Page 14 of Hold Me Instead (Elmwood Falls #1)

Zachary

“Anna.”

“Oh, Zachary!” His ex-wife flung her arms around his shoulders, then glided her way into his downtown Chicago apartment.

He reluctantly closed the door, if only to prevent his neighbors from being part of whatever this fiasco would be.

She’d reached out the night before, asking if there was a time she could see him.

Considering Bella’s tip-off, she must have been doing some sort of damage control, despite his inactivity on social media.

Since he needed to grab things for work, he’d told her she could swing by his apartment during the one hour he’d allotted himself there.

“So. What’s up?”

She paused by the edge of his sparse, plain kitchen and turned to face him, one perfectly manicured hand clutching her designer purse strap, the other holding a small handled bag.

Her light brown eyes were wide with concern, her face and copper hair done up and perfectly placed. “Brought this for you.”

He took the bag and peered inside, finding a wild, smoky loose leaf black tea, packaged by a small business in Los Angeles. His favorite. Coincidentally, one they had shared during her first social media influencer business trip to the West Coast. “Oh, thank you. ”

“I heard about your dad. How is he?”

Zachary reared back slightly. How is he ? She had no relationship with the man. “He’s doing fine. Recovering.”

She nodded, free hand to her chest. “Thank God.”

“How’d you find out?”

“I’m surprised you didn’t tell me yourself.”

His laugh sputtered. “You are?”

She looked at him like he was adorable. “Of course. It’s not like we have bad blood between us. We’re still friends.”

Zachary raised his eyebrows.

Anna pouted, her lips dark pink against a machine-generated tan. “ I consider us friends.”

“Yeah, that’s why you so generously fought for the house, the car, and as much of my money as they’d allow.”

“Money you earned working for my father,” she said firmly.

“Fucking Christ,” he muttered. “It’s been real, Anna.” He reached for the door, but her words stopped him.

“Speaking of Dad,” she said. “He’s hired someone new, but you should know, none of it had anything to do with you.”

He shook his head. “What?”

Anna huffed, popping her jean clad hip to the side, heeled boots on display. Always a pose . Always intentional . At one time in his mind, always sexy. “The vet happens to be my boyfriend, my new partner. But none of it had anything to do with letting you go.”

The residual taste of his breakfast sandwich staled in his mouth, and his gut churned. “Sure, Anna. Okay.”

“I’m serious, Zachary,” she said with a huff .

He nodded. He really didn’t know how much he believed her, but he knew it wasn’t worth a fight. He needed to move on.

“Fine. Didn’t have to come all the way over to tell me that,” he said, opening the door.

She sighed again, then stopped in front of him on her way out. “Bella told me you knew, and I just felt like it was right to talk to you in person.”

“I don’t know what we cleared up, but I’m good. I’ve gotta get going, so…” He gestured toward the hallway.

Anna swayed out the door with one last pleading look, her eyes softer. “I really am glad your dad is okay.” She added a small smile, then clicked away in her boots.

Zachary shut the door. There, at the end, that had been the Anna he’d fallen for in college.

He’d felt her sincerity, surprised to realize he even appreciated it.

A part of him missed their friendship, but she did everything she could to smother that version of herself from view. Eventually, that also meant Zachary.

He tossed the tea, which now felt more like a “sorry my dad fired you” consolation than a “thinking of you and your family” gift, on the counter.

Pulling out his phone, he walked toward the living room.

It felt empty without Maple there to curl next to him on the charcoal fabric couch or to lie on the orthopedic bed at his feet as he sat in the swivel leather armchair.

“Hi!”

“Bella Mazzolari, did you ream out my ex-wife?” Even though she couldn't see him, he couldn't help but smirk, knowing full well Bella was incapable of such a thing.

She released a full-body laugh. “Yeah, sure. I mean, I guess I did scold her a bit. Seriously though, the timing on her post was not cool. ”

Truth .

“Wait. Why do you ask?” Bella asked.

“She just stopped by my apartment.”

“Nooo.”

He laughed. “Yeah.”

“Wow. Damn, I made it easy on her, didn’t I? She knew you already knew about the boyfriend too.”

“She wanted me to know that wasn’t why I was fired,” Zachary said.

“Good Lord,” Bella muttered. “Why would she even suggest such a thing?”

“Guilty conscience?”

“Ha!”

He didn’t want to consider the possibility that was why he’d been let go. Had his ability as a veterinarian really not been worth more than whomever Anna was dating?

“Hey, you still there?” Bella asked softly.

He scratched his head. “I know you’re not in the veterinarian field.”

She jumped in when he didn’t continue. “Definitely not. But I love animals!”

His laugh was clipped. “Am I a good veterinarian?”

There was silence on the other end, and he immediately felt stupid for asking the question. For wondering about it so badly he’d ask a friend who had no idea of his ability.

“Never mi—”

“Zachary Lee. The only thing all this shit with Anna and her dad proves is that it is completely, one hundred percent for the best that you’re no longer working there.

They’re caught up in some weird internet world of fancy veterinary clinics, including her father.

That doesn’t sound like the priorities of an animal hospital I’d trust for my pets. ”

He nodded slowly, staring out the large living room window at the high-rise across from him. He pressed his head to the pane of glass and looked down, splashes of red and yellow courtyard trees visible below.

“As for your abilities in your career? Yeah, I don’t really know. I did hear of all the special acknowledgments over the years because Anna loved to brag about them. You also made my great-aunt feel very taken care of when she brought her dog to see you. That goes a long way in my book.”

He’d forgotten about that.

“Thanks, Bella.”

“Hey, anytime. I’m just sorry my conversation with her sparked an ambush.”

“Well, she did acknowledge what was going on with my dad too.”

“She did? Sorry, yeah, I…I may have let that slip.”

“It’s alright. She brought tea. Which probably wasn’t so much about my dad because…”

“Because it’s Anna.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah. Ugh. Hey, looks like I’ll be in Wisconsin a little sooner than I thought. I’ll keep you posted? Would love to see your face. And I feel like I owe you dinner?”

They wrapped up their call. As he shut his apartment door behind him, though, he felt a sense of relief. This time, heading back to Elmwood Falls felt like going home.

** *

“Are you gonna keep the gift?” Jordan took a sip of his beer.

Zachary sipped his taster, the orange and spice of the pale ale refreshing. “Yes. I love that shit—they make a mean tea. I can separate her from it.” He paused. “Maybe this batch will just taste a little petty.”

Jordan bellowed with laughter, then lifted his amber ale taster in a toast. “Good riddance. Hopefully, you’re finally done.”

“Been a year since the papers were finalized, and we were over well before that.”

Zachary eyed his friend. Anna had been a different person when they’d first married, but once he’d announced their split, Jordan had been vocal about his support.

Apparently, he hadn’t been in the Anna Fan Club.

Zachary had appreciated the support from family and friends—well, the friends he still spoke to—but when they voiced their dislike for her, he questioned his judgment.

It didn’t matter anymore. It couldn’t. He’d moved on, was done with anything serious—he wouldn’t make that mistake again. In fact, this was the first time in ages where he felt like he was really considering what he wanted. Getting out of Chicago seemed to help him clear his head.

“What’d your dad say when you told him you’d be filling in while he’s out?”

“Nothing.” Zachary glanced around the brewery. The large warehouse space was divided, the back reserved for brewing and the front for the taproom with wooden high-top tables and booths over a concrete floor.

“Did you actually tell him?”

“Believe it or not, I did. Right before I left the hospital last night. ”

“Giving him ample time to actually talk about it with you then,” Jordan said sarcastically.

“That wasn’t the end of it,” he grumbled.

Jordan laughed again. “Ah, Z. Lay it all out there. Rip off the Band-Aid. You both will be happier once you clear the air.”

He knew he needed to. Years of hardly talking to his dad was sad enough, but continuing the charade well after his divorce, and with his father’s health scare…

it was losing its edge. The memory of when he’d approached his dad about working for his father-in-law, wanting to explain how that had evolved, still weighed heavily on his chest. Yet, it seemed like his dad had planned to give the practice to Charlie all along.

“Why do I have to be the one to do it?”

Jordan shrugged. “I don’t know. But it feels like the right move, doesn’t it?”

“My mom just wants one of us to make the move. She doesn’t care who.”

“I bet, especially with you home.”

“She even told me I could move back in with them while I figure things out, if I want.”

“Aw, her baby boy is back.” Jordan chuckled and tossed back a lager. “I’m guessing everyone’s excited to have you back at work?”

Zachary sat back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the table. “Not quite.”

“Did you already piss someone off?”

“Why does that even come to mind?”

“Come on, Z. You were never shy about what you’d do differently if you were running your dad’s place. I can’t imagine that’s changed. Especially after working for such a hoity-toity family for years. ”

“Maura seemed genuinely happy to see me.”

“That’s the office manager, right? The one who’s been like an aunt to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Right. So, basically, family. She doesn’t count.”

“There’s been turnover, some new people. It’s a really capable team. One of the techs taught me their software this morning, but I’d bet she knows as much as Maura. Everyone’s really on top of things.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Just ask the question you really want to know.”

“Okay. How are things between you and the woman taking over things?”

Complicated. “She doesn’t want me there.”

“Right. And the scowl on your face?”

Zachary felt the tension in his jaw, tried to relax his face, and realized he had no idea how. “Look, I can admit I haven’t been…my best self around her.”

Jordan smacked the table, throwing his head back with a laugh. As the cheerful noise finally faded, he wiped under his eyes dramatically. “Wow, thanks for that. I needed it.”

“You know, I’m really starting to wonder why we’re still friends, considering you seem to have such a low opinion of me.”

Jordan gave him a light punch to the shoulder. “Listen. For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve wanted to be a vet. Talked my ear off about how you couldn’t wait to have your own patients, to work alongside your dad.”

Zachary swallowed the memory .

“You’ve always been passionate. Even when you talked about things you’d do differently, it was obvious you just wanted to keep things progressing.”

He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t we want to do that?”

Jordan nodded slowly. “When you started working with Anna’s dad…I don’t know…The way you talked about it changed.”

Zachary considered that. “I was learning their way of doing things. Just like when I did my rotation.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I heard less about animals and more about image, I guess. What they expected of you.”

“That can’t be right.”

Jordan held up his hands. “Yeah, what do I know? You go off and work for a man whose practice has received national attention. A place that poured a shit ton of money into an expensive clinic and weirdly elaborate parties for their wealthy clients. Then you come home to your dad’s small practice, where people from all around the city bring their pets because they know they’ll get true mom-and-pop care.

You’re barreling in as if you haven’t been in an entirely different world for more than half a decade.

” He leaned closer. “I know you. You don’t do anything half-assed.

That certainly includes your job. But at this point, what’s familiar is what you’ve been doing lately, not what you grew up learning. ”

Zachary was quiet. Was that how things had been? Is that what people saw when they looked at him?

“You guys used to be friends, right?”

Zachary nodded.

“Yeah. You’ll come back to us.” Jordan gestured a stout taster in salute to Zachary. “There’s hope for you two yet.”