Page 35 of Love in Tandem
What was he thinking? They couldn’t be a real couple. So what if he was developing weird feelings for Charlotte? She had weird feelings for this town. They weren’t compatible. Period.
But for two hundred fifty thousand dollars, mightn’t they be the teensiest bit compatible? They both loved John Wayne and cheesecake, after all.
And it’s not as if the rules said they had to get married once the challenge was over. Or that they even had to stay together as a couple. They could still go their separate ways. They’d just be going their separate ways after splitting two hundred fifty thousand dollars first.
“All right,” he said to the basketball. “If I sink this shot, we should do the challenge.”
Zach aimed for the basketball hoop. The ball smacked off the upper doorframe, bounced off a lamp on his desk, and rolled beneath his bed. “You know what? Close enough.”
He grabbed the T-shirt he’d shed earlier from his old Star Wars bedspread and slammed it over his head. Enough stalling. He needed to convince Charlotte to do the challenge before either of them spent too much time considering whether it was the right thing to do.
Zach rushed down the stairs, flung open the front door, hurled himself down the porch steps, then screeched to a halt, the top of his body pitching forward.
“Whoa.” Strong hands caught him by the shoulders. “Some sort of emergency?”
Yeah, you could say that. Zach was developing weird feelings for a weird woman whose greatest dream was to stay planted in a town Zach had spent his entire adolescence dreaming of escaping. And now that weird woman’s estranged ex-convict brother was standing right in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” Zach asked once he’d regained enough balance to take a step back. Zach had known Will for as long as he’d known his own brother. Will and Ben had been inseparable growing up. Occasionally they’d let Zach tag along with them. Mostly they hadn’t. And mostly Zach hadn’t cared since he’d never liked Will all that much. Eventually Will started hanging out with a different crowd in high school anyway.
Will dug his hands into his jeans pockets, something different in the stoop of his shoulders from the last time Zach had seen him. A heaviness despite his wiry muscles. He wore a St. Louis Cardinals ball cap low on his forehead, as if trying to stay hidden. He should. This was Chicago Cubs territory. “Your brother called me.”
Zach crossed his arms over his chest. “Seems like a man on his honeymoon ought to have better things to do than call up an old friend to shoot the breeze.”
“It wasn’t exactly a casual conversation.” Will shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “Just what do you think you’re doing with Charlotte?”
His mom’s neighbor, Patty, popped out the front door of her brick ranch house across the street and offered a “Howdy!” as she gathered her mail. Zach lifted a wave in return. “I’m not doing anything with Charlotte,” Zach said to Will.
“Heard it was a beautiful wedding,” Patty shouted.
“Then what’s all this garbage I hear about you two in a relationship?” Will asked at the same time.
“It was!” Zach called to Patty, attempting a polite smile, which proved difficult since he was also trying to intimidate Will with a menacing glare. “You know, I find it interesting you can’t be bothered to pay a visit to your own family, but you’ll show up at my door with concerns that are none of your business.”
“Charlotte is my business. She’s my sister.”
“Your mom told me about your exciting news,” Patty continued. “You and Charlotte! How exciting!”
Good grief, lady. Just take your mail and be gone. Zach lifted his hand again. “Thank you!” he yelled to her. Then, “Maybe you should be paying a visit to her, not me,” he said to Will.
“It’s not her I have the problem with.”
“Think you’ll be setting a date soon? I know your mother certainly hopes so,” Pesky Patty persisted, lifting up crossed fingers for good measure.
Zach inhaled a deep breath. “We’ll see! Got a lot going on right now!” He lowered his voice. “Then what exactly is your problem?”
“You’re going to hurt her.”
“That’s right,” the perky pest called back. “The Nuptial Readiness Challenge. Mylanta! That’s certainly a lot of money.”
“Oh, and you haven’t hurt her?” Zach ground out, before, “It certainly is!”
“She’s too good for you,” Will said.
“She’s perfect for you!” Patty called. “Such a doll! Even if you don’t complete the challenge, you’ve landed yourself a prize. Don’t let her go now, you hear?” With a final wave of her mail, she disappeared into her house.
Patty was right. Charlotte was a prize. A prize Zach had no business winning if he had zero intentions of sticking around this town. But still. Will had no business dictating their relationship. And neither did Ben. These two annoyed him just as much now as they did when he was a kid.
Zach inhaled a deep breath, his inner John Wayne itching to take over again. “From what I recall, you stopped showing any concern for your family years ago. And from what I hear, you’re still doing your best to avoid them. So what’s this really about?” Pilgrim.
