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He had no idea how he was going to make that happen, or how he was going to tolerate it, but there it was.
“Really? Oh, Zayne, that’s great news.” Zoey chuckled. “That makes me feel better about advising you.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I thought you were still taking advantage of her, I’d be a lot less keen on you letting her sleep there.”
“I was never...” He realized his voice had risen, so he brought it down to a near whisper. “She offered to barter for the maze and I took her up on it. I mean, come on, Zoey.” He felt a need to defend himself. “In high school, she was—”
“In high school,youwere a grubby-looking troublemaker who spent half his time in detention for fighting and talking back.” She wasn’t wrong. She also wasn’t done. “Didn’t you steal one of the teacher’s motorcycles and drive it down the hallway to class? And didn’t you call the principal a jackass...in the middle of your own graduation ceremony?”
“Sounds about right.” He wasn’t proud of his behavior as a rage-filled kid. But damn, he’d had his reasons. “What’s your point?”
“You know what my point is,” Zoey answered. “If people judgedyoubased on your younger years, you wouldn’t be drowning in orders for your new business. No one would trust you in their home. That farm you just bought would be nothing but a pipe dream.” There was a pause, and he heard her muffled voice asking someone—probably Mike—for a refill.
“Look,” she started again. “I’m not saying you’re wrong about High School Andrea. I got my share of her snooty looks and comments. But that was High School Andrea—she was still under her mother’s obnoxious thumb. So maybe you should cut Grown-Up Andrea some slack.” Zoey paused. “And for God’s sake, let her get some sleep. I’ll let Mary know what’s going on and ask her to keep Hudson during the day tomorrow—she can take him to preschool with Nathan.”
He went back to the living room and tucked the blanket more tightly around Andrea before sitting in the armchair again. It was a little after midnight when she made a face and mumbled something, her eyes sweeping open. She looked around the darkened room, but before she could ask any questions, he handed her a bottle of water.
“Drink this. You’re dehydrated.”
She did as he asked, taking a sip at first, then downing most of the bottle before letting out a deep sigh. She looked around.
“Am I in yourhouse?”
She started to stand up, and he moved to stop her. She wobbled on her feet and sat back down, bringing him to the sofa with her. “Damn,” she muttered. “What’s wrong with me?”
Somehow she’d ended up in his arms, leaning against his chest as ifhewas the sofa. She didn’t seem to have noticed, resting her head against his shoulder. His arm tightened around her, holding her close. She was warm. And soft. She smelled like flowers, with a hint of sawdust from the shop. He knew that because he’d buried his nose in her hair.
“Gotta go... Hudson...” Her voice was low.
“Go to sleep. Hudson is at Mary’s. She knows where you are. So does Zoey.”
“Hmm...” She burrowed closer, as if seeking more of his warmth. Right now he had plenty of heat to spare. “Gotta upload software...”
“You did that already. Go to sleep.” He shifted his weight. If he was going to be stuck here, he could at least stretch out and get some sleep himself.
“S’okay. Just need to finish student files...”
“It’ll wait,” he whispered against her skin.
He thought she’d finally gone to sleep, but she had one last worry on her mind.
“The corn maze...” she breathed. “Need a plan B...”
“No, you don’t. Go to sleep, girl.”
He stayed as still as possible until he knew she was actually sleeping. Then he slowly worked himself under her so she was stretched out on top of him. He pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and closed his eyes.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been with women through the years—he did okay for himself. Women loved being with a bad boy, although they rarely wanted to spend time cuddling.
But this woman was different. This woman was clinging to him as if she needed him. Wanted him.Trustedhim. That was a new sensation.
He liked it.
A lot.
CHAPTER SIX
