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He shoved his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans, his soft moss-green T-shirt that brought out the green in his hazel eyes pulling tight over the breadth of his shoulders.
She said nothing, just watched him warily.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, Cassie.”
She blinked, not expecting that to be the first thing he said to her.
“For what?”
He huffed out a laugh. “You just sold your first song to a chart-topping pop star.”
“With your help.”
He shook his head. “The only thing I did was happen to play it where other people had the chance to overhear it.”
“You helped with the music.”
“Minimal. And there are always going to be tweaks to the music when you’re writing songs. And anyway, it’s not just that. Look how far you’ve come in the last seven months. Look where you are, Cassie. You chose to follow a dream all by yourself. And you’re killing it.”
A lick of warmth spread through her, and her defenses wobbled. She wrapped her arms around her stomach to strengthen them again. “What are you doing here, Zac?”
“I have something I need to show you.”
She frowned. “What is it?”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “It’s really something you need to see.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I think it would probably be better for both of us if I just went—”
She forgot what she was saying when he stepped forward and touched his fingertips to her cheek. His brows were drawn together, his eyes dark and serious. “I hurt you, Cassie. And you don’t owe me anything. You have every reason to walk away and not look back. But I’m asking you not to. I’m asking you to give me a chance to make things right.”
His proximity had butterflies taking flight in her stomach. Going anywhere with Zac would be risky. She wasn’t over him yet, and spending time with him would only fan those flames back to life. But his touch burned against her skin and his gaze never wavered from hers. There was such a depth of emotion there that something vibrant and hopeful blossomed in her chest.
“Okay.” The whispered word was out before she could stop it.
His fingers brushed along her jaw as he dropped his hand, and she suppressed a shiver.
He stepped back, a smile curving his lips as he reached behind him and opened the passenger-side door of his car, swinging it wide and gesturing for her to take a seat.
She slipped in and buckled her seat belt as he shut the door and jogged around to the driver’s side. After buckling himself in, he started the car with the press of a button. She was acutely aware of him sitting so close beside her. The intoxicatingly masculine scent of him filled the confined space and brought back far too many memories.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He gave an enigmatic smile. “To see some friends.”
“Which friends?”
“It’s Lexie’s baby shower. I thought you might like to surprise her.”
“Oh. Okay. Thank you, that’s… that’s kind of you.”
She was happy at the thought of seeing Lexie. Of course she was. But she couldn’t stop the disappointment that crashed over her in a wave. She’d thought he was there for her, a part of her hoping he’d realized he wanted her after all. But he was just being a nice guy.
She turned and looked out the window, sinking back into the deep red leather bucket seat.
Zac didn’t talk for the rest of the trip, and neither did she. The silence should have been uncomfortable. But for some reason it wasn’t. She felt almost as if she could finally take a deep breath, when she hadn’t even realized she’d been struggling for air since she’d seen him last.
It wasn’t too long before they were pulling up the long driveway to Lexie and Connor’s house. Nerves made Cassie’s stomach twist. Although she’d spoken to Lexie a few times over the last few months, this was the first time she would see her, or any of the others, since she’d left LA.
