“Hey, look who I found.”
Zoe’s stomach dropped because she knew that voice. Of all the steak joints in all the cities, Noah Stafford had to walk into this one. And if Noah was there, Carly was probably—
“Zoe!” She looked up from her appetizer as her cousin approached the table, husband at her side. “Oh. Hello, Preston.”
How Carly managed to make those three words sound like a long, drawn out question was beyond Zoe, but she still heard it. She hadn’t really told Carly anything about how her relationship with Preston had changed since Abe’s party, and her cousin had been too preoccupied by the possibility she might be pregnant to notice.
“Hi, Carly. Noah. It’s good to see you. Care to join us?”
Zoe tried to kick him under the table, but she guessed by the lack of reaction that she’d gotten the table leg and not his shin. “I’m sure they want to enjoy a nice, private date night.”
“Nope.” Carly grinned at Zoe as Noah pulled out a chair for his wife.
“We’re still technically newlyweds,” Noah reminded her as he sat down. As if she could forget. “Every night is date night.”
Carly still hadn’t torn her curious, demanding gaze from Zoe’s face. “And now it’s a double date night, I guess.”
Zoe cut her eyes to Preston, and he didn’t look annoyed by the interruption or concerned about how they were going to explain being out on the town together. If anything, he looked amused.
Not that they had to explain anything if they didn’t want to. They were two adults having dinner together. But she knew Carly didn’t care about the prime rib. She would want to know how Zoe had gone from the scratching of an itch to having dinner with the scratcher of said itch. And not a quick bite at the cafe, either. This was adatekind of date. She knew when Carly had stepped up to their table, she’d seen two people holding hands across the linen tablecloth and gazing into each other’s eyes.
“What’s this book?” Carly picked upThe Gentleman’s Guide to Golfand Zoe had to fight back an urge to snatch it out of her hands. “Golf?”
“It was my grandfather’s,” Preston said. “I brought it so I could ask Zoe if it’s possible to find the original slipcover for it.”
Clever explanation, Zoe thought, hoping her cheeks didn’t look as warm as they felt. She took the book and set it carefully next to her. The server brought their salads, and the four of them ordered steaks. She noticed Carly didn’t order wine, but instead sipped from the glass of ice water she requested.
She wasn’t going to say anything yet, but Zoe was unbelievably excited about the possibility of being an aunt. Sure, she was technically going to be a second cousin or something like that, but in her heart, she was going to be the baby’s auntie. And she couldn’t wait.
Even though Carly and Noah had crashed their romantic night out, Zoe had a good time. The steaks were as awesome as advertised, and there was a lot of laughter and small talk.
Her phone buzzed, though, and because she’d just watched Carly type something on her phone, she pulled it out of her wristlet.
What’s going on with you and Preston?
She wasn’t about to get into a back-and-forth with Carly because it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out they were texting each other.You’re the one who suggested a no-strings fling to work the sexual tension out of my system. It was good advice, so I’m following it. Eat your steak.
It wasn’t totally accurate—she was having a hard time denying, even to herself, that she could feel strings tugging between her and Preston—but she wasn’t ready to talk about those emotions yet. Not until she’d figured them out herself.
They all passed on dessert, and the closer they got to wrapping up the evening, the more distracted Zoe got by the book sitting on the table next to her arm. Once, she rested her hand on it, and then caught Preston watching her with a knowing look in his eye.
“We’re probably going to meet Jim and Emily for cocktails at that new lounge after we leave here,” Noah said. “Do you guys want to join us?”
Zoe practically held her breath waiting for Preston, who seemed compelled to find opportunities to meet people, to jump in with an acceptance, but before she could even send him a signal, he shook his head.
“Zoe and I already have plans, but I’m glad you guys were able to join us for dinner.”
They said their goodbyes and Zoe clutched the golf book to her chest as they walked to Preston’s car.
“I know you were just trying to explain having the book to Carly and Noah,” she said. “But do you actually want me to try to find an original slipcover for this? Since it was your grandfather’s?”
He squeezed her hand before letting it go to fish the key fob out of his pocket. “That’s sweet, but I have it. I took it off because carrying a golf book into a romantic restaurant was going to have you asking questions before it was time.”
She laughed and slid into the soft leather seat when he opened her door. “Such a devious mind.”
He leaned down and planted a kiss on her mouth. “My library might not be as sexy as yours, but I know how to get my point across.”
Yes, he sure as hell did.
