“She could come too,” Zoey said, not wanting her new friend to feel left out.
Jess shook her head. “No, child. You go and have fun with the others. You need to make friends other than an old lady.”
“I can have more than one friend,” Zoey told her.
“Of course you can, but these women will be special in your life. They’ll be your best friends, the aunts to your children, babysitters when you and Mark need time to yourself. They’ll be your support system when Mark is deployed, just as you’ll be for them. You need to cultivate their friendship, and you should start that as soon as possible.”
“Jess,” Zoey said softly, putting down their teacups. “I think you’ve misunderstood my relationship with Mark.”
Jess merely raised one eyebrow in response.
“Seriously. I mean, we haven’t…we aren’t…we’re just friends right now.” She knew that wasn’t exactly the case, but she didn’t want to talk about her sex life…or lack of one…with the other woman.
“Trust me, that man is not just your friend,” Jess said with conviction. “It’s kind of cute that you’ve got your head in the sand when it comes to Mark, but at some point you’re going to have to sit up and take notice of what’s going on around you. I saw that kiss last week, that was not a kiss between friends.”
“Oh, but…yeah, I thought so too. But he hasn’t done anything since then. Not even a peck on the cheek. He said he wanted to go slow, but I didn’t think he meant this slow.”
“He’s not sleeping with you?”
Zoey knew she was blushing again, but she honestly didn’t have anyone else to talk to about this. “We’re sleeping, but that’s it. I was pretty sure we were headed toward a serious relationship, but now I’m wondering if I was just seeing what I wanted to when it came to us.”
Jess nodded then leaned forward and took Zoey’s hand in her own.
Zoey wanted to cry at the gesture. It had been a long time since someone had looked at her as tenderly as Jess was right now. She couldn’t remember the last time her mom had actually sat down and had a heart-to-heart talk with her. The last she’d heard from her—a quick phone call the other day—she was in Fairbanks with Liam and things were going well.
“My Frank was an alpha man, just like Mark. He was protective and surly when it came to other men looking at me. After his deployments, it took him quite a while to get back into the swing of being home again. But even when he was at his grumpiest, I never doubted his love for me. He cooked me meals, he did the dishes, he vacuumed and did the laundry. He drove me to work when he could and picked me up. When I had nights out with my friends, he stayed up until I got home or volunteered to be the sober driver to get us all home safely. He held my hand in public and when we were here at home. To others, he was a Grumpy Gus, but to me, he was my Frank. A man like Mark wouldn’t want to rush you. I’m guessing he’s waiting for a sign from you to move things to the next level.”
Zoey thought about Jess’s words, and had to concede that she made a good point. Mark had been nothing but polite and caring toward her. He’d done all those things Jess had mentioned, except the holding hands thing.
“What if he’s changed his mind? I mean, things were pretty intense in Alaska, and now that he’s been home a little while, maybe he’s decided it was just situational after all.”
“He’s interested,” Jess countered. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you aren’t paying attention. But that doesn’t mean he’ll sit around and wait forever. You’re going to have to let him know that you haven’t changed your mind. In today’s world, men have to be very careful about making advances on women so as not to overstep their bounds.”
A knock on the door interrupted their intimate talk. Before Zoey could get up and answer the door, Jess squeezed her hand. “Take some advice from an old lady, Zoey. I have a feeling it’ll be up to you to make the first move, and you should do it soon. That man is the bee’s knees, and if I were you, I’d be all over that.”
Zoey chuckled. “The bee’s knees?”
Jess smirked. “In my day, that was quite the compliment.”
“It still is,” Zoey told her.
Another knock on the door sounded, and they both heard Mark call out Jess’s name.
“I need to get that so he doesn’t worry,” Zoey said.
Jess nodded and patted Zoey’s hand. “Remember what I said. He’s trying to be a gentleman and not rush you. Take hold of what you want, child.”
Zoey nodded and got up to answer the door.
She pulled it open, and a little thrill went through her at seeing Mark standing there. He’d gone home after work and changed into a pair of khaki shorts and a white T-shirt. He looked absolutely yummy with his tan skin and the short beard he hadn’t shaved off after their adventure in Alaska.
“Hi,” he said, leaning forward.
Zoey tilted her head, making it easier for him to kiss her cheek, but instead his lips brushed against her own.
“Have a good day?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Zoey said, her mouth dry. Jess’s words echoed in her head, but she knew now wasn’t the time to tell him that if he was holding back being intimate with her because he thought it was what she wanted, he was wrong.
They said their goodbyes to Jess, and Zoey ignored the smirk on the older woman’s face and the way she waggled her eyebrows up and down.
Back at his house, Mark patiently waited as she changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and packed a bag with a towel, bathing suit, and an outfit to change into after spending a day on the beach. She couldn’t help but notice that Mark grabbed one of his sweatshirts and stuffed it into her bag as well. She knew it wasn’t for himself, that he’d thrown it in for her, knowing she’d probably get chilled and need it later.
Zoey was excited about the barbeque. She wanted to get to know Mark’s teammates better, and couldn’t wait to talk more with Caite, Sidney, and Piper.
From the second they arrived at Gumby’s beach house, it was semi-controlled chaos. Piper and Ace’s three children were running around with the never-ending energy only kids could have. Rocco was manning the grill, while Phantom and Rex had taken it upon themselves to look after the kids and make sure they didn’t get hurt and were having a good time.
The remaining men threw a football on the beach, taking turns coming back to make sure no one needed anything at the house. After eating hamburgers and hotdogs, everyone went for a swim in the ocean, which was a new adventure for Zoey. The water was chilly, but not nearly as cold as it was up in Alaska.
After spending over an hour playing in the water and sand, everyone came back up to the house to shower and change. Finally, the kids were settled in the master bedroom watching cartoons, and the guys were gathered around the huge living room TV, watching football.
Caite, Piper, Sidney, and Zoey had decided to sip wine and sit on the back deck, enjoying the sunset. Well, everyone but Piper was drinking wine, as she was pregnant and had settled for bottled water. It was the first time they’d really sat down and relaxed all afternoon, and Zoey was more than glad for the time to talk to the other women one-on-one and get off her feet.