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“I’m actually looking for Allison. Is she here?” Zane peered around his best friend. “Can I come in?”
“I don’t know, Zane. Right now, I’m trying to keep from punching you in the face.”
At least Zane now knew that the cat was out of the bag. Clearly, Scott had been briefed on the state of his relationship with Allison. “You know I’ll hit you right back, and then where will we be? Fighting in the middle of your front lawn for all of your fine and upstanding neighbors to see.”
Scott stepped back and opened the front door wider. “Fine. Come in.” He closed it as soon as Zane walked past him. “I could literally kill you for sleeping with Allison. How could you treat her like one of your hookups? She’s my damn sister. You’re my best friend, for God’s sake.”
Zane turned back to Scott. The guilt he bore from his own actions was eclipsed by his best friend’s misguided characterization of what had happened. “I didnottreat her like a hookup. I care about her. Deeply.” He felt the wobble in his own voice before he heard it. As if he needed any more confirmation that he was in deep with Allison. “That’s why I’m here. I need to talk to her.”
“She left about ten minutes ago.”
“It’s not even eight o’clock. Where did she go?”
“I’m not sure I should tell you.”
Zane swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. His best friend still felt the need to protect his sister from Zane. He had to put an end to that. “Look, man, you and I have got to get past this. I know I crossed a line, but you need to know that I did not do it without thinking about it hard, and for a very long time. I fought our attraction as long as I could, but in the end, Allison made a compelling case. I’m drawn to her, and she’s drawn to me. We work well together, and we care a lot about each other.” Zane directed his gaze down at his feet, knowing he wasn’t 100 percent certain about her side of that assertion. “Well, I care deeply about her. I think she cares about me.”
“Yeah?” Scott asked, seeming unimpressed.
“Yes, Scott. I care about her. I want to see where that can go.”
“You. The guy with the revolving door in his pants.”
“Hey. Am I not entitled to want more? Do I not get to change the direction of my life because I’ve found the right girl and I want to be with her? You found that with Brittney, and you’re happy. In fact, you love to remind me of it. All the time.” Zane again looked Scott square in the eye. “Please don’t torpedo our friendship because I’m looking for the same thing that you have. It’s not fair.”
Scott drew a deep breath through his nose and leaned against the doorway into the dining room. “You have to swear to me that you will not intentionally hurt her.”
“Of course.”
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
Scott clapped his hand on Zane’s shoulder. “Okay then. You have my blessing.”
“Now tell me where she is.”
“She’s at Black Crescent.”
Just when Zane thought he couldn’t take another shock to the system, he got another. Black Crescent was the exact last place on the planet he wanted to visit. Was this the universe’s way of forcing him to deal with every sticking point in his life all on one day? If that was the case, bring it on. He was done letting BC define him. He certainly wasn’t going to let it stand in the way of what he really wanted—Allison. “Got it. Thanks.” Zane reached for the doorknob.
“Don’t make a fool of yourself, okay?”
Zane opened the door. “I won’t embarrass Allison, if that’s what you’re trying to say. I would never put her job in jeopardy.”
“Good.”
“As for me, I’ve already made myself look like an idiot. Things can’t get any worse.” With that, Zane rushed down the driveway to his car. He knew that his conversation with Scott was as close as they would ever come to working things out in regard to Allison. If this next part went well, he and Scott would hopefully return to their affable, hypercompetitive dynamic. Another outcome to wish for.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered to himself when he pulled into the Black Crescent parking lot. He’d come here a few short weeks ago to come clean to Joshua Lowell about the anonymous DNA report he’d received and shared. Unfortunately, Josh had left the office. It took several hours, but Zane had been able to track him down in a bar in the neighboring town. Zane wished he could erase that entire chapter of his personal story with BC. He never should have gotten involved. He never should have let Josh get under his skin.
He pulled into a space with a decent view of the entrance, rolled down the windows and sent a text to his assistant letting her know that at best, he’d be late getting in the office. In truth, he hoped against hope that he and Allison could work everything out and he wouldn’t feel driven to go to work at all.
An hour passed. Then another. He knew better than to waltz into that office and ask for her, but damn he was tempted. He didn’t want to wait. Impatience was gnawing at him. But he stayed put, running through the words he wanted to say, praying that somehow it all worked out. Even with all that preparation, he wasn’t truly ready when Allison walked out of the BC building, looking like a million bucks in a sleek black skirt, white blouse and heels. She was smiling. A big, wide grin. And it stole more than a breath. It knocked the wind out of him.
The Zane of old would’ve allowed her facial expression to send him into a downward spiral. How could anyone walk out of that building and be happy? But he knew that his old thinking had gotten him nowhere. It had left him running in circles. Allison’s business was important to her. It must have been a good meeting. He had to believe that whatever had happened in that building had made her happy. And that madehimhappy, which was yet another reason to see BC in a different light. Yes, his old life had been ended by forces within that company. But his new life, the one that left him with a sliver of a chance with Allison Randall, had started at the same time.
He jumped out of his car and called her name. “Allison!”
