Chapter 18
Zoe cracked open an eye and stared at the mass of curls obscuring her vision. Brushing her hair out of her face, she raised her head and looked around the bedroom. The pillow next to her was still indented from Tim’s head. She smiled a Cheshire cat smile and stretched, letting all the aches and twinges remind her exactly how she’d spent the night before.
Wow. Last night had been…wow. She had nothing to compare it to. She’d been demanding and needy and Tim had given her what she wanted and more. He came across so straight-laced and proper. The forceful, sexy man under the starched police uniform was a really nice surprise.
Where was he? Zoe glanced toward the master bath, but the light was off. The alarm clock next to her bed showed a little after eight—did he have to work that morning? She tried to remember whether he’d mentioned it or not, but her brain was still sex-fogged.
She threw on a robe and went downstairs. Her clothes were folded and stacked on the bottom step.
“Tim?”
She found her small purse on the floor next to the entry table and pulled out her phone. The only notifications she had were the nine texts from Elba demanding to know if Tim had given it to her good. Zoe couldn’t even fight the smile that tugged at her lips. Hell yeah, he’d given it to her good.
Heading to the kitchen, a small kernel of doubt planted itself in her mind and her smile fell. Why wasn’t he there? Why’d he leave without waking her up? Had it been a wham-bam, thank you, ma’am? Was…?
Fuck. She collapsed onto one of the dining room chairs and stared at her to-do list. This was why she hadn’t wanted to get involved with anyone. Doubt assailed her. She had no idea what they were doing or what he expected from her. There was no checklist for romance. No linear path she could follow from A to Z and make sure everything was done properly.
A sharp knock at her front door sent hope swirling in her chest. Maybe he’d gone home to take care of some things and had gotten locked out. Trying not to skip to the door, she opened it without checking the peephole.
She should have checked the peephole.
“What are you doing here?” There was no hiding the bitterness and betrayal in her words.
Mark, her no-good, cheating ex-husband, stood on the stoop wearing a hangdog look.
“I haven’t seen you in almost a year, Zee. That’s how you say hi?”
The corner of her eye twitched. “Shouldn’t you be in Florida by now?”
“You wouldn’t answer my calls so I decided to stop on the way.”
“North Carolina is not on the way from Phoenix to Tampa. How did you even know I was here?”
“I called your mom when you wouldn’t answer any of my calls.”
She pushed away from the door. “You did what?”
Damn it! She was so tired of her family interfering in her life. Her mother had no right. She was lucky she was still on vacation in the middle of the Caribbean.
“Whyare you here?”
“I want you back, Zoh.” He stepped closer and brushed his hands down her shoulders.
Shrugging him off, she took the added measure of pushing him away from her. “Zoh-ee. Two syllables.”
“I thought you liked when I called you Zoh.”
“I’ve never liked it. In fact, I’m pretty sure I told you the first time I met you not to call me that.”
He shrugged. “Sorry. It’s just a cute name.”
“What do you want, Mark?”
“I told you. I want you to come home. I want us to have a second chance.”
“You want.”
“Well, yeah. I mean, you just left. No email or phone call. You canceled your assignment and got out of the Air Force. That’s a little drastic, don’t you think?”
