Love and Secrets - Kit Morgan Page 0,31
been close to him before, it was nothing like this. And all they were doing was going through a door!
As soon as they were through, they heard, “Hi, welcome to Dunnigan’s.”
Holly knew the girl behind the counter. Katie cut her hair. “Hi Heather.” Zane began to look around the shop. Holly watched him a moment then approached the counter. “Mr. Jensen working this evening?”
“No, I’m closing.” She, too, watched Zane, raised her brows and looked at Holly.
“We went to high school together. So how long have you been working here?”
“Since the start of summer. But I head back to school in the fall.”
She glanced at Zane and back. If she was Heather, she’d be watching him too. “I guess poor Mr. Jensen will have to hire more help soon, huh?”
The girl shrugged. She was pretty, with long, straight brown hair and blue eyes. “I might keep working a couple of nights a week. I like working here. Now I know why Lorelei worked here so long.”
“Lorelei Carson?” Holly said. “What ever happened to her? I never see her around town anymore.”
“That because she isn’t. She got married last Christmas and moved to England.”
Holly’s jaw dropped. “Really? Lucky girl.”
“Who’s lucky?” Zane asked as he joined them, a baby toy his hand. He showed it to Holly. “Look what I found.”
“Looks like a fancy teething ring,” she said.
“It is,” Heather agreed. “I can gift wrap it for you.”
“That won’t be necessary.” He pulled out his wallet. “Did you want to get anything?”
Holly glanced around the store. “Not today. It’s been so long since I’ve been in here, I’ll have to come back and give the place a good once over.”
His brows shot up.
“Peruse the goods?”
“I see,” he said with a smile.
“Besides, I’m behind in the times. I had no idea the girl that used to work here got married. You’d think I’d have heard it from Beatrice down at Daisy’s.”
“Only if you went there a lot in January,” Heather laughed. “That’s when Beatrice was telling everyone.”
“I don’t go there often,” Holly said. “I usually bring my lunch to work.”
“What, no dinner dates?” Zane teased.
Holly forced a smile. “Nope.” How pathetic did that make her sound? But what could she say? She didn’t date, never went anywhere and worked with her best friend. It was enough for her.
Zane set the toy on the counter. “We’ll have to do something about that.”
She watched Heather ring him up. “What did you have in mind?”
“Thai food, what else?”
She smiled. “Oh, yeah. That is why we’re here, isn’t it?”
“Uh-huh,” he drawled. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”
“Positive, let’s go.”
He took the small bag Heather handed him and they left the store. Once outside, the last few years flashed through Holly’s mind. Small town living didn’t compare to New York city life. But it was no excuse for not living at all. She went to work, came home, then did it again.
She sighed. It was pathetic.
“Holly?” Zane said gently.
She looked at him, saw the concern in his eyes, and her heart melted. “We should eat.” She turned and pointed. “Zelda’s Thai is just down the street.”
He put a hand to her shoulder. “Everything okay?”
His hand was large, warm, strong. She thought she might faint! This meant she could add “deprived” right under “pathetic”. “Fine. Let’s go.”
He let his hand drop and accompanied her to the restaurant.
Zane watched Holly throughout dinner. She was quieter than normal, withdrawn. Did he say something wrong? He didn’t recall speaking out of turn or telling her anything upsetting. So, what was bothering her?
A better question was, what was bothering him? He was enjoying his time with her and planned to have Holly for as long as he could this evening. She made the world go round in his book. She always did. If he’d been smart, he’d have never let them drift apart. But he hadn’t been smart back then and wasn’t sure he’d improved with age.
He thought of Jillian and everything she went through. Her parents must have been devastated to find out about the car crash. Maybe they still were. It had only been a little over a month. He’d had a lot of time to think since Tricia showed up on his doorstep with Sophie. He’d do more thinking while in Clear Creek. It was nice getting a break from the toil of suddenly becoming a parent. He’d been in shock. Still was. But when he was with Holly, the upheaval of the last month calmed.
“Don’t you like your basil