“Thank you for being brave enough to show me.” He kissed her forehead, and her eyelashes fluttered shut. The tenderness was so intense my stomach clenched. I tightened my grip on my phone until my nails grazed the grooves on the table.
For all their PDA, they didn’t post mushy stuff or take a lot of photos. Then again, why would they? They weren’t faking or deflecting stuff or marketing. This was real, raw love, and witnessing it up close made my clothes shrink three times too small on me.
Zack eyed me. “Did you want a photo?”
“Hmm? No.” I wanted love. Not for our families, not for our exes, and not for some audience. I wanted it for each other. Forlife. But for any chance of that, I had to show him more than just the real me. I had to show him my heart and my empire of feet.
34
Bullseye
I wasn’t ashamed of my side hustle. It’d given me freedom and financial stability. But Zack was all about family values. He wouldn’t laugh and call me a player, like Theo had when I told him about it.
My ex’s jokes had taken the edge off my nerves at the time. Now, all I had was a spritzer. Way too little alcohol for way too big a risk. Especially in front of this cutesy couple. Later, I’d tell him. Hopefully, I wouldn't be too distracted by his broad shoulders. I gulped down my drink in the hopes liquid luck was a real thing.
Zack nudged my knee. “Are you okay?”
Shit. I still had a role to play. Nerves had no place in it.
“Yes.” I dabbed my lips with a napkin and focused on Shelby. “So, have you hosted any good parties lately?”
She nodded and. “Last Sunday, I helped some kids make marshmallow snow people and a graham cracker, gingerbread kinda village. I got a real bargain on the materials because it was after Christmas. It was so pretty they didn't want to eat it. I stillmanaged to convince them by warning them the dog would get it if they didn't.” She giggled.
Harvey squeezed her arm. “You devious little genius.”
Zack shrugged. “You wouldn’t have to do much convincing in our house. Our family loves sweets.”
Shelby glanced down and bit her lip, then scooted toward me. “What have you been up to, Nicole? I’m sure it was busy for model stuff with holiday ads and everything.”
“Oh, yeah.” If she counted the surge of stress-related messages from clients, I was doing great. “Fancee’s is fine. I'm sure The Bern is busy all year. Right, Harvey?”
He nodded. “We’re putting out the red and pink cup sleeves and heart-shaped cookies.”
“Those sound amazing.” Shelby wobbled her chair closer to his. “Do you have to handle Valentine’s day ads as a manager-in-training? You’re pretty enough to be a model, and we know Nikki could do it too. Oh, but I wouldn’t want you to cuddle up with anyone but me.” She deflated.
Harvey combed his fingers through her hair. “Only you, sweetie. I’m not really in charge of ads, but I can ask.” He kissed her temple, and she brightened. With a smirk, he turned to Zack. “Would you be jealous if your girlfriend had to cuddle up to somebody for an ad?”
He twitched his shoulder. “I mean, maybe.”
“It’s just a job.” I swirled my drink and my earrings. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
He tugged his earlobe. “Do you have something like that lined up?”
“Kind of.” I was already in a weird arrangement with him and my clients. But this relationship wasn’t an anonymous transaction; I was really starting to fall for him.
A loud buzz startled me. Shit. I forgot to silence my notifications. “It’s nothing,” I said, quickly dismissing the client app and my socials. Not that anyone had asked.
Shelby and Harvey exchanged an uneasy glance, and Zack slugged back half his drink.
Why was this so weird? Couldn’t we be friendly beyond the confines of who we were dating?
“Does anyone want to play darts while we figure out what to eat?” I suggested. Better to throw an arrow at a board than my heart at the man beside me.
“I’m down,” Harvey said, helping Shelby with her chair.
Zack scraped back from the table, then trudged to the gaming area. I took a sip of seltzer and followed. Darts would be fun. Casual. Distracting.
Harvey gathered the darts. “Each couple as a team?”
