Chapter 4
FOUR
He answered with a sloppy lick to my cheek, followed by a soft whine as he eyed my purse in the passenger seat.
The napkin Zane had given me the night before peeked out of the top.
It held the last piece of jerky, and I hoped it would be enough to bribe Percy to cooperate with Bri’s vision for her wedding when the time came.
The rehearsal would start in fifteen minutes, and I was already nervous.
Despite his elegant name, no one had ever accused Lord Percival Pennybone the First of being graceful.
He was more of a one-dog wrecking crew than a dignified, furry gentleman.
That was just the way I liked him at home, but we weren’t at home.
Percy was slated to participate in Bri’s high-priced dream wedding.
No pressure.
He whined again, his focus one hundred percent on the tasty treat reserved for him. “I know, buddy. Every time I look at that napkin, my stomach tingles, too.”
Despite my insistence that calling Zane would be a mistake, a buzz of excitement raced through my body each time my fingers touched that napkin.
Every snitch of a treat I’d given Percy since last night had me eyeing the note Zane had written.
The strokes of his pen were as strong and bold as he was.
Vacation Wren was happy that I could visualize the entire note, complete with that priceless combination of digits. Throwing away that napkin wouldn’t be enough to make me forget his number. But Bookstore Wren was more than a little terrified.
What if I succumbed to a moment of weakness and actually called him?
There were so many ways that could go wrong.
Either I’d learn more about Zane than I wanted to know, or he’d learn more about me than he’d want to know.
When I imagined how each scenario would play out to its logical conclusion, neither ended well.
He was a flashy professional athlete, used to action and excitement. Though I hadn’t shown it since arriving in town, I was a plain Jane, more comfortable with my nose in a book than I was with having my photos appear on the morning gossip shows.
He was attracted to a woman who wasn’t real.
When I met Zane, I’d thought he was a handsome stranger I’d never see again.
Flirting with him was only supposed to have been a bit of harmless fun.
But once he got a peek behind my mask and saw what I was really like, the desire in his eyes was sure to morph into disappointment.
That didn’t feel so harmless—not to my heart at least.
I couldn’t handle seeing that.
And I wasn’t so sure I wanted to know the details about why he needed a woman in public relations to work on his image. People usually had images for one reason; they’d earned them. Enough said.
Still, my insides fluttered and a goofy smile tried to creep onto my lips whenever I thought about that napkin. A boy hadn’t handed me a note like that since the fifth grade. It felt more special than a text message, somehow.
And I liked that.
I cranked my steering wheel all the way to the right, starting on my third attempt to slip into the last spot on the street.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” a male voice called out as I eased my car backward.
I stomped on the brakes, certain I was about to hit the car behind me.
My heart leapt into my throat when I looked in my sideview mirror and saw Zane trotting toward my car, waving his arms in the air.
If the look on his face was any indication, my parking really was as atrocious as I thought it was.
“You’re never going to make it into the spot with that angle,” he said, walking up.
“I blame the dog. I can’t see anything past his giant head.”
Zane bent down and rested his forearms on my door, his delicious scent wafting in through the open window. “You sure it’s the dog?” he asked, his lips twitching with what I could only assume was barely contained laughter.
I rested my head on the steering wheel, chuckling at my abhorrent lack of skill. “No comment.”
“Chin up. We can do this.”
“We?”
“Sure.” He stepped in front of the car and started swinging his arms around, pointing, and pantomiming like some sort of overly caffeinated traffic cop.
I tried to keep up, but he lost me somewhere between the bumper of the car in front of my parking spot and my tires hitting the curb.
“Not my left,” he called out, “your left.”
I put my Fiat in park despite the awkward angle. “I think you’re causing more trouble than you’re alleviating.”
He rested a hand on the back of his neck. He might have swallowed his smile but the teasing twinkle in his electrifying eyes was alive and well. “Yeah, your parking issues are all on me.”
I burst out laughing and he joined in. “I’m a firm believer that every place that only offers parallel parking should also offer valet service. I’d pay good money for a valet right now.”
He came back around to my window, his eyes drinking me in. “You hiring?”
“Depends. Are you applying for the job?”
I sucked in a sharp breath when he stooped over and his face made a sudden appearance less than a foot away from mine. “What’s the pay?”
His minty breath kissed my cheek, making me hungry for more. I opened the door and slipped out, Zane barely stepping back to make room. “I can pay you in all the horrid cupcakes you can eat. I know a place.”
He cocked his head to the side, and the corner of his mouth curved into the most attractive smile I’d ever witnessed. “Considering you’d be my new boss, that’s a tempting offer.”
Before I could reply, Percy shoved his way out of the car, knocking me into Zane. “Sorry about that,” I said with his hot hands holding onto my waist.
“Why?” His deep voice rumbled through my body as his gaze traveled from my eyes to my lips, and back again.
I swallowed hard, reading Zane’s mind. He wanted to kiss me.
Could he read mine? I hoped he could. Every nerve ending in my body tingled as my heart pumped a little faster with each shallow breath I took.
Suddenly, none of my worries mattered anymore.
I wanted to receive that kiss just as badly as he wanted to give it.
His fingers pressed into the hollows of my waist, holding me in place. But the joke was on him because there was no place I’d rather be. I moistened my lips and allowed my lids to flutter closed. My last view was Zane bringing his kissable lips slowly closer to mine.
His thick forearms flexed when I rested my hands on them. If I was about to be kissed by this man, I’d need something to hold on to in case my knees gave out. Tension in my body built to a fevered pitch as I awaited the moment his lips would touch mine.
Who was I?
Never in my life had I kissed a man before the third date. Yet, here I was, standing in the street next to my hardly parked car, ready to lock lips with a man I’d never dated even once. Time slowed to a crawl, allowing me a moment to justify my desires.
Maybe this was our third date. Spitting that awful cupcake into the trash was passable first date material. Then we met at the game last night. Sporting events made for great dates. Sure, we didn’t sit together, but he was there. I was there. Second date achieved.
What was happening right then couldn’t be called anything but a third date, right? We’d chatted. He’d made me laugh. We were about to spend the day in a gorgeous park. And now? Now we were ready to kiss.
Okay, so our first series of dates was a stretch, to put it mildly. I didn’t buy it, but that didn’t keep me from tilting my chin up in preparation for the magical moment when his lips would meet mine.
“Oof!” Zane’s body pulled back.
My eyes shot open only to see him hunch over and take another step back with Percy’s monumental snout shoved into his gut. “Percy, back up.” I tugged on his leash to no avail. “Percy!”
Zane patted Percy’s head. “It’s okay. I think he remembers where I kept the beef jerky yesterday. He’s just asking for another bite.”
“He’s always asking for another bite of something.” I got Percy’s attention and led him to the sidewalk.
“Where’re you going?” Zane asked.
“I’m going to hook his leash to this tree so I can park this car right.
” I knelt down to secure his leash and clenched my jaw in frustration.
Percy panted in his happy-go-lucky way, his bright eyes taking in the sights around us.
He had no idea what he’d just done. To be honest, I didn’t understand the full impact of having that kiss interrupted either.
“That was either the single worst thing you’ve ever done, or it was the best, Lord Percival.
” I ruffled the fur behind his ear and gave him a peck on the top of his head.
“Thanks for having my back, buddy,” I whispered.
By the time I finished with Percy’s leash and turned back to my car, it was perfectly parked, and Zane was stepping out of the driver’s seat.
He locked the doors and made his way to the curb to admire his parking skills.
He tossed me the keys. “This one’s on the house, but next time it’s going to cost you. ”
“You keep talking about next times,” I said, crossing my arms. “Sometimes one chance is all we get.”
“Not in my world,” Zane said. “There’s always another shot to take.”
“Until the last buzzer goes off.”
He shrugged. “The buzzer doesn’t mean I’m out of shots. All it means is that I’ve got time to come up with a whole new game plan.”
I stepped up to him, trying my best to read him. Our banter was light and flirty, but we both seemed to be communicating on a much deeper level at the same time. “Life isn’t a game, though.”
“No, but games are good practice for life.” His voice dropped an octave. “They teach a man to go after what he wants and never give up.”
And what is it that you want?
The question was on the tip of my tongue, but I was too scared of the answer to ask it.
A loud voice cut through the air. “Be careful letting that one behind the wheel.” I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man with an appalling comb-over walking toward us. “He likes to move fast… in more ways than one.”
His overly exaggerated wink and accompanying belly-laugh soured my stomach.
“Hey, Uncle Bob,” Zane deadpanned.
“Good game last night, Zane,” he said, slapping Zane on the shoulder as he walked by. “You gotta watch those elbows, though. If one of the zebras had seen all the elbows you threw, you’d have been in the penalty box half the night. You’ve got to do better.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Zane said.
“Is he one of your coaches?” I asked as the man walked on into the park.
“Only in his own mind.” Zane laughed, rubbing his jaw. “If he’d noticed all the elbows I caught in the face last night, maybe he’d understand why I had to play with aggression.”
My gaze was drawn to where he rubbed his face. I gasped when I saw the discoloration beneath his fingertips. “Oh, my goodness! Your jaw,” I said, gently pulling his hand out of the way so I could get a better look. “What happened?”
He shrugged. “It was a rough game last night.”
I ran my fingertips lightly across his jaw and asked, “Are you all right?”
He looked down at my hand still holding onto his and grinned. “Better now.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m serious, Zane. Your jaw is probably going to be black and blue by tonight.”
He laid his free hand on top of mine, sandwiching it between his palm and the stubble along his jaw. “Maybe not. I’m feeling better already.”
I suddenly realized what I was doing and slipped my hands away. “We’d better get in there. We’re going to be late.”
“How can we be late when we’re already here?”
I unhooked Percy’s leash from the tree. “I don’t know if you’re in the wedding party, but Percy has a pretty big role to play.”
“Lead the way. I’d follow you anywhere.”
My heart squeezed. Ever since I met Zane, my heart and mind had been in an epic power struggle. The heart wanted more of him, but my head knew better. It was time to pump the brakes and stop playing games.
I started walking. “Zane, whatever’s been going on between us since yesterday has been fun, but it’s—”
“Since yesterday?” he interrupted. “It’s been going on a lot longer than that.”
I froze and looked up into his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean? We just met yesterday.”
His eyes glinted with untold secrets. “You think I don’t know who my little sister’s friends are?
” He reached out to give Percy an ear massage.
“Nah, I’ve been waiting to meet you for a long time.
” His gaze suddenly captured mine. I hardly dared to breathe.
“And let me tell you, you haven’t disappointed. ”
Correction: Vacation Wren hadn’t disappointed. As for Bookstore Wren…
My stomach twisted into a knot. Flirty, spontaneous, cupcake-stealing—as Zane would call her—Wren was exactly what he was looking for. But the real me was a far cry from all that. I was the kind of woman who had all her activities written in a color-coded planner.
Maybe he’d heard about me from his sister, but that didn’t mean he knew me. He’d forgotten one very important word in his last statement.
Yet.
I hadn’t disappointed yet.
He’d fallen for a woman who wasn’t real, and I supposed it was my job to tell him.