hank and Adam talked. “You okay?”
“I’m good.” I continued to study the menu.
She poked me with her elbow. “Look up.”
“What?” It only took a second to see why. Inching my foot forward, I bumped Zach. “We’re about to get a visitor.”
“Haley!” My neighbor flung her arms open as she hurried toward the table.
Zach buried his nose in his menu.
“Lisa, hi!” I stepped around the table and hugged her. “What a coincidence! We drove out to look at Christmas lights. But we’re having dinner first.”
A boot connected with the side of my foot. Zach didn’t like that I’d told her our plans. Or maybe he thought I planned to invite her to join us. I didn’t.
“So are we! Lights and dinner.” She motioned toward someone on the other side of the room.
The only guy looking at her was older, shorter, and had less hair than I’d expected. But he walked over.
Lisa hooked her arm through his. “This is Liam.”
The menu dropped just enough for Zach to peek. That was his mistake. The motion drew Lisa’s attention.
After glancing at him, she focused on me, daggers in her gaze. “You’re here with Zach.”
What I said next could only be blamed on what I call my little-sister syndrome. Doing things solely for the purpose of irritating someone was a study in psychology and also usually good for a laugh. Besides, why did she care who he was with? Thinking about how she’d tossed his ring out the door so unceremoniously, I rested a hand on Zach’s well-toned, muscular shoulder. “Yep.”
He clasped my hand as he stood. “Hi.”
Liam looked up at Zach, and I succeeded in not laughing.
Lisa inhaled, her nostrils flaring. It wasn’t a great look. “Liam, we should go.”
“Y’all have fun. It was nice seeing you.” I gave Lisa another hug.
She didn’t hug back. “We’ll talk later.”
“Bye. Nice to meet y’all.” Liam waved before following Lisa away from the table.
I stepped toward my seat, but Zach didn’t let go of my hand. Instead, he rubbed his thumb across my palm.
He shifted so that his back was to Hank. “I owe you one.”
“You owe me more than that. We’ll settle up later.” I tugged my hand out of his and smiled at everyone else at the table.
Hank turned around, watching Lisa leave the restaurant. “How do you know Zach’s ex?” He turned his gaze on Zach. “And why did y’all pretend to be a couple?”
Zach picked up his menu. “Because . . .” He glanced at me.
Why did I have to answer all the questions? “She probably thought Zach wept every night after she dumped him. Now she doesn’t think that. Anyway, she’s my neighbor. I’m not sure if ‘We’ll talk later’ was a threat, but just in case, I probably need to start looking for a new apartment.”
Everyone laughed, and the waitress walked up to take our orders. Her timing was perfect. I quickly made a decision about what to eat while everyone else ordered.
At least my answer had appeased Hank.
I was the last to order. “I’ll have a cheeseburger with bacon but no lettuce, tomato, or onion.”
“Only meat and cheese?” She scribbled on the ordering pad.
I stretched up to see what she wrote. “And bacon.”
Zach snickered, and I kicked in his general direction.
“What was that for?” Hank shook his head. “I wasn’t the one laughing at you.” How was his foot anywhere close enough for me to kick?
My aim needed work. “I’m sure you deserved it for something.”
Zach nodded. “He totally deserved it.”
I’d worried that dinner would be awkward, but instead, we’d settled back into the same routine of teasing each other. It was comfortable.
Christmas might not be horrible after all.
Adam pulled off the road and parked in a gravel-covered area. “The light display is up the block.”
The glow hovering above the buildings made that easy to see. “We can walk toward the light.”
Nobody laughed.
I pulled on my gloves. “It got cold.”
“You go ahead, Adam, we’ll catch up.” Eve tugged me closer to the truck. “What’s going on with you and Zach? When did the two of you start flirting?”
Flirting? Hank hadn’t acted weird, so I knew Eve was reading things into the situation. “We weren’t flirting. We always act like that
.”
“Maybe I haven’t seen you together enough, but what I saw at dinner was flirting, Haley.”
“I think love has skewed your perspective.” I stepped around her, feeling the need to run.
First Nacha and now Eve were saying things that would only give me false hope. I didn’t need more heartache. I needed to think of Zach as a big-brother type of friend.
Eve laughed. “Maybe it has. But it really looks like flirting.”
“I assure you. It’s not.” I wouldn’t even know how to flirt with Zach. The art of flirting included subtlety, and I lacked that skill.
When we caught up to Adam, Hank and Zach were there too.
My excitement about the lights diminished because I was focused on second guessing my every word and glance. I’d never been happier to have my camera. It gave me something to hide behind.
Click after click, I captured the magic of the lights. Over a million lights glistened in the oak trees surrounding the local electric building in the small town.
“Let’s go talk to Santa.” Eve tugged on Adam’s arm.
“Go ahead! I’ll get a picture.” I changed out my lens.
Hank pointed toward the courthouse. “I’m heading over there to figure out what smells so good.”
“We just ate.” I couldn’t believe he was hungry again.
“Zach, you coming?” Hank raised his shoulders, bracing against a gust of cold air.
Zach stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Nah. I’m going to stay here.”
“Suit yourself.” Hank wandered into the crowd.
I zipped up my camera bag. “You didn’t have to stay on my account.”
Zach shrugged.
What was that supposed to mean?
Adam and Eve clustered near Santa, and I clicked the shutter. “I wonder what they asked Santa for?”
Zach leaned close. “What do you want for Christmas, Carrot?”
I captured another picture of Adam kissing Eve before turning around. “I want a pony and a puppy and a—”
“A new doll?”
One Guy I'd Never Date Page 6