“It’s expensive,” she noted.
“I’m only doing this once.”
Already she knew that Zack was a man who wanted to get things right the first time, and he put everything he had into doing that.
He glanced down at her. “You were right, I needed to see these. Pictures wouldn’t have done them justice.” He nodded outside to the dock. “Do you want to get something to eat before we go back? There’s a good restaurant not far from here. They serve a great swordfish salad. I’m sure Dad won’t mind spending a little more time with Amy.” It was Flo’s day off and Ted had jumped at the chance to spend the day with his granddaughter.
“Do you come to San Francisco often?” she asked, curious about everything concerning him.
“One of my stores is here.”
He turned toward the back room where Vincente had disappeared shortly after they’d arrived. “Let’s make arrangements to have this delivered. The grand opening is the first week in January, so why don’t we say around mid-December. Everything should almost be finished by then.”
“If it’s not, we’ll both be tearing our hair out.”
He studied her for a few moments. “Have you ever worn your hair long?”
“Don’t you like it short?” she asked with a teasing smile.
“It’s great short. But you just seem like a woman who would like longer hair.”
This man was entirely too perceptive. “I wore it long, before the f—” She was about to say fire, but instead she amended, “Before the accident.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
“That’s okay.” She blocked as many of those memories as she could.
Apparently Zack could see the shadows of them in her eyes because he stepped closer. “Sometime you’ll have to tell me about it.”
“Sometime,” she murmured.
Their walk along Fisherman’s Wharf was companionable yet tinged with a tension that always hung between them. She’d worn a hunter-green sweater and slacks today while Zack’s casual black slacks and red, long-sleeved Henley shirt marked him as a striking figure as they strolled along the wood piers, past shops and restaurants, breathing the salty air. A magician performed tricks as a crowd gathered around him. A unique-looking antique shop beckoned to Melanie. When Zack noticed her interest, they went inside and she pointed out a few pieces she’d like to own someday.
After they exited the shop, Zack pointed to a café farther along the pier. As he put his hand in the small of her back to guide her inside, she realized how much she enjoyed being with him…how she felt complete when she was beside him.
Over lunch they enjoyed the view of the water and talked about Zack’s headquarters, the grand opening and other places they’d seen and traveled to in their lifetimes. Melanie explained how she’d taken a trip in college to the Grand Canyon, how she’d hiked until she had blisters all over the bottoms of her feet and had to soak them for a week after she got home.
“Pop used to take us on road trips,” Zack told her.
“Where did you go?” She was hoping he’d tell her more.
“When my mother was alive, we took a trip to Yellowstone. After she died, Pop dragged me back there one summer. It wasn’t the same.”
“When did you lose her?” Melanie asked.
“When I was eleven.”
Zack saw the waiter then and motioned to him for the check. After he inserted bills into the folder the waiter had given him, he stood and gestured to the side of the restaurant. “Let’s go out this way. I want to show you something.”
The side door to the restaurant led to a terrace and a small enclosed garden perched over the water. Brilliant pink and purple petunias as well as white and red geraniums bloomed in pots everywhere. Latticework above the garden held wisteria vines.
“It’s so pretty!” She turned in a circle, looking all around her.
“I didn’t want you to leave without seeing it. And I think I needed to see it again, too.”
“Why?” she asked, facing Zack.
“The last time Sherry and I were here—It’s the last time I remember us being truly happy.”
His words triggered a reaction in Melanie, and she blurted out, “That’s not true.”
At her outburst, she froze. She knew the words and the feelings that went with them weren’t her own. They belonged to Sherry Morgan!
Chapter Five
Zack studied Melanie curiously. She’d sounded so vehement. It was nice she was trying to reassure him, but he remembered the changes in his marriage all too well.
Melanie’s cheeks were flushed. “I mean…you remember that moment as a happy one, but I’m sure there were lots of others after that.”
He shook his head. “Once we had Amy, everything changed. Sherry really didn’t like being home and cooped up with a baby. Or maybe she had postpartum depression. I just know our relationship shifted from the moment she found out she was pregnant.” Her second pregnancy had brought a division between them that might have torn their marriage apart.
The breeze blew Melanie’s hair across her cheek and she brushed it away. “Having a baby can turn a woman’s world upside down. That little life inside of her depends on her for absolutely everything from the moment of conception. That’s a tremendous bond, and it changes everything about her world.”
“It does that to a man, too.”
“I guess it does. But I think men look at a child as more of a responsibility. For a woman I don’t know if the umbilical cord is ever really cut.”
“You seem to know a lot about it.”
He watched as she took a deep breath. “I just know that being a parent has to be an awesome responsibility.” Then she averted her gaze and murmured, “Maybe we’d better start back.”
With Melanie, Zack almost felt the freedom to confide everything inside his head, as if she could help him sort it. Now as he gazed down at her, the garden felt like an intimate hideaway where they were the only two people in San Francisco. When he reached out to nudge her face to him again, he knew she felt the chemistry between them as strongly as he did because she trembled.
There was a wisdom in Melanie that he found intriguing. He found everything about her intriguing, and he couldn’t forget how she’d felt in his arms. The memory was so alive, had tempted him so many hours of his day. No matter how many times he told himself he should stay away from her, he found himself creating situations to be with her. Now her blue eyes were filled with emotion that seemed to draw him in. Though he knew he was being reckless, right now he didn’t care. He needed that rush of desire to remind him he was still alive, to remind him he was in his prime, to remind him there was more to life than work and Amy.
Resisting the urge to kiss Melanie didn’t seem important anymore as he curved his arm around her, brought her close, and bent his head to her. She was sweetness and brightness and caring. He longed for all of those. Her mouth opened under his like a gift she was giving them both. Their first kiss had been explosive. This one was filled with longing and need and hunger that neither of them understood. He found himself imagining them in bed together—
What was he doing? A few minutes ago his mind had been filled with thoughts of his marriage to Sherry. What kind of man was he? Physical needs had driven him in his youth, but certainly not now. Yet he felt as primed as a teenager again when he was around Melanie, and he almost resented the effect she had on him. He wasn’t ready to jump into an involvement with a woman…not any woman…not until the pain from the accident, as well as the guilt, faded. All of it was still too much with him.
Willing his pulse to slow and his blood to cool, he stepped away from her. “We really should be getting back. I think Pop has plans tonight.”
Melanie’s face was flushed and she’d never looked prettier. But Zack ignored that fact and crossed to the archway that led to a path around the restaurant. It was time for him to get back to reality. Time to get back home.
Ted Morgan’s ranch-style house with its tan siding and brown trim was the same size and shape as most of the other houses on his street. Melanie had only caught a quick glimpse of the inside when they’d dropped off Amy earlier. Now as Ted opened the door for them, he was smiling broadly. “Is San Francisco still in one piece?”
When Zack didn’t respond, Melanie did. “It’s still as beautiful as always.”
“With or without fog,” Ted Morgan agreed. “Amy’s napping. Do you want me to get her up?”
Zack shook his head and started down the hall to one of the bedrooms. “No, I’ll do it.”
Ted studied his son’s back as he walked away and gave a deep sigh. Then he motioned to the brown-and-gold-tweed sofa. “Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
“I think Zack wants to get back.” It had been so difficult not being completely honest with Zack in the garden of the restaurant. But the stakes were greater now. Although she might have felt Sherry’s feelings for a few moments, she knew 99 percent of the other feelings had nothing to do with Sherry. She was falling in love with Zack Morgan and there was nothing she could do about it.
“He could stay awhile and visit,” Ted muttered.
“Don’t you have plans tonight?”
Zack’s father shrugged. “Just a card party at the senior center. Nothing I can’t skip. I would if Zack actually wanted to spend some time here with me.”
Not sure exactly what to say, she reassured him. “I’m sure he does want to spend time with you. But with work and Amy…”
“Nope, it’s always been this way. Ever since his mom died.”
Suspecting Ted needed to tell someone about this, Melanie waited.
“Jane had cancer,” he explained. “The doctors told me she only had a matter of weeks. I didn’t tell Zack she was going to die. When he was at school one day, I had to take her to the hospital. She never came home again. Zack didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, and he’s always hated me for that.”
“Have you ever talked to him about it?”
“We don’t talk much, never have, probably never will. I hoped when he had a family of his own…But things between us seem to have gotten worse since Sherry died.”
Because Zack hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye to his wife, either? Melanie wondered.
Amy’s chirping little voice ended the conversation as Zack carried his daughter down the hall and into the living room. “I’m not sure she ever went to sleep,” Zack said to his dad. “She was talking to BoBo when I went in.”
“She was only down about half an hour. Maybe she’ll nap for you on the ride home. The car always put you to sleep. When you were two months old, you had colic so bad your mom and I would take a drive at midnight just to get some peace and quiet.”
Seeming to ignore his dad’s comment, Zack picked up Amy’s diaper bag. “I’ll bring diapers next time Amy stays here. You’re almost out.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll pick some up at the store.”
“You don’t have to spend your pension on things like that. I’ll take care of it.”
Ted’s mouth formed a taut line. “Fine.”
The underlying tension Melanie had sensed between Zack and his dad was acutely apparent today. Was Zack really still angry at his dad after all these years?
On the drive back to Cool Ridge she decided to ask him. Amy had fallen asleep in her car seat. Dusk was settling in, and Zack’s headlights automatically went on as the light faded. The silence between them reverberated with so many things—the conversation they’d had in the garden behind the restaurant, the need that had risen in their kiss, Zack’s distance afterward. He didn’t want to be attracted to her, that was obvious. Though reason told her she was an outsider to Zack’s family situation, something strong inside of her was urging her to discuss it with him.
Sherry?
Melanie wasn’t sure about that this time. Maybe her feelings for Zack were just growing so deep she wanted to help him come to terms with whatever was wrong between him and his dad.
She plunged in. “Your father told me your mom died of cancer.”
Zack gave her a long sideways glance. “Did you two have a heart-to-heart?”
“Not exactly. I think he was upset that—”
“Upset about what?” Zack asked curiously.
“Upset that you don’t want to spend more time with him.”
“Pop and I rub each other the wrong way.”
“Is that because he didn’t tell you your mom was dying and she went to the hospital and never came home again?”
Zack’s hands on the wheel tightened, his jaw set, and then he slanted her a glance that was sharp. “I don’t understand why he told you any of this when you’re not even a member of the family.”
Stung, Melanie turned away and gazed unseeingly out the side window. That’s what she got for trying to become involved in Zack’s life. Though she shouldn’t be, she felt unreasonably hurt because Zack’s words told her he still considered her a stranger. Just because they’d shared a couple of kisses didn’t mean they were even friends.
They drove the rest of the way in silence.
Unsettled by his day with Melanie, Zack had hoped to escape to his office when they returned to the penthouse. But Flo had prepared a light supper even though it was her day off.
She informed him, “I have to eat, too.”
Regretting what he’d said to Melanie, Zack tried to engage her in conversation throughout supper. Everything about her made him feel turned inside out. She was so different from Sherry. She liked antiques and tradition and old-fashioned flowers like petunias. Sherry had liked contemporary furniture, exotic orchids and never liked to do the same thing twice.
As he’d kissed Melanie, he’d felt as if he was betraying Sherry in some way. It didn’t make sense. But that was the way he felt. Then Melanie had tried to become an advocate for his dad…
Did his dad really want to spend more time with him? They’d always had separate lives. Maybe since his father had retired he had too much time on his hands.
“Oh, by the way,” Flo said to Melanie. “You had a call. Jordan Wilson. He’d like you to call him this evening if you can. I told him I’d give you the message.”
Watching Melanie’s face, Zack saw her expression relax and her mouth turn up in a smile. Was this Wilson someone she was involved with?
“Thanks, Flo, I’ll give him a call after dinner. Your chili’s great by the way. Hot enough to make my tongue tingle but not too hot that I need to wash it down with glasses of water.”
As Flo laughed, Zack thought about Melanie’s tongue stroking his, the desire that had gripped him both times they’d kissed. He suddenly needed to get away from her and the turmoil she caused inside of him.
Pushing his chair back, he stood. “Supper was great, Flo. Would you mind putting Amy to bed tonight? I need to spend a few hours in my office.”
“No problem. I brought the mail in this afternoon. It’s on the table in the hall. Looks like mostly bills to me.”
Melanie was sipping tea.
“Don’t feel you have to get up early tomorrow,” he told her. “I’m going to take Amy to a street fair in Santa Rosa.”
When Melanie nodded, he thought about asking her to go along, then he decided against it. They’d crossed too many boundaries already and he needed time with his daughter on his own.
On his way to his office, he stopped at the table in the hall and saw the two stacks of mail. His was much larger than Melanie’s. She had three letters—legal-size envelopes—and the top one caught his eye. Rather, the return address did. It was from a Collin Bates. But it was the title after the name that interested Zack. He was a private investigator.
Why was Melanie Carlotti receiving mail from a private investigator?
Logic told him he really knew very little about her.
It was better that way.
Zack and Amy had just gotten back from the street fair when Jordan arrived on Su
nday. Melanie had returned his call, and he’d said he wanted to see how she was doing for himself by asking her to dinner. She’d accepted his invitation gratefully, needing his solid sense of purpose, needing his advice.
Now Melanie introduced the two men, explaining to Zack that she and Jordan were going to dinner. Zack and Jordan shook hands, though it was a short, perfunctory shake without much congeniality behind it. She didn’t know what to make of Zack’s scowl as he looked Jordan over from his brown hair and square jaw, to his designer polo shirt, casual slacks and Italian loafers.
“You drove up from L.A.?” Zack asked.
“Yes, I did. I’ve only been to Clear Lake once or twice. This is a nice area.”
“A long way to come for dinner.” Zack’s tone was neutral.
“I’m staying the night in Cool Ridge and driving back in the morning. It seemed more sensible.” He smiled at Melanie. “The same motel where you stayed your first night here. But I’m sure I’ll have a different experience than you did. The manager told me he only had one other reservation for tonight. I’ll have the place to myself.”
Zack’s scowl deepened. “So Melanie told you about what happened?”
“She sure did.”
Melanie had just told Jordan about it last night when he’d asked her where he could stay in the area.
An awkward silence fell over the group and Jordan checked his watch. “I made reservations for seven. We should go.” He nodded to Zack. “Nice to have met you.”
As Melanie followed Jordan out of the penthouse, she noticed Zack was still frowning.
Once she and Jordan were inside the elevator, Jordan said to her, “He doesn’t like me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Zack doesn’t know you.”
“I’m a man and I’m your friend and he doesn’t like me. Trust me on this, Melanie. He’s interested in you.”
The elevator came to a halt. They exited, and instead of going into the garage, went down the short hall to an outside door. Jordan held it for her and they left the building.
Once she was seated inside Jordan’s Lexus, she stared up at the penthouse. “He doesn’t want to be interested in me, Jordan.”
A Husband In Her Eyes Page 7