“I don’t have one yet.” Holly’s cheeks flushed, and she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I’ve been sleeping on an air mattress.”
Seriously? She had done that for the past four months in a shared apartment with college students? He glanced at Kathy, who had joined them. The look she gave him held a challenge. Well, fine. Zack knew just how to fix the furniture problem.
He undid the latch on the pickup and asked, “Do any of these boxes have books in them?”
“You remembered how much I love to read.” Holly grinned, finally looking at him. “But no. Before I left, I donated all my books to the local library. My collection now is either ebook or audio. I plan to build a new one. So, you don’t have to worry about hurting your back.”
If she only knew how many heavy people he had to lift on rescue missions.
The three of them made quick work of moving Holly’s possessions inside the apartment. As Zack lifted the last box, Kathy grabbed his sleeve.
“I need to get this truck back, so I’ll leave you to help Holly unpack.” She leaned closer. “We all want her to stay here.”
He pulled a face. It wasn’t like he didn’t want the same thing. Why did she make it sound like it would be his fault if Holly left? “You’re preaching to the choir.”
“Then make herwantto stay here.” Kathy smacked his arm and wiggled her eyebrows before striding to the driver’s door. “Tell Holly I’ll see her Monday.”
Zack entered the apartment again and found Holly going through the gift basket.
“This is from you? It’ssosweet.” She surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck.
He automatically returned the embrace. It sent him back to those last few days they’d spent together at camp after they finally admitted their feelings. It felt so good to hold her again. Holly’s body must remember too, because she molded herself against him. It took him a few seconds before he realized she was crying.
“Holly?” he whispered. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She buried her face in his neck, like she used to do when embarrassed.
Zack expected her to pull away, but she didn’t, so he continued to hold her. If this was what she needed, he would stand here all night. What could he do to give her more experiences that made her feel welcome and wanted? Almost instantly came the answer: a Secret Santa.
As soon as she moved, he dropped his arms. “I ordered pizza.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, wiping those glorious blue eyes. Since the first time he’d met her all those years ago, he could lose himself in them.
“I wanted to.” He looked at her round, full lips, wanting so badly to taste them again. But Zack forced himself to keep his hands at his side as he met her gaze instead. “We have about forty-five minutes before dinner gets here. My mom always told my older siblings to get their kitchens and bedrooms functional first. Where do you want to start?”
Oh,my word!Holly’s body tingled from being in Zack’s arms again. It might have been eight years, but her physical attraction to him hadn’t dimmed. Not one bit. If anything, she found him more desirable than all those years ago. Even after recoveringfrom a gunshot wound, he was buff, in a lean sort of way. Strong. Protective.
“Let’s start with the kitchen,” she finally said, picking up a box labeledkitchen. “But as you can see, I don’t own all that much. When I left my old life behind, I dumped anything with memories.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Holly knew she had opened a door she didn’t want to go through. Before Zack could ask for more details, she hurried on. “It was liberating to get rid of it. I’ve even thought about getting a tiny house. I could be a travel nurse.”
He grabbed the other box and hurried after her. “You aren’t still thinking about doing that, are you?”
The worry in his voice sent a myriad of emotions flooding through Holly, including happiness at being wanted and guilt for not having appreciated what he offered. If nothing else, they could be friends.
“No,” she said. “It was just a passing thought. About the traveling, anyway. Though I might enjoy living in a tiny house.”
Zack’s shoulders relaxed, and he opened his box. “I’ve seen a few of those videos. Since having the outdoors as another room, it might work here—unless the weather is bad. And when it’s bad here, it’sbad.Both the heat of summer and the occasional freak cold snap in the winter.”
“Then I’m extra glad I won’t have to make the commute to Price anymore. I’ve had worse drives, but it was boring.”
“Especially when combined with fatigue after a long shift.” As Zack removed a container of hot chocolate, he shuddered. “I’ve seen way too many accidents after people fell asleep while driving.”
“And I’ve helped treat more than enough of them.” Holly glanced at him. “Do you like your job?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Which one? I have two of them now that I’m helping with rescue flights.”
“Kathy mentioned how busy those are getting.” Holly placed her few pieces of cutlery in a drawer. “How can you do both?”
“I won’t forever. Eventually, I hope to do the rescue flights full time. The two pilots are former Marines and are always joking about people not shooting at them anymore.” Zack ran a hand over his chest, and something dark flashed across his eyes as he stared off, likely remembering that night.
