He got out of the car and crossed the paved drive to the redbrick front porch with its tall white pillars on either side of the door. His footsteps were the only sound other than a gentle breeze blowing through the nearby trees until he raised a hand and pressed the doorbell. He heard the muted chime from inside the house, and wondered at the intense pounding behind his rib cage as he waited for someone to answer.
Once again, he was prepared to find Juliet on the other side, and once again he was confronted by a different Zaccaro sister instead. This time, it was Zoe. She was smiling when she opened the door, but the minute she saw him, her blue eyes went ice-cold and her mouth turned down in a frown that was only one short trip away from a glare.
He blew out a breath and thought, Here we go again.
“Hello, Zoe,” he said by way of greeting, making sure to keep his tone low and almost sickeningly polite. The last thing he needed was to give this sister more reason to be wary of or upset with him and go into full gatekeeper mode. He had enough negatives stacked against him already, thank you very much.
She didn’t respond, merely crossed her arms over her chest and tapped the toe of one of her glittery stacked heels. She was a little underdressed for visiting her folks, he thought, taking in her tight dress and the amount of skin left bare both above and below the slinky material.
But of course she hadn’t asked for his opinion, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to give it. Not when he was trying to make nice and extract information from a woman who was quickly taking on some of the less attractive characteristics of an out-of-control pit bull.
“I’m looking for your sister, Juliet,” he said, as though any part of that explanation for his presence was actually necessary.
“I know who you’re looking for,” she snapped, the tapping of her foot growing faster and louder. “I just don’t think she wants to see you.”
Reid’s jaw clenched, molars fusing together as he fought to hold on to his temper. He was getting really tired of hearing that.
He took a deep breath, nostrils flaring as he counted to ten. Through his teeth, because he just couldn’t get them to part that much, he said, “Would you please tell her I’m here and let her make that decision on her own?”
Zoe’s eyes narrowed. She looked him up and down, freezing him with her snooty-rich-girl stare.
Finally, she seemed to relax the slightest bit. Her arms loosened, her self-designed daZZle heels stopped clicking against the foyer floor and she tipped her head to one side.
“She’s not here right now,” Zoe said softly. “She went out for a while.”
“Do you mind if I ask where she is?” he asked, matching her steady tone.
For the first time, indecision crossed the younger woman’s face. Then she gave a growl of frustration.
“Fine. She went to see Paul. I tried to talk her out of it, at least temporarily, and even offered to go with her. But she insisted and said it was something she had to do alone.”
Reid could feel his ire beginning to rise again. His fingers curled at his sides. He’d hoped to catch her before she “patched things up” with the bastard, though what he’d planned to do or say to keep that from happening, he didn’t know.
He sucked a great gulp of air into his lungs, letting it out slowly at the same time he forced his hands to relax.
In a low voice that almost didn’t sound like his own, he said, “Will you tell me where he lives so I can go talk to her? Hopefully before she makes a monumental mistake.”
Zoe tipped her head in the other direction. After a second, she asked, “Will you promise not to hurt her?”
He leaned back as though he’d been punched, eyes going wide. “I would never lay a hand on her,” he responded. Passionately. Sincerely. With more than a hint of affront.
“There are a lot of ways to hurt someone,” Zoe said quietly. “Not all of them leave bruises.”
If her question caught him off guard, that comment jolted him right down to the soles of his Italian-leather oxfords.
“You’re right. And I promise,” he said softly. “I’ll do my level best not to hurt her.”
It took another couple tense minutes for her to decide, but then she straightened, uncrossed her arms and rattled off the address of Juliet’s ex-fiancé. The man Reid was going to try really hard not to put in traction.
* * *
As Juliet stepped out of the house, tugging the door closed behind her, the only thing she could think was that she had overdressed for the occasion. She’d wanted to look nice, but not too nice. Definitely not suggestive in any way, but not too casual or uncaring, either.