Chapter 16
Zoe locked the door of the bookstore and used the key Elba had given her to unlock the door of the Cafe. Making sure to throw the bolt again, she made her way through the dim dining room and pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen. “Elba? You back here?”
She poked her head out of her office. “Hey. I just need to finish up this paperwork and then we can go.” She disappeared back into the office. “I brought my clothes with me so I can get ready at your house. Hope that’s okay.”
Edging behind Elba, Zoe flopped down into the oversized armchair in the corner of the office. The space really wasn’t big enough for more than one person at a time.
“I’m not sure I’m up for going out tonight.”
Elba’s shoulders dropped and she spun her desk chair to face her. “Zoe, you promised.”
“El, I’m too tired to go out tonight. Can’t we celebrate some other time?”
“This is the only weekend April is staying with Jackassasaurus for the next two months and I know you’ll be too busy then with the bookstore by then to really have a good time.” She clasped her hands under her chin as if praying and batted her eyelashes. “Pleeeeaaaasssse?”
Zoe dropped her head to the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling tiles. “Por que eu aguento você?”
“Because I’m beautiful and charming and you love me?”
She lifted her head. “Did you understand that?”
Elba shook hers. “No, but I figured it had to be something along the lines of questioning why you love me.”
“Something like that.” She sighed. “Fine, but we’re not staying out all night, we’re not doing any shots, and you have to help me weed through applications tomorrow afternoon.”
“Deal!” Elba held out her hand to shake on it. “But you have to dress up.”
Zoe squinted at her. “Define ‘dress up.’”
* * *
Tim pokedat his grilled chicken and glanced at the clock on the stove. He had no plans other than his usual dinner and game shows. It was Friday night and he was at home. Alone. Normally he had no issue with his routine—he enjoyed his routine—but nothing had been normal since Zoe had moved next door. She was like a little dirt devil—just enough force to cause some chaos, but not so much that it destroyed everything in its path.
That kiss. That kiss had been anything but normal. He shouldn’t have touched her but she’d looked so sexy with her hair wild from sleep and her bare legs for days. He was surprised it had taken him as long as it did before he kissed her. At least he’d given her a chance to say no by warning her first.
She hadn’t said no. She’d kissed him back. She’d wrapped her legs around his waist and it had taken all of his strength and willpower to stop touching her and put her down. All day he’d thought about “dropping by” the bookstore to see if she needed any help, but it would have been an excuse to see her. He’d even turned down Jase’s offer to go out to the campsite for the weekend, something he always looked forward to, because in the back of his mind was the knowledge that Zoe was out tonight.
City Limits wasn’t a rough bar like The Deck, but it sure as hell was a meat market. Some of the younger officers in the department talked about how easy it was to pick up women at the bar, especially when they mentioned they were cops.
He tore into the last couple bites of his chicken. The idea of any man trying to pick up Zoe had him seeing green. Taking his plate back into the kitchen, he tossed it into the sink without bothering to wash it. In the living room, he propped his feet up on the large footstool and flipped through the channels, trying to find something to watch. Only when he’d gone through the entire channel lineup twice without remembering anything he’d seen did he give up and throw the remote on the couch next to him.
He sighed and looked at Mitzy. “What should I do? Sit here like some loser or try to find her at the bar like some loser?”
She sighed and let out a long, whistling fart.
“Bar it is.”
* * *
Dress up meant a black,knee-length wrap dress and sling-back wedges. It was the only thing she owned that Elba deemed going out appropriate without having to go shopping for new clothes. Zoe had managed to talk her out of that since they were both keeping to a budget.
She leaned close to Elba as they made their way to the bar. “This place is a meat market.”
“Exactly.” Elba leaned over the edge of the bar, showing off her cleavage to the bartender. The move caught his attention and he smiled at her.
“What can I get for you?”
“Two vodka sodas with a splash of cranberry juice.”
