Kate inhales sharply, then leans toward me, speaking so low I can barely hear her, “You get that out of your fucking head right now, Zack Grantham.”
I’m so surprised over the venom in her voice and the way she dropped a vicious and well-timed use of the word fucking that my head jerks up at her in surprise. Her eyes are blazing with fury.
“Gina took her seat belt off and I let her,” I say as I look directly at Kate with serious intent. “I was pulling her across the seat to kiss me when someone came over into my lane of travel. I jerked hard on the wheel and lost control. She died and I didn’t.”
Some of the fury dies from Kate’s eyes, but her next statement to me is still bubbling with anger. “So what?”
I blink at her and I’m pissed when I say, “So what? Gina’s dead because of me and the guilt of it’s fucking killing me.”
Kate moves so fast, she’s almost a blur. She slides closer to me in the booth until her legs are flush with mine and she turns her upper body to face me. Both of her hands clasp me on the face and she holds me tight, giving my head a slight shake. “You listen to me, Zack, and you better listen well. You did not kill Gina and I never want to hear you say that again. It was an accident. It was unavoidable. It was going to happen and you couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Most important…and this is what you better remember, is that it was Gina’s choice to take that seat belt off. It wasn’t yours. So while I’m unbelievably sorry that you went through this and I’m saddened that you and Ben lost what I’ve come to understand was a wonderful and amazing woman, there’s not one thing about Gina’s death that is lying on your doorstep.”
My eyes flick repeatedly back and forth between Kate’s. The pale blue has turned dark and stormy and I’ve never seen such fierce determination on her face. It makes me want to believe everything that she’s saying. She believes it…I can see that.
A coughing sound from my left catches my attention and I see the waiter there with our food. Kate’s hands drop from my face and she scoots away from me. The plates are laid before us, and with assurances to the waiter that everything looks great, he leaves us alone again.
“Kate,” I say to get her attention as she picks up her silverware. She turns to look at me, her eyes still swimming with turbulence. “Thank you.”
She smiles at me gently and nods. “You’re welcome, Zack.”
Chapter 24
Kate
“Kate…wake up,” Ben says to me, and I feel his little hand on my shoulder. He gives me a shake and says again, “Come on, Kate. I’m hungry.”
Except in his almost-four-year-old voice, it sounds like “I’m hung-wee.” Adorable.
My eyes blink open and I give a yawn. “Hey, Slinky Twinkie.”
Ben giggles and I give a luxurious stretch. The strong arm wrapped around my waist tightens in response to my movement and pulls me back slightly against the hard male body that shares the couch with me.
Wait? What?
All at once, everything hits me in a wave.
I’m on the couch and Zack is lying behind me. With his arm around my waist. We were watching a movie last night and we must have fallen asleep.
And now Ben has seen us lying together.
I scramble off the couch, inadvertently giving a sharp elbow to Zack’s ribs, and he comes awake with a grunt. Sitting up, his hair sticking out all over the place, he stares first at Ben, then moves his bleary eyes over to me. I return his look, mine, I’m sure, filled with panic.
Zack just yawns and then turns to Ben, opening his arms. “Hey, buddy…what are you doing up so early?”
“Hungry,” Ben says as he steps into his father’s embrace.
“Me too,” Zack says as he stands from the couch and picks Ben up, hauling him over his shoulder. Ben squeals with laughter. “Let’s go get some cereal.”
My heart still racing, I sit down on the couch numbly. I’m completely horrified Ben caught us lying next to each other. Granted, we were fully clothed in what we had worn to dinner last night, and were not in a compromising position, but the fact of the matter is we were in a perplexing situation for Ben.
Watching his dad embracing another woman.
The kid has to be so thoroughly confused.
I know I am.
Last night resulted in somewhat of a shift in whatever this is going on between Zack and me. So many weird things happened.
First he got jealous of that man Gregory buying me a drink.
Then he divulged something very personal to me that had been weighing on him heavily.
And the coup de grâce was when we returned to his house. Alex and Sutton made quick goodbyes, assuring us that Ben went to sleep easily and all was well. As soon as they left, I assumed Zack would make a move on me. No matter where we are or what we are doing, there’s always an underlying vibration of tangible attraction between us. I can feel it all the time. But it’s usually those nighttime hours after Ben is asleep that Zack and I come together and give in to that attraction.