Page 5 of Hold Me Instead
Zachary shifted, disturbed he could distinguish between her smiles and intrigued at this glimpse of her bold side. As far as he was concerned, their friendship had ended the moment he’d moved to Chicago—he’d barely paid her a passing thought since then. Sure, the latter was largely due to what his father had told him right before he left town. But the fact she was here didn’t surprise him. He wasn’t going to avoid the woman, but he wouldn’t pretend they were still friends either.
He tapped his fingers on the armrests. “Isn’t it family only right now?”
“I don’t think—”
“You aren’t family, Harris. No matter how much my dad insists otherwise.”
The silence that met him was satisfying for a split second. A split second, before those wide eyes blinked rapidly away from him, and her confident posture melted. Just a fraction, but it was enough.
He closed his eyes and turned his face.Dick move.They hadn’t seen each other in years, and this was how he treated her? She was here to check on his dad. To support his family. Something he knew she did regularly, whether she had ulterior motives or not.Which is also bullshit.She doesn’t have a bad bone in her body.
It really sucked that he liked her—he sure didn’t care for himself right now.
He huffed, muttered quiet curses, then said, “That was uncalled for.” It was lacking, but it was the level of apology he could pull from the pit of shit that was his life lately.
She swallowed a few times, then released a quiet, shaky breath, the blinking finally slowing. He stared at his shoes, his attention to her subtle movements putting him on edge.
When he wasn’t talking to her, or seeing her, for that matter, he could hold on to his anger. For six years, apparently. But now it all felt…pointless. Today wasn’t her fault, not even this heightened awareness of her.Thathad to be due to the instability of the day, some grasp at a positive feeling, or familiarity.
“Your energy reminds me of Mrs. Van Der Wier’s pug,” she finally said.
A surprised chuckle brewed, but he muzzled it. “That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time,” he said. He pictured the wrinkly white pup with its permanent scowl, always emphasized by the pet clothing Mrs. Van Der Wier chose for the day. “Which outfit?”
“That velvet smoking jacket. For sure.”
This time, he smirked. “Hehatedthat thing,” he said.
“Mm, always looked his angriest in it,” she said.
He groaned on a small chuckle, knowing her dig was still generous. When he looked up, she was watching from the corner of her eye again, biting the inside of her cheek. Pink flushed over her face and down her neck. She wanted to say something else, her energy palpable, wrapping around him in the tiny room. The feeling reminded him of their easy rapport, and suddenly, the grudge he held against her—that wasn’tforher at all—evaporated. In its place was an urgency to mend their friendship, something he desperately needed. What he didn’t know was whether it was just because he neededhersspecifically.
“MyYeh-Yehhad a heart attack when he was fifty,” he blurted.
Zachary hadn’t been born yet to see his grandfather through that time, but the incident had scared his dad enough to start running daily. To encourage Zachary to focus on heart health. He hadn’t realized that had been in the back of his mind until now.
Charlie opened her mouth as if to speak, but the speedy tap of heels interrupted, his sister appearing in the hall. Zachary leaped to intercept her and squeezed past Charlie. His shoulder bounced off the framed painting that threatened to consume the room, and she pulled her knees close and knocked into her chair. But they narrowly avoided contact with each other.
He stepped into the hall and caught Sandra’s elbow, and she startled to attention, weary gaze wide as she took him in. She pressed her lips together, then flung her arms around him.
“You’re here,” she said into his chest, holding tight. Her floral perfume, though faint, soothed with familiarity. He felt her release a deep breath before stepping back. “Have you gone in yet?” she asked, voice low.
“No, just got here. Needed a moment.”
She nodded, her dark brown eyes less vibrant than normal. “I stepped away to call Jay, check on him and the kids. And…needed some air.”
Mascara marred her tawny skin. Her signature curling iron waves fell limp, her black hair nearly straight in its low ponytail. Even her ivory top was wrinkled, untucked from sleek maroon pants.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
“It’s been a shit day.” Her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head. “Thank God he’s alright, that they got him into surgery when they did. He was really lucky,” she added on a whisper.
Zachary swallowed, rubbing his hand up and down her silky sleeve. He hadn’t stopped to consider how close it had been. The image of the last time he’d seen his father, thehurton his dad’s face, flashed through his mind. Pain caused by stupid choices Zachary had made.
“Vivi immediately sat down to make him a card. Alex, of course, then had to scribble one of his own. Jay said it resembles the poop emoji, but Alex claims it’s a puppy.”
Zachary blinked to attention, affection now on Sandra’s face as she talked about her husband and kids.
“I’m so grateful Dad will actually see the cards,” she choked.
