Page 41 of Wild Devotion
Zane snorted from somewhere behind me, but I ignored him.
“Give me five minutes,” she said, backing away, her cheeks turning pink. “I need to cash out.”
I watched her disappear into the back, then turned to find Zane studying me with his arms crossed.
“You’ve got it bad.” He smiled.
“Mind your own business.”
“My co-workers are my business. I care about every single one of them.” Co-workers. Like our family didn’t own the place. “Just don’t fuck it up, little cousin.”
Jeremy appeared from a doorway behind the bar, his gaze landing on me with a scowl. His gaze flicked to the hallway Zadie had disappeared down, then back to me again.
He’d been territorial as hell the night I came to pick her up after she’d passed out. The second I lifted her off the break room couch, he’d tried to step in. Like he had any fucking claim to her.
He wasn’t a threat. But he could still be a problem. So, I held his stare until he looked away first.
Zadie reappeared with her hair down, a jacket over her arm, and a softer energy than the one she’d had on the floor. Like clocking out had given her permission to stop performing.
“Ready?” She moved up beside me, close enough that I caught the faint scent of citrus and something warm underneath it.
“Let’s go.” I stood, my hand finding the small of her back as though on instinct. And for once, she didn’t pull away.
We stepped outside into the October evening. The sun had dropped below the tree line, painting the sky in deep orange and purple. The air was cool and carried the faint smell of someone’s fireplace.
“Which way?” I asked once we were in my truck.
“This was your idea. I thought you had a plan.”
“My plan was to be spontaneous.”
Her laugh was surprised and unguarded, and it crackled under my skin.
“There’s a new place downtown,” I said. “Apparently the food’s amazing. We could try that.”
She agreed and we set off for Ember.
It was a small, candlelit restaurant with exposed brick walls and a menu chalked on a board behind the bar. The kind of place that felt like a secret even though it was right in the middle of town.
We got a table by the window, and the hostess left us with water and a knowing smile that I pretended not to notice.
Zadie studied the menu, the walls, the table setting. Everything but me. “This is nice. How have I not been here before?”
“You don’t go out much.”
“I don’t. But I’ve been in this town for two months. You’d think I’d have found the one restaurant with actual ambiance.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“I’ve been hiding.” She said it lightly, but the honesty underneath it was sharp enough to cut.
“I don’t think I’d call it hiding.” That’s what I’d done when she first shot me down. “You’ve been rebuilding. That takes time. Space.”
She looked up from the menu, and the candlelight caught her eyes in a way that made my chest ache. “You’re right.”
We ordered. She got the largest cut of steak available with mashed potatoes and a salad on the side. I got whatever was closest to my thumb on the menu because I genuinely didn’t care what I ate as long as she kept sitting across from me.
“So…” She settled back in her chair. “We should probably talk about something other than how awkward this is.”
