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“Mandy.” She looked at him as he turned off the ignition. “Ireallylike Zoe. More than anyone I’ve ever dated. So much that she makes me a little nervous.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Nate sighed. “I’ve been trying to get her to have coffee with me forweeks. She kept rejecting me.” He gave her a careful smile. It was hard to admit the librarian made him feelvulnerablein a way no one ever had. “Today, she said yes.”
The happiness that came over Mandy’s face was stunning. “I’d like having someone like Zoe in our lives, Dad. She’s a great person.” She tilted her head. “Don’t expect her to chase you. She won’t be sexy all the time or whatever. I don’t think she knows about that stuff.”
He shrugged. “I like that about her.”
For a long moment, she stared at him. Then she reached out and patted his arm. “You’d be good for her and Iknowshe’d be good for you. Best of all, she’d bereallygood forme.” One golden brow arched. “Don’t mess it up.”
“Understood,” he told her sternly.
Laughing, they got out of the truck and Beth let them into the library on her way out for the day. Zoe’s assistant told Mandy, “I can’t believe how tall you’re getting, honey. A few more inches and you’ll have me beat!”
“My goal is seven feet. I won’t stop until I hit it.”
“You’re hysterical. Zoe’s in her office upstairs.” Waving, she locked up behind them and walked to her car.
Quickly showing Mandy the third-floor renovations, he couldn’t help the intense pride he felt at her praise. “She’s going to love this, Dad!”
Nate led Mandy to Zoe’s office. She was concentrating intently so father and daughter stood just outside the door, watching her work. She glanced up and her welcoming smile invigorated him.
Zoe motioned for Mandy to sit in the chair beside her desk. His daughter let go of his hand and took a seat. She spoke clearly to ensure the librarian could read her lips. They signed rapidly.
Their ease and familiarity were obvious.
“I’m glad Dad finally met you.” Zoe nodded. “He’s really big but he’s a good person.” Brown eyes met his over Mandy’s shoulder and he grinned. “He showed me the third floor. It’s looking amazing! Are you happy?”
“So happy.”
Mandy looked at Zoe but talked to Nate. “The first time we met, I had to warm up my signing. I’d gotten rusty since I hadn’t seen No-No and Grandma in a while.”
“I never put it together but I should have,” Zoe explained. “I don’t think anyone else in town signs.”
Nodding stoically, Manda replied, “That’s why Grandma moved her kids to Boulder when they were little. No-No needed a good school.”
Mandy asked questions and Zoe answered them. She wore a thin silver ring on her pinky and Nate thought it probably meant something to her since she didn’t wear jewelry other than a watch.
His daughter reached out to stroke the silky hair by Zoe’s ear. “Your hair is so pretty. Can I see what it looks like down?”
Please god…yes.There were few things Nate wanted more.
With an indulgent smile, Zoe’s fingers moved to unpin the snug bun. Thick shiny tresses fell around her shoulders and down her back to her shoulder blades. It drifted forward, framing her face in long layers. It changed her, softened her features.
Nate felt lightheaded.
“Your reading glasses, too.” With a laugh, she removed the brown frames. “You’resopretty.”
Zoe shook her head and smoothly changed the subject. “How was school today? Did you decide between Austen or Hemingway yet? They both have broad ranges of emotion.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that…”
They signed back and forth while Nate leaned against the doorframe and watched with pleasure. Mandy didn’t get a chance to interact with other women often. She spent most of her time out of school with Nate and his crew. Guys who served in the military with him. They considered Mandy their own.
It didn’t replace the importance of women in her life.
He noticed it when his mother and sister visited and now with Zoe as the two of them skipped from one topic of conversation to another with barely a pause.
