“I wouldn’t have minded that,” she said shyly, a blush stealing over her cheeks.
Zach inwardly groaned.It would’ve been far better if she’d yelled at him for being presumptuous.
“You probably shouldn’t have said that,” he admitted.
“I did, though.”
Zach sighed.As much as he didn’t want to have this conversation, he needed to.“You tempt me beyond belief, Tulip Bloom, but my life is complicated, and it’s not fair to bring that into yours.”
“Is it because your mom is Kathryn Lancaster?”
Zach froze.
When had she found out who his mom was?
He didn’t think she’d been playing him, but had he been wrong?
Now that she knew he was interested in her, was this a ploy for him to use his connections to get his mom to come to Marietta?
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that bad, I promise.”Tilly touched his arm, grounding him, even though he didn’t want to react to it.“I searched your name last night and clips of you with your mom showed up.I didn’t see them when I looked at footage from your mom’s show on social media because I was only looking at her latest shows.I’m sorry she did what she did to you.”
“What?”Surely he hadn’t heard correctly.
“She made what you and your crew did in rescuing those campers all about her.She didn’t once think about the survivors, or your team, and most especially, how it all affected you.I saw how, each time she dragged you into the limelight, you were pulling away from her.”
Zach was dumbfounded.Even his crew hadn’t seen the way his mother had twisted it all around.They were great guys, but had become a little awestruck with all the attention.The campers were just grateful that they were still alive, so they probably hadn’t noticed it.“You picked all that up.How?”
“I could see the pain in your eyes.I saw it the first time I came up to you in the parking lot after our dinner at the diner.After I mentioned your mom’s name.It’s also how you spoke about celebrities and their egos.”
There was definitely more to Tilly than people saw and thought about her.He wondered if she played into the flighty persona.Gave in to the expectation that, because everyone expected her to fail, she did.
His secret was out.
“I should’ve told you who my mom was when you mentioned her name.I’m just trying...”What could he say without sounding like an ungrateful son?He’d had a better home life than most people.Even when his mom had been out of work before she started working overseas, money hadn’t been much of an issue because she’d been savvy with her investments.
“To have space and to be who you want to be without the pressures of being Kathryn Lancaster’s son.Without being the hero hotshot firefighter who saved the lives of a group of campers.You just want to be firefighter Zach Langley.You just want to do your job.”
Again, her insight was uncanny.“All of that, yes.”
Tilly placed her hand on his chest, and he immediately covered it with his own.“Your secret is safe with me.I’m not going to blab it around to everyone.I’m not going to run to the tabloids and tell them that you’re hiding out here.”
Her gaze hadn’t strayed from his.Her fingers didn’t twitch beneath his.No tells at all that she was lying and would go back on her word.“I know you won’t.”Her lips were so close.He could lean down and taste her.He wanted to, badly.Instead, he brushed his fingers down her cheek with his free hand.“There’s so much more to you than most people see, Tilly.Why don’t you show it?”
“I—uh—I guess I don’t get the chance to.”
He wanted to shout at the townspeople for their ignorance and mistreatment of this beautiful woman in front of him.“Then we’ll show them.The whole of Marietta is going to see who you really are.”
Chapter Ten
Tilly rubbed herfull belly.“I ate too much pie.”
Beside her, Chrissy laughed, as she snuggled into Ryder’s side.“That’s why I shared mine.”
“I think you ate more than me,” Ryder said and kissed her quickly on the lips.Their eyes remain locked on each other and they were so focused on each other, wrapped tightly up in a bubble of love, it was as though everyone else in the room had disappeared.
“We’ve got an announcement to make,” Ryder said.
Tilly sat up straighter.Was Chrissy going to say that she was pregnant?She knew her older sister wanted to be a mom.
