Page 39 of The Art of Falling in Love with Your Enemy
“It’s going to take a lot more than you showing up while I work.” I feel a bit of my own irritation surge forward. “How did you know where I was, Steve?”
“You mentioned it,” he lies.
I fight the urge to yell, instead choosing to be civil. “I wouldn’t have told you about this place; I don’t normally work here. I’m doing this”—I wave my arms around, indicating the campground and its surroundings—“as a favor. So, back to my question. How?”
Steve shifts his weight from one foot to the other, refusing to make eye contact with me. I let go of Zac’s hand and put both of mine on my hips. This is starting to stink.
“Steve Shaw, you need to tell me how you found me.”
I can tell he’s embarrassed. We were married, and I remember his tells. No eye contact means he’s done something he never should have in the first place.
He eyes Zac and shoves his hands in his front jean pockets. Steve’s Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he swallows. “I used the ‘find my phone’ app.”
Of course. Dropping my hands from my hips, I throw them in the air instead. “You tracked me?”
“I did what I needed to do.” Steve’s tone is defensive and his eyes are wide. “Was it a bad thing?”
“It’s not the nicest thing you can do. We’re no longer together, so technically you don’t need to have that app connected to my phone anymore, do you?” I hold my hand out. “Give me your phone, Steve.”
Beside me, Zac’s shoulders rise and fall from silent laughter while Steve’s takes on the rounded shape of insecurity. Slowly, he places his phone in the palm of my hand.
I tap the last code that I remember him having and it still works. In a matter of seconds, I delete the app and give his phone back to him. I know this app, and luckily when you delete it, all the information is erased so there’s no way he can track me again.
“Sorry,” he says, defeated. With a scowl he opens the driver’s side door, stopping before he climbs behind the wheel. “I’m staying in town at the Harper B&B. I’m here through the weekend. I really hope you’ll find time to talk to me.”
Steve shuts the door and reverses out of his parking space. I stay standing stock-still in my spot until I see his car disappear down the driveway. I need to know he’s gone so I can relax.
Beside me, Zac lets out a huge breath of air. “I’m sorry for that. Instinct kicked in when I saw him, and it took over when he said his name was Steve.”
“Not at all, thank you.” Wrapping my arms around my middle, I hug myself. “At least, for the moment, he thinks I’m dating someone. Maybe he won’t be as pushy next time I see him or at least not try to force his way into a conversation with me.”
“He seems desperate,” Zac murmurs, standing closer to me. He raises a hand, brushing away some stray strands of hair from my face. “Like he’s only now realizing what he lost.”
Is his touch like a spark of fire? Completely. Feeling exposed, my eyes dart around to see if anyone is watching us. I’m not surprised to find Lucy glowering at me from across the lawn. If she could throw a dagger at my heart right now, I know she’d do it.
Zac’s fingertips brush my forehead again, and my eyes flick back to meet his. A familiar flutter takes over inside my chest as a warm heat rises to my cheeks. “Please…”
“I can tell you this much,” Zac whispers, his lips pressed against my ear. “If I had you, I would never let you go.”
“…stop.” My everything tingles. The overwhelm is too much, so I take a step back to get some air. “What are we doing, Zac?”
“Flirting?” Zac cocks his head to one side, grinning.
Oh, that smile of his. It’s like a sucker punch to the side of my head. “Well, you’re not wrong.”
“Let’s fix this, shall we?” Laughing, Zac takes a step closer to me and takes my hand. “How about you and I go on a date?”
“Us?” Pulling my hand away, I point to myself and crane my neck to see if someone is standing nearby filming this. Is he being serious? “On a date?”
Zac nods his head, keeping those green eyes trained on me. “Yep.”
“A date where you pick me up and we go to dinner and maybe a movie?” This is getting interesting. Still confusing, but interesting, too.
“Kind of. More like, I’ll pick you up and we’ll go to the charity fundraiser together next weekend.” He looks at me and smiles, showing off the most perfect set of teeth I’ve ever seen. “What do you say—will you do me the honor?”
There’s no excuse to say no, and I have no wall up. It’s like my tractor beam stopped working and I can finally let my guard down. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He nods his head back toward the lakefront. “I need to get back to those folks and finish up so we can all get out of here, but we’ll talk later. Settle the finer details.”
