Page 7 of Last Fall

3

ERIK

Way Too Good tobeReal

“Zoe! Wait up!”My heart was hammering way too hard for such ashortjog.

I was headed home from brunch with Marie when a familiar car caught my eye in the parking lot of Samurai Blue. There were many practical black sedans in the city of Tampa but only one that had “House Stark” on one corner of the rear window and “So Say We All” on the other, with a blue Tardis next to her licenseplate.

Given the lecture I’d just gotten from Marie I decided it had to be fate that an opportunity to run into Zoe was dropped in my lap. Before I knew what I was doing I’d made a hard turn into the parking lot and wasinside.

I wasn’t hungry so this made no sense, but then again, I rarely made sense around Zoe. I wasn’t a funny guy and I wasn’t a talker, yet somehow being near Zoe always managed to turn me into a mumblingidiot.

Today was no different. She choked on her sushi as soon as she saw me. Then I managed to stick my foot in my mouth about her books. It was clear from the look she gave me she thought I was using them as a line or something when in reality her fantasy series was one of my favorites. I’d read them twice and was dying for the nextinstallment.

And then I really went and ruined everything. Stupid Marie had me convinced Zoe had feelings for me. So I wentforit.

But instead of kissing—what I really wanted to do—or getting a polite rejection, I scared her. There was no other explanation for the way she reacted. I had four sisters. I liked to think I was fairly well attuned to the many reactions of a woman. My youngest sister in particular liked to give me a run for my emotional money with everything from panic attacks to abusive boyfriends. I knew what paralyzing fearlookedlike.

So here I was, chasing Zoe Burke across a parking lot, hoping like hell she was okay. It was my disastrous flirting from two years ago all over again. Except worsethistime.

She hit her key fob and opened the door.Fuck.I could see her hands trembling from here. What the hell had I said to set her offlikethis?

“Zoe. Are you okay?” I slid to a stopbehindher.

She threw her hands up like she was surrenderingtome.

Not a good sign. A really bad sign,actually.

“I’m fine.” The words came out all choked and forced.Emotional.She was most definitely not fine. I’d peg her somewhere between a general freak-out and a full-on panicattack.

“You arenotfine.”

She spun, eyes wild, and I remembered rule numero uno: never tell a woman how she feels. Then her shoulders slumped, whatever fight she’d just mustered completely draining out of her. “Look, Erik, I shouldn’t have run out like that, but I promise Iwillbe fine.” Her dark hair swirled around her face as the windcaughtit.

I still couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. Every time we got close...it was like looking at a movie star in person for the first time. Real, but way too good tobereal.

Familiar when sheshouldn’tbe.

Sure, we’d spent a lot of timearoundeach other over the last couple of years, but not quality getting-to-know-you time. She always avoided me and I didn’t hunt down women againsttheirwill.

There was no reason looking at her should feel so right or normal, and yet that was absolutely how it felt every damn time. Her dark hair begged for me to run my hands through it. I ached in ways I shouldn’t to grab it and hold her to me while I kissed the crap out her—made her knees go weak so Ihadto hold her. Add in the brilliant green eyes, alabaster skin, and angular face...she was a work of art I couldn’t getenoughof.

“But you’re not fine right now, Zoe.” I searched her face, looking for the answers, but all I found was an empty stare. Normally Zoe was a spitfire. Words were her weapon but she also had this spunk, this general attitude toward life, like she was ready to kickitsass.

I found it incrediblyattractive.

But right now all of that was gone. Zoe was scared and vulnerable. It made me want to wrap her up and protect her from everything. It was an instinct I usually felt around my sisters, which only made this reaction even weirder because my feelings toward Zoe were most definitely not of the platonicnature.

“No. I’m not fine,” she said slowly, her eyes not quite meeting mine. “But as I said, I will be in a fewminutes.”

Her hands still shook. Hell, her whole body was essentially trembling. She was in no state to go anywhere or be alone, so when she turned away from me, trying toleave, my arm shot out tostopher.

I realized too late how my instinct to help was the exact wrong thing to do. Her eyes flared with panic, her breath caught like it was stuck in her lungs, and all the blood drained from her face as she stared upatme.

I really, really hated that look in her eyes. As if she’d never felt safe alone with a man. That look cut me deep and I think it was right then, in that moment, that my crush on Zoe changed into something much moresignificant.

Permanent. As if she’d been branded onto my soul.Mineto protect from whatever was causingthispain.

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