Page 28 of Happy Trails & Honey Pots

“Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry.” Zoe’s eyes widened, and she nodded and quickly turned.

“No!” I reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving.

She froze and looked down to where my fingers were wrapped around her wrist. I could feel her pulse beating rapidly beneath the pads of my fingertips.

“Sorry.” I dropped my arm. “I thought you were Braxton. Come in.”

I stepped back, and her eyes met mine before they dropped lower down to my chest. When they did, her cheeks flushed with a crimson color, and I realized I was wearing only boxer shorts.

“Shit. Sorry.” I grabbed my jeans from the floor and quickly put them on.

Braxton and I had worked together for so long, and she’d been to so many fittings and photo shoots that she’d seen me in various stages of undress; I didn’t think twice about answering the door in my boxers. As an actor and model, you tend to lose all sense of modesty when your body becomes a product that is scrutinized and prodded.

Thankfully, Zoe was still standing in the hallway after I zipped them up. “Come in, please.”

She turned her head, looking left and right down the hall both ways before walking into my room. I shut the door behind her. Her eyes were wide as she glanced around the room. She looked like a trapped animal ready to bolt, which led me to believe this was not going to be the answer I was hoping for.

To be honest, I wasn’t fairing much better than she was. As I stared at Zoe, I realized that my heart was beating rapidly, my palms were sweaty, and nerves were flooding my system. It was exactly how I felt when I saw her for the first time at her house. The same thing happened when I saw her at the baseball field and at the pizza parlor. Being in Zoe James’ presence was like a drug to my system. Just the sight of her was a shot of adrenaline.

“Please, take a seat.” I hoped to mask the internal chaos that being near her set off in me as I offered her the chair beside the round table next to the picture window. “Can I get you anything? I have water and tea.”

“No. No, I’m fine.” She didn’t sit. “I’m not staying long. I was just coming to tell you that, um, I spoke to Walter and AJ, and we’ve decided that you have our blessing. You can move forward with the movie.”

“Really?” I was shocked.

She nodded and gulped audibly. As an actor, I studied people’s body language. But it didn’t take an expert to see that her words and body were telling a very different story. She looked like she wanted to throw up.

“Are you sure?”

“No. I’m not sure. But I know that Austin would have wanted the movie to happen. And I know that AJ and Walter want the movie to happen. And, for some reason, I trust you. I believe that you will make the movie the right way. And I would love to give some input on it if I can. He didn’t really talk much about his time overseas, when he was deployed, even in his letters. But anyway, if I can help, I will so…”

Hearing Zoe tell me that she trusted me was better than winning any award, the World Series, or the lottery. From spending time in Firefly over the past week, from speaking to people who had grown up with Zoe, from the little bit of time I had spent with her, I had a sense that she didn’t trust people easily. I’d been told as much by both Harlan and Dawson. Not in so many words, but they said the only person they’d ever seen her open up to was Austin and that she’d basically shut down after she lost him.

“You can have as much input into the story as you want to have. I would love for you to work with our writers, Andy and Shania. If it is okay with you, I’ll give them your contact info, so they can send you what they have.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” She nodded. “Okay, well, I’ll let you go back to bed. I mean sleep,” she quickly corrected herself, and gulped audibly as she moved away from the bed.

The way she did it made me wonder if she’d had the same wayward thoughts I’d been having. If maybe she felt the same magnetic pull that I did. If maybe this attraction wasn’t one-sided. I opened the door, and as she walked past me, her fruity, linen-fresh scent drifted through the air. For the rest of my life, her scent would be imprinted on my brain.

As she stepped into the hallway, she glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes met mine. There was so much vulnerability yet so much strength in them it broke my heart as she said a soft, “Goodnight.”

Her sweet, melodic voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket. As I stared down into her large emerald gaze, there was so much I wanted to say and even more that I wanted to do. None of which was appropriate.

“Thank you for trusting me,” my voice was gravelly and rough.

Zoe’s chin dipped in a nod before she turned and walked down the hallway. As I watched her leave, I knew that whatever happened with the movie, my life would never be the same. There were certain defining moments in a person’s life—pivotal events that changed everything. From now on there would only be before Zoe came to her front door and I saw her for the first time, and after.

13

ZOE

As I drovethrough the downtown Arts District, the midday sun hung in the center of the robin’s egg blue sky, surrounded by fluffy white clouds. Birds chirped, and a light breeze blew through the weeping willow trees. It was the perfect day to plan a wedding, and that’s exactly what was on the agenda. I was looking forward to putting my life and all its responsibilities on the back burner.

Since Miles had shown up on my doorstep, he’d been a permanent fixture in my thoughts. I couldn’t seem to evict him from my mind. Whether I was conscious or not. After seeing him in his boxer briefs a week ago, I’d started having very explicit dreams about him. Dreams where I showed up to his room at the boarding house and instead of putting on his jeans, he pulled me into his room and…

No, I shook my head.

I had to stop my dirty thoughts. These past two weeks had been an emotional roller coaster, and it was time to get off the ride. Today was all about Daphne.

---