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I slowly turned my head to look at him. God, what a face. What a dream body. He was my fantasy guy come to life, but to have him, I would have to give up law school. My family was counting on me to take the lead at the foundation. We’d talked about it for years. How could I throw all that away for a guy? But, hell, I wanted to. Part of me wanted to implant myself on Zack and never let go. It wasn’t possible to connect with someone like I felt I had with Zack. Was it possible to all in love someone in just one night? That kind of stuff only happened in novels and movies. I was much, much too level-headed.
A tear rolled out of the corner of my eye and down the side of my face. I had to let this go. Too many people were counting on me. If I continued to see him…Well, I just couldn’t. He made me feel too much. To stay on my life plan, I had to go and never see him again.
More tears joined the first one. My heart split. As I gently left his bed, I left half of my weeping heart there.
I swept my clothes up and dressed in the living room. I called Brooke and asked her to pick me up. Like a good sister, she did and asked no questions. She hugged me and let me cry all the way home.
I told both of my sisters they were not to put a call from Zack through to me, and to tell him I’d gotten back with Henry. If I heard Zack’s voice, I knew I could never stay away. So, it was better not to take his calls, as much as it pained me.
It was so hard to stay away from him. For the entire hellish semester, I went to class and I came home. I never went back to the Orange Cactus. As soon as I took my last exam, I left town as fast as possible. If I said I never thought of him again, that’d be total bullshit.
He lived on in my dreams, and I’d supposed, he always would.
Four
Current Day
“How have you been, Andi?” Zack asked.
I shrugged, but my heart ran track around my chest. “Good. Busy. You?”
“Good. Busy.” He gave me that oh-so-dangerous smile. “It’s late. We can play catch up another time.”
“Sure,” I said, relieved he was letting the subject of our time together go…at least for now. I don’t think I could handle that discussion tonight. I glanced over to Baxter. I might have frowned.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Is taking care of Baxter a problem?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Not really, but I’ve never had responsibility for a dog. I’m not exactly sure what I need to do or not do.”
“Dogs like Baxter are easy. Soft bed. Food. Fresh water. And maybe a new chew toy now and then.”
“You sound like you know all about dogs. Do you have one?”
“Not right now. I’m working all kinds of crazy hours, and it wouldn’t be fair to a dog to be left alone that much.”
I blew out a long breath. “I know I had no choice, but I work long hours too. What am I going to do with him while I’m gone?”
“Take him with you,” he said with a shrug. “You’re the boss, right? Who’s going to complain? Plus, he’s tiny. Nobody may even notice.”
I was surprised he was aware of my work. Had he followed my career the way I’d followed his while he’s been with the Philadelphia Eagles? Or had he maybe gotten one of the foundation’s renovation grants and that’s how he knew?
“I am the boss,” I confirmed, “but taking a dog to the office? My staff will think I’ve lost my mind.” I sighed. “A problem to solve later. Maybe I will. Can you help me load up what I’ll need to take to my house for Baxter?”
Thirty minutes later, Zack was loaded down like Baxter’s personal pack mule. He had Baxter’s bed, a bag of dog toys, and a sack of premium dog food. I had clipped Baxter onto a lead and carried his empty food and water bowls. I set Lillian’s house alarm and locked the front door.
“I’m glad you had a key,” he said as we walked across the lawn to my house. “I wondered how I’d lock that old door when we left.”
“Which reminds me…Why did you come over anyway? I mean, surely checking on your neighbors in the middle of the night isn’t your standard nightly routine.”
“You left the front door standing wide open.”
I groaned. “I was afraid of that.” I glanced over and got a jolt of electricity to my heart. I needed to keep my eyes straight ahead. “I was in such a hurry.” I chuckled. “You know, I was sure you were there to mug us…or worse.”
He stopped walking and stared at me. I stopped and stared back.
“Do I look like a criminal to you?”
I shrugged. “Not to offend, but with that scruff and your long hair, you do look kind of rough.”
