21. Zoe

21

ZOE

My foot tapped against the floorboard of the car as I sat in the line of parents waiting in front of the middle school for the buses to get back from science camp. I tilted the rearview mirror and checked my reflection. The past few days at work, patients, doctors, X-ray techs, paramedics, and other nurses had all commented that I looked "rested," "refreshed," and that I was "glowing." I lifted my hand and pressed my fingers to my cheek. Maybe it was just the power of suggestion, but I swear that my skin looked fresher. Plumper. Firmer.

As a medical professional who had studied the science of the human body, I knew sex released certain hormones in a person's body, but the effects of those would have tapered off by now. It had been four days since I had spent the night with Miles at his office.

Oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin, however, are released when a person is falling in love, and studies have shown they can also make a person's skin glow. There is scientific proof of it. But that was not what was happening here. I was not falling in love with Miles Ford. That would be insane and completely inappropriate.

Had I watched countless hours of interviews he'd done during every spare minute I'd had over the past seventy-two hours? Sure. Had I been able to stop thinking about him even for a minute? No. But that was not proof that I had developed feelings for the man.

He was young. Well, actually, he was only two years younger than me, but it seemed like he was younger because the characters he played were always in their teens or early twenties. Speaking of roles, he was going to be playing the role of Austin, which was probably why I was feeling the way I was. None of this was about Miles. For the movie, I'd had to talk about Austin and bring buried emotions to the surface, and I was projecting them onto Miles. That had to be it.

A loud honk sounded behind me, startling me out of my inner thoughts. I glanced up and saw that the line had moved and the buses had arrived.

Shit . I really needed to get myself together. This little infatuation or projection of my feelings, or whatever I had going on, needed to be nipped in the bud. AJ could never find out about any of this. He was so excited about filming the movie. I didn't want anything to ruin that or confuse him.

For ten years, I'd been nothing but responsible. Yes, I'd hooked up with a few men, but I'd made sure to keep my private life far away from home. AJ never had any idea about any of that. This was too close to home for my liking.

Not only did AJ know Miles, he looked up to him as a role model. The two were going to be working together. I would be on set with both of them. Luckily, Miles was a professional. And I'd made it clear to him that nothing more could happen between us. It was one night and one night only. We left on good terms. He asked if he could call me or text me, and I said yes, thinking it would be about the movie.

Every day since he'd been in New Mexico, he had messaged me or called me to check in and make sure I was okay. I hadn't returned his calls, mainly because I hadn't known what to say. He would lose interest in me soon enough. By the time he returned in a month, I was sure he'd barely remember our night together. As sad and sick to my stomach as that thought made me, I knew it was for the best.

The cars in front of me moved, and I pulled up to the curb just in time to see Kendall hugging AJ goodbye. It was sweet seeing the two of them together. It transported me back to simpler times. When I was that age, Austin made me feel like anything was possible, that we had the whole world at our disposal.

If I had known then the heartbreak I would face… I would still do it all again. I wouldn't change anything because I had AJ. And he was the best thing I had ever done. Tears started to form in my eyes as AJ walked over to the car. I sniffed them back as I popped the trunk, and he threw his duffel in it.

When he got in the front seat, I looked at him, and even though he'd only been gone four days, I would swear he looked older. He was growing up too fast. A burst of emotion overwhelmed me, and I leaned over to give him a hug.

He recoiled from me. "Mom, stop."

"Sorry." I lifted my hands in surrender and then put them on the steering wheel. I kept forgetting that he was nearly a teenager, and it was not okay to hug your mom in front of your friends.

"Did you have fun?" I pulled away from the curb.

"Yeah. Kendall asked if she could get pictures of you."

"Of me?"

"Yeah, when you were our age. And she wanted to know if you'd go to The Beauty Mark with her."

"The Beauty Mark?" I turned to him. "Why?"

The Beauty Mark was owned by Kendra Abernathy, who was a year behind me in school. Her family came from old money and were infamous thanks to Abernathy Manor, which was believed to be haunted and featured on Most Haunted Places in America lists and television programs every year. Kendra was a social media influencer who was discredited after she promoted a diet pill that ended up causing organ failure and several deaths. Her family bought her the salon to restore her name and rebrand her image.

All of that was fine and dandy, except for the fact that Pretty in Peach, which was owned by Caroline Shaw, had been the sole beauty salon on Firefly Island for as long as Firefly had existed. Once you stepped foot in The Beauty Mark, you had pretty much taken a side in the War of the Roses , or I guess, the war of the salons.

A lot of the younger crowd went to The Beauty Mark for the updated treatments and cuts. I went to a salon in Savannah just to play it safe.

"She's going to dye her hair your color," AJ stated matter-of-factly.

"What? No!" Kendall had beautiful, natural blonde hair. There was no way she should dye it brown. "She can get a wig."

"She said she needs to do it for the art. To be authentic."

"She's twelve years old," I argued. "What does Ariana say about that?"

"Her mom is fine with it," AJ explained. "Millie Bobby Brown was twelve when she shaved her head to play Seven in Stranger Things ."

"Okay, but…" I did not want Kendall dying her hair for this role, no matter what another actress had done for another role. "Can't we just change me to having blonde hair?"

All of the actresses I'd seen on the tapes Miles had shown me had different hair colors. There were three blondes, a redhead, and four brunettes, so it shouldn't be a problem. Plus, I would feel a lot better about an adult dying their hair than I would a child.

"What?" AJ scrunched his face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, my character can have blonde hair."

"But you are your character."

"No, I'm me . The Zoe in the movie is a character. She can have blonde hair." It might actually make it easier for me if she did, now that I thought about it.

"That doesn't make any sense. But whatever." He shrugged.

The rest of the ride was spent with him on his phone. We pulled up to the house, and I was wondering who I should contact about the hair color change. I'd spoken to Andy and Shania on the phone and through email; they were the writers, but I didn't know if they would be the ones who would make that decision. Braxton seemed like she was running things, but deep down I knew that the final say would come from Miles. I would have a reason to return his call now.

I opened the door, and Daisy jumped on AJ, nearly knocking him down.

"I missed you, too!" AJ dropped his bag and laughed as Daisy coated him with kisses.

"How was camp?" Walter asked from his chair.

"Good. Fun."

That was more than I'd gotten out of him.

"Someone's got an admirer!" Walter pushed the recliner down and began to stand up out of his chair.

"What?" AJ and I looked at each other as Daisy lowered down to her feet.

"In the kitchen." He tilted his head.

I helped him up, and we walked into the kitchen where I found AJ standing in front of a huge bouquet of flowers on the island. The colors were deep and vibrant pinks, oranges, reds, and yellows. There were roses, lilies, and carnations. I'd never seen an arrangement so big.

"Whoa, who is that from?" AJ asked.

I had a feeling I knew who it was from.

"There's a card, but I didn't open it." Walter's brows lifted.

AJ rushed over and grabbed the card before I could.

"It's for you." He handed it to me.

On the outside, it said Zoe. I opened the card, and it read:

I can't stop thinking about the time we spent together. I can't stop thinking about you.

Miles

"What does it say?" AJ asked, bouncing on his heels.

"It's just a thank you for helping with the movie. Remember when I was on that phone call with the writers?" I lied.

I hated lying, but there was no way I could honestly tell him what the card said.

"Oh, right, yeah." AJ instantly lost interest, went to the fridge, opened it, and grabbed a soda.

"That's a nice thank you." Walter winked before heading back to his chair in the front room.

He definitely suspected something was up, and he was right. I had crossed a line with Miles. But it was one night, and it was over. I looked down at the card and read it again before stuffing it back in its envelope.

Yep. Over.