Zane would know what to do.
He’d walk in and assess the problem with those calm, steady eyes and have it fixed in ten minutes, and I wouldn’t have to be the one holding everything together for just one night.
I wanted his steadiness and the quiet way he made the world feel manageable just by being in it.
After I soaked up the worst of the water and wedged a bucket under the drip, I flopped down at the kitchen table.
My phone was in front of me, and Zane’s name was right there in my contacts, brand new and already burning a hole in my heart. My thumb hovered over it.
But he was with Tina.
Ishouldn’ttext him even if his eyes had held an open invitation.
But the pipe was still dripping, and I was so tired of doing everything alone.
I started typing before I lost my nerve.
Me: Hi Zane. I’ve got a leak under the kitchen sink, and I made it worse trying to fix it. Do you know who can fix it? I’m out of the loop on who does plumbing these days.
I set the phone face down on the table and stared at the darkening window while three of the longest minutes of my life crawled past. I could have calledanyof my friends for referrals. This was a reach.
Then my phone buzzed.
Zane: I’ll be there in ten.
My heart somersaulted in my chest as I set the phone down and leaned back against the kitchen chair, letting my head tip back until I was staring at the ceiling.
My clothes were wet, my mascara was probably halfway down my face, and I felt completely wrung out.
But beneath that, a small, stubborn flame flickered to life in my chest.
I wouldnotcross any lines with him tonight. I wasn’t the kind of person who reached for another woman’s husband. But I’d let myself lean on him a little.
I’d let him fix the sink, and I would be grateful, and I would keep my hands and my heart to myself because Tina deserved that, and so did Zane.
But tonight I’d relish every second with him. This steady mountain man, who I would have given up every single one of my carefully laid plans for, if he’d ever just asked.
And the ache of that truth, a bruise that had never quite healed, was almost more than I could bear.
Chapter 2
Zane
Her SUV sat in the driveway, a newer model Lexus LX with factory-fresh paint that still held a shine even under the overcast sky.
It looked about as out of place here in Red Oak Mountain as Mallory herself.
Running into her today had been the shock of my life.
She’d collided right into me, all her soft curves bouncing off my chest.
My dick hardened as I thought about how she’d stumbled into me outside Bookish, punching straight through every wall I’d spent twelve years building.
Seeing her had made my mouth go dry and my brain go sideways instantly.
Her lips had been painted a deep berry color that made me think things I hadnobusiness thinking about a married woman.
But it wasn’t just the way she looked after all these years that had knocked me sideways.
