Page 47 of A New Chapter

“How could I not notice?” He chuckled and shook his head some more.

“I knew it. Why do men like boobs so much anyway? They’re just globs of fat.”

“I don’t know, Em. Maybe because we don’t have them?”

“Well, women like that make it tough for women like me.”

“How so?” He looked genuinely curious.

“Hello, Miss Average-sized over here.” She pointed down at her chest. Oops, that may have been a mistake, she thought, because now Zack stared right at them.

“News flash, Em. All boobs are good.”

“Oh, so size doesn’t matter?”

Zack let out a hearty laugh that caught the attention of the people at the next table. “Do I really need to answer that?”

Emma laughed too. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“Maybe I should be asking you the size question.” Zack wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“It’s not the size of the tool, but how you use it that counts… or something like that,” she said and slugged down the last of her beer.

“Hmm, we’ll see,” Zack said, and he rubbed his hand over his day-old stubble.

What was that supposed to mean? Emma felt herself flush and averted her eyes. Luckily—or not, depending on how she looked at it—the booby waitress reappeared with their bill. Zack instantly reached for his wallet and handed her his credit card.

“Ooh. Zack Kostas. Are you Greek?” Booby asked.

Emma wanted to scream, “Yoo-hoo! I’m still here!”

“Yes, I am,” Zack answered smoothly. “Yet here I am in an Irish pub.”

Booby giggled. “There are a lot of good Greek restaurants in the city too. How long are you here for?”

Ok, that does it! Emma cleared her throat and was just about to speak when Zack reached across the table and grabbed her hand.

“I don’t think we’ll be leaving the room much for the next couple of days.”

Holy wow! Emma smiled sweetly at the waitress until she turned and scurried away.

Emma and Zack were still laughing when they left the pub and had joined the stream of people on the busy sidewalk.

“Where are we going?” Emma asked when he took her hand and tucked her close to his side. Emma wrote off the gesture as practical—it would prevent them from getting separated in the crowd.

“Shopping,” Zack replied, as if she should have known the answer.

He’ll get no argument from me! Emma took in the array of sights and sounds while they made their way up Michigan Avenue. She couldn’t be sure what made her feel more alive, the city or the sensation of Zack’s fingers entwined with hers. They were jostled by passersby several times, and Emma reveled in the jolt she felt every time their bodies came into contact. Conversation was kept to a minimum because it was difficult to hear over the noise, but Emma didn’t mind. It was rare to feel comfortable with someone in silence, but Zack seemed fine with it too.

When the American Girl doll store came into sight, Zack pointed, and Emma nodded. Once they stepped inside, Zack let go of her hand.

“Gracie loves this stuff. Will you help me find something?” Zack asked.

“Sure. I used to love to play with dolls when I was a little girl,” Emma said, and she picked up one of the dolls on display. “Since I didn’t have siblings, I would talk to my dolls as if they were real.”

“Gracie does that too. I would have liked for her to have a sister or brother, but now, who knows…”

Zack’s head was bent over a box of doll accessories, but Emma heard the regret in his voice.