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Rich.

I’ll be back in a couple of days. Is everything okay?

Not really, I think I’m getting sick. I was hoping you could run to the store for me. Might be a bit tricky from Seattle.

I look up and see everyone talking amongst themselves. It’s rude to be texting. So I hurry out a response.

Keep hydrated. When I get home, I’ll help you.

“Everything okay?” Zach offers me a bowl of buttery carrots.

“My mom. She says she’s getting sick and wants to know when I’ll be home.”

His forehead creases in confusion. “What like the flu?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

He huffs out a breath. “Seems a bit selfish. She couldn’t eve?—”

“Luna, what do you teach?” Jennie chimes across the table, interrupting Zach without realizing.

I clear my throat. “Art and design in high school.”

“She’s just had a promotion to head of the department,” Felicity adds, smiling over at me.

“Oh, fabulous!” She looks between Zach and me then, her brow furrowing slightly, and I know what’s coming. I think we all do. “Are you looking to get a similar position in the Seattle area? I guess since you two are...” She points between us with her fork. “...together. You won’t want to have all that distance between you.”

From the other end of the table, Jon’s brother slowly exhales and shakes his head. “Read the room, Mom.”

Jon chuckles around his water glass. “Straight up and honest, bro.”

I turn back to Jennie when I feel a hand land on my thigh, and even though he doesn’t say it, I know he’s asking if I want to answer or leave it to him. I drop my hand on top of his.

“We’ve still got a lot to work out,” Zach replies.

“I say come live with me. I have a spare room and you wouldn’t need to pay rent, especially while you search for a job over here,” Kate suggests.

I feel Zach tense up against me. “Yeah maybe, Kate. Thanks.”

Other conversations resume, and I lean across to him and whisper, “That’s not a bad idea though, no? It’d solve my living arrangements and money.” I look down at the way he’s carving into his meat furiously. “I think the turkey’s cut.”

“You don’t need to worry about money, Luna.”

“I do if I don’t have a job.”

Dropping his voice even lower, he side-eyes me cautiously. “I earn twelve million dollars a year plus add-ons and sponsorship deals. I’ve got you.”

Stealing a piece of turkey from his plate and popping it in my mouth, I chew around it and quirk a brow. “And I make forty thousand a year and get by just fine. I don’t want to be kept, and if Kate can offer a place for a while, then that opens up at least some options.”

Genuine frustration passes across his beautiful features. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

ZACH

“What aboutThe House on the Haunted Hill?” Luna suggests, still scrolling through movie selections.

I scrunch my face up. “Weak option.” It’s not bad, but I’m grumpy as fuck since our exchange at dinner. I like Kate, but like fuck do I want the woman I love moving to this city to be together and then not have her in my bed each night. But how do I tell her that? I only just told her I loved her, and she hasn’t yet said it back. It’s crazy because every girl I’ve ever dated has been full-on with me, but not Luna. I’ve fallen so hard for her, and I’ll wait a lifetime, but damn, I hope she says it back soon.