Maybe Chris just tried too hard. Her New York apartment was efficiently furnished and color coordinated. When she got back she’d do something to make it more playful. Like install a full-size photo of Zac on the ceiling over her bed.
She handed him his water and waited for him to sit, then realized he was being a gentleman and waiting for her.
Hmm. If she chose the couch, he might sit next to her, and she’d be in danger of falling victim to the warmth of his large and deliciously muscular body.
Yum.
If she chose a chair, he would have no way of sitting next to her and she’d be in no danger of falling victim to the warmth of his large and deliciously muscular body.
Darn.
She dodged the issue entirely by staying upright.
As did he.
“Well.” She sounded ridiculously chipper, the way she always did when she was nervous. It was going to be very hard to keep to her temporary vow of chastity if Zac made the slightest move. Like if he blinked. “Was there any reason you came by tonight besides making sure I wasn’t conceiving a bunch of mini Bodies?”
“Actually, I came over to apologize.”
She stared up at him. “Apologize? For what?”
“I have no idea.” Zac downed a gulp of water. “I was hoping you’d know.”
“Me?” She was officially baffled. “What do you mean? Am I angry at you?”
“Hey, I remember this.” He picked up an exquisitely detailed redwood carving of a sea turtle from the bookshelf. “I gave this to Eva when she first moved to Carmia. What was that, five years ago? Three? I’ve lost track.”
Chris could cheerfully slug him. Did he know he was reducing her to utter confusion yet again? Did he do this on purpose?
“What am I being apologized to for?” She frowned, wondering if that held up grammatically.
“Luke and I had a talk. We agreed it’s a good idea to apologize to women.”
Chris snorted. “That is sexist and ridiculous.”
“Is it?” He tossed the turtle from one hand to the other. “I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” She moved closer on the pretense of examining the little turtle. “I remember Eva telling me about this and about you. She was sort of in love with you back then.”
“I was sort of in love with her, too.”
“But you never did anything about it.”
“Nope.” He put the carving back on the shelf and stared at it, his back to her.
“Why not?”
“I’m not Bodie?”
“Oh, whew. That is such a relief. I thought—”
“Some people you can love and still be satisfied with friendship.” He turned. “Others not so much.”
Chris took in a breath that seemed to go on forever. How was it possible to have that deep an effect on a person with just words and a look? She felt as if she was slowly drowning, except this water was exceptionably warm and clear and sweet and inviting. Even her wise inner voice was waving pom-poms and chanting, dive, dive, dive!
Or maybe that was just her hormones. She wasn’t going to listen to them. They’d been drinking.
But Zac seemed to be talking about something a hell of a lot more intense than a fling if he’d mentioned the L-word. That was not her plan at all.
“Zac, I’m sorry. I don’t want to get seriously involved with you.”
His eyebrow quirked. “Did I just ask you to?”
“Oh. Um. No.” Her face grew red. “No, but, well, you kissed me last night, and then tonight you showed up, and just now you said that about friendship and love and now I’m exactly the crazed babbling character I don’t want to be, and it’s all because of you.”
“Maybe that’s what I was apologizing for.”
“I don’t know.” She sat on the couch, plunked her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands, stomach churning acid. “I just know I can’t think straight when you’re around.”
“Yeah?” He sat next to her, folding his hands between his long thighs. “That makes two of us.”
“Really?” She lifted her head, feeling a little more hopeful. Idiocy apparently loved company. “What should we do?”
“I was thinking we should be friends.” He put the glass to his mouth and mumbled something very peculiar.