Tilly shook her head.“I swear that woman has psychic abilities.If she didn’t know I was coming here, there’s no other explanation for her suggesting you get this pie for me.”
Zach shrugged.“I’d rather get you something you like than something you didn’t.I’ve learned that somehow, someway, living in a small town, everyone knows stuff even before you do.Eat up.”
Tilly didn’t need to be told twice.She dug in and moaned when the tartness of the cherries hit her tongue.“This is so good.”
“Yep.”Zach’s voice sounded strangled.He was watching her intently, his fork partway to his mouth.
“You don’t like it?”
He shook his head.“No, I like it just fine.It’s just the sound you made...well, let’s just say that tasting cherry pie isn’t the first thing on my mind now.”
It took a second for Zach’s words to sink in, and when they did, a combination of mortification and embarrassment skidded over her.“Oh, um, sorry?”
What did someone say to that?
Fortunately, her phone chimed.It wasn’t like she was a virgin, but being around Zach, with the things he said and the way he kissed her, all together combined messed with her equilibrium.She liked him more than she’d liked any other guy she’d been out with before.“I need to check that.I sent a couple of emails out before I came to the people who are playing the shepherds.Thank you for arranging that, by the way.”
Stop rambling and get your phone.
Tilly pushed away from the table and went over to where she’d left her purse.She grabbed her phone out, entered the passcode, and then pulled up her emails.The subject line of the first one stopped her in her tracks.
Quickly, she tapped the screen and scanned the words.Not once, but three times.“I don’t believe it,” she whispered, her heart galloping.
“What?What’s wrong?”Lost in her elation at the contents of the message, she hadn’t heard Zach get up and come over to her.
She looked up at him, her mouth stretching into a smile so big her cheeks ached with it.“We’ve got our narrator!We’ve got our narrator!”she screamed, doing a little happy dance.“I can’t believe it,” she repeated again, because she really couldn’t.
“Who?”The strangled sound of his voice had her really looking at him, taking in the way his skin lacked color.His hands were clenched into tight fists by his side, and he looked as if he wanted to escape from his own home.
“Rainey Webster.”Everything about Zach’s countenance changed.His body relaxed.Color seeped back into his face, and the relief was evident in his eyes.It hit her then as to why he was looking like he was about to flee—he was worried that it was his mom who was coming to town.The one person he didn’t want to see.
“That’s great,” he eventually said.“What show was she part of again?”
Rainey Webster wasn’t the drawcard that Tilly had been hoping for, but she’d accepted the invitation, and that’s all that mattered to her.“She won a reality singing show last year.She was a popular choice with the general public.Heck, even I voted for her.She’s not a complete unknown and is sure to draw the judges’ attention—hopefully.I’m so happy!”She clapped her hands.
Zach hauled her close, and she leaned into his hug.“That’s great, Tilly.It’s all come together.You did it.”
“We did it, Zach.It wasn’t just me.I couldn’t have got half as much done if you hadn’t been there beside me.”
“Nope, you did most of it.I only gave you a hand when needed.Be proud of yourself, Tulip.”
Tulip.
He called her that more and more often and, for the first time in her life, her given name didn’t seem like the burden she’d always thought it was.There was something special about the way he said it.The way the two syllables slipped off his tongue, almost like a caress.
“I like you calling me ‘Tulip,’” she whispered.
“I like saying it.”His knuckles brushed her cheeks and she relaxed into the hold.When she was with Zach, she believed she was invincible, that she could achieve anything—and she had.
“I would’ve given up, you know,” she said, saying out loud the truth she’d battled with every day since they’d started planning the event.“There were times I sat at my table and looked at everything and thought it would be impossible.Then I would hear your voice in my head, telling me that I could do it.That you believed in me.And so I’d keep going.Truly, I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Tulip.”He whispered her name a second before his lips landed on hers.She moaned against his mouth.This kiss was different from the ones they’d shared in the past.It was sweeter.Deeper.More connected in a way that they hadn’t connected before—not physically, but emotionally, as if the gears had changed in their relationship.
Tilly clung to Zach as their mouths danced and their tongues dueled until they broke apart, both breathless.
“You make me wish for things I shouldn’t wish for,” he said as he led her to the couch, their dessert forgotten.He sat down and arranged her on his lap, the evidence of how much their kiss affected him hard against her body.
“What do you wish for?”she asked.Was it the same as what she wanted?More time with this man?Learning more about him.About his life growing up.How he truly felt about his mother.There was so much there that she wanted to know about their relationship.Maybe now she could ask those questions and help him heal.
