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Baxter had long since given up on the show and now lay snoring in the chair beside me. When I stroked down his head and spine, he stretched and yawned. He wasn’t much on stimulating conversation, but no one could question what good company he was. Until this week, I’d never realized how much time I’d spent alone. Was I becoming a dog person? That was the last thing I’d expected.
Before heading to bed, I let the dog out into the backyard to do his business. While I waited on him, I walked over to my fence to check Lillian’s house, just to make sure no lights were on or doors were standing open. If my gaze happened to drift across the street to see that Zack hadn’t made it home yet, then it wasn’t as if I were snooping. I was conducting a neighborhood watch, or that was my story, should I need one.
The tiny dog bounded back up on my deck and jumped. His jump height was about to my knees. I leaned over, picked him up and nuzzled his head, saying, “Guess it’s just you and me tonight.”
He licked my nose excitedly, which I took as confirmation that he had every intention of being my bed buddy tonight.
My sheets were soft and smelled fresh. I loved the day my cleaning team came and transformed my house. Everything sparkled from the sinks to the light bulbs. Usually, after a day like today, clean sheets and exhaustion would put my lights out in no time. Not so much tonight. The scene with Richard played over and over. How could I have let him down easier? He’d caught me completely off-guard with the marriage proposal. Love had never been expressed, and now that I thought about it, he hadn’t professed his love tonight unless you meant his love for my family’s money. That love was crystal clear. At least the way the night had gone at dinner, there was no way to misinterpret my message. We were done.
I tossed my clothes onto the chair in my bedroom and slipped between my sheets. I tossed and turned. No position was comfortable. The sheets were too hot, too cold, too floral smelling. Was that a lump in my mattress? Finally, sleep came but not easily.
My phone began ringing and vibrating on the table beside my bed. I sat up, completely awake, having flashbacks to the last time I’d gotten a middle-of-the-night call. Snatching up the phone, I looked at the screen and saw I had a text from Zack.
Zack: Didn’t want to call in case you were asleep. Are you asleep?
Me: Not really. Kind of tossing and turning in bed. You home?
Zack: I’m home. I’d like to see you, but it’s late.
Me: If I’m awake and you’re awake, shouldn’t we be awake together?
Zack: [smiling face emoji] I’m at your front door.
I threw on my robe and ran down the stairs. After disengaging my alarm, I flung open the front door.
Still wearing his waiter-in-training clothes, Zack stood with his arms braced on the beam over my door. Deep lines of exhaustion were etched at the corners of his eyes and mouth, but to me, he was gorgeous. The second our gazes met a smile curved his lips.
“Come in, come in.” I grabbed his hand and dragged him into my entryway.
He stepped into my foyer and closed the door behind him with his foot. Then he took my face between his hands and kissed me. The tingle started at my lips but then exploded through the rest of my body. The kiss invaded my soul, infiltrating every corner of every cell. A dull throb pulsed between my thighs.
“It was all I could do tonight not to kiss you on sight,” he said as he placed kisses on the corners of my mouth.
“Less talk, more action,” I said, taking his hand and pulling him toward the staircase. “I’ve been waiting for you for years.”
While it was true we’d only reconnected this week, the thirteen-year separation evaporated at his kiss. He was the reason I’d never found love again. My soul had recognized what I’d refused to admit all those years ago. Zack was made for me.
He swung me into his arms. “Richard’s gone?”
Strong arms encased my thighs. I wrapped my arms around his thick neck and praised the god of exercise, if such a deity exited.
“Gone.”
“You’re mine then. I’m not giving you up as easily as that fool did tonight. I won’t walk away from you without a major protest. You’ve been warned.”
I kissed his mouth and layered kisses on his cheeks. “Good to know.”
He climbed my stairs to the upper hallway. “Which way?”
“End of the hall. Room on the right.” He took a step and I said, “Wait. Alarm.”
He chuckled as I punched in my code in the alarm panel in the hall. “I am a cop with a gun. I could protect you.”
“I’m not expecting you to be wearing your firearm in about five minutes.”
He grinned, and my heart did a serious loop-the-loop. Every bone in my body liquified, and I was thankful for his strong arms.
I’d left on only the bedside lamp, which cast the room in a flattering dimness. He closed my door with his foot and walked toward my bed. Slowly, he lowered my feet to the floor allowing my body to slide down his. Electricity sparked everywhere, setting off small bonfires throughout my body. As my toes touched the floor, he slipped his hands inside my robe.
