Page 150 of The Man Next Door
“You’ve got that right,” the man said. He grabbed a Post-it note and wrote on it. “It’s not far. Up in Rowland Heights.”
Zona took it. “Thanks.”
“No, thankyou. Maybe he’ll become human again.”
He always had been human. Just wounded.
“By the way, my name’s Joe. I’m betting I’ll see more of you in the future.”
“I don’t bet,” Zona said with a smile. “So this better be a sure thing.”
She hurried to her car and headed for the high-end part of Covina. It came with expensive homes, gorgeous views, and a golf course. Whatever Alec was working on there, it probably was amazing.
Sure enough, she wound up at a half-complete mansion that promised at least four bedrooms and had a driveway large enough for a couple of stretch limos. Workers in hard hats wearing dusty jeans, T-shirts, and sweat hammered on walls or ran noisy saws or walked around carrying long planks of wood over their shoulders. And there in front of it all stood Alec, a set of blueprints in his hand, talking to another man and pointing to who knew what.
He hadn’t seen her drive up. Would he be able to hear what she wanted him to hear above all the noise? There was only one way to find out.
She took advantage of a lull in the sawing, cranked up her car’s sound system, and started the song playing. ABBA began singing “Take a Chance on Me.” She picked her way past debris as fast as she could to get to him in time for him to hear the heart of the message.
He did. He turned in confusion. Then he saw her and his eyes opened wide. He shoved the blueprints against the other man’s chest and closed the distance between them, hauled her to him, and kissed her like a desperate actor auditioning for a part.
The kiss ended to wolf whistles and applause. “Get back to work, you clowns,” he called, and led her away toward her car, ABBA still serenading them. “Please tell me that song means what I think it does and I didn’t just make a fool of myself.”
She smiled. “It does. I’ve been so afraid to take a chance, but I don’t think being with you is a gamble. I think it’s a sure thing. I’m sorry I’ve been so afraid. I’m sorry it took me so long to get brave. I’m—”
“I’m sorry you’re making this speech so long,” he said, cutting her off, and pulled her back to him and kissed her again. “Oh, man, I’ve missed you,” he said against her mouth.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she said.
He smiled down at her. “Have you had lunch?”
“This is lunch,” she said. “I have to get back to work.”
“Dinner then. I’ll pick you up at six.” His brows pulled down. “Your mom okay with this?”
“Yes, she is. Except, I need to ask you one important thing. Please be honest.”
“Always. What?”
“You don’t gamble, do you?”
He laughed. “I don’t even play Mega Millions. I took math. I know the odds. And trust me, when it comes to us, they’re in our favor.”
Best gambling metaphor ever.
ALEC NOT ONLYtook Zona out to dinner that night. He also included Louise and Martin and Bree. Bree grilled him mercilessly about past women, what his plans were to keep his stepsister out of his life, then poked around, looking for bad habits.
“I swear when I’m mad, and I yell.”
“So we heard,” Louise murmured.
“That’s it? There’s got to be more,” Bree pushed.
“I bite my nails.”
“And you’re not very patient,” pointed out Louise, whichmade Zona blush. Her mother had been one of the ones who’d tried his patience.
“You do have a temper, Alec. Admit it,” Louise said.
