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“You sure that’s all it is?” Eli asked.
Zach froze, beer bottle halfway to his lips. “What else would it be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Usually when you get that goofy look there’s a girl involved.”
“Have I told you lately you’re full of shit?” Zach said. He brought the bottle to his lips, sipped slowly and deliberately, as though Eli’s words hadn’t bothered him at all. But crap, his brain was racing. Had Eli caught on to what was happening between him and Leah? Not good. She’d been pretty clear that she wanted to keep this thing quiet. He wasn’t entirely sure he didn’t agree with her. It would make things simpler. But he didn’t like their chances of trying to sneak around for the next few months in a place as small as Lansing without anyone busting them. But being busted was one thing. Him outing them was another altogether. Leah would not be happy with him if he did that.
“I may be full of shit,” Eli said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
Zach shook his head, trying to keep a neutral expression. “Maybe we need to start working on those songs sooner rather than later. You’ve obviously got far too much time on your hands. Otherwise you wouldn’t be making up weird-ass theories about my good mood.”
Eli laughed, not looking convinced. “You keep telling yourself that, buddy.”
Zach shook his head. Right. Time to change the subject. “I meant it about the getting-to-work thing, though,” he said. “We should get into that. I’d like at least six songs ready for the CloudFest set. Which means having them down in the studio and having time to rehearse. Leah said something about maybe having another chunk of studio time free next week. I can check with her and book it, if you want.”
Eli’s expression changed from amused to focused. “Sounds good to me. It beats listening to Dad talk about his boat all day. When did you want to get started?”
Good. Eli had taken the bait. Subject safely changed. “Let me talk to Leah, double-check the timing. Like I said, I want to finish off this week with her, then those two songs I showed you are the closest to finished, so it makes sense to work on those next. We just need the studio time. I mean, we can use Grey’s studio for a while if we need to, but I’d prefer to keep things consistent. Leah is getting a great sound up at the main studio.”
“Whatever you want. Just let me know.”
Surprising Zach naked in bed had seemed like a good idea. But now Leah wasn’t so sure. She’d been sitting on his bed for nearly thirty minutes now and she had absolutely no idea where he was. It wasn’t like there were many options—particularly at this time of night. She’d checked Grey’s studio on her way to the guesthouse, just in case he’d been there. He definitely wasn’t at the Harper studio. There’d been no lights on in the building when her cab had dropped her off there. Given she knew all of the cab drivers on the island, she’d figured that was the safest option—it was plausible for her to be wanting to get some work done late at night after all. Less likely for her to be visiting Caleb and Faith at midnight on a Thursday. So she’d gone to the studio and then walked over to the guesthouse in the moonlight, not entirely sure why she was there at all.
But she’d spent the night with her parents and her family and their friends, watching everyone congratulate her parents for thirty-three years of marriage. She wasn’t blind. She’d seen the looks thrown in her direction. The “poor Leah, she couldn’t make her marriage last even ten years” looks. And by the end of it, she’d just wanted out.
Marriage. She’d tried it. It hadn’t stuck. And maybe one day she might try it again but not any time soon. After all, she knew her parents’ marriage hadn’t been all parties and champagne toasts. They’d had their share of tough times and fights and tensions. Particularly early on when Blacklight had been at the height of their fame and her dad Sal had been one of the crowd who partied with them on the island. And sometimes off it too.
Marriage was hard work and compromise and a lot of other things. Right now, she just wanted fun. The good bits. The screaming orgasms and the thrill of that giddy stage where your blood bubbled and fizzed and ran hot just thinking about the other person. The easy part. All the wanting and none of the hard work.
And so she’d come to Zach. Who could give her all that. And wouldn’t ask for more.
Who could strip her down and lay her on his bed and make her forget about pitying looks and the tiny doubtful voice in her head that said maybe those looks were right. Who could make her feel like Leah again. Make her feel strong and confident and happy.
One thing that getting divorced had taught her was that “happy” was pretty damn important.
She wanted some happy now.
The only problem was that the source of her happy fix wasn’t here.
And there was only so long she could wait before it became obvious coming here was a bad idea. Question was when to call it and leave?
She and Zach were just casual. So the right thing to do would be to cut her losses for the night and go home, right? Lying here waiting for him might just be moving into territory that was a little more serious than she wanted.
Right. She climbed out of bed, pulled on her clothes, grabbed her purse and phone. Straightened the bed so there was no sign she’d been there. She’d go back to the studio, call a cab and go home. Alone.
But she reached the front door just as it opened and Zach stepped though. He started when he saw her, then hit the light switch by the door.
“Leah? You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
Yeah, she hadn’t thought about that part. About what someone who’d grown up living with security like Zach had might feel about coming home to find someone in his house when he hadn’t been expecting her. Even though he’d given her the code to the guesthouse. “Sorry,” she said. “I thought I’d swing by. I should have called.”
He raised an eyebrow. When she’d left the studio she’d told him she’d see him tomorrow, so she couldn’t exactly blame him for being surprised to find her here now. “Don’t worry about calling. I was only at Salt Devil with Eli.” He smiled then. “In fact, don’t ever worry about calling. I’m always going to be happy to see you.”
She stared at him for a moment, not sure how to take that. Then decided to ignore it. “Male bonding time?” It came out crankier than she’d intended. She had no right to be annoyed. He didn’t have to tell her where he was at all times. That wasn’t what they were, no matter what Zach had to say about always being happy to see her.
“Something like that.” He closed the door, punched in the alarm code, and turned back to her, offering no further explanation.
She wondered if he’d been talking to Eli about the songs they planned to work on together. And ignored the sharp sting of jealousy that twisted briefly inside her. She’d known that Zach wanted to work with Eli. He wasn’t hers exclusively in any sense of the word—least of all when it came to his music—and she needed to remember that. “And how is Eli?”
