Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ellie

Sitting on this hammock with Zach's arm around me is the most romantic thing that's happened to me in five years. How sad is that? Especially because I'm probably the only one with romance on the mind.

If I don't break the tension, I'm liable to beg him to run away with me. Which is why I announce, "It turns out my mom has a small brain bleed and they're going to keep her at the hospital for a couple of days."

"That's scary, huh?" After a beat he adds, "But I suppose it's better safe than sorry."

"They might have to operate if it gets worse."

Leaning against the hammock, Zach pulls me closer to his side. "We got her to the hospital early, Ellie. The doctors know what they're doing."

"Would you say that if it was your mom?" I ask.

He snorts. "Probably not. I'm just trying to keep you from worrying."

"I could use a distraction," I say before releasing an epic sigh.

Zach turns his head to look at me and his expression becomes serious. I start to worry, but then he says, "I have a distraction for you."

The intensity of his gaze causes chills to erupt all over my body. "What's that?"

His left eyebrow arches. "You may not be up for it."

"How will I know if you don't tell me what it is?"

"Ellie," Zach groans like he's in pain.

"Zach?"

"I would really like to kiss you, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea."

Holy crow, this is my Cinderella moment, sans the glass slipper. Although if he doesn't want me to get the wrong idea, he clearly doesn't want me to think it means anything. "You mean it's just a kiss and nothing more." And while the thought makes me a little sad, it doesn't in any way dampen my enthusiasm at the thought of a lip-lock with Mr. Hunky Pants.

Zach suddenly looks hurt. "No. That would be the wrong idea. I don't want you to take our kiss lightly." He hurries to amend his comment. " If you'll let me kiss you, that is."

I tip my head to the side like I'm in deep contemplation. I want him to kiss me, I just don't want to appear too easy. I finally decide, "I think a kiss would be okay, so long as you don't think that the money you're paying me to spy on Yolanda is the reason I'm doing it."

He looks appalled at the very idea. "I don't pay for kisses."

"In that case …" I lift my chin slightly for easier access.

Zach stares at me for several seconds before lowering his lips closer to mine. He moves so slowly I wonder if he's having second thoughts. I'm about to tell him he doesn't have to go through with it when our mouths finally connect.

If this was a cartoon version of us, fireworks would be exploding overhead, and hearts would be filling the air around us. My skin flushes with such heat it feels like I've just walked into an inferno. I have never felt this degree of sensation from the barest touch of a man's lips .

Leaning toward Zach, I moan his name before pressing my mouth more firmly against his. In response, he lifts me onto his lap and proceeds to devour me like I'm the most delicious thing he's ever tasted.

We remain wrapped around each other for another minute or a month—seriously, time has lost all meaning. All I know is that my body is full of the sweetest sensations that make me want to profess my undying devotion. Somehow, I force myself to keep quiet. I don't want to scare Zach away and I'd surely do that if I acted like a love-struck teenager.

Out of nowhere, I think of the offense he took when Yolanda declared them a couple after three dates. Zach and I haven't so much as been on one date. I don't think we can count today because our upcoming dinner was not planned, it was more a suggestion of convenience. Yet, this kiss … this kiss makes me wonder if we couldn't call today a date after all.

When Zach finally lifts his mouth from mine, all he says is, "Wow."

"Wow, that was great, or wow, I need lessons in how to kiss a man," I tease.

"If you got lessons, you'd kill me for sure." Leaning up, Zach gives me a quick peck before adding, "That was an amazing kiss."

"It was pretty good," I agree impishly.

"Pretty good? That's all you have to say about it?" Poor Zach, I've offended him.

I shrug my shoulders slightly. "I think I've forgotten it already. You might have to remind me."

Zach smiles slowly. "Forgotten, huh? Come here, woman." He wraps his arms around me even tighter before declaring, "I'm about to give you a kiss you'll never forget."

And just like that, we're once again connected. There's no tentative pressure this time. Instead, he kisses me like we have always belonged to each other and always will.

This new intimacy transports me right out of my skin to the point where I feel like I'm hovering in the atmosphere above myself. Yet even so, I'm conscious of the riot of sensations racing through my nervous system. It's like a million little explosions all over my body and I can't get enough of them.

"Zach …" I murmur against his mouth. But he doesn't come up for air. Instead, he doubles down, claiming me for his own. I have never felt like this with another man, and I can never imagine anyone else creating this kind of chaos within me.

Zach doesn't release me when the kiss ends. Instead, he holds me closely against his heart and rests his chin on the top of my head. Then he asks, "Do you think you're going to forget that one?"

"Never," I tell him truthfully. "You can run off to the other side of the world and I will always remember this moment."

The thought of him leaving Maple Falls breaks my heart. But who am I to think that a man like Zach Hart would ever fall for a girl like me? Especially in such a short time. At some point he's going to leave Washington and I'll become nothing more than a distant memory. Which makes me wonder if I shouldn't just pull away from him and tell him we can never kiss again.

Zach breaks the silence. "A penny for your thoughts." I don't answer right away, so he says, "You're making me nervous, Ellie. I need to know what you're thinking."

I hesitate a moment before telling him, "I'm thinking that was the nicest kiss I've ever had. "

He pushes me away so that I'm sitting up, my face hovering above his. "That kiss meant something. In fact, it meant a lot." It looks like I've offended him.

"If you say so."

"I do say so. What's going on here?" Now he sounds annoyed.

"You're only here for a short time and I live here. It's not like anything is going to happen between us."

"And that makes you sad?" He asks this in such a way that I have no other choice but to tell him the truth.

"Yes." I wait a beat before adding, "I feel sorry for the guy who comes after you, because there's no way he's ever going to be able to make me feel the things you do."

Zach's eyes narrow slightly. "Let's not talk about who comes next. I agree that I'm only in Maple Falls for a few weeks, but neither of us knows what will happen after that."

"Zach," I tell him. "I don't live my life just for me. I have a mother to take care of. I have to stay here to do that."

"I know what your obligations are. I'm simply suggesting that we take things one day at a time and don't overthink the outcome. Can you do that?"

"Theoretically, yes," I tell him.

"Theoretically?"

"I don't want to get hurt, Zach, but you kiss like a man who has the power to hurt me."

"If I have the power to hurt you, you have an equal ability to do the same to me."

"I didn't think of it like that." It's an intense thought to realize that Zach doesn't hold himself above me. That in the land of love, we're on equal footing.

"So, we'll take things one step at a time and see what happens?"

I nod my head slowly. "Okay."

And just like that, I wonder what I've agreed to. A few days ago, I hated the ground Zachary Hart walked on and now I'm giving him the ability to mess with my emotions. What in the world is happening here, and more importantly, why would I ever want it to stop?