Chapter Twenty-Three

· hilary ·

“Hello?” Zach jumped away from me as a shocked voice filled the air. “Oh, wow, I’m sorry! I’ll be upstairs.”

Zach couldn’t help but laugh as he parted from me. “It’s fine, Joanna. We’ll be up in a second.”

“I’ll be at the bar, having a double,” she called from the upstairs room.

Smiling down at me, he cupped my face and gave me a kiss on my nose. “That’s my interior designer. I’m signing some paperwork.”

“I can stay here.” I didn’t want to risk anyone finding out something that could leak to Evan, and this lady had already caught us mauling each other.

“No, come on up, she already saw us sucking face anyway.” He clasped his warm hand in mine and pulled me behind him. After a rocky week, a night full of passion, and our fight earlier, my head was spinning. One moment I felt on top of the world, the highest of highs, and the next I felt like an airplane losing its engine power, sinking fast toward the ground.

When he held my hand, it sent my heart soaring, but when I saw the beautiful woman at the bar, I was instantly plummeting down again. She sipped on a glass of whiskey and poured two more glasses.

Zach dropped my hand, embraced Joanna, and kissed her on the cheek. “Hey, Jo.”

She stood tall, in a tight pencil skirt and business jacket that screamed “designer.” Her stilettos made her only inches under Zach’s six-foot-four frame. Long, cocoa-colored hair was slicked back into a high ponytail. “Hello, handsome. I see you’re busy with the ladies, as always,” she said, sizing me up. I hadn’t been sure of her age, but she looked older than Zach—and starchy, and proper.

“I’m Hilary.” I approached and set my hand out. I gripped hers tightly, and she winced as I shook it. “I grew up with Zach.”

She gave me a pithy smile and handed both of us filled glasses. Before I clasped it, she chuckled. “I trust you’re old enough to drink.”

I mocked her laugh. “Barely. Zach likes them young.”

Zach coughed, trying to stifle his laughter. Her cat-like eyes glared at me and then staunchly turned to him. “Well, you just need to sign some forms, and we’re done here, Zach. I trust I’ll see you at the opening?”

He nodded as I knocked back all of my drink. She raised a perfectly penciled brow my way and lifted her glass. “Here’s to our partnership.” Zach lifted his glass to hers and clinked it. He was being awfully quiet. She nudged him with her elbow. “So, is it exactly how you imagined?”

He looked around. “Yes, more than. Thanks, Jo. You’re amazing.”

“All those late-night sessions, knocking out ideas paid off, didn’t it?” She winked at him, then turned to me. “People are already buzzing about the place and trying to ask for reservations. Zach’s going to bring a great crowd to the area.”

“He’s a smart guy,” I gushed over him. “I know this is gonna be a huge success for him.”

“Aw, ladies, I appreciate it.” He set his glass down on the bar. “Where’s the paperwork?”

She went to a folder sitting on a table and shuffled through a stack. “You know,”—she traveled toward us—“I forgot one of the forms. So sign the ones I have here, and then tomorrow, we can meet for dinner at that sushi place, Uchi. I’d like to take you out for a celebratory meal anyway.”

“Zach hates sushi.”

He shrugged, leaning on the bar to look over the papers. “I really do.”

“That’s a shame.” She tapped her perfectly painted fingernail on her red lips. “Maybe you haven’t tried the right kind. Choosing is an art. I’ll know what you’ll like.”

“No, you don’t get it,” I said, “he hates it. He got so sick when—”

“I doubt it was the sushi that made him sick,” Joanne interrupted. “It’s rarely the last thing you eat that causes food poisoning.”

“Puking it up all night turned me off to it.” Zach signed and handed her the forms.

“Remember, you had to go to the hospital? You were so dehydrated.” I was young and scared, begging God not to take my future husband away. I chuckled at the memory and how silly it all seemed. “I cried when Mom said she was taking you to the ER.”

“Yeah, you forced Evan to take you over in the middle of the night to see me, just to prove I wasn’t dead.” Zach laughed scratching his chin.

Joanne huffed. “So you really grew up together?”

Zach smiled. “This is Evan Matthews’ little sister.”

Joanne’s demeanor shifted, a warm smile stretching her tight skin. How much work had she done on herself? She was pure plastic. “Oh, I had no idea. You don’t look anything like him.”

“Yeah, I’m the adopted one,” I joked.

“Stop taking my title, Hilary, we all know I’m the adopted one,” Zach said, pinching my side.

Joanne gave a fake laugh along with us. “And you two are dating?”

“You could say that,” he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, drawing me close. “I’d beg her to marry me, but she’s not as into me as I am her.” I looked up at Zach, and he winked. “Right, kid?”

“Maybe someday I’ll change my mind.” I squeezed his waist and rested my head on his pec. I knew he was playing it up on purpose, I just wasn’t sure why. “For now, I’m just using him for his sexy body.”

Joanna’s mouth hung open. She cleared her throat and moved to her bag, storing the papers inside. “Well, I’ll get that paper to you this week, Zach. And I assume I’ll see you at the opening as well, Hilary?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” I squinted my eyes and mustered the phoniest smile I could.

She gave a curt nod, then gave Zach a smoldering look. “I’ll call you later, Zach.”

As soon as her car left, I let go of him, pushing at his chest. “Are you crazy?”

“What?” He chuckled.

How had he let that woman design his restaurant? He’d hung out with her for months, working out the design of the place. I didn’t know whether I liked or disliked her. She had done a fantastic job on Roots. At the same time, her attitude was total shit. “What if she says something to Evan? He could find out, Zach!”

“He won’t find out. She’s never met him,” he said and gathered our empty glasses, leading me to the kitchen. “She’s also been dying to screw me since I met her. If I told her to keep her mouth shut she would.” He turned when I didn’t say anything. My jaw hung down. “What?”

“Well, that closes the question of whether you fucked her already or not.”

He put the glasses in the sink and made his way to a large fridge in the corner. “Want something to eat?”

“How old is she?”

“Way older than you and me,” he said as he rearranged containers.

I approached and looked in the fridge. “What’s all that?”

“Food, silly,” he said, taking out some of the containers and handing them to me. He grabbed another handful and set them on the large, silver setting station near the stove and began messing with pans.

He moved around the kitchen with grace, prepping food for us.

“Where are the employees?”

“Today’s their day off. They’ll be around tomorrow.” He pointed to some cabinets. “Take out a couple of dishes and some silverware. I think there’s an open bottle of wine in the fridge if you want.”

I took out the wine, but he rejected a glass. “Too much sugar?”

“I gotta save room for dessert.”

I laughed, but thoughts of Joanna still invaded my head. Zach had the opportunity to sleep with her whenever he wanted. He hadn’t. Not yet. I poured myself the wine and replayed the amazing sex we’d had the night before as I watched him move. My legs clenched together. I felt sore and already missed him inside me. I didn’t want Zach sleeping with her, or any other woman. Not now, not ever. I was selfish, thinking I could keep him, that he’d want to stay attached to me when there were plenty of gorgeous women wanting a piece of him.

I went through the motions, setting out the dishes and watching as he cooked. My heart squeezed, he was so beautiful. His green eyes met mine, and he winked. I had to get my mind off my stupid insecurities.

“What’s on your mind, kid?”

“Just watching how sexy you look working in a kitchen. Why don’t you ever do this at home?”

He laughed, “I didn’t cook this. I’m just reheating it.” Two dishes held two very different meals. One was a field of greens with fajita steak over it, the other had fried chicken almandine with artichokes and baked macaroni.

“I’m guessing the salad is yours.”

He poured a light chili lime dressing over it and nodded. “Like I said, saving room for dessert.”

“You’re so healthy. What happened to you?” I joked as we sat down on some stools at a side table. I pulled apart a piece of chicken. He didn’t have time to answer because I had an orgasm in my mouth. “This is so good,” I groaned.

He watched me eat. “Isabella’s a great cook.”

I stopped chewing, my damn insecurities eating away at me again. “She made this?”

“She always leaves food for the staff. She calls it practice, but I think she knows how hungry we all get.”

“Mm,” I hummed. My appetite dwindled, and I played with the macaroni on my plate.

“What’s wrong?”

I kept my head down. “Nothing. She seems sweet.”

His finger went under my chin, and he tipped my head up. “Are you jealous?”

I swatted his hand away. “No, I don’t get jealous.”

His laugh echoed through the kitchen. “Hil, I think that was one of the worst lies you’ve told. Thank God you didn’t become an actress. You suck.”

“Shut up, asswipe. I can totally act. I just choose not to.”

“Okay.” He finished chewing his food before speaking again. “You met her, what did you think?”

I tried to dismiss his question, but inside I was reeling. What did he care about my thoughts on Isabella? “She’s pretty.”

“And?”

I grabbed and gulped down my wine as he awaited my answer. “And what?”

“What else? Spit it out.” I wanted to smack that grin off his face. He knew me too well. “Come on, I know you’re dying to just let it fly.”

“Fine,” I launched, setting my glass down, “she’s breathtakingly beautiful with huge knockers, an amazing ass, and gloriously luxurious hair. Yeah, I’m a little jealous.” I stuffed a forkful of mac and cheese into my mouth as he studied me. “On top of that, she seems like she’s a genuinely nice person because, come on, you wouldn’t hire a bitch. Except I can’t really understand this whole Joanna thing, because she’s a mega-bitch. Then again, the work she did is amazing, but I hate the way she ogles you. Whatever, it’s not my business. Isabella is…a good fit for you.”

He rested his chin in his palm as I rambled. “I mean, I know why I think I’m awesome, but let’s face it, I’m so not your type. And I know we’re just having fun right now so it really shouldn’t matter, but the women in this city are gorgeous, so it makes sense why you want to move here. And please don’t tell me you fucked Isabella in this kitchen because if you did, I might puke, and I don’t want to waste this perfectly good meal.” I took a deep breath and finally looked at him. He said nothing. “What? What’s that shit-eating grin on your face for?”

“You’re so fucking cute. That’s all.”

I rolled my eyes. “What every woman wants to hear. That she’s cute.”

He leaned forward and grabbed the back of my neck with both hands. His lips devoured mine, and I was lost in the sea of his touch. The current picked up as our tongues collided. He pulled away but kept his forehead on mine. “You’re sexy as fuck, and all I ever think about is being inside you—to the point it’s almost scary. I’m not interested in other women. But I’m glad all that’s out of your system now.”

My breath trembled, and I smiled as he parted from me and continued to eat his food. He was always great at letting me vent when I needed it. The way he observed my behavior, even when we were kids, never ceased to amaze me. His intuition was like a finely tuned instrument. What was his assessment of me? Could he tell that I had crushed on him when I was young? And now that we were vulnerable with each other, could he sense how I was attempting to keep him at a distance? My heart wasn’t strong enough for a battle of this magnitude.

After dinner and dessert, we cleaned up and took off. I had no idea where Zach was taking me, but when he parked on the side of the road near a cliff, I waited to unbuckle my seatbelt. “What are you making us do?”

“We’re going on an adventure.” He gave me his charming smile and reached behind my seat back, grabbing two small, bottled waters.

My grin spread wide. “We’re hiking.”

He put his sunglasses in the glove box. “We’re hiking.”

I squealed loudly and enthusiastically exited the car. I set the camera strap over my shoulder and neck, letting it hang to the side. He led me to the center of the lot where the entrance to a trail began. “It’s a bit rocky on the way up.”

“Where are we headed to? How long is it?” I asked as we encountered the trail toward a rocky terrain.

“It’s about a ten-minute climb.” He stepped up onto a large boulder and turned to give me his hand. I didn’t need his help, but I wanted it, and let my hand rest in his as he pulled me up. “You’ll like the view.”

“I like the view now,” I teased as he climbed up the next set of jagged rocks. His ass looked great in his fitted jeans. He chuckled as he turned once again to help me up. “I would’ve worn workout clothes. This isn’t my idea of dressing for a hike.”

“Like I said, only ten minutes.”

We finally hit the top, which cleared out and overlooked a large steel, arched bridge. “This is beautiful.” I breathlessly gazed over the view before me. It had four lanes of flowing traffic, two in each direction, and no part of it touched the water. It was propped up by the rocks.

“It’s the Pennybacker Bridge.” Zach twisted off the cap of one of the bottled waters and handed it to me, then did the same for his own. “It overlooks Lake Austin. The arch design keeps the structure from having to put support columns in the water.”

I soaked in the atmosphere. To the north was the hill country, thousands of green, lush trees. To the west was the Downtown Austin Skyline. With the sun starting to set, we were hitting the magic hour. I put my water bottle to the side and took the lens cap off my camera. Zach stared as I bent low, brought the viewfinder to my eye, and took photos of the sun starting to sink into the skyline.

Deep swirls of orange, pink, blue, and yellow painted the sky. The clouds stretched across the horizon, looking like cotton candy and reflecting in the water below. I got lost in my task, moving back and forth, standing, sitting, turning to catch the rays that peeked out as the clouds and sun changed their positions around us.

My eye caught on him, and my heart pounded against my chest so hard I thought it would break free and fly out to the heavens above. His face was lit with yellow hues, his eyes sparkled like precious gemstones, and with his tender smile, he took my breath away as he stared into the sky. I didn’t want the moment to end, but as the sun fell asleep, the colors started to fade. I snapped photos of him before his face changed from yellow to gray.

His serenity gave my chaotic mind a break, it was intoxicating. The tranquility passed on to me, and I took his hand. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

He brushed his lips on mine. I rested my head on his chest, and he enveloped me in his arms as we continued to watch the sky change and listened to the whirring of the traffic below.

“Hilary, can I ask you something?” I nodded my head and enjoyed the soft rumble of his voice. When he didn’t say anything more, I regarded him and got lost in his expressive eyes. “Will you go out with me on Saturday night?”

My heart clenched, and love poured out in abundance. “I’d love that,” I whispered and placed my head on his chest over his heart. I could feel it beat as quickly as mine. “I’d really love that.”

His lips touched my crown as his hand ran over my arm. “Okay, it’s a date.”

“A date.”