Page 71 of Sweet Surrender

“That’s very clear,” he told her right away. “Anyone can see how much you care about the children, and how much good you do for them—my boys especially. But I ran into Lorelei Jensen, and she told me that you spent your lunch break helping Aubrey with some make up work.”

To Becca, that was all part of the job. But it still felt nice to be recognized for a job well done sometimes.

“I do my best. And Nick and Cal are such incredible young men,” she told him, smiling fondly at the thought of the two of them smiling and laughing this afternoon. “Thank you for bringing Nick’s glasses into the classroom and sharing that moment with us. How did you know he wouldn’t be embarrassed about it?”

“I guess I didn’t really know for sure,” Zane admitted, looking a little horrified.

“You go on instinct too,” she said right away. “You know him better than anyone but Cal, so of course you were right.”

Zane gave her another of his rare smiles and she felt it down to her toes, and couldn’t help smiling back.

“I worry sometimes that I’m not enough for them on my own,” he said, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. “It’s really nice to hear you say I’m doing a good job.”

“Of course you are,” she said right away. “They’re amazing. There’s not one thing I would want to change about either of them. They’re enthusiastic and bright, but they’re also kind, and that doesn’t happen by chance.”

“I can’t take all the credit for that,” Zane said right away. “My parents and siblings have always been around to spend time with them. It’s made all the difference.”

“A big family is such a blessing,” Becca agreed, thinking of her own family. “What about their mom?”

The question hung in the air for an awful moment. Becca put her hand over her mouth, but she couldn’t cram the words back in. They were already out.

“I’m sorry,” she said right away. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to ask about her. I’m awful at this. You can probably tell I don’t have a lot of experience going on dates…”

“So, thisisa date?” Zane asked, arching a brow.

It took her a second to realize he was teasing her, but when it landed on her she couldn’t help smiling with relief.

“Do you want it to be a date?” she asked quietly.

“Are you kidding me?” he said, reaching across the table to take her hand in his. “Of course I want to be on a date with you.”

His hand was warm, and so much larger than hers. She felt a wave of rightness wash over her, like she was wading in a calm lake with the sun warming her face.

“Okay,” she said shyly, her eyes on their hands.

“Two cups of creamy potato soup,” the waitress said brightly. “And the rest of your meal will be out in just a bit.”

Zane let go of Becca’s hand to allow the waitress to place their soup on the table.

“Thank you,” Becca said.

“My pleasure, sweetie,” she replied and headed off.

“This looks great,” Becca said.

“Go on and eat,” Zane told her. “I think I would like to tell you a little about Brandy.”

“You don’t have to,” Becca told him right away. “I don’t ever need to know.”

“There are rumors in town,” Zane said. “I know about them. It’s better for you to hear the truth from me. I’m not blameless in this situation, as a lot of folks would have you believe.”

That wasn’t what she had expected. But she nodded and kept listening.

“Brandy wanted to be a flight attendant or a cruise director,” he said, the corners of his mouth ticking up slightly. “She wanted to see the world. She never really wanted to settle down around here.”

“Wow,” Becca said.

“We were high school sweethearts, and I guess you could say opposites attract,” he said. “Because the last thing I would ever want to do is leave Sugarville Grove.”

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