“Not really.” Zoe sighed. This was another topic she usually skated over, but this was an evening of sharing, apparently. “It was hard on both of us, losing my mom, and we had trouble talking after that. I think we were scared of losing each other maybe, or maybe it just didn’t feel right without my mom there. Anyway, when I went to college, he started dating again and ended up getting remarried. His new wife is lovely, but I don’t see them much. It’s easier for everyone, I think. What about your mom?”
“She lives in Islingburn still,” Nathan said. “And we see each other for a family dinner every Sunday along with my aunts and uncles and cousins. And we run into each other pretty often around town. I love her, and we’re close, but my dad was kind of the center of our family, and without him, things just seem out of balance.”
“Yeah.” Zoe nodded. “I understand that.” She smiled. “What a pair of sad sacks we are, huh?”
Nathan smiled back and ran a hand through his hair until it stuck up a little. “Yeah, we are.” For some reason, Zoe imagined him running his hand throughherhair, and her breath caught a little. Until this evening, they’d been at odds with each other almost constantly, but now, it was hard to look at Nathan without seeing everything she now knew about him.
“Oh, hold still.”
“What?” Zoe asked, her train of thought broken. She froze. “Is there a bear?”
Nathan laughed. “No, but you have a ladybug on your cheek.”
“What?” Zoe asked again. Her chest tightened, but she forced herself to stay still. “Get it off, get it off.”
Nathan lifted a hand and brushed one finger against her cheek. The pad of his finger was rough — Zoe guessed from washing his hands so much at the clinic — but his touch was gentle. Waves of warmth spilled across her cheek as her knees weakened. Zoe forgot all about the ladybug as her eyes met Nathan’s. His soft blue eyes were focused on her cheek, and from this close, Zoe could see a dusting of five o’clock shadow across his strong jawline.
Then he pulled away, the ladybug balanced on the tip of his finger, and Zoe let out a breath.
“Thank goodness.”
“See?” Nathan held up the ladybug. “It’s tiny.”
“Yeah, but it’s a bug.” Zoe shivered and he laughed again.
“Aladybug.Don’t tell me you’re scared of them.”
“Just a little.”
The ladybug flapped its wings and motored off into the dusk. Nathan and Zoe both watched it go before turning to each other, and Zoe’s breath caught again. They were still angled towards each other and sitting very close.
“Zoe…” Nathan said, and her chest tightened at the way her name sounded on his lips.
At their first meeting, Zoe had told him that she didn’t date clients. She’d known he wasn’t trying to make the moves on her, but she’d wanted to be clear that she was a professional, always. Now, though, hedidseem to be making moves on her. He waslooking at her like she was more beautiful than the sunset. And this time, Zoe didn’t mind. This time, she had trouble focusing. He was so close.
“We should go back before it gets dark,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. All she wanted was to bridge the remaining few inches between them and feel his lips on hers. The evening they’d spent together, and the personal details they’d shared, made her want more. Even though she knew she couldn’t have it.
Nathan took her words at face value, though. “Of course.” He pulled back, every bit the gentleman, and got to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Zoe followed him. She was the one who’d said they needed to go, and she’d been right. After all, this show was still her best chance at saving her career, and she needed to stay professional.
Still, a flicker of disappointment pressed against her heart. She mentally replayed the brush of his fingertip against her cheekbone as they picked their way back down the path. It was darker now, harder to see where she should step. Still, Zoe managed to make it back to the place they’d left the truck without incident. Smiling, she picked up her pace a little — and immediately tripped over a root.
As she toppled forward, Nathan, through some impressive reflexes she hadn’t known he possessed, whirled around and caught her. He gently set her back on her feet, his broad, strong hands holding her upper arms as he looked down at her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Zoe was more embarrassed than injured. “I’m fine.”
He glanced down and caught sight of her shoes. “Oh, you weren’t dressed for this. Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.” Zoe lifted her gaze from her shoes to Nathan’s face. “I’m not hurt or anything.”
“How about your ankle?” Nathan asked.
“That’s fine, too.”
“I should take a look. You might have twisted it when you tripped.”
