I lifted my hands, dropping them with a thwack on the car seat. “She doesn’t want us to be public. She’s concerned about how it might look for her as a woman. I don’t agree. I understand her point, which is why I’m respecting it, but she means more than that to me. I tried to tell her that once it was clear we were the genuine article, that any rumors would pass.”
“Did you tell her you loved her?”
Danny might as well have punched me in the chest. Once again, my heart felt as if it had tripped and fell inside my chest. At my silence, he added, “Bet you didn’t.”
“Danny, how’s that going to make a difference? She doesn’t want us to be public.”
“If you love her, you tell her and figure the rest out later.”
I wanted to argue, but I felt a little sick about it. I did love her, and I supposed I was being a bit of a coward about it.
“Danny—” I began.
He cut me off. “I wouldn’t be so direct, Zane, if I didn’t think I was right. Your parents loved each other very much, and they adored you. When your mama died, it nearly killed your father, and I know that’s why you’re afraid. Do you think he would trade what he had with her?”
My heart ached a little bit, and I took a deep breath. “No,” I reluctantly replied. My parents had had a genuine marriage of love. When my mother died after a brief battle with ovarian cancer, my father had been despondent. Yet I knew he’d never trade what he had with her for anything else.
When I got home, I immediately texted Eva. “George misses you. Does your George miss me?”
She didn’t reply, and I fretted. I wasn’t one to fret, so that pissed me off.
Chapter 18
Eva
Three days passed, and I was irritable and heartsick and jealous. Zane had texted me, and I’d ignored him that night. When I woke, I replied, telling him that I’d already been asleep. I’d been holding him at bay since then.
My phone chimed again. I spun my phone around on my desk to see another text from Zane. I’m starting to think you’re avoiding me. Did something happen?
“Yes, I’m avoiding you, dumbass,” I muttered aloud at my phone. “How can you not know what happened? You took Mara home. I have eyes.”
I’d been pummeled with doubts and insecurity over the past few days. To manage the warring factions of doubts arguing in my brain, I’d thrown myself into work with relentless focus. It was a huge problem that I had given Zane my current project in beta. To keep it on track for production, I had to finalize all the changes we’d made. Every single one had me thinking of him.
My phone chimed again. Eva, I know when I’m being ignored. I might do something stupid if you won’t at least talk to me.
I pushed my phone away. On second thought, I snatched it back and opened his text replying with a single name. Mara.
There was no immediate reply. Although it made me feel even more heartsick, his silence reinforced what I thought had happened. Hours later, Ellen poked her head into my office. “You have an unexpected visitor.”
“I’m busy,” I replied. That wasn’t entirely true, but I just wasn’t in the mood to see anyone.
“It’s Mara Trent.”
“What?” I finally looked up from what I’d been working on.
“She says it’s really important.”
My curiosity got the better of me. “Send her back. If I tap the intercom button while she’s in here, please come rescue me.”
Ellen grinned and nodded before leaving my office. A moment later, Ellen opened the door again. “Her office is right here,” Ellen said in a cheery voice.
Mara stepped through the door, looking straight out of a magazine. Dressed demurely in a dove gray blazer, she wore a fitted navy top underneath and matching pants. Even though everything she wore was perfectly appropriate, she somehow pulled off sexy.
Meanwhile, I sat there with my hair up in a messy ponytail, a skirt I’d thrown on quickly this morning, and a denim jacket over a fitted T-shirt. If I’d needed a reminder of what I wasn’t, I guess I had it.
The door clicked shut behind Mara, and I stood, gesturing to the chair across from my desk. “Please have a seat.”
I sat back down when she did, and I smoothed my damp palms over my skirt, relieved she couldn’t see my restless hands under my desk. “What can I do for you?” I asked, annoyed that my voice came out a little scratchy.
“I came to tell you that nothing happened with Zane last weekend. And before you go thinking he put me up to this, he didn’t. I ran into him at the coffee shop, and he looks miserable. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me I was permanently banned from ever requesting a ride home. He can be kind of an asshole.”
I stared at her and choked on a laugh. The threat of tears welled in my eyes as I tried to calm the jumble of emotions racing through me. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Zane is too proud to say anything, but I’m nosy, so I asked around. Rumor has it he’s totally smitten with you. If you’ve cut him off because you saw him give me a ride home, I thought I should set the record straight. Not only was it just a ride but Zane turned me down when I asked for more. Before you go thinking anything else, I wasn’t secretly in love with him, nor am I pining for him. He’s just a man, and he has a lot of money. I think he really likes you, and it appears maybe, just maybe, you brought him to his knees.” I must’ve been staring agog at her because she laughed softly. “If you like him, or maybe even more, you should talk to him. You are well suited.”
“You think?” My question slipped out before I could stop it, and my cheeks went hot. Not for the first time, I wished I wasn’t always so easy to read.
Mara leaned forward. “Yes. Don’t get me wrong, Zane is sexy, and he’s powerful, and he’s all about conveying the image that he does, which is that of an untouchable businessman. But he’s actually a nice guy, and I think you know that. I always figured someday he’d fall for someone. I’ve known him since I did some work for an advertising campaign for his company a few years ago. You’re brilliant. My goodness, even I know who you are. You’ve won awards and all that. Maybe we don’t work in the same field, but I respect a woman who’s made her way in a man’s world.”
My mouth dropped open, and I snapped it shut. “That’s a part of the problem. I told Zane I wasn’t ready for us to be public because I’m concerned how it’ll look for me. I was an intern at his company once.”
“Did you sleep with him when you were an intern?” she asked bluntly.
“Oh, God no. He hardly even looked at me.”
“Oh, I’m sure he did. You’re his type with the brainy, sexy librarian vibe. I’m not you, and obviously, I’m not trying to make my way up in the computer and gaming field. But I do know that it doesn’t really matter what anyone thinks in the long run. Screw them all. If you want him, go get him.”
Chapter 19
Zane
What could I do to fix a non-fixable problem? The problem being I knew Eva had a point. There would be chatter when our relationship became public. Because that was how the world treated women. It wouldn’t matter that she could point to the success she’d already had establishing and running her own company. It wouldn’t matter that she was brilliant in her own right. It wouldn’t matter that she hadn’t partnered with my company on any projects.