Page 60 of Thrown for a Loop
“Until now, you mean?”
I shake my head. “Not even now. I’m dispensable. Sharp practically told me to my face.”
“Thenmakeyourself indispensable.” She shrugs, like that’s easy. “You’re the most cynical person I know, Zoe. It’s kind of impressive.”
“If you don’t expect much from anyone, they can’t let you down.”
She laughs as if I’m joking. But I’m not.
The bartender reappears, sliding a generous platter onto the bar in front of me. “Here we go. The special grilled flatbread pizza, no mushrooms, and a Caesar salad, for Zoe.”
“Um…”
“And here’s your drink.” He slides it onto the bar and then darts away.
I stare down at the plate.Pizza, no mushrooms.Wow. Is it weird to look at a pizza and feel weepy? Because I suddenly do.
“Who ordered that?” Darcy asks.
I glance past her. “Did you happen to see Chase in here tonight?”
“Sure,” she says easily. “When you called, he was just…” She cranes her neck around. “Hmm.”
“Hmm,” I echo. Then I pick up one quarter of the elegant little thin-crust pizza and take a bite. “Once upon a time, pizza was our love language. Maybe he ordered this as a thank-you.”
“Maybe,” she says. Her gaze lifts, and she opens her mouth to add something. But I’m on a roll.
“Andmaybethis pizza is a gesture that saysI’m not mad at you for triggering a bully in that bar and making me look like a goon. Because that could have happened to anyone, although why does all the stupid shit happen to you when I’m around?”
“Well,” Darcy says, “you can—”
“Andmaybeit’s even bigger than that. Maybe this pizza saysI was never mad at you for losing me a job when I was nineteen, because I forgot about you the second I left town.We’re both grown-ups now, after all,even if one of us is a multimillionaire and the other one lives in squalor with credit card debt and an ex-husband who still thinks I owe him something.”
Darcy cringes. And her gaze keeps flipping up to a spot above my shoulder.
Come to think of it, there’s a very specific wall of heat radiating toward my back. And I smell citrusy cologne and leather. “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”
Chapter 22
There’s a tap on my shoulder, and when I turn my head, there’s Chase in all his glory. Broad shoulders buttoned into a stylish blue dress shirt, thick hair that gleams in the soft Ritz-Carlton lighting, and eyes like the ocean in a travel brochure. “Not a chance,” he says, blue eyes flashing.
“A chance of…?”
“Forgetting about you the second I left town,” he says. “Too much collateral damage. Besides, I got your pizza order right, didn’t I?”
I blink down at the slice in my hand. “That’s right. Thank you for this. And I’m glad to hear there’s not some other Zoe who’s going to punch me for eating her pizza.”
The corners of his mouth quirk. “No, that’s for you. It’s a thank-you for the diagnosis.” He takes a sip of his beer, his handsome face thoughtful. “I apologize for calling it a stupid idea.”
Wow. Is there anything more attractive than a man who’s willing to say he was wrong? “Thank you,” I say quietly. “That means a lot to me. Can you tell if it made a difference? The treatment, I mean. Are you in any pain?”
“I heard you screamed like a little girl,” Darcy pipes up.
Chase gives her a wry smile. “Nonsense. I screamed like a grown woman, at least.” He turns back to me. “Yeah, I think it will make a big difference. It’s hard to describe, but when they made their adjustment, I felt immediate relief.”
“That’s… wow,” I say awkwardly. But I suddenly feel about three inches taller.
“Merritt!” Our conversation is interrupted by Aiden Sharp, who slings a muscular arm around Chase’s shoulder. “How’s your pelvis?”
