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“I had a dream last night that you left me, and when I woke up and you were lying beside me, the relief…” He caressed her cheek as if she might break. “God, it overwhelmed me.”
So that was the reason for that look in his eyes, distress thawing into reassurance, that had morphed into reaching for her with a sense of urgency.
“Never gonna happen.” She teased the hair at his nape. “Now kiss me before Mom finds an excuse to come vacuum the hallway or something.”
He chuckled, then pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. “Are you free later?”
She pretended to consider his question. “Hmm. Depends on what you have in mind. I might be washing my hair?”
“Fair enough.” He shrugged. “I guess I’ll just have to ask Savannah to come to the Mets game with me.”
“Don’t you dare!”
Savannah Phillips had set her sights on Zane a long time ago, and while he wasn’t interested in her in the slightest, she was the perfect weapon to wield and send Lori’s gamesmanship into retreat. “You are a mean man, Zane Quinlan.”
“Serves you right for messing with me.”
She shook her head, laughing. “Fine. A Mets game it is. But you’re buying the popcorn.”
CHAPTER 5
The last few weeks of school raced by, and soon, graduation week arrived. Just three more days left in high school followed by a summer of fun, the last summer before knuckling down to four years of college. In Zane’s mind, he was already there. He could visualize them walking across the campus on their very first day, Lori’s hand tucked inside his as they attended orientation. After that, they’d return to their apartment and stay up all night having sex, eating ice-cream, and eagerly anticipating the coming years at college.
Lori’s parents were having a family dinner tonight and, unusually, they hadn’t invited him. According to Lori, they had something they wished to discuss with her, and had said they’d rather it was just the three of them. Their request to spend the evening alone hadn’t fazed or offended him. It allowed him to do the same. He spent more time around at Lori’s place than he did at his own, and while his parents—along with Lori’s—were the coolest people on the planet, they sometimes made the odd comment, hidden behind a joke, that they’d forgotten what he looked like.
After dinner, he settled down with them to watch a movie, but his mind wandered first to Lori, and then to college and his dreams of starting his own company. Once he’d gotten his business degree, he’d have the commercial skills to make it work, and creativity never had been a problem. Zane had always been a dreamer, but unlike a lot of visionaries who were more into blue-sky thinking than execution, Zane had the skills for both. Success was something he never questioned, and with Lori beside him, he could conquer anything.
He turned in right before eleven, but as he pulled his T-shirt over his head, a furious banging came at the door. By the time he reached the hallway, his mom had beaten him to it. She opened the door, and Lori fell inside, tears streaming down her face, her blonde locks a wild mess as if she’d tried to tear the hair from her head.
“Lori.” He caught her in his arms, meeting his mom’s worried gaze over the top of Lori’s head. “What’s the matter?”
“Oh, Zane.”
She almost strangled him, and it took him a long time to unfurl her fingers from around his neck and lead her into the living room. Mom hovered, rocking on her heels.
“Lori, sweetheart. Do you want some sweet tea? Or hot chocolate or something?”
Lori hiccupped and shook her head, swiping her hand beneath her nose. “I’m okay, Diana. Honestly.”
“Okay then.” She met Zane’s eyes, hers filled with concern. “I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything, just come get me, okay?”
She left without waiting for confirmation that he would, and as soon as they were alone, a fresh flood of tears consumed Lori. This was more than tears, though. This was devastation.
“Are you hurt?” He ran his hands over her, a coldness hitting him in his chest. “Did someone hurt you?”
“No. I mean yes, but not like that. It’s Dad.” Another slew of tears racked her body. “How could he, Zane? How could he do this to me? To us?”
Words tumbled out, falling over one another until they blended into one. There was no talking to be done while she was in this state, and so he put his arms around her, held her, rocked her, until her sobs subsided. He fetched a box of tissues from the kitchen and handed them to her. She plucked one out, blew her nose, and wiped her eyes with another.
“Okay, baby. Slow and steady. What’s your dad done?”
He couldn’t imagine Jim doing anything to hurt Lori. The man doted on her, as did Maisie. But whatever had happened, it had cut Lori deeply.
“He’s being transferred to India for a year.” She sniffed, giving him her reddened eyes. “Zane, he told me I have to go, too.”
The shock of her news slammed him right in the chest, catapulting the air from his lungs in a single strangled gasp.
“What? No, Lori. No. What about your education?”
