Chapter 26
“Icould braid your hair,” Cady said. Mabel’s head was on a pillow in her lap. She slid her fingertips gently through Mabel’s hair.
Anjali lifted Mabel’s feet up and plopped down on the other end of the sofa. She set Mabel’s feet down on her lap. “I say we dye her hair.”
Mabel raised her head enough to see the glint in Anjali’s eyes. “If you could guarantee it would look as good as yours, then I might let you.” Mabel pointed to Anjali’s dark forest-green locks, the latest color she’d tried.
Hannah sat cross-legged on the floor in front of them, scrolling through her phone. “Delivery for Chinese food would be an hour out, but it might be worth the wait if that means we don’t have to go anywhere.”
“You guys, I’m fine.” But Mabel wasn’t fine. She’d made it through her clinical running on caffeine and denial. But that willpower was fading fast, and despair was winding its way through her.
She hadn’t reached out to the women of KNO, but somehow they knew what had happened and had descended on her dad’s duplex within minutes of her getting home.
Ruby groaned from the walkway to the kitchen. “Can we all hold off on the plans for a hot second? Mabel, you’re going to go over there. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better.”
Mabel couldn’t think of anything to say. At every turn, it was Carolina’s face in her mind, so the thought of going to Zane’s like she was a kid begging for an ice cream cone was simply impossible.
Tory knocked before opening the door to the duplex.
“Sorry, I had some clients who ran late.” She dropped her keys on the coffee table and tilted her head to look at Mabel.
Her sympathetic look belied the sharpness of her tone.
“Mabel, I know you’re sad. But trust me when I say, this is your old wound about what Zane did in the past coming up.
This isn’t happening now. He’s not rejecting you now. He’s in love with you.”
Mabel sat up, a woosh of dizziness causing her to grab her forehead. “What are you talking about? Wounds of the past?”
“Honey.” Tory shooed her with her hands, and Mabel sat up straighter and swiveled her legs around. Her feet landed on the floor, but she didn’t want to look Tory in the eye because someone, at some point, had shared a lot more information than was acceptable.
“We know something happened between you two a long time ago. We don’t know exactly what, but it hurt, and we’re very sorry,” Tory said.
Mabel looked around the room. Her friend’s faces were kind, and most of them were nodding.
Tory took a breath and continued. “I just got off the phone with Liam, and he told me about the current stuff. He had a convo with Zane this afternoon, and he filled in the blanks for Liam. He told him the new developments in your relationship with Zaaaane.” She elbowed Mabel and cooed.
“I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. ”
“But you saw the photo too. And he barely reached out to me since he met her.” Mabel turned her attention to Ruby. “What’s this about Weston’s cousin?”
Ruby straightened from the overstuffed chair in the corner of the room.
“Obviously, since it was all a surprise, I didn’t know this either until Weston explained it all to me.
But, Mabel, Weston’s cousin lives in Bartlett, and her best friend is Carolina Jorgenson.
Weston’s cousin asked Carolina to bring up a cooler of mini desserts to pass out to everyone after he proposed.
But then the fire happened, and there wasn’t a chance. ”
“Ah, dang,” Anjali said, “I could really use a mini dessert right now.”
Hannah held up her phone. “I was trying to decide on where to order our food for tonight, so it’s not too late for me to add some dessert…”
“No!” Tory protested. “We’re not ordering food or dessert for Mabel because she’s going to go over to Zane’s and work this out.”
Mabel wanted to go to Zane’s. She ached to see him and have him explain to her in great detail about how he loved her and not Carolina.
“I need to think,” Mabel said, reaching for the remote on the coffee table.
Her friends groaned but started talking amongst themselves about other things. Mabel mostly tuned them out, pulling up Netflix, absently scrolling through the options. How come Netflix thought it would be a good idea to recommend she watch Saw VI?
A music special came up as an option. “Now we’re talking,” Hannah said. “Let’s play us some Garth.”
That’s when things clicked in Mabel’s brain.
The Garth Brooks concert. So many years ago, and even then, Zane was watching out for her.
He’d bought her a t-shirt that she’d wanted, but he’d waited for her to be ready to receive it.
Even then, he was loving her in the only way he could at that time: cautiously but completely.
There was no way him spending an hour or so at function with a beautiful woman a few nights ago could have changed that, no matter what her frayed heart had been telling her.
And to be fair, she hadn’t reached out to him after spending the day with Dallin either. Dallin was so not the man for her, but did Zane even know that?
As best she could with it being so crowded with her friends, she shot off the sofa. “I have to go.”
Cady took in a sharp breath. “To see Zane?”
Tears pricked her eyes, and she nodded. The room burst into applause, and within seconds they were in Mabel’s car, with Ruby and Tory driving another car behind them.
Because they had to make sure Mabel got there okay, though they weren’t about to cramp Mabel’s style by all sticking around once they arrived at Zane’s. They needed a car for the return trip home. They had a feeling she’d be there a while.
“Why didn’t I think to change?” Mabel asked her friends when they pulled into Zane’s long driveway. She looked down at her scrubs—they were purple, of all colors.
“Shush,” Anjali said. “You look hot like always.”
Mabel surveyed Zane’s house. The porch was dark, but there was one light shining through the living room window.
They nicely shooed her out the door of her car and then climbed into Tory’s SUV.
Mabel walked up the stairs, her heart threatening to burst. She turned back to look at her friends.
Hannah was the last one to climb in. She stood there at the door and placed a hand over her heart.
“You can do this, Mabel. I’m so happy for you.
” Even though she tried to whisper-shout it, Mabel was pretty sure Zane heard it, because just then, she heard Chief bark from inside and the porch light came on.
Tory pulled the SUV around in the large turnabout and began driving slowly back out to the main road, waving out of her window.
Mabel knocked on the door, and within a few seconds, Zane opened it. Chief came bounding out and jumped up on Mabel, licking her face.
“Down, Chief,” Zane said. His voice still sounded raw from the smoke, but his gaze was clear, his expression surprised to see her.
“Can I come in?” Mabel asked, her own lungs feeling sticky as she struggled to get enough air. As sure as she felt about this, her nerves were still there.
Zane offered a small smile and stepped aside to open the door even further. “Please do,” he said quietly.
He seemed hesitant, which made sense. He wouldn’t know what she was there to say or do.
They sat on opposite sofas, and Chief jumped up to place his head in her lap.
“I heard about why Carolina was at the proposal last night,” she said.
“Was that really only last night? It feels so long ago.”
Mabel nodded. “Yeah, with the fire and everything.”
Neither said anything for a moment, and Mabel squirmed in her seat. It was torture being across the room from him, even though it was a small room.
“I wanted to apologize for—” Mabel started.
“No, I’m the one who needs to apologize. I didn’t realize what that photo would look like, and I didn’t communicate—”
Mabel interrupted. “I didn’t either… For the record, the day of the gala? With Doctor Conforth? Terrible.”
Zane smiled and sighed, leaning forward so he could rest his elbows on his legs. “I can’t say I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I made assumptions about Carolina,” she began.
“Mabel, there is only one woman for me. And it’s not her.”
He propelled himself out of his seat, crossed the room to her, and knelt by her side. He reached a finger to her chin and caressed it, his gaze taking her in. “I love these scrubs on you.”
Mabel laughed and covered herself up. “I thought I should change, but it didn’t occur to me until after I’d already gotten here.”
“I’m glad you’re here, but I’ve been talking with the guys and pacing here, trying to figure out a plan.”
“A plan?”
“A plan to get you back. Because things finally clicked for us, and I can’t lose you again, Mabel.”
She kissed him, a lazy, shimmering feeling of excitement seeping through every part of her body.
“Mabel,” he whispered in her hair. “I feel like Rocky when his woman, Adrian, planted one on him after losing to Apollo Creed.”
“Like you’ve been in a boxing ring?”
He nodded. “And lost the fight. I’m so worn out. Everything hurts. But your kisses? It’s like I don’t care about the fire or the pain or all these years of confusion and frustration. I just need you, Mabel.”
He tugged her close, his hands moving down her sides. As she jostled to get as close to him as she possibly could, his fingers skimmed the bottle of sand that hung from the chain around her neck.
Trapping it under her shirt with his fist, he met her gaze. “What’s this? Can I see it?”
She nodded, her heart pounding. If kissing him was vulnerable, letting him see this charm from so long ago meant baring her whole soul to him.
He carefully slid a finger along the chain, starting at the back of her neck and coming around until just underneath the neck of her shirt. He then pulled on the chain until the bottle popped up.
“Wow. Is it sand?” He peered at it, gently cupping it in one hand.
“It’s from that day. You know? The ditch?”
He gasped and met her eyes. “You saved the sand I threw at you?”
She felt her cheeks burn. “It’s lame. I made this after my mom passed away. I know.” She shrugged. “It felt significant somehow, and then wearing it became a habit.”
“I’m…my mind is blown. I love it.” Dropping it gently against her middle, he took her face in his hands and kissed her again.
“I love you, Mabel.”
Her voice was raw and worn. “I love you too, Zane.”
Finally. Just saying it after all this time made her limbs and heart—everything in her—feel free.
“Can I use your restroom?” She asked, cringing. “It’s just that when I decided I had to come see you, I rushed out so fast that I didn’t go first. So…”
“Uh, sure.” He laughed.
“I’m in the process of installing a new sink in the main bathroom, so you’ll need to use the one off my bedroom.” He grinned then trained his gaze on the floor. “I better make sure none of my boxers are lying around willy-nilly back there.”
“There weren’t any lying around last night.”
At his shocked expression, she held up a palm. “We’re going to be as honest as possible, right? I wasn’t going to not tell you I already had a quick peek of your bedroom while I was here with Styles.”
He laughed again and pressed his lips together, like he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure he should.
“What?” she asked. “A woman’s got to know some things before she…commits…to a man.”
“Mabel Joan? Are you committing yourself to me?”
She chuckled. “That sounds sort of like I’m going to a mental hospital, but yes. I want to. I want to be with you always, Zane. I always have.”
He claimed her with his mouth, taking in her neck and collarbone and throat, kissing and nibbling. After a while, she pushed away so she could look at him, at her love. The connection between them was soul-deep and beautiful.
After such a long journey, that was exactly how it was meant to be.