“You hope too much,” he whispered.
“You don’t hope enough, so I have to hope for the both of us.”
He lowered their hands but kept a gentle hold. “I’m sorry about the way I acted after your date.”
“I’m sorry about what I said after the date. And I’m sorry about what I said after my nightmare. I don’t feel that way. I was scared.”
“It’s fine.”
“I promise I don’t think you’re the devil or evil or a worse human than anyone else. We’re all just people, and we’re flawed. We have to decide on our own that we want to be better, but even then, we’ll still make mistakes.”
Zach scoffed. “I just make more mistakes than others.”
Lauren gripped his hand. “You don’t. Stop dwelling on the bad and start recognizing the good.”
Zach squeezed back, emphasizing the connection between them. “You’re the only good in my life.”
She shook her head. “We have to fix that.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, angel.”
“The first thing I want to say is,please don’t go back to your old life. I’m begging you. Please leave it in the past.”
Her heart pounded as he searched her eyes. There were tense seconds before he responded. “I’ll try.”
That wasn’t the answer she wanted, but it was a start. “Could you please go to work at the ranch today?” she asked.
The tension in his shoulders softened, and he nodded. “Okay, but can I come work here later?”
“Of course.”
Zach looked down at their linked hands. “I guess that means I need to head out.”
“I said I would make you breakfast.”
He smirked, finally releasing her hand. “I don’t have time, angel.”
She remembered her gift and reached for it on the table. “Here, take this then.”
She handed him the Snickers bar, and he took it, watching intently as if waiting for her to take the gift back. “Thanks.”
“Thanks for staying,” she said. A mirror of her words that had once changed the course of both of their lives.
Zach gripped the candy bar and left without fanfare. When the door closed behind him, Lauren sank into the chair and touched her lips.
She’d just shared the best kiss of her life with a man she’d never expected, but nothing could come of it until they healed their old wounds.
23
Zach
Sundays were becoming Zach’s favorite day of the week, but he’d deny it to his death if anyone found out.
The library was closed on Sundays, and the Bensons never worked on what they called “the Lord’s Day.” That meant Zach got to spend the entire afternoon with Lauren. Sure, they were working and only talked occasionally, but even silence with Lauren was better than hanging out with anyone else.
They’d just finished replacing the frame on a door in the rental house, and they’d done it all without speaking more than two words to each other. Still, Zach lived for the occasional brush of her hand against his or a soft smile when their gazes met.
Good grief, he was living in a cheesy chick flick. The worst part was that he liked it. He liked it so much he “worked” for Lauren every chance he got. Except, he wasn’t working for her. He was workingwithher.They’d replaced nearly every surface in the rental house, and the place was starting to look less like an abandoned shack and more like a home. To be honest, it was the nicest place he’d ever lived in.
