Page 13 of A New Chapter

Was he talking about the wedding? If so, Emma refused to go there. Luckily, the mac-n-cheese arrived just in the nick of time. As soon as the first creamy, cheesy, luscious bite hit her tongue, Emma let out a loud, happy sigh.

Zack eyed her across the table, his fork poised in mid-air.

“What?” she asked, trying to read his expression.

“Nothing. Just glad to see you’re enjoying it.” Zack’s forkful disappeared into his mouth, and he let out a similar sigh, followed by a thorough lick of his full, cheese-coated lips.

Suddenly Emma felt like she was watching a scene from a porn movie (not that she’d ever watched one of those). Any minute, she expected Zack to stand up and start stripping, then lean her over the table and…

“Emma?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“You dropped a noodle, right there.” Zack pointed to a spot just above her left breast. “Here, I’ll get it for you.”

He poured a drop of water onto his napkin and was just about to reach over the table when Emma yelled, “NO!” She hadn’t realized how loud she was until she glanced around and saw several pairs of eyes upon her.

Zack pulled his napkin back like he’d been stung while Emma extracted the errant noodle from her dress and placed it daintily on the edge of her plate. “I got it,” she said, smiling sweetly.

They finished their meal and split the bill upon Emma’s insistence that friends pay their own way. When Zack pulled into Emma’s driveway, they both sat still for a moment in awkward silence.

“Can I walk you to the door?” Zack asked.

“That’s not necessary, but thanks for sharing the mac-n-cheese with me,” Emma said, adopting a light and airy tone. She opened her door before Zack could come around, and slid out, holding her dress down as she did so. She had only taken a few steps when Zack rolled down his window.

“Hey, Emma? One more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You looked beautiful tonight,” he replied, and he rolled his window up before she could respond.

Emma stood rooted in place, eyes wide, and watched, bewildered, as he drove away.