Page 22 of A New Chapter

Chapter 12

Zack knotted his tie and took one last look in the bathroom mirror. He brushed an imaginary speck of lint off of his suit jacket and turned away in disgust, not at his appearance, but at the sudden case of nerves that he felt in his gut. Part of him wished that he hadn’t asked Emma to accompany him tonight, and part of him was thrilled that she had said yes.

The reason for his nervousness was simple; he liked the way things were going with Emma, and he didn’t want to mess it up. So far, he had kept to his word about only wanting her friendship, even though inside he knew it was a lie. There was no doubt that he was attracted to her, and at times, he thought the feeling might be mutual, although they were both reluctant to act on it.

Zack kept telling himself that it was the right decision for Gracie, but he was starting to question his reasoning. Gracie seemed to enjoy Emma’s company just as much as he did. Well, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but still, Gracie was always excited to see her on Saturdays. What would be the harm of bringing Emma around while Gracie was there too? He could explain to Gracie that while he liked Emma, that didn’t mean he was going to marry her or that she would ever replace Alicia. Why does just the thought of that discussion make me break out in a sweat?

Aside from Gracie’s feelings on the subject, he wasn’t sure where Emma stood. She seemed to be content with their current “friends” status, and he hadn’t seen any real indication that she wanted to change it. Other than that day in his bedroom, when they had been talking about sex…

Oh yeah. That was a scene that kept replaying in his mind, especially at night, when he was lying in bed having trouble sleeping. When he had offered to be Emma’s sex buddy (well, not in those exact words), he thought he had seen a glimmer of interest. She had been quick to squelch it, but her eyes had given her away, not to mention the hitch of her breath when he had leaned in close to her on the bed.

She could have slapped him or at least berated him for the suggestion, but she hadn’t. She had simply moved to the other side of the room, as if putting distance between them would prevent him from wanting her. Or prevent her from wanting him…

In any case, he had enough experience with women to know when someone was interested. Emma could deny it all she wanted to, and he could use Gracie as his reason not to get involved, but in the end, it wouldn’t matter. They shared a mutual attraction, and if he played his cards right and took good care of Emma, she would come around. He was almost sure of it.