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“You may be right,” Charlotte said. “Regardless, I think it’s very kind and generous.”

He nearly thanked her, but that wasn’t why he was helping Agatha. He didn’t need recognition or praise. He was doing it because… well, because it needed to be done and he had the means to do it.

Zeke gave a sharp nod of his head as if he’d won an argument with himself.

Charlotte’s smile widened. “I’ve had a wonderful time with you tonight, and I just wanted to assure you that while I’d love a second date, I get the strangest feeling that your heart might be elsewhere.”

Confusion clouded his thoughts. “My heart? My heart isn’t anywhere. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go on a date in the first place. I’d love to see you again if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Honey,” her voice was irritatingly patronizing, “you might think you’re not ready to date, but I would wager you’re far more prepared than you realize. But you have to find that person that has a… spark.” She got to her feet. “This was lovely. I enjoyed the food and the company, but I believe you’re better suited for someone else.”

It was hard not to be offended by her statement. He scrambled to his feet as she strode toward the exit. Zeke shrugged into his jacket and threw down some bills for the tip, then hurried after her.

By the time he caught up with her, she was taking the stairs, only that wasn’t the thing that threw him off balance.

At the base of the stairs stood the one person he didn’t want to see.

14

Agatha

Agatha couldn’t believe her eyes. Staring at her from the top of the steps at her place of work was none other than Zeke Callahan. And from the looks of it, he was chasing after his own Cinderella.

Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot!

If she thought asking him out was bad, seeing him with another woman was ten times worse.

Of course he was dating someone.

This man—a cowboy who apparently had a heart of gold—also had a woman to hold when his nights were lonely and cold.

Agatha’s stomach turned to stone, weighing her down and rooting her to the spot. Her eyes darted from the pretty woman to the cowboy she’d grown attached to.

Jealousy writhed within her, and she abhorred the sensation even as her face flushed hotter than the sun itself. If she’d been smart, she would have waited around long enough earlier today to let Zeke get a word in edgewise rather than running off and forcing him to have to deal with it all.

She wanted to groan, to stomp her foot and race off toward the restroom—anything to stop her from feeling so mortified.

The woman glanced over her shoulder toward Zeke, then back to Agatha. She smiled sweetly. “Hello, I’m Charlotte. I take it you know Zeke?”

Great. Just great.

This Charlotte woman knew him by his first name. They were familiar. Well, duh. They were dressed up and leaving the country club together on a Friday evening.

Agatha’s face burned hotter, though she didn’t think it was possible. Even her mouth seemed to simmer. “Yes, we’re uh… he’s…” She bounced one fist against her thigh. She could look away, show her submission, make herself miserable, or she could shove her pain back at Zeke and let him take some of it. He was partly to blame for all of this. Agatha crossed her arms and put all her weight onto one foot. She forced the biggest smile she could muster. “We’re neighbors.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened and she looked once more toward Zeke. “You must be the woman he’s helping out. I’m so sorry to hear about the fire.”

She didn’t know whether to feel elated or horrified that she’d been the topic of conversation between these two. Clearly, Charlotte didn’t feel the least bit threatened by her, so it was probably the latter. “Thank you,” she murmured. Telling this woman that she hadn’t heard anything about her clung to the tip of her tongue, but Agatha was better than that. She didn’t need to bring down another person simply because something didn’t work out for her.

No. She’d be the bigger person, and Zeke could find his happily ever after with someone else. Agatha would be fine—as soon as she managed to lick her wounds and hide away from the world for a day or so. Strange how this embarrassment hit harder than she had expected. She hadn’t stepped foot inside a high school for decades, and yet this ache seemed to burn just as it would have in her teen years.

Agatha smiled at Charlotte, then forced herself to meet Zeke’s eyes. “I’m just here to pick up some paperwork from Shane’s office and I’ll be on my way. Sorry to interrupt your evening.” She hurried up the steps, but her toe snagged on one and down, down, down, she fell until a hand shot out and stopped her from face-planting entirely.

It happened all so fast. Zeke had managed to grab ahold of her in such a way that she only suffered a bruise to the shin.

While her lower leg throbbed excruciatingly, her heart did the same but more deliciously. She stared into Zeke’s eyes, and for the briefest of moments, she could almost see what a future with him might have been like.

His face was so close. The warmth from his body emanated just far enough to graze her chilled skin. All of the kind things he’d said to her up until this moment made it that much harder for her to come to her senses and pull away.