been hiding out over at the Barnes’ place—a normal thing for her, really—and when the police showed up, she’d almost fallen apart.
He caught her ankle in his hand and turned around to face her. Dropping the book in his lap, he kept one hand wrapped around her ankle and used the other to rub her foot. She jumped as he ran his thumb down the arch, too firmly to tickle, but there was something about the touch that managed to send shivers up her spine. What the hell? He’d touched her plenty and it hadn’t ever hit her like this; she knew it hadn’t.
“So tell me about this new life plan of yours,” he said.
“I can’t.” She closed her eyes. Seemed to be a wise move, she thought. If she wasn’t looking at him, she might stop having these weird, hot little pangs hitting her square in the belly. Except the pangs just kept getting worse.
“Why?” He tickled her.
She yelped and jerked on her foot. “Stop that!” Opening her eyes, she glared at him.
“You used to tell me everything,” he said, smiling at her.
“Yeah, well, I can’t tell you a plan that I haven’t come up with,” she pointed out, still squirming.
“Be still.” He went back to work and despite herself, she all but whimpered as he hit a spot on her arch with his thumb. “So you don’t know what you’re going to do next. That’s got to have you all twisted up.”
Yes. “I’m fine.”
“Liar.” He smiled as he said it. “You don’t know how to not do plans. What do you want to do?”
You—
Blood rushed to her face and she dipped her head, letting her hair fall down to shield her expression while she tried to figure out just what in the hell was wrong with her.
Had she lost her mind?
Swallowing, she said, “I don’t know what I want right now, Zach.”
The embarrassment faded as those words hit her square in the chest. It was the absolute truth. She had absolutely no idea what she wanted in life. Well, other than this bizarre urge to jump Zach, and she was positive that stemmed from the fact that she was just suffering from some sort of post-breakup stress.
Panic slammed into her and she started to shake.
“Zach . . . I don’t know what I want.” She tried to pull her foot away. She needed to get up and move. I have to think. Got to get this planned out. Have to know—
“Abby.”
She jerked on her foot again. “Let me go,” she snapped.
“Not happening. All you want to do is get up and start having a meltdown, sugar.” He tugged on her foot and said, “Come here.”
She blinked at him. “What?”
Heaving out a sigh, he reached for her and hauled her into his lap.
She stiffened and shoved against his chest. “Zach, would you—”
“Calm down,” he said easily. He settled her on his lap. She’d spent more than a few nights like this when she’d been falling apart. Either on his lap while she cried after her dad died, or curled up against him after a marathon movie session. It shouldn’t be a big deal. Why it suddenly felt so different, she didn’t know. Unless it was just post-breakup stress. Yeah. Had to be that.
“You’re too wound up about this,” Zach said quietly. He stroked a hand down her back and eased her against his chest.
Wound up. Yes, she was definitely that and there was no denying that she was certainly freaked out about the current chaos of her life, but that wasn’t the only problem. That was what really had her sitting there so rigid and unyielding, despite the fact that she wanted to wilt against him and just . . . be. Just like that.
Except if she didn’t relax, he was going to figure out, fast, that something was up. Then she’d have to lie or something because she couldn’t very well tell him that she was having these crazy thoughts. And great, now she was rambling inside her own head.
Get a grip. She took a slow, deep breath and blew it out. Focusing on the dragon that wrapped around his left bicep, she stared at the scales. Wound up. Yes. She was. But it was hard to say what she was more worked up over, the screwed-up wreck that was her life, or the hot mess that was her body.
But she couldn’t exactly relay that last bit. He’d get the first bit. And it was definitely not helping