If he looked at me, I had no idea, because he was only quiet for a moment before saying, “I get what you mean. I hated how much your parents left. I still don’t get how they could just stay away so much. And I remember how sad you were when Connie moved away to go to school after community college.”

“I didn’t get how they could leave so much either, not for a long time. I’ve tried talking to them about it, but all they said was that they thought I’d do better settled somewhere. That I was safe and in good hands. That I could ask Connie how much it sucked moving around every year. Honestly, even though I was perfectly fine without them, I still resent them a little for just leaving us with Mamá Lupe, even though I know how much they help other people with their work. It makes me feel guilty. Selfish. But you know, everyone has to go and live their lives and fulfill their destinies so… I try to focus on myself too. And I know better now than to expect too much from anyone.”

I peeked at him, and he was already looking at me.

“What about you? You’ve never met anyone you liked enough to think about settling down?” I asked.

His nostrils flared a little, but he shook his head. “Nah. There’s a lot of lovely women out there, but in Paw-Paw’s words, none of ’em have ever made me feel more than fondness for ’em. And you know, with the way my daddy treated Mama—disappearin’ as soon as he found out she was pregnant—I don’t want anybody wastin’ too much of their time on me if I’m not plannin’ on spendin’ too much time with them.” He shrugged. “And, Peewee, I don’t know if I could trust some somebody enough to feel that kinda way about ’em.”

I snickered, but I understood his point. “Well, maybe someday you’ll meet someone that you do want wasting all their time on you. Maybe it’s like football teams; you just have to find the right people, the right person. Someone worth your trust. But if you don’t, maybe one day we can be neighbors in a retirement home. We can have the future Baby Boogie come visit us.”

He chuckled. “I can already picture you harassin’ the male employees at the home, askin’ them about their nuts.”

I burst out laughing. “I only ask people I trust questions like that.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But for real… at least tell me, did they put makeup on your butt cheeks because they—”

His whole body was laughing. “You need to go to sleep.”

The last thing I remembered before dozing off was both of us laughing over his butt cheeks and why he wouldn’t just give me an answer. My cheeks had started hurting, I knew that much.

What I also knew was that sometime later on, I heard Zac whispering, “In here with me. Let her sleep…. Yeah, she’s good.”

I was fairly certain I felt something brush over my head, over my ear, and touch my cheek.

I must have fallen back asleep, because the next thing I knew, I woke up in a dark room… with my face in a clean-scented armpit.

My arm was thrown over something hard and soft at the same time. My feet were hanging off the edge of the bed. And I was pretty sure I had drooled all over my cheek.

Zac was on his back, with an arm thrown over his eyes. His head was to the side and tucked in, breathing steadily into my hair. Calm and wonderful.

He was smiling even in his sleep.

That was when I realized where his other arm was. Wedged between us. He was holding my hand.

That was when I knew I was in trouble.

Chapter Fourteen

“He’s in a mood today,” Deepa whispered to me two weeks later after I’d gotten back from lunch.

The muscles along my shoulders tensed up. I didn’t need to ask who she was talking about. I knew. Just like I’d known that he was showing up around noon and that’d I’d have the morning without Gunner’s overbearing presence.

You know, because I checked the schedule every day.

“Why?” I whispered back, setting my purse under my keyboard.

“Richie”—he was one of the personal trainers at the gym—“said that he overheard him on the phone. He thinks he was arguing with one of the other owners.”

“Over what?” I whispered, standing up.

I didn’t need to look directly at her face to guess she was looking around to make sure he hadn’t magically appeared out of nowhere. “Something about employee retention.”

I snickered and heard Deepa snicker back. “Big surprise.”

“Right?”

The side door opened, and we both started trying to look busy. But it wasn’t Gunner. It was one of the MMA guys coming in.

I just about sagged in relief and greeted the guy as he flashed his badge and went ahead with a “Hey.”

The second he walked off, we turned back toward each other discreetly, ready to move and change positions if we had to. “Did the nursing home call you back?”

“No, not yet. I was going to call tomorrow morning. They seemed really interested during my interview, but they still haven’t called.” She grabbed a bottle under the counter and sprayed the surface. “My mom called yesterday and said she isn’t feeling well. I’m worried about her. She’s going to the doctor tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, Dee. Let me know what the doctor says,” I told her.

She nodded as she wiped the counter off. “Are we still on for Sunday?”

I glanced at her. She was talking about filming. “Yeah.”

“Are any of your friends coming?” she whispered.

“No, they’re busy.” They were.

“Why didn’t—” she started to ask, and it was some miracle that I happened to be facing forward again when the side door open and The Asshole strolled in.

I picked up the phone as fast as I could and pretended to be on a phone call. Right on time.

I could tell from the way he was walking that he was in a mood. I could read his signs, that’s how bad it was.

Unfortunately, he came straight for me. Fuck my life.

Holding the phone to my ear, I figured I might as well get this over with and said—to no one, literally no one because it was only the dial tone that could listen to me—“No problem at all. Have a nice day.”

Gunner had started watching me from the second he entered, and I was pretty sure he thought I was full of shit and faking being on the phone, but he could never know for sure. Sucker.

“Hi, Gunner.”

Yeah, he didn’t give a single shit. He just looked at me with his grumpy expression. “Got a sec?”

Nope. “Sure,” I said, like he didn’t know I had a second. Obviously, he could see there wasn’t a line of people trying to come in.

He did this weird mouth thing as he glared at me. I watched him take a breath through his nose before saying, “I heard a rumor.”

Shit.

“Is it true you’re friends with Zac Travis?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Deepa turning in the opposite direction. Not out of guilt, I knew, but more to get away so she wouldn’t get dragged into the conversation.

Now I could handle this a few different ways. Actually, there were only two ways. I could say yes, or I could say no.