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Zoe introduced Nate and his team to the mayor and other council members. Many of them requested his card for city and personal work. As everyone drifted from the library near ten, he wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Thank you, Zoe.”
“No. Thankyoufor making me look good.” She leaned up and he met her for a kiss. “I’m exhausted.”
“Let me take you home tonight and I’ll pick you up in the morning when I drop Mandy off at school.”
“Are you sure, Nate?” He nodded. “I’d appreciate it. I’m a little too tired to drive.”
Within days, the business center was filled to capacity. Watching them file upstairs every morning gave Zoe a powerful sense of accomplishment.
The library became Mandy’s second home. She volunteered three times a week after school and band practice. Saturday mornings, she took over the children’s reading hour. The parents adored her.
Watching her interact with children filled Zoe’s heart with pleasure.
The diner was their preferred option on the busiest days of the week but two or three evenings, Zoe made dinner for them at her house.
She couldn’t help but smile at their expressions of happiness as they ate the food Zoe learned to cook from her mother. Two weeks in, she started experimenting with heart-healthy versions since she didn’t want to keep loading them up on batter, gravy, and cobbler.
If they ate dinner at the Langs’ place, Nate grilled while Mandy and Zoe made sides. After they ate and cleaned up, his daughter made herself strangely scarce.
One minute, she was there with them and the next, she was gone without a word. Zoe wasn’t sure if the father and daughter had a signaling system or what, but the young woman would reappear with a smile as she was getting ready to leave.
Every moment they were truly alone, Nate kissed her, caressed her, hugged her, until Zoe was vibrating with need but he never pushed for anything more.
Most men who’d known a woman for three months probably would have. She was awed by his restraint.
It was also frustrating.
Every part of her wanted him and she wasn’t sure how to let him know. She felt compelled to wait for him at every stage of the relationship slowly developing between them.
Inexperience and shyness locked up her ability to say, “Please make love to me, Nate.”
Justthinkingabout voicing what she wanted made her anxious. Zoe wasn’t a virgin but shefeltlike one when she was around him.
She thought about him every night before she went to sleep and he was the first thought in her mind when she opened her eyes.
Never in her life had she self-pleasured so often.
Sometimes, she thought heknew. It might have been the maddening heat in her face that told him it came from stroking herself as she thought about him touching her.
When he picked her up on Sunday mornings for their usual day running errands and simply hanging out together when the library was closed, he’d tell her how beautiful and relaxed she looked with a look on his face that made her body respond instantly.
It was increasingly difficult to remain calm around him.
Through Mandy, Zoe was introduced by email to Noel and Caroline. She and Nate’s mom emailed regularly. They shared their loves of art, literature, and Mandy.
Her interactions with Noel always made her laugh. The woman was clever and funny in few words.
She looked forward to meeting them in person. Nate made plans to take her with them to Boulder during Mandy’s summer break. “I always take Mandy after school lets out and it’s been too long since we’ve seen them.”
“You spend every weekend with me, Nate!”
He laughed. “It’s not just that. Noel is traveling. I’m running several jobs right now. The gallery has been booked back to back with exhibits.”
“I can’t wait to meet them. They know so many tips and tricks that are already helping me in ways I didn’t know I needed.” Shrugging, she explained, “I never had anyone to ask.”
Holding her shoulders, he kissed her lightly. “They’re just as excited to meet you. We’ll stay for a few days.”
