Hold Me Close - Talia Hibbert Page 0,253

his face.

Allosexuals, Zach was starting to realise, were fucking obsessed with attraction.

He waited ten minutes, then decided that she wasn’t coming. A minute later, she arrived.

No absent-minded wandering today; this morning, Rae walked with purpose, Duke marching ahead of her like a bodyguard. She looked different, too: her dreamy, faraway eyes and lopsided smile were replaced by a grim mouth and a nervous gaze. The dark scars on the right side of her face were bolder than usual, or maybe her skin seemed paler. His heart twisted; his mind eased. Maybe she missed him too. That must be it, right? She’d come to find him, to fix things.

She wasn’t going to disappear because he couldn’t give her what she wanted. And he was so relieved, he could die.

She came to face him over the wall, silent and wary. Duke, as always, rose up to give Zach some love. He responded with the required amount of fuss, but he couldn’t seem to drag his eyes away from Rae. She hesitated, then shoved a plastic tub against his chest.

He held it up, looked inside, and found… “Brownies?”

“To apologise.” Her voice was quieter than usual. “Friday was a bit of a nightmare, wasn’t it? And I wasn’t sure what to say, except I’m sorry and here’s some sugar.”

“Good tactic. I’d have done that, too, only I can’t bake for shit.” He put the tub on the wall and tried not to smile too much. It didn’t feel right when she still looked all tormented. But he was really fucking happy, glowing with it, humming with it like he’d never been. The feeling was weirdly intense. “I’m sorry, too. I was a dick. I’ll buy you some donuts.”

Her lips curved, and she pressed her eyes shut for a moment. Maybe she was like him, and she hadn’t realised just how much this friendship meant until they hit an iceberg. She opened her eyes and said, “You really don’t need to, but if you’re offering…strawberry jam?”

“Hell yeah.”

Warmth lit her gaze. Those eyes of hers could go from midnight to sunlight in a blink. “I think we’ve got a deal, Davis.”

“Good.” He leaned in closer, lowering his voice, though no-one was around. “I don’t like it when we’re not okay.”

Her expression softened. She leaned in too, and whispered, “Neither do I. Zach, about the things I said—”

“We don’t have to talk about this.”

“But I want to explain. I really do.”

She looked so guilty. He knew the feeling. If she was in the grip of that uncomfortable burn, he’d help her wiggle out of it, no problem. He’d listen to whatever she needed to say. “Alright.”

She nodded and set her shoulders, as determined as a soldier on the frontlines. As if saying this might just kill her, but she had to anyway. “I was drunk, obviously, and I got it into my head that… well. I haven’t had sex since my divorce, and I thought the first time should be someone I knew, someone safe. Because it was only ever Kevin. That’s all.”

It took him a moment to figure out what she was saying. “You’ve never—?”

“I was a teenager when we met.” The words stumbled over each other, rushed and embarrassed. “Sometimes it seems like a big deal.”

He nodded slowly to cover the clamour of his thoughts. So, not only had Rae’s arsehole husband thrown away decades of marriage, he’d cheated on a woman who’d only ever been with him. Classy. So, so classy. But there was a silver lining to this confession, too, Zach supposed. Rae had wanted to use him, yes—but it sounded like the whole thing had come about because she trusted him. And for some reason, that was enough to soothe the jagged, painful edges left over from Friday night.

“The truth is,” she went on, calmer now, “you were right. I’ve been in a terrible mood lately, and it’s because I know I’ll see Kevin soon. There’s this whole thing that I should be happy about, but he’s ruining it without even trying. Actually, I’m letting him ruin it.” She gave a wry laugh. “Sorry. I shouldn’t dump all of this on you.”

“It’s fine. It’s good. I wanted you to talk.” He lifted a hand to touch her, as natural as breathing, but something brought him up short. Maybe it was the memory of her fingers grazing his jaw—the look in her eyes, the hitch in her breath, and the Oh, fuck moment when he’d realised what was happening. Suddenly awkward, he ran