Chapter Twenty-Five
The opening credits to Casablanca scrolled across the screen, and Holly looked at the man seated to her left. He was focused on the movie, but she caught Kyndall on the other side of him, checking him out too.
He was a good-looking guy. Kyndall seemed to think so too, if the way she took him in from head to toe, her little face focused in concentration, was any indication. Yet Holly got the impression that Kyndall didn’t want Jesse sitting in between them any more than she did.
Holly shouldn’t have said yes when he’d called her up yesterday.
She should not be on a date.
And since she was, especially with someone as fine looking as Jesse Beckman, then she most definitely should feel something other than the need for the night to hurry along.
Kyndall shifted her gaze to Holly’s and her nose wrinkled in opposition. Holly agreed.
He might be cute, but he was no Zack.
And she really, really wanted it to be Zack.
She missed him something awful.
Cody and Nick had filled her in that they’d seen him when they’d taken Janet home Sunday morning, but that’s all they’d told her. They hadn’t provided any details. It had felt as if they were on Zack’s side. Whatever his side might be. As if they were respecting his thoughts because he was their brother.
She hadn’t cared about that. She’d wanted to know if he was miserable like she was.
She’d gotten nothing out of them.
That was a good thing, she supposed. It was the relationship the three of them needed, so yeah, she was glad it had fallen into place. It hadn’t kept her from wanting to kick the two brothers in the shins when they wouldn’t share details, though.
Jesse turned to her and gave her a little smile, but still . . . nothing. Damn. She really wanted to like him. She’d even been given the go-ahead from his sister that it was okay if Holly went out with him. She could now officially date her friend’s little brother.
Only, she didn’t want to.
He reached for her hand, and Kyndall eyed them both as if trying to figure out if she should intercede.
Holly winked at her, but Kyndall just scrunched up her nose again.
“This is fun,” Jesse whispered.
“Yeah,” Holly replied noncommittally.
She sighed internally. She had to put an end to this.
Zack may not be the one for her. Heck, maybe there was no “one” for her. But she couldn’t force it with someone else either. Clearly she wasn’t ready to go out with another man.
She’d focus her time on her store instead. Plans were already being put into place. Shelving had been ordered, and she had Nick lined up for some customization work. Soon she’d be a businesswoman on her own. That was pretty awesome.
That was all she needed to make her happy for the moment.
Jesse inched closer and slid an arm around her waist, and Holly froze.
What was he doing? Surely he wasn’t about to make a move. Not here. In front of her niece?
Before she could put a stop to it, or even figure out if that was his intent, she caught Kyndall taking another peek in her direction, but then her gaze shifted above Holly’s head and her eyes brightened. The girl smiled.
And then the most god-awful pair of shoes reached Holly’s peripheral vision. They were men’s black oxfords, but they looked to have been violated with a glue gun. Poorly.
Sequins of every imaginable color were haphazardly slapped along the surface, with chunks of dried glue balled up in random spots throughout. As if someone had never handled a glue gun in their life.
There was also fringe stuck to the tongue. Well, fringe on the tongue of one shoe. The other just held a blob of glue. The fringe was a red tassel, like what might be found hanging from a curtain.
The shoes were right behind Jesse now, but were pointed toward her. Holly wanted to see who wore those shoes. She began to lift her gaze.
They were under a pair of black trousers. Over long legs.
Her pulse began to hammer.
She also noticed that no one was complaining about whomever it was standing in the way of the screen.
Then she saw Kyndall’s face once again. The girl’s smile was infectious, and Holly knew without a doubt who was standing by her side.
He’d come back.
“I hope like hell you don’t think you’re about to kiss her,” Zack proclaimed.
Jesse froze. Then he mumbled under his breath, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He separated from Holly and climbed to his feet.
Kyndall clapped.
“I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t show back up.” Jesse’s words were directed at Zack.
Zack merely stared. The line of his jaw seemed set in stone, and there was zero emotion coming from his eyes. The look was actually a bit chilling. Holly switched her gaze back to Jesse.
He turned his head toward her.
He studied her for a moment, seeming to ask her a question. Did she want him to go?
Actually, yes. But she was sorry. She let her eyes go soft just long enough to show him the love she felt for Zack. She didn’t know why he was there, but she had to find out.
Jesse gave an almost unnoticeable nod.
“She’s all yours, Winston.” Then he winked at Holly. “Thanks for the date, gorgeous.”
Zack took a step closer, but Jesse only laughed. Though Zack had a good six inches on him, Jesse was built like a tank. And he could probably bench at least a hundred pounds more. It would be an interesting fight.
If Holly were into men fighting over her.
“Stand down, soldier.” Jesse patted Zack on the shoulder. “We’re good here.” Then he once again looked at Holly. The easiness and warmth in his gaze let her know that he was okay with this turn of events. “I had to try.” He gave a little shrug. “In case he didn’t come back.” He took another long look at Zack before shooting a parting glance at Holly. “Good luck,” he said sincerely.
Then he was gone.
Zack watched until Jesse was out of sight, while Holly remained where she was on the quilt. She needed to know what was going on.
And she needed to know now.
Before she got her hopes up.
“You’re back.” The words were all she could get out. Her chest burned as if from lack of oxygen.
Zack nodded. “I’m back.”
It was interesting that no one around them complained for him to sit. Holly took a quick glance around to find all eyes on them. She returned to Zack. “So now what?”
He might have come back, but she had no idea what that meant. And she hadn’t forgotten the brusque way they’d parted.
“I don’t want you kissing other men,” he stated.
She nodded. “I picked up on that.”
Kyndall giggled behind her hand and Holly shot her a quick look. When she did, she saw that her entire family now stood behind her niece, all watching the two of them. Janet Winston was also there. He’d brought his mother?
Holly’s heart beat faster.
“Stand up.” He spoke the words softly. They reminded her of other commands he’d given. Unzip your dress. Lift your ass.
She stood up.
Nerves made her hands shake.
“I screwed up,” he told her. “I shouldn’t have left.”
“But you said you had a case.”
He nodded. “I did have a case. A career-making one.”
“Then what are you doing here now?”
He cracked a wry smile. “I couldn’t let you watch a movie with the wrong man.”
She licked her lips. Jesse had most definitely been the wrong man. “And you’re the right one?” she asked.
The crowd around them was silent.
Zack’s eyes roved over her as if checking to make sure she hadn’t changed in the six days since he’d seen her. “I want to be,” he finally admitted. “If you’ll let me.”
She gulped. Then nodded. “I—”
“I’m not done,” he interrupted as if needing to get something out. “I forgot to tell you something before I left.”
“Okay,” she whispered. He was killing her. “What was it?”
He looked away from her then. He took in the crowd that had closed in until the two of them were merely a dot in the middle of a thick circle. Someone had even turned off the sound to the movie. The moment was theirs.
Then he returned those sexy browns to her and said solemnly, “That I love you.”
Sighs came from every spot around the circle.
“That makes you cry?” he asked. He reached out and swiped a thumb under her eye.
“Apparently.” Though she hadn’t realized she was crying.
“Why?” He left his hand at her face, and his fingers cupped her cheek.
“Because I love you too,” she whispered. More tears fell.
His mouth turned up in a gorgeous smile. “That’s nothing to cry about, babe. That’s good stuff. Because it means that I get to ask you a very important question.”
Oh. Shit.
He was going to ask her a question. Now? Here? In front of everyone?
All she could do was nod for him to go on. Off to her right, she heard her niece whisper, “Oh my gawd.”
Zack let her go and took a step back. But instead of going to one knee, he merely pointed to her feet.
“Why in the world,” he asked, “are you wearing plain white shoes?”
A breath burst from her chest. As it did from several others around her. “That’s your question?” she asked. “About my shoes?”
She had on a pair of white leather Keds. For some reason, she hadn’t felt like anything more tonight. In fact, she hadn’t all week. Not since Zack had left. Brian had pointed this fact out with disgust more than once. He’d declared the world not right if she actually matched.
“Kind of makes me look silly standing here in these when you’re wearing something so boring,” Zack remarked.
He had a point.
“What if I said I would never wear boring shoes again?” Because she wouldn’t. That wasn’t who she was. She planned to burn these just as soon as she got home.
He pulled something from his pocket then and held it up. “Then I’d say, ‘Marry me?’”
This time there were gasps all around. Including hers.
Hell’s bells, the man had brought her a ring.
Before she answered, she took in the scene before her. He stood in the middle of all of her friends, a few strangers, and both her family and his. And though she knew he had to have at least some trepidation about the night, he didn’t look nervous in the least.
He looked confident.
And he kind of looked like he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She peeked at his mother. Janet was wiping a tear from her own cheek.
“Do we get to live at the big house?” Holly asked instead of answering. Because yeah, she’d follow him anywhere. She’d keep her store here, though. Her mirrors belonged here. She’d just hire someone else to run it. But she could already imagine turning one of his big garages into a studio.
Only, Zack shook his head no.
Oh.
“The penthouse, then?” She could deal with that. She’d just take over the kitchen.
Again, it was a no.
“Then . . .” Her shoulders sagged. She was confused. “What?
“Will you just answer?” he asked. “My arm is getting tired.”
He also gave her his scary look.
Which still wasn’t scary at all.
She laughed instead.
“Holly,” he growled out.
And then she slowly nodded. A wide smile broke out over her face and she had to fight to keep from shouting.
“Yes!” she said. It didn’t matter where they lived. As long as they were together. “Yes, Zack Winston, I’ll marry you. But only if you promise to never wear those shoes again.”
Zack closed the distance with a predatory gleam and swept her into his arms. As his lips closed over hers, he muttered, “It’s a deal.”
When they came up for air, he added, “And we’re building onto your cabin. That’s going to be our home.”
“Oh,” she murmured and snuggled in tighter. “I like that.”
He gave her one more kiss. It was a long one, but this time when they parted, he looked at her with the kind of love in his eyes that she once hadn’t even realized she’d been missing. She had her mirrors, her family, her town, and her man.
She had it all.
“Can we keep the geese?” she asked.
Zack merely shook his head and laughed. “I couldn’t imagine my world without your geese in it.”