Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
“There you are,” Harriet said, the screen of my mobile going from black to an uber closeup of her face.
She swung me around too quickly, nothing but blurred background until she propped the phone on the coffee table. My sister backed up and settled on the sofa between Phoebe, now just over a year, and Oliver with his mop of curly wild hair, who’d turn four this fall.
“Wow, look at you lot, getting so big.” With the meeting room emptied for lunch, my voice carried across the sleek, high-tech table and dual-mounted monitors. “Hello, Phoebe. Oliver mate, how are you?”
Phoebe only had eyes for her mum, so she began babbling and pawing at Harriet until my sister switched her daughter to her lap, tossing out a question about the weather.
“The sun shines all the time,” I replied. “So bright you need sunglasses just to look outside.”
“Sounds lovely. I could use a break from wellies and umbrellas.”
While it was bloody good to see my family, someone was missing, and I only had twenty minutes between meetings. If I waited until I arrived home in the evening, it’d be one or two in the morning, and they’d be in bed. My office chair squeaked as I rocked forward, echoing through the conference room that’d be filled with people again in no time. Meeting after meeting, always running over, and how the fuck did anybody get any actual work done?
“I get Woof-woof,” Oliver said, sliding down the front of his cushion, slightly warped from that very thing. At one point the fabric had been cream, but it was working its way toward a tannish brown, and then the thrill of finally getting to see my dog eclipsed every other thing.
“Ginny-gal,” I called across the thousands of miles, and I heard the slap of Oliver’s shoes and tap of claws before my nephew and pooch entered the picture, heads now around the same height. My heart expanded, suddenly too full for my chest, and I longed to reach through the screen, pull her across the Atlantic Ocean, and bury my head in her fur to inhale her musty dog scent.
Whenever I’d work late back home in London, she’d be slumbering away next to me, yet it never dimmed her excitement to retire for the evening. As soon as I asked if she was ready, she’d race down the hall and leap onto the bed, sliding into the sheets like she was scoring in a game of rugby.
I waved at her like a castaway on a remote island, generally losing my mind while she confusingly looked around the living room, panting a puddle while wagging her tail. Blimey, it was good to see her—good to see all of them.
Partway through our catch-up, Harriet asked if I’d met anyone nice.
I accidentally hesitated, scenes from Zoie’s and my steamy shower racing through my head as my blood rushed faster and hotter, and my sister pounced.
“You’ve met someone. Judging by that look on your face, that someone is a she, and the pink creeping across your features means you’re smitten.” Without waiting for confirmation, my sister hooted in victory.
She’d launch a whole investigation if I didn’t provide her a few details, so I went ahead and told her a bit about Zoie. How she was my neighbor and our arrangement to borrow her dog, and I must’ve gotten carried away because Harriet grinned at me like an absolute loon.
“I’m only here temporarily,” I said, unsure whether it was more for me or her.
“It’s about time you moved on.”
I knew my sister didn’t mean to bring up the one subject that’d turn me off from dating ever again, but it about stamped out the desire anyhow. I was just fine before Ashley came along, but she’d insisted I “look the part of a CEO” with a salon haircut and fancy new clothes. Oh, and my flat was too small to accommodate her, and I embarrassed her during dinners with friends where I’d lost track of the topic because I’d been so fucking bored I’d begun plotting my escape.
I’d adjusted my entire life to fit her, everything always on her terms, but it was never enough. On the weekends, Ashley would coerce me into attending stuffy social events, only to rattle off a list of my mistakes once we arrived home. It seemed she cared more about money, titles, and prestige than me, yet I’d about resigned myself to a life with her anyway so I wouldn’t have to move or establish a different routine.
“When are you seeing her again?” my sister asked, bringing me back to the present.
Then Phoebe had a meltdown over her brother moving her snacks, and Harriet asked Ollie to take his sister to the kitchen for a drink. I thought maybe she’d get distracted from the subject, but as soon as her kids left the room, she instructed me to hurry up and tell her before they needed anything else.
Honestly, it felt like a relief to talk to Harriet about Zoie after all my corked-up thoughts, and since Ginny couldn’t figure out where I was, that left me short on confidants.
Part of me was still reluctant to bring her in, simply because she got attached easily, and I didn’t want her to get her hopes up. If she wanted to be optimistic about the blokes she went out with, fine, but there was no reason for either one of us to get too caught up in the idea of dating an American—there was long distance, and then there was transatlantic lunacy.
Although, someone should’ve probably told that to the enthusiastic hammering of my heart. “We have plans to hang out with her friends on Thursday.”
The high-pitched sound my sister made could best be described as a squee, which was why, despite my reservations, I promised to call and update her afterward anyway.
When Zoie told me to meet at the San Diego Air and Space Museum, my nerd heart did a full cartwheel. As a kid, I used to head to the non-fiction, science, and nature section of libraries and bookstores. I studied all things STEM, my favorite a thick activity book with hands-on experiments my mum absolutely hated.
Since the office was nearby, I’d called a ride-hailing service to deliver me to Balboa Park. A soaring tower marked the entrance, along with a colorful dome a mosaic of blue and gold tile.
“That big building there is what you’re looking for,” the driver said, and I peered out my window as excitement played my spine like a xylophone. Two planes guarded the entrance, a Skyhawk and the high-speed Black Bird—as someone who’d rather err on the side of informed and prepared, I’d looked it up.
Glass doors and windows as tall as the planes marked the entrance, offering a sneak peek of the marvels inside. As we rolled to a stop and I paid and tipped the driver, I caught sight of blonde and pink hair cascading over bare shoulders. I reached for the door handle and missed, flustered after being so eager to see her for days.
Upon try two, I managed to exit the vehicle, every ounce of my concentration wrapped up in Zoie and the animated swing of her arms as she chatted with her mates. The closer I got, the more details stood out, from the flowy sleeves of the crop top that exposed her shoulders and a stripe of her stomach, to the giant holes in the knees of her distressed jeans and stacked gold necklaces winking in the sunlight.
This was my kid in a candy shop moment, but getting an eyeful of Zoie made me immediately crave a different treat.
She hugged me hello, with a quick peck on the cheek, but when she lowered herself to flat footed, I wound an arm around her waist and drew her closer for a proper snog.
Over the last few days, I told myself I’d built up our chemistry in my head; once my lips touched hers, burning fast through the fuse to ignite, there was no pretending. This blew every other connection I’d had clean out of the water.
I gently released her, waiting to ensure she was steady on her feet, my ego absolutely buzzing from her hazy, half-lidded expression. Not touching her while I had her in front of me didn’t sit right, so I stretched out my fingers and skated a trail along the line of her collarbone, captivated by the waver in her voice and goosebumps pebbling her skin.
“You remember my boss, Zac.” Zoie gestured to him, and he lifted his hand in a humdrum wave. There must be a story behind it because she aimed a sassy look his way and said, “And that’s his soul-and-bangmate, Catalina Mendes, attorney at law. Cat, this is Graham, my neighbor and interim doggie co-parent.”
Catalina swept her shiny black hair over a shoulder and extended a hand. “Nice to meet you, although I’m not sure why all my friends insist on announcing I’m a lawyer when they give introductions. It’s not doing me any favors, you know.”
“It’s more of a favor for Graham,” Zoie said, and I stopped my nodding along. “He’s always in trouble with the law.”
My jaw unhinged and hung open, unable to form a rebuttal I didn’t expect to need.
“Relax,” Zoie whispered in my ear as if that was a fucking option with the soft curves of hers molding to my torso. “I’m only teasing.”
Well, two could play at that game. I met the couple’s gaze head-on and adopted my most monotone voice. “It’s true, I’ve found myself in a bit of a pickle with the authorities. Do you have a card?”
I pressed my lips tighter to avoid breaking, especially when Zoie’s steel blue eyes flew wide, but a snicker slipped out and I let my laugh free. Zoie backhanded me, a light thwack in the chest, and I caught her hand and held it hostage. “Let that be a lesson to you. Don’t dish what you can’t take.”
“Oh, I can take it.” Zoie swayed closer, her perfume invading my senses and destroying any upper hand I might’ve gained. She sucked her lower lip between her teeth and sank her pearly whites into shimmery pink, plenty of eye-batting also being aimed my way. “I thought we established that the other day in the shower.”
My face heated, undoubtedly bright red. I cleared my throat, but it didn’t clear the rasp to my voice. “The scientific method requires rigorous testing; isn’t that what we’ve come to learn about today?”
“It’s been a while since we were the couple reminding others we’re here, and not the other way around,” Catalina said with a laugh, and I was so swept up in flirting with and dirty talking to Zoie that I had temporarily forgotten anybody else walked upon this earth.
Ethan would meet us later, Zoie explained as we entered the museum and paid admission, since he was stuck at work and his boss was “a total dickhole.”
The large, airy space seemed like an entirely different world, with science stations and planes and spacecrafts suspended from the ceiling. From the historical to the iconic, with photographs and displays detailing the evolution of aviation and space exploration.
Between areas, we kept conversation light and predominately about science, but the occasional glares from Zac suggested he wasn’t a fan of me. Plenty of people weren’t, no bother to me unless Zoie cared.
“Not only did you get to experience an All-American day, I’m about to take you clear to the moon.” Zoie tugged on our entwined hands, racing toward the center of the action with kids who were posing in the spaceship for their mums.
Once I spotted the NASA lunar lander capsule I about barreled through the middle of the kids like bowling pins. “Oi, this was actually in space,” I said to Zoie, and now I was the one towing her along. I read the sign aloud, too excited to keep it in my head: “Apollo 9 was the first manned flight of the lunar model and paved the way for a successful landing of astronauts on the moon.”
Zoie hovered a hand over the surface, beaming at me with a smile that turned my insides gooey and warm. “Can you imagine the stories it could tell us?” She leaned closer and asked the hunk of metal, “How’s it feel to touch the stars?”
Bloody hell, she was gorgeous, radiating a different type of excitement, but there just the same. Smart and adorable, sweet and sexy—Zoie was all those things and more. She spoke to spaceships, relied on astrology for decision-making, and wore a shirt with only the bottoms of sleeves.
She made me smile and lit me up inside, and I couldn’t get enough of her. Unable to help myself I bracketed her face in my hands and kissed her in front of a model of the moon, space materials, and primary-school witnesses. While the kids were focused on cooler things, a couple mothers frowned in our direction. Catalina, on the other hand, flashed Zoie a thumbs-up.
With the kids cleared out of the plastic model spaceship, it was our turn to step inside. We took pictures and bumped into each other in the small space, navigating the immobilized ship with ease. It spit us out on the surface of the moon, i.e., an artificially constructed surface. Buzz Aldridge’s spacesuit sat illuminated in a plexiglass case, and Zoie impersonated walking across the low-gravity surface while I resumed normal strides.
“That’s one small step for Britain”—she performed the fuzzy static with her thumb microphone—“one giant leap for womankind.”
She air-walked a circle around me, the area empty enough for her infectious laugh to echo off the exhibit and walls. Then, releasing a squeal, she threw her arms around my neck and tackle-hugged me—nobody besides my niece and nephew had ever leapt at me with such complete and utter trust, and it made me feel like a ten-foot-tall lumberjack whose entire mission was to take care of her.
I lifted her clean off her feet and gave her a twirl. I’d never been a barrel of laughs, yet all I did around Zoie was chuckle and grin. Even with that joke about needing legal help, she brought out a sense of humor not even I knew I had. Mum and Harriet would keel over in shock.
“Now I’m flying, no plane or ship required.” Cool palms cupped my cheeks; the setting and people around us disappeared again, eclipsed by Zoie rushing through life like it was one big adventure. With her, I felt braver and bolder, perfectly content and free in a way I so rarely was. “Hey, British Airways? Don’t freak out, but this is the happiest I've been in a while,” Zoie admitted. “Thank you for giving me that.”
Being around her was also the most fun I’d had in ages, and the babbling urge to say it back had me parting my lips. All that was missing was my family, my dog, and the offices within walking distance of my London flat.
Unable to find the right words without making promises I couldn’t keep, I simply clung tighter so she wouldn’t get away.
But standing across from Zoie in a museum that spoke to my love of science and her love of the stars, it felt as if perhaps we could find a way to carve out an us .