Page 11 of The Last Love Song
Before Heather could ask her if everything was all right, Zach appeared at her side.
“Looks like you have a thief at work here,” he announced, staring at the wavering white tablecloth that hid the muffin-stealing boys. “Maybe I should call the sheriff.”
Giggles floated from under the table and the tablecloth flapped some more. One scuffed tennis shoe made an appearance.
“I’d better go,” Megan muttered, darting away before Heather could introduce her.
Watching her leave, Heather hoped she’d find time to speak to the girl before the breakfast ended. Now she turned toward Heartache’s intriguing mayor, her eyes wandering over Zach’s perfectly pressed khakis and dark jacket, his white dress shirt with the top button undone—the only nod to the less formal occasion.
“It just so happens the sheriff is right over there.” Heather pointed out Sam Reyes.
More giggles and then three small boys shot out from under the table, trailing muffin crumbs and crumpled napkins in their wake.
Zach laughed as they watched them go.
“Score one for the local Neighborhood Watch.” He turned his brooding, lazy stare toward Heather, his tawny brown eyes warm with a look that hummed over her skin. “Another thing to love about life in a small town.”
Something about his assessing gaze had her mouth going dry. He’d told her last night he wanted her to stay in town and the words had circled around her brain ever since. What she didn’t understand was—why now? His response to her seemed sudden. And while she wouldn’t take him for the kind of guy who found a no-strings relationship appealing, she had to wonder if his interest had to do with the fact that she’d be gone soon.
All the more reason to be cautious, since she was far too curious about him. She had no business daydreaming about his clean-shaven jaw, the strong column of his throat, or the fact that she knew if she leaned close, she would smell the scent of bay rum on his skin. The way he’d touched her the night before had really scattered her thoughts.
“I didn’t know we were making a list.” She cracked open her bottle of water and took a long sip.
She peered around the wedding breakfast where everyone seemed content to visit as the waitstaff circulated with trays of mimosas and Bloody Marys. No live music today, just someone’s iPod plugged into the speaker system the DJ had rented to them for an extra day.
“We are absolutely making a list. I thought I made that clear last night when I briefed you on my future goal of keeping you in town.”
She’d shut down that conversation fast the night before, confused, flustered and not trusting herself to make sense of what he had been saying.
“I think I was a little roadweary from the wedding,” she admitted. “I couldn’t imagine why it would make a difference to you. Unless you were thinking of taking up piano?”
A cheer erupted nearby, distracting her from a question she really wanted answers to. A bunch of teens—her niece Ally and her friends—were all playing a video game projected on a pull-down screen under one of the leftover canopy tents from the reception. A few of them were high-fiving and carrying on. Heather’s eye sought Megan, wondering if she would feel sad to miss a chance to hang out with her peers. But the girl was on the other side of the party with her back to the group.
“Do you have a minute to talk, maybe over there where it’s quieter?” Zach pointed at a pair of bright red Adirondack chairs between two old pine trees on the far side of the lawn. They were there for decoration more than anything, marking the property line between her mother’s house and Scott’s place.
“I have a minute.” Even though she was wary of wherever this was headed. “But I’ll warn you—my own family tried their best to talk me out of leaving town. I feel like I’ve put off my own dreams for too long.”
“I get that.” He greeted a few people as they edged away from the crowd. “I felt the same way after school—I needed to leave Heartache. Remove myself from the family drama.”
She wasn’t about to throw her family under the bus and admit to any problems there. Even now, her mother remained inside, her tolerance for so much company having worn off the night before. In fact, Heather hadn’t gotten a goodbye from her when she’d knocked on her door the night before.
Not that she’d ended up getting far out of town anyhow.
“I earned my degree online.” She’d been trying to balance helping her mother with helping Erin launch her online business. Since there were no colleges nearby, taking credits online had seemed logical at the time. “I learned a lot, but I missed a chance to see someplace else. Meet other people.”
“It’s fun to travel.” When they reached the chairs in the small clearing, he produced a handkerchief from his pocket and ran it over the wooden slats of one red seat. “But that doesn’t mean you need to move permanently.”
“It’s hard to say that with any certainty when I haven’t seen what else is out there. Up until last spring, Erin did all the buying trips for the store.” She settled her water bottle on the wide arm of one chair as she sat down.
A scuttling in the bushes nearby caught her attention and she saw her mother’s black Lab, Luce, wagging her tail from a spot in the shade. Like a windshield wiper, the tail swiped over dried leaves, clearing a half circle around the dog.
“I’ll tell you what’s out there.” He frowned and ticked off items on his fingers, “Congestion, pollution, noise, corruption and no sense of community. Here you have clean air, hassle-free traffic, easy parking, a short commute to work and your whole family.”
She took another long sip of water and then tossed the empty bottle to Luce to play with. The old dog gnawed happily with the bottle pinned under one dark paw.
“You’re really good at these campaign speeches.” She smiled. “I feel like you could win Heartache some kind of ‘best small town in the U.S.’ award, you make it sound so good.” She studied Zach’s strong profile, his skin deeply tanned above the white collar of his shirt. “But I’m still not sure why you’re trying to sell me.”
His expression became serious, the flirtatious glances nowhere in sight now.
