Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Zane
Strawberries.
Her lip gloss tasted like strawberries.
I liked strawberries…but not as much as I liked whatever the hell this was.
Andi was on me with no warning whatsoever, blindsiding me as my brain scrambled to make sense of what was happening.
Because this? This was new.
Up until now, I’d been the one to initiate any kind of mouth-to-mouth action. I’d waited for her cues, let her set the pace, let her trust me fully before I even dared to move in. But now? Now she was taking the reins.
The drinks in my hands sloshed as I swiftly held them out and away from where our bodies were now flush.
Cold tea splashed my wrists, but hell if I really even noticed as her insistent mouth slanted over mine, coaxing the stupor right out of me.
The cups slipped from my grip and hit the grass with a dull thud as my hands shot to her waist—one sliding to the small of her back, an unspoken go, and the other curling around her ribs, a quiet whoa.
I didn’t want to be the guy to snuff out this newly bold version of Andi, but I also couldn’t stand here and kiss her like I really wanted to—not with Cody three steps away from us, clearing his throat.
Mustering a strength I didn’t even know I had, I slowly drew back from Andi with a low and gravelly, “Easy, princess.”
Her lips stilled a breath away from mine—eyes dark and hazy and locked on mine like she wasn’t quite ready to stop.
Shit, I didn’t want her to stop but we had an audience, and I didn’t like the idea of sharing her like that with the whole damn town.
My eyes did a quick search over her face as I reeled myself in, and the sight of her—flushed cheeks, chest rising fast, mouth kiss-swollen—hit me square in the gut.
I swallowed and moved my hand away from her ribs to the base of her neck, letting my thumb trace against that line from her ear to her jaw as a grin tipped my mouth. “Not that I’m complainin’, but…where’d that come from?”
Her teeth caught her bottom lip as a flicker of what looked like embarrassment slipped through all that sudden boldness. “I met your ex.”
That news hit me like a bucket of ice water.
For half a second my brain flat-out froze then went straight into panic mode. Shit, Brianna was here? My pulse drummed hard as my jaw tightened, wondering what sort of bullshit had come out of her mouth this time, and I had to drag in a slow breath before I could look at Andi again.
She must’ve sensed my sudden internal struggle, because her fist unclenched my shirt and flattened over where my heart was beating—just for her.
“I hate that you’ve spent the last year being sad, or mad, or hurt, or whatever because of that…
” She hesitated, jaw tightening as her nostrils flared with an inhale. “...woman.”
The way she said it—sweet but sharp and…almost protective—sent a jolt through me.
Before I could respond or even come up with a way to respond to that, she went on. “I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again.” Her lips curved sweetly. “You’re a good man, Zane McKade. I see it every day. And it kills me that someone like her made you ever question it.”
The air went thin between us, and I couldn’t think—couldn’t breathe.
All I could do was just…look at her—this woman who’d just set my entire world right without even knowing it.
A slow grin worked its way across my face and I held her eyes with mine as I tried to tell her what I couldn’t say in words.
I leaned in, ready to taste those strawberries again when—
“Has anyone seen Zane McKade?” Tim’s voice boomed over the speakers from the stage.
I froze, breath mingling with Andi’s, and muttered a curse.
A sharp and really obnoxious loud whistle came from my right, and my head snapped in that direction to see Cody, pulling his fingers away from his mouth.
I shot him a glare. “Thanks a lot, man.”
Cody just grinned, rocking back on his heels, and shrugged. “Hey, don’t blame me for you finally deciding to rejoin the living.”
Tim’s voice boomed once more. “There he is. Zane, come on up here for a sec.”
I shot another glare toward Cody, who just threw his hands up defensively—looking way too smug and entertained.
Still half tangled with Andi, I sighed and took a step back—reluctantly—but caught her hand before she could drop it to her side. Our fingers threaded together easily.
“Do you have any idea what this is about?” she asked.
“Not a hundred percent positive,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze as we weaved through the small crowd, people parting and murmuring as we passed. “But I’ve got an idea.”
Tim walked to the edge of the stage and crouched down. “I need a favor,” he said. “One of the guitar players had to leave for a family emergency, leaving the band short for the last few songs.”
Was he serious? I bit back a disbelieving laugh. “Tim, I’m a…kinda on a date here,” I said, and tipped my head toward Andi, who looked entirely too entertained by this.
“Play,” she said, and I tore my eyes from Tim to look at her questioningly. Her mouth curved into that pretty smile that always managed to undo me. “Please? I’d love to see you play.”
My heart gave a hard thump at the word love.
Half hoping she’d change her mind and let Tim find some other fool who’d stupidly advertised they knew their way around a few chords, I asked in disbelief, “Really?”
She nodded, eyes bright and smiling at me again. “Really, really.”
And that was that.
I didn’t want to play, not tonight and definitely not right now.
Not when the only place I wanted to be was right here with her.
I wanted to be the guy holding her during these songs, not the guy playing them for her.
But hell if I could tell her no, especially when she was looking at me like that—like I could hang the damn moon if I wanted to.
So, I exhaled a quiet laugh and gave her a look that said: Okay, you win.
Then I stepped away and headed for the stairs.
Tim met me at the top and handed over a guitar, clapping my shoulder in thanks as I adjusted the strap and settled the instrument against me.
After an all too brief meeting with the band to ensure I knew the songs—which thankfully were all covers—I settled into my designated spot and curled my fingers over the strings.
The small crowd buzzed, the stage lights were warm on my face, and nerves crept up my spine.
But none of that mattered when my eyes landed on Andi—standing there in the front row delicately biting the bottom of her smile as she watched in excited anticipation.
The drummer lifted his sticks and counted the band into a rendition of Blake Shelton’s Just South of Heaven.
A few chords in, the crowd dispersed into twos on the makeshift dance floor, but Andi stayed put—the glow from the stage lights catching her hair and illuminating her soft, dreamy gaze.
The lyrics floated through the night air, and damn if I didn’t feel every word as the singer belted out about this place beyond the Jericho line and where the river unwinds. That, to him, was heaven on Earth.
But as I locked eyes with the girl in the pretty red sundress who tasted like strawberries, I knew that if there was such a place as heaven on Earth, that that right there would be mine.