Page 8 of Wolfish Heart
But everyone saw that she was withme. Which means now the entire town will treat her as one of their own.
I finish my coffee and get ready for the day, managing to get through the first urgent round of emails before Zoe texts and says she’s ready.
I hurry downtown and pick her up where she asked me to, at The Bakery On Main. When I get there, she’s waiting out front with her backpack, a white paper bag, and a strange expression on her face. I help her into the truck, then she gives me another odd look as I start to drive.
“The woman at the bakery knew all your favorites and started preparing them the second I walked in the door.”
“Well, I’ve lived here all my life. They know what I like.”
Zoe flashes me a look, accented with a raised eyebrow. “She knew I was bringing you food. Which means she already knows I’m with you – me, a total stranger. When I was there last week, I was just a normal customer. Today, she said that everything would go on your tab.”
“There are no strangers in Old Hemlock Valley, just friends we haven’t met yet,” I chuckle. “That’s what Grandma always says.”
I reach out to take her hand. “I guess I should have warned you properly. When I hugged you on the street the other day, it was so that men wouldn’t ogle you.” I glance over to meet her eyes for a moment. “For the record, men in this town treat women right. We collectively see to that. But it’s hard to stop wandering eyes when a woman as beautiful as you is bending over in a sundress.”
“I do appreciate that you blocked me.”
“No man in town will ever try to do that again. They would never risk angering a Wolfe. Especially not me, or my brothers.” I smile over at her. “I also knew the ladies in the diner window would spread the word that you’re with me.”
I turn into the driveway, watching as Zoe bites her lip. “So the whole town is going to treat me differently now?”
“I’m sure everyone was already polite and friendly. Now they’re just going to be…a little extra.” I shrug. “It’s just a fact of life around here.”
“People fearing you?”
I park in front of the house, then turn to take her hand. “It’s not that. At least, I sincerely hope not. We’re good guys, and they know it. I guess it’s just…” I shake my head. “I want to say…respect for the family? It started even before my brothers and I became rich, though that didn’t help. It’s something that’s always been there, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Zoe snorts loudly. “You’re like the princes of this little mountain town.”
Laughing with her, I nod. “Well…kind of.”
“Which means…” She trails off, staring down at our clasped hands.
The tension in her eyes causes a knot to form in my stomach. “Please. Say it.”
She sighs. “I don’t know if I’m cut out to be a princess. Not that I think we’d ever… you know… I mean, it’s summer, and who knows what might happen come fall. I guess I want to know what I’m getting into if…”
I jump out of the truck, run around to her side, and pull her into my arms. “We can take our time, baby. One step after another. See where we end up.”
My hands slide into the back of her hair as I tip her beautiful face up for a soft, gentle kiss. “The important thing for now is that you now have a fantastic office space for shooting those videos, right?”
“Yourspace, that I’m borrowing. Yes.”
My hand slides down, and although I’m sorely tempted to squeeze her ass, I caress her hip instead. “Whatever. You know, I had my early morning coffee there today, in my special chair. It was amazing.”
Her lovely gray eyes glow. “I’m so glad.”
I help her get all her gear inside, then put on a pot of coffee to go with the pastries from the bakery. While we have breakfast,I work as her assistant, tweaking the window shutters and the camera angles so that the lighting is right for her shots.
“You mentioned these videos are for your mom’s company. What exactly does she do?”
Zoe pulls a few books slightly forward along the shelf, lining the spines up better. “Mom has a course to train graphic designers, interior designers, photographers, and virtual assistants for the restaurant industry. It’s pretty popular.”
“Makes sense. It sounds like it would be in high demand.”
“It really is. There are so many people who have taken graphic design courses or just noodled around with the programs on their own.” She shrugs. “But either way, a lot of them don’t know how it relates to the restaurant industry. There are some very specific things…signage, menu layouts, how to present the specials. Every time you go to a restaurant, you probably don’t realize it, but you expect things to be a certain way. Not to mention, everything has to complement the food and decor.”
“And your mom teaches all of this?”
