Disappointment took hold of me, and I felt an overwhelming sense of fear that this was coming to an end so abruptly. I knew he had obligations to his job that would inevitably curtail some plans that we had together, but this is too new. I wanted to bask in the reality of what we are a bit more before the world took hold and pulled us in different directions. As I began to pull away emotionally and physically, I felt his hold tighten unexpectedly.
“Oh no, you don’t. You’re not getting away from me that easily. Besides, you have to come with me to foxtrot tango. I’m not going alone.”
“Okay,” I said, in the most optimistic voice I could muster.
The car pulled into a street I was very familiar with, as my mom lived just down the block. When it stopped in front of her house, I realized what was going on and turned to face the man next to me.
“My mom is foxtrot tango? Seriously?”
I shoved at his shoulder with a giddy laugh, but he just shrugged. His smile told me everything, though.
“She was just worried about you, and it’s all in code, so no one but us really knows where we are right now.”
“I realize that, but why does my mom have a code for her home?”
“Well, she has a lot to say. Plus, she has some great ideas for community projects, so I end up spending a lot of time talking with her.”
I stopped walking so fast I nearly collided with him as I moved to get out of the car.
“You don’t mind, do you? I mean, it’s okay that her and I are friends, right?”
“Mind? Are you kidding me? That just makes everything so much easier on us!”
Relieved that I don’t find this troubling, he closed the car door without us exiting.
“What are you doing?”
With his lips against mine, I found myself excited by the fact that my mom will be so happy with us being together. It made me so happy that I couldn’t help but pull him in for more.
“Whoa. Now before this turns into more, we need to go inside and talk with your mom. Otherwise, we may never leave this car.”
Giggling like a school girl, I was rewarded with brief lip contact as he opened the door again. This time he took my hand as he exited the vehicle, pulling me along with him. We both glided our hands down our clothing, trying to gain some composure before we stepped toward the house.
In her haste, my mom met us halfway with hugs and a strange look.
Crap. She already knows.
“Mom.”
Before I could get the words out, she looked at Zack, placing her hand on his cheek and staring into his eyes.
“Welcome to the family, Zack. I knew you two would find each other eventually.”
“Mom!”
Laughing as though this had been his plan all along—and maybe it was—Zack hugged my mom and just conveyed his gratitude that she let him accompany me to the hospital.
***
The three of us were sitting at the table, stuffed full with the meal my mom had prepared for us.
“I didn’t think you guys would make it out of there in time to meet up with the rest of us.”
“Well, we had things to discuss that kept us a little busy.”
“I bet you did.”
“Mom!”
I couldn’t believe she was acting like this. The last guy I brought home to her… I pushed the thought away as soon as it made itself known. Then I realized that I hadn’t been with anyone since him. I must have shown my concern on my face because my mom promptly called me on it.
“It’s not the same, Katie.”
She pointedly stared at me as Zack silently watched our interaction.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
How did she do this telepathy thing?
“He was a horrible human being, Katie, and I’m just glad that that part of your life is over, and Zack is here with us now. With you now.”
I listened to her, trying to make the thoughts from that nightmare time relinquish their hold on me. I shook my head, blinking back tears and the bile that threatened to rise. As soon as Zack saw that I was trying not to cry, he pulled me onto his lap, gathering me into his arms and holding on tight.
“It’s okay, honey. I promise you it will be okay.”
He said this against my ear as he rocks me through the ordeal playing out in my mind.
“You don’t know.”
I tried to speak between hiccups, grasping at straws as I attempted to keep myself in check.
“I don’t need to know anything yet. When you want me to know, you’ll tell me all about it.”
I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have found this incredible man. I wanted to tell him everything, and yet I didn’t. It was all so confusing.
“Shush it’s okay. When you’re ready, you can tell me. Right now, let’s just sit like this until you feel better.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Katelyn Elizabeth!” My mom’s booming voice interrupted our interlude. “You have nothing to be sorry for, so don’t you dare apologize to anyone, especially the people that love you most.”
“That’s right, baby. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”
I was too exhausted to say anything further. Instead, I just nodded my head in agreement and enjoyed the feel of his arms wrapped tight around me. He was protecting me, making me feel cherished and loved.
When my sniffles subsided, we make our way out to head home. This had been the most eventful day in my life in a long time, but I didn’t expect it would be the beginning of everything.
“I don’t want to leave you, but you need your rest,” Zack said, kissing me at the door to my condo.
“I don’t want you to leave, either.”
Growling his indecision, he looked at me as though he wanted to devour every inch of me.
“I’d better go. We can pick up this conversation tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
Excitement coursed through my body. I felt suddenly awake. There was no way I could possibly wait for tomorrow.
“You know, technically, it is tomorrow now.”
“Katie…”
He said it as though he was being tortured.
“Okay, tomorrow then.”
“Tomorrow. How about lunch at Cloe’s, and then dinner at my place, around seven?”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Give me your phone.”
His abrupt change in subject left me stunned to the point of being unable to move.
“Honey, I need your phone to put my number into it.”
“Oh yeah! Sorry, I just couldn’t think.”
I shook my head at myself, pulling the phone from my pocket and placing it into his large hand. As he typed in my number, I watched his every move, storing away this moment in my mind for a rainy day.
“There, now you’re all set. We’re all set. And I meant what I said earlier, Katie, I want to know everything about you, but from your lips. When you’re ready to tell me about your past, I will be ready to listen.”
I blinked back the tears that were threatening once again to fall. God, when had I become such a crier?
“Thank you. I do want to tell you everything, and you need to know everything. It’s just…”
“Just what, baby?”
“Just… What if it changes how you see me, or how you treat me? I don’t want anything to change between us. I want us to be happy together.”
“Okay, listen to me, and listen good. I have known you for more years than you realize, and we will be fine no matter what you tell me. Being together means we need to know things about one another that aren’t always the good things. Being together means we have to face the things that has the other person relenting. The only way both of us can face this is by you telling me everything. Just like I will tell you everything—well, not really the politics things. I can’t tell you about that.”
I couldn’t believe my fortunes had changed so much over the years. My nightmare was behind me now, and thi
s wonderful man wanted to be a part of my life.
“Okay. Tomorrow.”
“Better make dinner five instead of seven. I have a feeling we are going to need more time together to talk.”
I couldn’t help the smile that escaped me at his words. This man would quickly become my world if he kept this up.
But how long could he keep this up? He wasn’t going to change into an entirely different person, was he?
When he suddenly turned on his heels to look at me as he was leaving, I realized I had voiced my concern aloud. Then he simply pulled the phone from his pocket without saying anything else, dialed a number, and waited.
“Nadine, cancel my day tomorrow. Schedule everything for Monday instead. Thanks.”
Hanging up, he turned his attention away from me toward his security detail.
“Give us a minute. We’ll be right back.”
Guiding me by the elbow, he took the keys out of my hand to open the door.
“Grab a bag for a few days. You’re coming home with me.”
“Zack! I can’t just leave and come home with you. It’s Wednesday.”
“Technically it’s Thursday, and yes, you can. Go. I’ll call your mom to make arrangements at work.”
“But we…”
“We are together, and I want to make sure you truly understand what that means. I want to alleviate any concerns you may have about me. We can’t do that separated. We can only do that together. So, you’re coming home with me. Grab your bag.”
“This is crazy.”
“Baby, when it comes to you, I think you don’t realize how crazy I can get. Go. Grab your bag. Let’s go.”
Turning, I left the room to pack my bag. What else could I have done when a sexy man wanted to slay my dragons for me?
After several minutes, I came back to find Zack looking at photos of me and my family gathered atop my mantle.
“Ready.”
“Good, because I am absolutely exhausted. Let’s go.”
“Reynolds, Ms. Shephard is coming back to the house with us.”
“Yes, sir.”
The security detail smiled as he put my bag into the trunk.
“He probably thinks you’re going to get lucky tonight.”
“Ha! I’m so tired right now, the only lucky we are having tonight is sleep.”
“Oh, good. I didn’t want to have to use the headache line.”
He just chuckled at this, holding my hand as we made our way across town to his house. I’d been there before for a luncheon with my mom and some friends, but this was different. The house wasn’t huge, but it was still a great size for entertaining. Zack obviously liked high ceilings and big porches. The lights shone through the curtains as we approached, giving a soft glow of welcoming and warmth. I realized how much I could love living here someday.
Holy crap! Too soon, Katie!
“It’s not too soon. We’ll figure it out, I promise. I want you here with me.”
Shit! I spoke again without realizing it.
“Um, I think it is way too soon to talk moving in together.”
“Okay, just relax and make yourself at home then. We’ll leave the moving in part for another time.”
Crap!
I was screwing this up majorly before it even really started. He was probably thinking that I was insane, wishing he could just bring me back home.
“Katie, when you’re done second-guessing yourself and me, I’d like to go to bed. Let me know when you’re ready, so I can show you to the guest room.”
“Guest room? I’m not sleeping with you?”
“Do you want to sleep with me?”
“No! Well, yes. I mean, I don’t know.”
He actually had the audacity to laugh as I stammered my way through that response. Coming to stand next to me, I nearly jumped out of my skin when he brushed up against me.
“We really need to work on the together thing, but right now we both need sleep more. I would love to have you with me, but I didn’t think you would be comfortable enough to do that tonight. Maybe another night, but all I can think about right now is closing my eyes, so let’s get you into the guest bedroom so we can both focus on tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
Yep, I had officially lost my mind, because that was all I said as he led me to the guest bedroom on the other side of the house.
“My room is on the other side of the house if you need me. Just relax and get some sleep. We will talk tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Towels are in the attached bathroom. Feel free to use the tub. The jets feel really nice on your body.”
Then he seemed to catch himself.
“Ugh! Now I’m just going to be picturing you naked in my tub, with the jets massaging parts of you that I want to massage!”
I laughed along with him, even though I wanted his hands massaging those parts, too. Then I stepped into the room as he waited on the other side of the door.
“Good night, baby.”
He kissed me without the same abandon as earlier, but the same enthusiasm was still there. I found myself leaning against the door frame, watching him walk back down the hall.
“Night” was all I could think to say back as he left.
Chapter Four
I just couldn’t sleep. As the night grew darker and darker, I realized just how much I’d missed over the past several years. He’d been right in front of me this entire time. Turning toward the closed door, considering the man that lay on the other end of the house, a tremble ran through my body. Why hadn’t I seen the way he looked at me before now?
We had spent the last several years bumping into one another at function after function. Talking, laughing, joking around. All this time? He’d wanted to be with me all this time? It dawned on me at that moment that while I had been trying so hard to close myself off, the right man had seen past all that to see the real person I was.
The fact that Zack saw me for me was something beyond scary. He was definitely someone I couldn’t hide from. No matter the walls I erected around my heart, he would penetrate everything to find me without even breaking a sweat. That was something that frightened the daylights out of me more so than anything else.
I knew he had brought me here to keep me safe and protected, but I felt so alone right now, sitting in this empty room, staring at the walls that were closing in around me. So I stood up from the bed, making my way to the balcony overlooking the lush gardens below, even though at this hour all you could see was the silhouette of the flowers in the beds resting their blooms for the evening.
Hugging my stomach, wishing for some kind of comfort to help me sleep, I welcomed anything that would give me some reprieve from the constant mental anguish I kept putting myself through. Light sounds began to make their way through the room, but it was only when the tap tap tap against the wood echoed again that I realized what it was. As the door opened slightly at first, I was startled until I caught the scent of him waft into the room, announcing his arrival.
“Katie.”
He said softly, trying not to wake me, not realizing I was already wide wake.
“Katie.”
This time the door opened a bit more than before. With his hand curling around the edge just before, his profile slowly came into view. The smile that spread across my face made my cheeks ache. It was only then that I realized that this was just what I was waiting for—comfort from the one person who was able to give it to me.
“Kat…”
He didn’t get to finish. Headed in his direction, I leave my perch in search of his warmth.
“Zack, I’m up. Come in.”
He laughed as he made his way into the room, stumbling on his own feet at the realization that he didn’t need to stalk in like a prowler in his own house.
“Crap! That was graceful.”
He rubbed his shin with a grin.
“Hehe, you okay?”
I was glad to see I wasn’t the only klutz in this relationship.
<
br /> “Yes, thank you. Are you okay?”
I didn’t fall, so why was he asking me? Oh, wait!
“Just can’t sleep.”
“I thought you might be having some trouble with that. How about some hot tea to sooth the nerves a bit?”
“Darjeeling?”
“Of course. Is there any other kind?”
“You seriously have Darjeeling tea? No one has that specific kind of tea. I usually have to bring my own.”
“I pay attention, you know. Like I said, I’ve been wanting to ask you out for some time now.”
“Should I get the restraining order together?”
“It’s not like that, smart-ass. The tea is your fault. You introduced it to me a few months ago at your mom’s picnic, and I just had to have it for myself.”
“Twinings?”
It’s the only brand I liked or would even drink.
“Why don’t you come and find out for yourself, since I’m not doing such a great job convincing you.”
Narrowing my eyes and contemplating my alternatives, I watched as he waited patiently for me to make my next move. I felt as though this was a test of sorts. Something monumental in our relationship hinged on this moment. Panic shot through me, but it was more a reaction with my head than my true reaction to the situation. I wasn’t necessarily panicked, but my mind felt as if I should have been, so I responded that way anyway. As soon as I realized this, the panic eased.
I wasn’t actually panicking. For the first time in years, the pressure someone else was putting on me hadn’t caused me to panic. I wanted to go with him. I didn’t have to tell myself to feel this way or another. I just wasn’t concerned about something so trivial as having tea in the middle of the night at someone else’s home.
The smile that reflected back at me from Zack’s face confirmed that he too knew how monumental a moment this was for me.
“Thank you, I would love some tea.”
My hand brushed against his before he enveloped his much larger hand around mine. Sparks flew between us immediately, and it seemed as if I was not the only one that felt it. The electric zap danced across our sprawled fingers as we tested our connection, not wanting to pull away. Driven by the desire to feel more, I never wanted to let go.
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