The time passed as Zoe truly enjoyed herself, feeling like she belonged at the table with her new friends. She and Ava made plans to do coffee the following week. She felt Gavin’s hand on hers on the table. He squeezed it, leaned in to give her a kiss, then asked if she wanted coffee while he cleared their plates.
“I can get that,” she tried, but he forestalled her.
“No, no. I can’t cook, but I can clean.” He talked over Landon’sharrumph. “Coffee with cream, right?”
“Yes, please. And two—”
“Packets of that sugar substitute crap. Right.”
Zoe watched him walk off, then turned to see Landon and Ava grinning at her. “What?”
“She domesticated him. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.” Landon shook his head and held up a glass. “To Zoe, tamer of wild beasts.”
Ava chuckled and toasted her as well. “To Zoe, who can tolerate the brothers Donnigan. You deserve three sugars, in my opinion.”
Zoe blushed and laughed with them. Gavin returned with a tray of coffee cups and a carafe. “At your service.” He set down the tray with flourish and a bow. “And yes, Landon. My mistress has thoroughly domesticated her humble servant.”
Though the others thought him funny, she hadn’t missed that emphasis onmistressor the way his gaze deepened with sexual intimacy when he smiled at her.
And then it was time to go, and she had her wild beast all to herself in the privacy of her own home. What to do, what to do…
