“What?”
“There’s no point having goals without setting targets and a date of completion. So what steps are you taking to reach your goal?”
She shifted further away from him, resisting the urge to get up and pace. It was easy to say she was going to do it this year— she still had three hundred and fifty days— but if she set specific dates it would become all too real.
“Zita?”
“I don’t know.” She clenched her hands.
He ran a hand over her arm. “I don’t mean to push you. I’d like to help if I can.”
She breathed out, trying to calm her heart rate. He was right. If she was serious about her dreams, she needed to make them happen. Needed to ignore her fear.
No matter how difficult it was.
Zita turned to him. “Where should I start?”
***
Together, they brainstormed her plan of action until Zita had specific steps to complete to become a lawyer. It was scary having it all written down with dates next to each step, though part of her felt lighter.
“You’ve got until the end of the month to talk to Carly and research admission to college,” David said, handing her the plan.
She winced. “All right.”
“That gives you two weeks to work up the nerve.” He grinned at her.
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. He looked so cheeky. “So what about you?”
“Me?”
“Are you going to talk to Bob about not taking over Dionysus?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know. Dad wouldn’t understand.”
“How about your mom?”
He shook his head. “Let me think about it some more.” David got to his feet and grabbed their empty mugs from the table. “Do you want another drink?”
“No thanks.” She’d bring up the subject another time. He’d helped her, and she wanted to repay the favor.
David disappeared into the kitchen. He looked good. Zita had never considered sweat pants sexy, but he pulled it off. The pants were slung low on his hips, and his woolen sweater clung to his torso. She wanted to run her hands under his clothes and feel just how firm his chest was.
He returned with a packet of chips, which he offered her. “So, now you’ve decided to make this huge change in your life, what should we tackle next?”
She envisioned herself tackling him on to the sofa and straddling him. She forced herself to focus. “That’s enough for now,” she said with a smile. She checked her phone for the time— already four o’clock. She should probably head home to check if anyone needed help. But she was having fun hanging out with David.
“Do you have plans?” he asked.
She glanced up. “No. I was just thinking maybe I should check in to see if Mama’s all right.”
“Would she call you if she wasn’t?”
“Probably not.” Her mother was very self-sufficient.
“Then why don’t you call her?”
“All right.” She dialed her mother’s number. “Hola, Mamá.”
