“Be careful.”
Her gaze shifted to Zach. “You’d catch me if I fell, though, right?”
“Every single time.”
Staring into his eyes, it would be so easy to believe him.
*
“I should haveasked to leave earlier but I didn’t want to pull you away from the tree decorating. I’m sorry that you’re having to drive me back to Sarah and Bodie’s so late.” Since squeezing himself into the passenger seat of her sedan, watching Isabelle had fascinated Zach much more than watching Pine Hill’s nonexistent nightlife out the window. He felt quite useless sitting there, twiddling his thumbs. God, he hated being a burden. Always had.
“I can pull over and let you drive.”
As independent as she was, he was surprised she’d offered. He was also frustrated that he couldn’t say yes if he wanted to. Just a couple of more weeks without a spell and his driving restrictions would be lifted. Hopefully, permanently this time.
“From what I’ve seen, you’re a great driver, Blondie.” No rolling through stop signs for Isabelle. Unlike his lead-footed hostess, Isabelle abided by the speed limits, too. “I was referring to inconveniencing you.”
In the glow of the dashboard partially illuminating the car’s interior, she huffed. “Of all the ways you’ve inconvenienced me, this is the one that bothers you?”
“How else have I inconvenienced you?” He studied her profile, taking in her no-nonsense straight haircut, the light makeup highlighting her cheeks and pretty eyes, her twisted with annoyance lips.
His gaze lingered there, wondering what it would feel like to have Isabelle Davis curve her mouth in a smile toward him. A real smile, one full of happiness and… and what? Friendship? More?
When she stopped the car at a traffic light and turned to him, her gaze connecting with his, Zach’s heart rate bypassed every speed sign between her place and Hamilton House, making him glad Bodie wasn’t around with his radar gun, as no way could the thundering in his chest not register.
“I—well.” Her chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “From the moment we met you’ve been completely irritating.”
He arched a brow. “By rescuing your list?”
“By not immediately returning my list and by laughing at me chasing it.” Giving him another annoyed look, she broke eye contact and sighed with relief when the light changed to green.
“I was laughing with you, Blondie. Not at you.” Zach smiled when she glanced both ways twice before letting her foot off the brake to turn the car to drive them through town.
“I wasn’t laughing.” Her gaze stayed on the road.
Garland wreaths with twinkling lights hung from each lamppost and most shops were already decorated to Christmas card perfection.
“Life is short.” Oh, how he knew this one. Everyone, him included, had thought his would be much shorter. At one point, he’d wanted it to be. “You should have been laughing.”
Instead, she carried too much of a load to let herself go often. Seeing her laugh to the point she had to hold her belly, that she had to wipe tears of joy from her lovely face—as she had while Sophie had been ribbing her about some of the photos, or how the two sisters had giggled at various points when they’d shared looks, at how they’d teased each other when they’d been stringing popcorn to hang on the tree—convinced him that Isabelle’s happiness mattered more than it should to a man who was just passing through. Way more.
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I go chasing after my blown-away list.”
Ah, Isabelle and her lists. Wonder what she’d say if he snatched one of her lists and wrote,Laugh out loud?
“How’s that going?”
She glanced his way. “My list?”
He nodded and, gaze back to the road, she shrugged.
“You tell me. After our embarrassing walk down memory lane and wasting a bunch of the popcorn while joining in on my family Christmas tree decorating, are you any closer to finding my father?”
“The popcorn looked better on you than the tree.” Shifting in the seat, he repositioned his cramped legs.
Isabelle’s cheeks pinkened. “You made a mess by throwing it at me.”
“I wasn’t the one who dumped out the whole bowl,” he pointed out.
