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Bethany glanced at the unopened box in her hand.Curiosity spiked through her.She wanted to open it there and then, but she knew her parents were waiting for her.Also, she couldn’t be sure that it would be appropriate for public consumption.
Zach laughed as if he’d read her thoughts.“It’s perfectly respectable, Peaches.A little sentimental, even.The naughty stuff will keep for behind closed doors.”
She refused to blush.Luckily, her body complied.“Bye, Zach.”
She turned and walked away.Her body’s acute tingle told her his eyes were firmly fixed on her.
Opening the back door to her parents’ SUV, she slid in and slammed the door.Her father’s searching gaze caught hers in the rear-view mirror.
“Everything okay?”he asked.
“Sure, Dad.”She flashed a quick smile, shoved the box into her purse and pulled on her seatbelt.
“What a charming man.And he looks very familiar.We haven’t met him before, have we, Beth?”her mother asked with a slight frown.
“No, I don’t think so.”She couldn’t think how anyone who met Zach could forget him, but she wasn’t about to say that to her mother.
She firmly changed the subject and breathed a sigh of relief as her parents followed her lead and moved on to discussing what was happening in their lives.By the time they reached the busy street where the art galleries were located, Bethany was up to date on everything involving the Green clan, including her grandmother’s upcoming hip operation.
As they strolled from gallery to gallery, Bethany tried not to glance at her watch.Or stroke the velvet box burning a hole in her purse.Or think about Zach and wonder what he usually did on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
She knew what he’d been doing two Sundays ago.Round about this time, he’d been frisking her in his office.There’d been nothing lazy about that, nor in the days that followed.No, the days had been spent in high octane, world-rocking sizzle and turbulence.The comedown from that high was unbearable.
Over lunch, she tried to eat more than a few mouthfuls when she caught her father’s concerned frown yet again.
Considering it was her favorite Italian restaurant, she knew anything less than a healthy interest in her food would trigger a full interrogation.Luckily, she managed to avoid a third-degree inquisition and breathed a sigh of relief when her parents dropped her off back home just after seven in the evening.
She let herself in and leaned back against the door, her fingers already reaching for the velvet box.
Pulling it out, she slowly sank onto her sofa and stared at the gift.Much like she’d stared at that indigo-colored envelope, which had changed her life just over a fortnight ago.
Recalling how nervous she’d felt then, her fingers shook and uncertainly crawled over her.It was hard to believe that a box could change her life.But an envelope had.In such a profound and definitive way that she wondered how she’d ever imagined she was alive before she’d met Zach Savage.
She slowly pulled one end of the black ribbon.It fell away, immediately forgotten.Swallowing, she pried the box open.Her mouth gaped at the exquisite bracelet propped up on the velvet cushion.
The six linked, dime-sized platinum circles were studded with diamonds.In the middle link was a locket that sprang open at her touch.
The expensive jewelry wasn’t what made Bethany gasp in shock.It was the picture inside the locket, which had been taken as she’d come across the finish line during the camel race, a huge smile on her face as she punched the air with her hat in triumph.Her expression beamed with such open happiness that tears sprung into her eyes.
She’d had no idea that her picture had been taken.Had Zach taken it?
What did it say about her that she’d been so far gone, so singularly focused on him that she hadn’t even realized photos were being taken?
She fingered the charm and tried to keep herself from dissolving into a seething mass of misery.
Her phone rang, and she groped through her purse for it.
“Hello,” she croaked, then sniffed loudly.
“Bethany, Christ, are you crying?”Zach demanded hoarsely.
“No.Yes!”
“Why?”
She gave a choked laugh.“Because of you, Zach.You’re turning my life inside out.And I want to hate you for it, but I can’t seem to.I just opened your present, and I…”
“Did you like it?”he asked with a thread of anxiety that made her breath shudder out.