The other door opened and Zach appeared as he slipped onto the seat. He shut the door and glanced back and forth between them. “I see you’ve met Paul,” he said. There was a slight smile that twitched on his lips, causing Danielle’s stomach to lighten.
She lowered her eyes and nodded. “Yep.” She needed to pull back. Build that wall between her and Zach so high that nothing could penetrate it. Nothing ever good came from getting involved with a Stedman. Well, except for Jesse.
She could feel Zach’s gaze on her as she studied her hands in her lap. She wanted to turn and face him. He’d been her friend. Someone she’d valued. It hurt to push him away. To remain cold so as to protect her heart.
But what was she going to say? I’ve been hiding your nephew from you? That kiss did mean something to me and yet, I feel like I’m not honoring your brother’s memory when I think that?
She let out the breath she’d been holding. No. She couldn’t do that. It was best to keep quiet and not say anything. Pretend that nothing had happened except a falling out between them, which needed to stay that way.
“I was headed to an after party, wanna join me?” Zach’s soft and smooth voice washed over her, causing her to shiver. She wanted to say yes. She did. But could she?
“I, um, I…” She made the mistake of turning to meet Zach’s gaze. His eyebrows were raised and it was almost as if he were hopeful.
Man, she should not read into that.
She took a deep breath and glanced down at her phone. She was pretty sure that Sunny would be okay with her going out. Maybe she should shoot her babysitter a message quick.
If anything, going with Zach just might give her the opportunity to ask him to insist that he work with anotherreporter. She was sure spending a summer following him around was the last thing that either of them needed. Getting taken off the assignment would really be a win/win for the both of them. So she gave him a small smile and nodded.
“I guess that would be okay,” she whispered, scolding herself for being so transparent.
Zach’s face lit up as he grinned and turned to Paul. “Let’s go,” he said.
Chapter Three
Zach tried to calm his pounding heart as he kept his eyes on the streets outside his window. He wanted to turn and face Danielle. He wanted to talk to her. Having her next to him without talking was killing him.
Did she feel it? Was he the only one remembering their past? It wasn’t until this moment that he realized just how much he had missed her smile, her laughter, and…justher. She’d been his friend and yet, one stupid night and she was gone.
Despite his better judgment, he turned and saw her gnawing on her fingernail. A smile tipped up his lips as he scoffed.
That drew her attention over. Her green eyes were wide as she stared at him. He could feel her hesitation and that made him sad. He wanted her to feel comfortable around him. It’d been so many years, hadn’t it? Things changed. He had changed. She had to know that.
“What?” she asked.
He went to answer, but her phone dinged, drawing her attention down to it. Curiosity burned inside of him and he wanted to ask who it was. But then he pushed that thoughtdown. It could be her boyfriend and did he really want to know that?
Her shoulders visibly relaxed as she typed in a message and then clicked her phone so the screen went black. When she turned back to him, she looked less worried.
“Everything okay?” he asked, hoping that the teasing in his voice would help her relax. From the way she sat with her shoulders all tense, he swore she thought he was going to give her a root canal or something.
She forced a smile as she nodded. “Of course, yes. Why would you say that?”
He studied her. He knew all of her smiles and this was her uncomfortable one. The one she used when she didn’t want people to know how she really felt. And it broke him just a little that she was using it with him.
“You’re chewing your nails,” he said, motioning to her hands.
Almost out of instinct, she gripped her fingers, hiding them from view. “I am not.”
Zach raised his eyebrows. “Um, yeah you are.”
She cleared her throat as she shifted in her seat. She was quiet for a moment, making Zach worry that he’d said the wrong thing. Maybe they were no longer the kind of friends that teased each other—if they were even friends at all.
How could he have been so stupid?
“Are we really going to pretend?” she asked. Her voice was so low that he wondered if he’d even heard her.
He dipped down, bringing himself closer to her. “What?”
