Page 36 of A New Chapter

“What are you going to do?” Kelly asked.

“Honestly, I have no idea.”

When Emma’s phone rang later that night, she felt a flutter of nerves in her belly. She had struggled all day long over what she was going to say to Zack, but now that the time had arrived, she had no idea what would come out of her mouth.

“First question. Are you still mad at me?”

Ugh, of course, he has to melt me right at the beginning! “I’m not so much mad as I am confused,” Emma admitted.

“What are you confused about?”

Zack’s voice was calm and patient, and Emma responded in kind. “I’m confused about us. I thought we were doing just fine as friends, but lately…”

“I’ve been crossing the line,” Zack finished with a heavy sigh.

Emma remained silent, expecting him to add more. Zack was one of the most expressive men she’d ever met, so she’d be surprised if he clammed up on her now.

“I’m sorry, Em. I have the best intentions, but then I get around you, and I can’t help myself. You’re so beautiful and funny and smart, and I just want to…”

Emma’s heart thumped overtime, and her throat had closed up. His words were so sweet, so sincere, so…

“Well, you know. But I’ll try harder to rein myself in. I promise. I don’t want to do anything to ruin our friendship. If that means keeping my hands off of you, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Uh-oh. Now I’m even more confused. Here he was trying to appease her, but is that what she really wanted? For him to keep his hands off of her? Those magic hands! Maybe they could try dating, and she opened her mouth to suggest it, but he was still talking…

“So, no more sleepovers, neck massages, or discussions about sex. No holding you back from dating the UPS guy, as long as he’s solid, and no more strutting around in my Superman boxers. Forget the innuendos and the rum and Cokes. From here on out, everything’s rated G. How’s that sound?”

Um, extremely boring! “Ok,” she croaked, glad that he couldn’t see the grimace on her face.

“Great. Now that we’ve settled that, I have another question.”

“What is it?”

“Would you like to go shopping with me tomorrow? One of my very good friends mentioned that my house could use a facelift, and I’d like your help.”

Emma smacked herself on the forehead and rolled her eyes. So now he was going to act the perfect gentleman and take her shopping. How could things possibly get any worse?!

Resigned, she replied, “Sure, I’ll go shopping with you.”

“Pick you up at ten?”

“That will work.”

“I’m so glad we sorted things out, Em. I feel a lot better now. Do you?”

Not exactly. “Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow, Zack.”

As soon as they disconnected, Emma balled her hands into fists and pounded them against the couch cushions. One way or another, this man was going to be the death of her!