by Jody Holford
“Maybe you should get married,” Zach suggested, mostly joking.
His mom smiled, contentment shining in her eyes. “When he asks, I will. Now, are you really moving in with Stella or are you just being stubborn about living with me and Shane?”
The door chimed again and a man with two cocker spaniels straining against their leashes as they hopped came into the clinic.
“Turns out Stella needed a renter, so it’s worked out for the best. Everything is fine, Mom. I gotta go,” he said, leaning in for a kiss.
“Okay. I’ve got to get going anyway. I’ll talk to you soon about that kissing booth for the fair,” she said.
Jaz snickered and the man waiting just nodded a hello.
“Bye, Mom.”
“Bye, dear. See you soon, Jaz.”
Zach went back to work, intending to make Stella’s patients so happy, she’d be begging him to come back.
Chapter Seven
Stella tapped her foot nervously, refusing to check her phone again. She had the volume maxed and it was on vibrate so there was no way she’d miss it if Jaz texted or phoned with concerns.
“You can’t be this nervous about seeing her in the dresses,” Taylor, the second of her close friends, said. She’d known Taylor longer than Megan as they’d gone to school together, but like Stella, she’d gone away for a while. Stella was glad they’d not only reconnected, but Megan was friends with both of them, too.
“She’s nervous about Sergeant Hottie,” Megan called from behind the fancy white door of the dressing room. The top of it had scalloped molding and glitter. Stella wasn’t a huge fan of glitter or, if she was honest only with herself, bridal shops. Being in them made her heart feel like it didn’t fit inside her rib cage. Hey, that’s sort of how Zach makes you feel.
She groaned.
Taylor laughed. “Is she right? Tell me about him. I asked Mom and she said that Zach’s family lived sort of on the edge of town through most of his life.”
Stella arched a brow and, hoping to get out of talking about Zach, called to Megan, “Do you need any help in there?”
“I’ve got her,” the bridal boutique attendant said from inside the same stall.
Taylor nudged her leg. She’d tied her long blond hair back in a cool braid, and with her pretty floral skirt and flowing top, she looked like a modern-day Laura Ingalls.
“Quit stalling,” she said.
“There’s nothing to tell. In fact, you probably know more about him than I do if you asked your mom about him.”
“True.” Taylor nodded and turned her head to stare at Megan’s dressing room door.
Stella stared at her friend, waiting. Her mouth dropped open to ask and then she realized Taylor had done that on purpose. Stella crossed her arms over her chest and Taylor laughed.
“You are so stubborn,” Taylor said. “Fine. Since you’re clearly so curious, Mom said his family didn’t have anything growing up. Mostly on account of his father drinking it all away. They were poorer than poor and usually stayed on the outskirts of town. People tried to help, but, sort of like you, Sheila Mason wasn’t a woman who accepted it easily.”
“Hey,” Stella said, dropping her arms. Her heart ached for what Zach must have gone through as a boy and then soared when she realized he’d not only pulled himself out of that life, he’d exceeded limits some people never even reached for.
“Adam said the same. About him being poor, I mean,” Megan said. The lock on the changing room door slid open, and Taylor grabbed Stella’s hand, squeezing it as Megan stepped out.
Stella gasped and covered her mouth with her free hand. She wasn’t a mushy, touchy-feely sort of girl. Even as a kid, she’d been raised by a man who knew a lot of things, but not how to coddle, play dress up, or paint nails. She’d learned from a young age that people and animals died. Life didn’t work out how you planned, and the only option was to pick up and move on. She’d never loved sad movies or romance novels, and she wasn’t particularly fond of country music. But looking at her best friend, glowing in what had to be her wedding gown, Stella wanted to believe in every fairy tale she remembered and even those she didn’t.
“Oh, Meg,” Taylor breathed.
Stella’s eyes watered. “You look like a princess.”
The upper half of the dress molded perfectly to Megan’s body, outlining every graceful curve. The bodice narrowed at the waist before the skirt widened in a grand and elegant way. Megan turned slowly and they both gasped again when they saw the way the dress cut down her back, leaving enough skin to have Adam drooling. Silk, corset-like ties cinched the dress in a crisscross pattern on her lower back.
Megan looked over her shoulder, her eyes seeking theirs. “You like it?”
Taylor and Stella both jumped up from their seats and rushed closer, not touching, but nodded fiercely.
“It’s incredible,” Taylor said.
“Adam is going to swallow his tongue,” Stella said, surprised that her voice cracked.
Megan gave a watery laugh. “Hopefully not before he says, ‘I do.’”
The three women laughed together, and the bridal attendant was gracious enough to step back and give them their moment. Their moment. Stella couldn’t believe she’d considered missing out on this. Her thoughts jumped to Zach and for the first time all morning, she didn’t feel the curl of worry in her gut. She just felt…happy that she didn’t have to miss this.
“Tell me you know this is the one,” Stella said.
Megan’s eyes filled with tears. “It is. This is the dress I’m going to marry Adam in. This is the dress I’m going to wear when I get my happily ever after.”
Not liking the intense pressure in her lungs, Stella laughed, hoping to ease the inexplicable ache. “And the dress he’s going to peel off of you to give you your real happily ever after.”
Taylor snorted and nudged Stella with her hip. “Classy.”
Megan laughed and they stood there, grinning like idiots, staring into the mirrors surrounding them. Three friends. So incredibly different in so many ways. And it doesn’t even matter. Stella sometimes felt like she had no one because her parents had both died, her aunt and uncle lived out of state, and she only had a couple of close friendships. But in this moment, she realized she was luckier than most. Family is what you make it.
Megan looped her arms through each of the other women’s. “Now it’s your turn. I’m thinking a pale tangerine. You know, to make it Christmassy?”
Stella stared, her words stuck in her throat. Best friend. Best friend. Best friend. She met Taylor’s gaze and was happy to see it was as appalled as her own. Megan looked back and forth between them in the mirror, a frown tipping her lips down.
“Like Christmas oranges. You don’t think that’d be pretty?”
“Uh,” Taylor murmured.
Stella bit her lip, digging deep for a smile.
Megan burst out laughing. “You two are too easy. As if. Christmas oranges. Give me some credit.”
Deep breaths whooshed out of both Taylor and Stella.
“That’s just mean,” Stella said.
Megan arched her brows. “Almost as mean as moving in with a hot guy and not telling your best friends about it.”
Taylor turned to look at Stella and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah. That’s pretty mean, too.”
Both of her friends were grinning, their eyes shining with anticipation. Stella backed up, raising her hands. “I only have a little bit of time. We’d better find our dresses.”
They groaned and let it go. For the moment. Stella knew there was no actual escaping their inquisition. Even if she managed to do so at the store, they had a whole car ride home to trap her into the details.
Chapter Eight
It was close to eight by the time Zach grabbed all his things—not that there was much, seeing as he’d traveled light for several years now—and shopped for dinner.
It felt weird, standing on Stella’s front step, huge duffel bag in one
hand, sack of groceries in the other. When the heavy, farm door swung open, his heart squeezed tight. God, she was stunning—kick-in-the-ribs gorgeous. Even in lounge pants and a T-shirt. Her hair was up in another messy bun and she wore nothing on her face or her feet. He smiled at her, his body warming from the inside out, just from the sight of her. He wasn’t sure if it was just base-level attraction or the fact that this wary, somewhat closed off woman had let him in—literally and figuratively, even if she didn’t know it. That tugged at pieces of Zach’s heart he hadn’t thought much about in his quest to achieve his dreams.
“Hi.” She stepped back so he could enter.
“Hey roomie.”
“Ha.” She shut the door behind him and led him to the kitchen. He’d seen her dogs out back and they’d run to greet him but taken off while he waited for her to answer.
“I had a key made for you while I was out. I figured you could use this door,” she told him, pointing to the door beside the stove. The kitchen was dated, but clean, like the rest of what he’d seen so far.
“Thanks. I have my references, steaks, and potatoes.”
She turned to take the bag of groceries from him. “That seems like a good trade.”
It was her blinking and the way she kept glancing away from him that alerted him to her nerves. He set his duffel down a minute.
“You still sure about this?”
Stella held his gaze. “Seems silly for me to have all this space when you need somewhere to live, and I could use the income from your rent.”
“It’s a lot, I guess, picking up where your dad left off. Everything being on your shoulders must be heavy.”
Her eyes darted down to his bag. “Grab that. I’ll take you upstairs.”
He didn’t let his mind play around with those words. Upstairs was simple. Standard farm house with three bedrooms, a bathroom with an old claw-style tub, and a storage room with an angled roof. Probably a great place for a kid to play. The fresh air wafted through windows she opened, and she led him into what she’d called the master bedroom.
“It won’t bother you, me being in here?” he asked as he set his bag on the four-poster bed. It was a masculine room with beige walls, a nondescript carpet and wide, double-paned windows.
“Why would it?” She stared up at him.
He kept his voice gentle. “This was your father’s room?”
Stella nodded and gave him a small smile, different from the sad ones she’d shared other times Zach had mentioned her dad. “It was. But to be honest, he spent more time in the clinic than he did in this house. My memories are mostly there. This room…it’s just a room.”
Pointing to a door on the other side of the space, she walked forward. “There’s a small en suite here. There are two more bedrooms. You can have the whole floor. Like I said, it’s pretty much like having your own apartment, but we’ll have to share the kitchen and laundry.”
“I can live with that.”
“You want to unpack?” Stella fidgeted with her hands, and Zach squelched the urge to take them both in his. To soothe her. This woman needed someone to give her a hard hug, and he was surprised by how much he wanted that someone to be him. Not a good idea. She’d probably punch you.
He grinned at the thought. Stella Lane was feisty and independent, and he looked forward to convincing her that he could be a huge asset in her life. Professionally. “I’ll do it later. I promised you food.”
“You did. I have a few things to do. Some paperwork, but if you need anything in the kitchen, make yourself at home. We can go over rules and boundaries while we eat.”
As he followed her back down the stairs, he didn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice. “Sounds fun. You take a look in the envelope?”
She glanced back up at him, and the worry and concern he’d noted had all but disappeared. “You asked for it. Thanks again for watching the clinic. Jaz said everyone acted like you’d always been there. And yes, I looked at the papers. You’ve amassed quite the nest egg.”
They stepped into the kitchen and he heard the dogs at the door. “Watching the clinic was my pleasure. Honestly. I’ve missed working. I’d be more than happy to help you out any time.” He beat her to the door and let her pets in, giving them some love. When he turned, rose from his crouched position, Stella was staring at him.
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. They just…they treat you like you belong here.”
Moving slowly, he crossed to where she was standing, leaning on the counter. “Ever think maybe I do? Sometimes things happen for a reason. Maybe I came back at just the right time, for both of us.”
Attraction and a heavy dose of lust stirred in his blood as she stared at him. Dammit. You need to keep your focus. A workplace romance, especially with a woman like Stella, would wreck the plans he wanted to put into action. Her father had made Zach feel like he’d belonged. He wanted to. Very badly. Hearing her say the words stirred more than lust in him. It made him want things he’d never had.
She frowned. “You sound like Megan.” Her voice was low, unintentionally seductive.
Turning her back, she went to the classic farm-style table and tidied the papers covering it. He unloaded the bag, setting the potatoes, salad fixings, and steaks on the counter.
“I can make the salad,” she said, stacking everything into a pile.
“Thanks. Mind if I root through the cupboards, find the stuff I need?”
She shook her head, but her expression suggested she wasn’t entirely comfortable. It took time to adjust to living with someone. Like you’d know about living with a woman. He’d never done it before, but he’d lived with several men in cramped quarters.
“I’m pretty good at being invisible,” he told her, finding a pan under the stove and setting it on top.
The noise she made was somewhere between a scoff and a choke. “Yeah. Guy who looks like you, seems like he’d be totally unnoticeable.”
Zach liked that she wasn’t immune to his looks. Just like he wasn’t to hers, but they could both keep boundaries in place if she agreed to take him on at the clinic. Hadn’t she just said she had a list of boundaries? That could be one of them. No acting on the attraction.
“I’ve learned to be stealthy,” he said, his tone teasing. He’d also been treated much like a ghost. When he wasn’t, he was teased for all the things he didn’t have. When he wasn’t being labeled the poor kid, the one who had to have lunches shared with him and snuck shoes from the lost and found bin, he was being pushed around for his father’s idiocy. But that was then.
Stella grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard near the stove, and when she stood, he realized they were in each other’s space. She stared up at him, and he wondered if she was breathing. Her mouth was open, her lips bare, and he watched as she wet them quickly with her tongue. His stomach tightened.
“Breathe, Doc. You’ll get used to me,” he said.
Moving past him, she went to the other side of the counter and pulled a cutting board out of a drawer while Zach busied himself adding salt and pepper to the steak.
“I’m sure we won’t get in each other’s way. I spend most of my evenings at the clinic anyway. Most nights I grab a bowl of cereal or peanut butter and jam sandwich.”
Opening the fridge, he wondered if that was all she ate, ever. There was some milk, a few slices of cheese, some apples and oranges, and a six pack of diet soda.
“Jesus, Doc. Who feeds you?”
“I just told you what I usually eat,” she said.
He shook his head, grabbed the butter. “No wonder you’re so tiny.”
Narrowing her eyes, she grabbed a knife and started chopping the lettuce. “Right, because if I ate more, I’d be taller.”
Zach chuckled and took care of washing the potatoes before popping them into the microwave. They worked in companionable silence, but curiosity pressed hard.
“So, no boyfriend?”
She glanced up from her chopping. “No. Nothing
even resembling one since I moved home.”
“No time?”
She arched her brow. “Or inclination. I like things simple. There’s nothing simple about dating in a small town.”
“You went away for a while, right?”
She nodded, and he wanted to push, feeling like there was something there. His mother had mentioned a fiancé in Boston. Would Stella open up and tell him? More likely, she’d cut him off at the knees if he asked about her past. Slow and steady. That was a motto he’d learned to live by.
“Speaking of dating, it’d be nice if there weren’t women in and out of here like a parade.”
Zach laughed. “I appreciate your confidence in my prowess. I’ll try to keep the parades to a minimum.”
Her lips twitched. “I’d appreciate it.”
He set the oven on broil to crisp up the potatoes. When she brought the salad to the table, he gestured to the pile of papers she’d set aside.
“That’s quite the stack.”
Stella sighed, and Zach’s heart twisted in his chest. For a minute, he wanted nothing more than to lift the burdens that caused that sigh from her shoulders. Not because he wanted to work with her, but because no one should feel that much weight on their own.
“My dad left things a little…messy.”
It surprised him she’d admit that much, but it was the “in” he needed. “I’m good at problem solving if you want to talk.”
Moving to the cupboards, she pulled out plates, then grabbed cutlery from a drawer. “Unless you know how to make money grow on trees, I’d say there’s no solving this one.”
“Are things that tight?”
The look she gave him said more than she ever would. “I’m going to have a glass of wine. You want one?”
“Sure. You have red? It’ll go nice with the steak.”
She nodded and went to the pantry-like cupboard.
“You know, I have some ideas that would help you. Other than me working with you, I mean.”
“Oh yeah?” Her voice leaned more toward exhausted than interested, but he was willing to take any opening he could at this point. Working today had left him wanting more. A lot more.