Page 3 of A New Chapter

Chapter 2

Zack leaned back in his brown leather Barcalounger and took a long slug of his Heineken. Now he could finally relax since Gracie was down to sleep. He had read her one of her favorite Little Critter stories, and when he’d turned the last page, she was out.

Zack was just beginning to realize how exhausting single parenting could be. Sure, he had help from his parents, but after he worked all day and picked up Gracie, she was still raring to go. He glanced around the living room of his new home, noting all of the boxes that waited to be unpacked. The remote control for his new oversized flat-screen television sat on the coffee table, but he was too tired to walk over and retrieve it. The new books he had bought about single parenting sat unopened on the table beside him, but he couldn’t bring himself to crack one open. Nope, he was truly and utterly exhausted.

Glancing at the books reminded him of the one bright spot in his day—running into Emma Murphy. Wow, what a looker! He had thought that five years ago, but now she looked even prettier, although there was a hint of sadness behind her eyes. He didn’t blame her for the cool reception she gave him because he deserved it. He had been a bit of an asshole at her cousin’s wedding. Zack would have liked to blame it all on the amount of liquor he’d consumed that night, but he knew that wasn’t the sole reason. He had been six months away from getting married himself, and instead of feeling like the luckiest guy on earth, he had felt strangely empty. Foreshadowing of what was to come? Maybe, if you believed in that sort of thing. In any case, when he’d met Emma at the rehearsal dinner, he’d been instantly attracted to her. She’d had that special something that was hard to define, yet undeniable. She’d exuded warmth and a sense of ease with an undertone of sexy that he had found irresistible. And the best thing of all, she’d had no idea that she was that attractive.

Zack cringed when he recalled some of his actions from that night. He remembered resting his hand on Emma’s knee underneath the table and her repeatedly shoving it aside. He may have stood too close to her when they partook in the bridal party dance, and she must have been aware of his erection pressed up against her. He vaguely recalled whispering in her ear that she was the most beautiful woman at the wedding. Ugh! What a jerk! Emma had reacted to it all with cool politeness, similar to how she reacted at the bookstore. She surely wouldn’t have wanted to cause a scene at her cousin’s wedding, so she had put up with his antics without encouraging him, although, a couple times, he thought he’d seen a sparkle in her eye. Zack had wondered then if they had both been single, could there have been a chance…

Here they were five years later, both available, but toting a lot of emotional baggage. Emma hadn’t said, but Zack already knew that she was divorced too. He had found out through Phil, whom he talked to every few months. Phil had given him minimal details, but Zack got the impression that Emma’s husband had left her and not the other way around. Zack could relate to being rejected because it had happened to him too. Alicia had traded him in for a much younger model, a guy who interned at her company. He should have seen it coming, between her extra-long work days, texting on her phone at all hours, and becoming increasingly distant and withdrawn. But nope, he had been clueless. He had truly believed that Alicia wouldn’t break up their family; my God, Gracie had only been three at the time.

That was a year ago, and now Gracie would be starting preschool in one week. Zack took another long pull of his beer and set the empty bottle on the side table. No use crying over spilt milk. He was done trying to figure out what went wrong. His marriage was over, and Alicia was already living with what’s-his-name in their new condo. Zack’s focus now was to make sure that Gracie was ok. He had messed up his marriage, but he would do everything in his power to make a good life for his daughter. That included not dating for a while. He and Gracie needed time to heal before he brought another woman into their life. For now, he would concentrate on his role as Dad and give no further thought to the pretty lady with the light green eyes, strawberry blonde curls, and that tight, petite body.

Nope, he wouldn’t give her anymore thought… tonight.