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I JUMPED, FALLING OUTof Zach’s lap and landing hard on my ass. A sharp slice of pain traveled up my spine. I winced, breathing through it. That was going to leave one hell of a bruise tomorrow.
Zach grabbed my arm, helping me to my feet. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern apparent on his face.
“I’m fine.” I smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
“What the hell did I just say?”
“Dad,” I snapped. “He saved me from getting trampled.” As much as I didn’t want to, I pulled myself from Zach’s grip and glared up at my dad. “You don’t have to be rude.” And this was clearly one of the reasons why Zach wanted nothing to do with me.
Dad frowned, his brows narrowing in the center. He looked over my head.
“Don’t look at him.” I punched him in the arm. “Look at me.”
My dad met my gaze, his face softening. “You have your mother’s fire,” he said gently.
My anger with him simmered. Knowing he wasn’t talking about my stepmom but my birth mother instead, I let out a soft sigh.
“I promise he was being a gentleman.” Unless you counted the things we did beside the house and what Zach had said to me. I cleared my throat.
“A couple of guys were drunk and stumbled into her,” Zach explained from behind me.
Dad crossed his arms over his chest. “That true?” he asked me.
I nodded.
A dark shadow passed over his face but before I could question it, my stepmom came up beside us. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” My dad looked over my head once again. “How’s work going?”
I followed his gaze.
Zach’s stiff body relaxed a touch. “Good. It’s taking a while to get the hang of things. I don’t think my dad actually wants to retire yet.”
Much to my surprise, my dad chuckled. “Probably not. He likes having something he can control.”
Zach smirked. “He does.”
Dad nodded once, staring at Zach. Questions hid behind his dark eyes, but he never asked them. He never demanded to know what was going on between us. But I knew in time that he would. My father had a temper on him. He had used the excuse that it was because he was Italian, but the real reason was because he had experienced things no one should ever have to go through. I was thankful that he was retired from the navy but unfortunately for most of our fathers, those demons still followed them long after retirement.
Mom said something quietly to my dad, pulling his attention away from us.
“Luna.”
I looked up at Zach.
He took a chance, reached his hand out, and brushed his finger along mine. “I should go.”
“Really?” I looked back at my dad. “Is it because of him?”
“It’s because of many things, Moonbeam, but right now it’s because it’s not our time.”
I turned back around. Was he right? Could there be a reason that we were interrupted? Was it fate? Did I even believe in fate?
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, pulling away from me.
“You leaving?” Dad asked, wrapping his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“I am.” Zach stared him down, waiting. For what, I wasn’t sure but the powerplay between them sent a shiver down my spine.
