Page 94 of The Moment They Can't Forget

Her heart did not just sigh. The man was a softie deep inside like her brothers, and that was far too appealing.

“Such a good boy, Roman,” she crooned. The horse was relaxing slowly. The quivering had stopped, and he was nuzzling her hand for treats.

“Be careful,” JD warned. Roman’s ears flattened.

“Maybe don’t talk.”

“I don’t know much about horses, but I think he could bite and stomp on you fairly easily.”

“What part of don’t talk did you not understand?” she asked.

JD grunted.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there stroking Roman’s neck, but it was a while. She knew JD was close too, because Zoe shot him a look every few minutes.

He’d braced his feet, folded his arms, and his eyes were locked on her.

“What happened in Chicago?” he asked suddenly. “We may as well talk about that so I don’t have to listen to you singing another nursery rhyme in that really bad voice you have.”

“It’s not bad, is it, Roman?” The horse nudged her shoulder. “You’re a big softie, really, and just wanted a woman to take notice of you. Didn’t you, boy?”

“Every man’s dream,” JD said. “About Chicago. I won’t tell your overprotective brothers.”

“If I didn’t tell my family, I’m not telling you.”

“Why not? I’m a vault when it comes to secrets.”

“Says who?” she said in a soft voice.

“Says everyone. Have you ever heard anything from Sawyer that I’ve said?”

She hadn’t.

“Come on. It will make you less grumpy,” he said.

“I’m not grumpy. That’s my oldest brother.”

“Your family is worried about you, Zoe.” The words hung in the air between them. “Tell me something so when they ask me again for the fiftieth time if I’ve talked to you and know what happened in Chicago, I can say not to worry. Zoe will be fine, and mean it.”

“My boss was an asshole, and he made it impossible for me to stay,” she said, continuing to stroke the horse.

“What did he do to you?” The words were a deep rumble.

“It doesn’t matter what he did, only that I told him he was a small-dicked loser on a power trip.”

“What did he do, Zoe?”

She’d spoken to no one about this since Lil left, and wasn’t sure why it felt right to do so now, but it did. Maybe talking about it again would release some of her rage over what happened.

“He thought I’d sleep with him to get a promotion because he was the boss.”

“That fucker,” JD growled.

“One day in his office, he came on to me. Until that moment, I had no idea he was a sleaze. He’d been friendly and seemed nice. Everyone at work liked him. But he clearly had this other side. I said no. He asked me if I wanted the promotion or not.”

“And you said not?”

“Don’t use that growly tone, JD. It upsets Roman.”

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