says cheerily. “That’s it. I was in a state ofFuck it.There was no reason to stay and what felt like a
million reasons to go.”
“What was gone?”
She smiles sadly and runs her finger down the zipper of my coat. “I don’t want to tell you.”
Yep, there’s the invisible punch in the nuts. “I see.” But I really don’t. Why is she hiding that part
of her life from me? Why can’t she tell me? “There’s a coffee shop up here. Why don’t we grab
something?” I’m torn between letting her hand go and being desperate to pull her closer to bridge the
sudden distance between us.
“Zach,” she says softly. I straighten my shoulders, let my lips curl into my signature smile, and
look at her. Her brow furrows, and she tightens her hand on mine.
“I didn’t say that right, and I think I hurt you.”
It’s my turn to shrug, but it probably doesn’t come off as casual. “You don’t owe me anything,
Maya. If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s your choice.” I’m trying to convince myself more than
her. This caring for people shit sucks. When you care, you can get hurt. Why am I putting myself
through this again?
She tilts her head to the side. “It’s not that I don’t want to share, but I’ve been looking forward to
our first date all week. And the answer to your question makes me sad to think about. So maybe,
could we just save that for another time?”
Searching her face, I see echoes of that sadness, and I feel like an ass for my impatience. Wanting
to chase away the sad, I wiggle my brows at her. “You’ve been thinking about me, huh? Maybe,
thinking about me with my shirt off?”
She blushes, and just as I hoped, her eyes fill with laughter. “Humm. I wonder if it hasn’t been you
thinking about me in that bathtub.”
The laughter drains out of me as heat replaces it. A soft gasp escapes her as I pull her in closer.
“I’ve been dreaming of nothing but you in that tub. I’ve been imagining a do-over all week.”
“A do-over?” she asks breathlessly.
“Yeah. I want you in that big tub, skin milky in the moonlight coming through the window. I want
you looking more like the siren you are than a lobster boiling in a pot.”
She drops her head against my chest, dissolving into laughter. She’s snorting with it, making the
people around us smile as they pass.
