Visiting her at bedtime seemed more intimate than daytime. I hesitantly shadowed him anyway. Zack tapped the door twice and went in. Leaning over, he dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Goodnight, Mom.”
“’Night, Tesoro.” She turned to me. “Come visit again soon.”
“Thank you. I will.” I gave her an awkward wave.
We said our goodbyes to the rest of his family and walked at a leisurely pace down the sidewalk to my house.
“Zack?” I glanced his way to see him watching me. “Why are we hanging out again? You could’ve said no.”
“Yeah, but did you see my mom’s face? You were right. I don’t have much time with her. Whatever she has left, I want to see her happy.”
I was oddly disappointed she was the only reason he hung out with me. I stopped in front of my house and faced him. “Right. But…”
“But what?”
“Well, you’ve been awfully pleasant today.”
He laughed. “Are you complaining? We might have a few more days together. Why make it harder than it has to be?”
That sounded good. But not safe. If he was polite and hot, how could I not crush on him? This could be bad.
When I turned and resumed walking, he grabbed my hand, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Autumn, I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said. “And I do like girls.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Gina will be happy to hear that.” I laughed nervously, but my mind was screaming, “Oh, my God.”
Zack gazed into my eyes as he inched closer.
My heart thumped in my chest as I imagined that he might kiss me. As every nerve ending in my body went on red alert, I held my breath.
He shook his head and released my hand. “Uhm, when my mom is gone, whether it’s weeks from now or months, Aunt Cara will probably want me to stay. But I wouldn’t feel right imposing on her any longer than we already have.”
I couldn’t be sure why he told me that, but my mind was even more muddled by my great disappointment over him not kissing me. I was sure he’d been about to. I struggled to focus. “Maybe your aunt loves you and won’t consider you an imposition.”
He nodded. “But I can’t stay. I have no idea where I’ll go. Mexico. Canada. Maybe I’ll go to Italy. When I’m on the road, I don’t know how often I’ll talk to Trevor and I’m closer to him than anyone.”
I got the picture. He wasn’t going to be around and wanted me to know that once he left, I’d never see him again. Don’t get emotionally attached. “So you’re saying that you don’t want to form any ties that can’t be easily broken?”
Zack exhaled in relief, nodding. “Exactly.”
If he felt the need to tell me, I must’ve given myself away somehow. Maybe when I’d been waiting for him to kiss me. God, how obvious I must have been. “Thanks for letting me know,” I said lightly. “That’s nice of you, Zack.”
I let us inside my house and he waited downstairs while I ran to my room to change. Leaning over the bed, I steadied myself with my palm flattened near the edge of the mattress. Damn it. He was just a guy. And a grouchy one at that. Nothing special.
Except that he was helpful, gentlemanly and totally gorgeous.
Getting pathetically infatuated with a guy who didn’t want me was stupid, stupid, stupid. And even if he could muster up some feelings for me, it didn’t matter, because he wasn’t sticking around.
I dashed downstairs and into the family room to see him holding a picture of me when I was about five-years-old. “I think I’ll pass on the beach,” I said. “You guys can go without me.”
“And me be the third wheel? Not on your life.” He refocused on the shelf of photos as if the matter was settled.
Like his word was final. I wanted to stand my ground, but I knew Maya would be disappointed if I didn’t go. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”
I went back to my room and wiggled out of my tank top, replacing it with a T-shirt. Nights could get chilly even in Los Angeles, more so at the beach. I stopped at the bathroom to double check my hair and makeup, then went to find Zack. He wasn’t in the family room.
“Zack? Where are you?” I followed his scent to the living room where he sat on the couch, staring. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“Nothing.” But he had a strange look on his face, like he’d just received some bad news. He got up and handed me my cell phone. “This is yours?”
“Yes, thank you.” I took it from him, then snagged my purse, pausing when I thought I heard him taking a long, slow breath. Was he smelling me again? I couldn’t be sure. “What’s wrong?”