AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll just retreat back to my side of the worktable.” He walked to his usual seat, putting the table securely between them. They were friends first. She needednormal. And he probably did, too. He tapped his fingers on the table with a grin. “Where’s my cup? And a corkscrew?”
Zoey’s shoulders eased. “Coming right up.” She slid the corkscrew across the table and turned to get the cups from the cupboard. “So how was your day?”
This was their shop night comfort zone. This felt like...home. This was what they had to preserve, no matter what.
“Well,tweetheart, it was fine.” He poured the wine. “I actually had a real estate closing that didnotinclude tears or yelling. I always consider that a win.”
Lord knew he’d had his share of stressful closings. Large money transactions did not always bring out the best in people. And some considered themselves a lot better at negotiating than they actually were. He remembered his stop at the town offices.
“Hey, you haven’t heard any more from the Schiff woman about the zoning thing, have you?”
“No. Why?”
“I figured she was just yapping without intending to do anything.” He drank some wine, mentally crossing his fingers. “She was all talk.”
“Let’s hope so. I don’t need the hassle. You don’t think she has any chance of actually causingtrouble, do you?” He didn’t answer right away, and Zoey picked up on it. “Mike?”
He sighed. “I haven’t done a deep dive, but your dad fought the town about zoning—and won—thirty years ago.”
“That’s good, right?” Zoey studied his face. “If he won?”
“What he won was an argument that this wasnotcommercial property. He didn’t want to pay commercial property taxes or deal with commercial zoning requirements.” He paused, then saw her crestfallen expression. “But that doesn’t necessarily prevent a private enterprise or workshop from being on the property. Rob argued that he didn’t have a storefront here, which is true. Just because someone’s self-employed doesn’t make their home a commercial property.” He frowned. “But the fact that he fought being called a business could...complicate things if we try to claim it’s grandfathered as a business. That’s onlyifyour neighbor gets serious about her threat, which she probably never will. So please don’t lose any sleep over it, okay?”
She studied his face, then plunked herself down on her work stool with a heavy sigh. “Right now I have a pretty long list of other things causing me to lose sleep. Starting with you.”
He put his hand on his chest, eyes wide. “Who, me? I hope you mean that some pretty awesome memories are keeping you awake at night.”
The corner of her mouth quirked upward. “That’s part of it. I’m wondering if we should—”
“Do it again? Absolutely.”
“Mike, I’m serious. Don’t act like my boyfriend when I need myfriend-friend.”
“AmI your boyfriend?” He winced, knowing they hadn’t definedwhatthey were. “I’m sorry. This is...it’s going to take some getting used to. Figuring out how to separate thefriendsfrom thewith benefits.”
She nodded, biting her upper lip. “That’s what I’m worried about. I mean... I’m worried about a lot of things. And when I’m worried about things,you’rethe one I want to talk to. But when what I’m worried aboutis you...” He hated the sadness and confusion he saw in her eyes when she looked up. “Mike, I don’t know what to do.”
What hewantedto do was rush to her side and hold her. Comfort her. Kiss her. But she was right—they’d blurred a lot of lines when they’d slept together. And they needed to deal with that first.
“The last thing I want is for you to be worrying about anything to do with me. Let’s agree to operate from the position of beingfriend-friends first and foremost. No more hugs or kisses or...stuff...unless we both know and agree to be in boyfriend...” Damn, the word made him feel far better than it should. “Orgirlfriendzone.” Yeah, that one felt pretty good, too. “We default tofriend-friends unless otherwise noted. Agreed?”
She gave a quick nod, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “That sounds reasonable.” Then she looked up with a small smile that warmed his heart. “I’m not surereasonableapplies when it comes to the other...stuff.But we can definitely try to compartmentalize our two different relationships.”
He returned her smile, settling into his familiar role as her logical attorney friend. “The key is communication. We’ve always been brutally honest as friends. There’s no reason we can’t be the same way about...stuff.We’re not teenagers getting away with something. We are two very mature adults, and we’re capable of...how did you put it? Compartmentalizing.”
She huffed out a short laugh. “Easy on theverymature labels, pal. I don’t mind being calledmature, but let’s not get carried away.”
“Fair enough. Now tell me exactly what has you so worried, point by point, and we’ll figure out how to deal with it.”
And then they could get back to kissing...and stuff.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ZOEYDIDN’TKNOWwhere to begin. Since the night of the storm she’d discovered so many things to worry about. It had been a wonderful night. She wanted it to happen again. Sheachedfor it to happen again. But she wondered if it ever should.
“So what are we going to do?” she asked. “Have a code word for when we switch gears to being more than friends?”
Mike chuckled. She remembered the feel of that laughter against her skin, but she shoved that memory away. This wasn’t the time. He straightened in his seat.
