searching his face for something. He must’ve found it, because he nodded and relaxed. “Good.”
There. Everyone was happy. All was right with Zach’s world.
Until Nate knocked him on his arse all over again. “So when are you and Rae going to get it over with?”
Zach frowned. “Uh…?” Then his brother’s meaning sank in. “Wait—as in—wait—you don’t think—?”
Judging by his steady, slightly amused stare, Nate did indeed think. Shit.
Zach swallowed hard and shook his head. “No. Me and her, that’s not happening.”
“Okay,” Nate snorted. “Why the hell not?”
Zach rolled his eyes. “You know what your problem is? You want everyone coupled up.”
“No. But I think you’re into her, and I see why. Rae’s smart like you. She writes those books—they’re exactly the kind of shit you like. She’s funny. She has a great dog.”
At their feet, Duke opened one beady eye as if to say, You’re damn right she does.
“And she’s...” Nate waved a hand over his face. “Striking.”
For some reason, that word irritated Zach. He pried his back teeth apart and said, “You could just call her pretty, you know.” Maybe he sounded pissed off, but he was sick of the way people looked at Rae. Like she was a few scars surrounded by a person, instead of a person with a few scars.
Nate gave him an odd look. “She is pretty. But striking is better.”
Zach pushed out a breath, nodding sharply. Of course Nate wouldn’t use a word like pretty. He was a photographer obsessed with people who were visually interesting. “Right. Yeah. Whatever. She’s great, but it’s not like that.”
Nate arched a brow. For some reason, that slight movement made Zach want to smack his brother’s face off.
Instead, he took a breath and told the only truth he knew. “I’m not into Rae.”
“Not to be that guy,” Nate said, “but… I think you are.”
“Yeah. Just like, once upon a time, you thought I was into Hannah.”
A rueful smile. “Okay. Fair point.”
Zach’s spike of alarm faded. There was no need to panic over his brother’s mistake. He’d know if he was sending Rae mixed signals, right? He’d made it clear that they were just friends, right?
Of course he had. With Rae, he didn’t need to worry about crossed wires, come-ons and awkward rejections—so he didn’t need to worry about hurting her.
Which was good. Because he was suddenly really fucking disturbed by the idea of causing her pain.
Nate finally let it go, and they dragged Evan and Ruth away from each other and into the conversation. A few minutes later, Hannah and Rae reappeared with drinks. The sun set, and the laughter rose. The night grew colder, but none of them felt it. Hours ticked by and Zach grinned until his cheeks hurt. It was good.
Someone else got the second round, and the third. On the fourth, he found himself heading to the bar with Rae beside him. As they waited for the freckly sixth-form kid to pull their pints and pour their spirits, he leaned against the polished wood and studied Rae’s face. Bright eyes, snub nose, lips half-curved like she was remembering a joke. She was tipsy, which was typical for a Friday night. Her alcohol tolerance was adorable.
She caught him looking and her smile faded. “What?”
“Your hair’s curling.”
She sighed, blowing out her lips like a little kid. “I hate spring.”
“What does it look like? When you don’t straighten it.”
“I don’t straighten it,” she told him. “This is a blow-out. I—” She paused as her phone buzzed loudly to life. When she dragged it out of her back pocket and checked the caller ID, all the colour and comfort drained right out of her. She lost her happy, relaxed air in an instant.
Something viciously protective unfurled in his chest. “What is it?”
“Nothing.” She lowered her hand, but she was still clutching the phone like it was a grenade she wanted to throw. And she didn’t decline the call.
“Who is it?”
“My mother,” she said.
That left him speechless for a second. When he regained the use of his voice, he wasted it with a pointless question. “Your mother makes you miserable like that?”
She scowled. The phone finally stopped ringing. “We’ve fallen out. It’s nothing.” But then the phone buzzed again, and her face…
“Rae,” he murmured, with no idea what to say next. He just needed to catch her attention, to get between her and the phone that had frozen his sunshine. But she didn’t seem to hear him, so he said again, louder now, “Rae.” His hand caught her wrist.