had to get them. We were walking past the deli and they were in the window.’
‘Calling out to you.’ Ellie grinned. ‘Beckoning and whispering your name. They do that sometimes. Especially those naughty strawberry ones.’
He loved the way she instinctively mimed the beckoning and whispering as she said it, without having the remotest idea how irresistible it made her look. He could watch her forever.
‘You like them?’
‘Just a bit!’
‘I’ll get us a couple of plates.’
‘Thank you,’ said Ellie when he came back from the kitchen. She tipped Elmo off her lap and helped herself to one of the pastries, biting into a glazed strawberry with relish. ‘Mm, gorgeous.’
A little gentle bribery never hurt. Zack took another cake for himself and pulled out the chair opposite.
‘Just so you know, you won’t be seeing Louisa around here anymore. We broke up.’ He said it casually but kept a close eye on her reaction; wouldn’t it be fantastic if her face lit up, betraying the feelings she’d worked so hard to keep hidden from him all this time…
‘Oh no, I’m sorry.’ Ellie put down her cake. ‘Are you upset?’
So much for hidden feelings.
‘No.’
‘Was it her decision or yours?’
She looked genuinely concerned. For a split second he considered going for the sympathy vote. But no, that would be too underhanded. Zack smiled briefly and said, ‘Mine.’
‘Oh, well. In that case, I’m glad.’
‘Really?’ Hope flared.
‘She wasn’t right for you.’ Picking her cake back up, Ellie licked a swirl of cream. ‘She definitely wasn’t right for Elmo.’
‘I know.’
‘And she was suspicious of me too. Like, she didn’t trust me working with you.’ Ellie sucked strawberry glaze from her index finger. ‘I mean, that was just downright embarrassing.’
OK, you can stop now…
‘Anyway, she’s gone.’ Zack pulled the diary across the desk towards him. ‘So, if she wasn’t right for me, who would be?’ He sat back, feigning amused detachment. ‘What kind of girl should I go for next?’
‘Seriously? Someone fun. With a good sense of humor. Outgoing. Likes dogs. Doesn’t like Liquorice Allsorts.’
‘But… I like Liquorice Allsorts.’
‘Exactly. If she liked them too, you’d end up fighting over the good ones. Far better that she doesn’t.’
‘You’re really giving this some thought, aren’t you?’
Ellie swallowed another mouthful of puff pastry and cream. ‘It’s in my best interests to get you matched up with someone nice. Stop you being grumpy.’
‘I’m never grumpy,’ Zack protested. Cheek!
‘Ah, grumpy people always say that.’
‘Fine, then. I’ll look out for a liquorice-hating, dog-loving, fifty-years-younger version of Joan Rivers. But in the meantime…’ idly he turned over a few pages in the office diary. ‘I may need to ask you a favor.’
Ellie didn’t hesitate. ‘No problem. What kind of favor?’
Oh yes, he was brilliant. This could make all the difference. It had only occurred to him this morning that he might be able to use the situation to his advantage… maybe socializing with Ellie outside the office environment would enable her to view him in a different light.
Who knows, it could ignite the spark.
‘There are evening events I have to attend. Sometimes I need to take along a partner. It’s just that everyone else does, so it messes up the numbers if you go on your own… anyway, they’re usually OK, not too boring…’ Shut up, listen to yourself, you sound like an idiot. ‘So how about it? Does that seem like something you wouldn’t mind helping me out with sometimes?’ Jesus, never mind an idiot, you sound like a complete dick.
‘Why not? Sounds like fun. Yes, great.’ Ellie was smiling at him as if he wasn’t a dick. But sadly not as if she found him completely irresistible either.
‘Great.’ No, she just said great, you don’t say great too. ‘Right, well, this is the first one, let me tell you about it.’ He tapped the page he’d stopped at. ‘It’s being held at the Dorchester next Wednesday and—’
‘Wednesday?’ Ellie’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘I can’t do next Wednesday! Sorry!’
‘Oh. Shame.’ It wasn’t really vital to take along a partner but he was still disappointed. So much for the grand plan.
‘Isn’t that typical? The one thing I really can’t get out of. Any other evening and I could have done it.’
‘No problem, I’ll manage. So, something nice?’
Ellie hesitated. After a moment, as if debating whether or not to tell him, she said, ‘Hope so. It’s a party for my boyfriend’s mum.’
Well. That was a bolt from the blue. Taken aback, Zack wondered what had prompted it. Was she really coming clean after all this time