Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Zena

It was impossible to contain my smile as I shared the story of Nolan's elevator incident with Jing while we walked toward Lucha Libre Taco Shop for the surprise set-up between her and Tyson.

"So, there I was, expecting to see him step out of the elevator like a normal, fully clothed person," I managed between giggles, "when suddenly the doors opened and BAM! Nolan is panting and hovering over Mitch, both of them shirtless and glistening like they've just finished a steamy workout!"

Jing's eyes widened. "I had no idea the Sea Lions had ventured into adult entertainment. Did someone get it on video?"

"Only time will tell," I said, tapping the side of my head. "But I've got it recorded here, so it will live forever in my head."

Jing wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. "I wish I could have seen it."

"Knowing Nolan, it won't be the last time," I said. "He always seems to get into trouble, which makes our relationship very entertaining."

As the restaurant came into view, I spotted the guys at an outside table. I kept quiet, hoping Jing would see Nolan and say something instead of me.

Right on cue, Jing tugged my sleeve. "Hey, isn't that Nolan at the taco shop?"

I feigned surprise. "You're right. He told me he was having lunch with his friend Tyson, but I thought he mentioned something about grabbing pizza."

"We have to say hi," Jing insisted.

We most certainly do.

"Let's make it quick—I'm seriously craving that sushi," I lied.

"Sounds good," Jing said.

We approached their table near the sidewalk and then I joked, "Glad to see you're obeying the clothing policy at this fine establishment."

Nolan turned to me and smirked. "The day is young—you never know what might happen after a margarita or two." He shot me a wink.

I pointed to his drink. "Says the man who's drinking a large horchata ."

"I was talking about you drinking the margaritas, not me," he said. "Assuming you are also going to eat here."

I shook my head and gestured down the street. "We're on our way to Yoshino's for some sushi. The genuine kind."

"Nothing with Spam and sauerkraut?" Nolan asked.

"Never again." I crinkled my nose. "Don't tell your mom, but that was a once-in-a-lifetime event my stomach is struggling to forget. Oh, where are my manners? Jing, this is Nolan and his friend Tyson."

"Nice to meet you," Jing said with a wave and a smile.

"Likewise," Tyson replied, his eyes lingering on Jing.

There was a spark of interest between them, always a good sign.

I cleared my throat, trying to hide my satisfaction as I pretended we were leaving. "Well, we'll let you get to your lunch. We just wanted to say hi."

Nolan stood, giving me a quick kiss. "I'll call you later this afternoon when I get a chance."

"Sounds good," I replied.

Luckily, Jing fell for the trap and said, "Why don't we eat here? The food looks and smells fabulous, and I would love to hear more about Nolan's bonding experience with Mitch."

Nolan shook his head, embarrassed. "You just had to tell her."

I smirked. "That's what best friends are for."

"Okay, I see how it's going to be." Nolan sighed dramatically.

Tyson gestured to their table. "Join us. We've got plenty of room."

"We already ordered our food," Nolan said.

"Then we'd better get ordering! We'll be right back," I said, heading inside to the counter with Jing trailing right behind me.

Fifteen minutes later, our table was a lively scene of food and friendly banter. The elevator incident was still the hot topic, much to Nolan's chagrin and everyone else's delight.

"So, Nolan," I teased, wiggling my eyebrows, "did you and Mitch exchange phone numbers? Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful bromance."

Nolan, ever the good sport, played along. "Oh, definitely. We're going to do each other's nails after the next game and then watch The Notebook . I hope he's got plenty of Kleenex because I'm in the mood for a good cry."

As we all burst into laughter, I couldn't help but notice a moment blossoming between Jing and Tyson. They both reached for the salsa, their hands touching.

"Oh, go for it," Jing said with a smile, pulling her hand back.

Tyson grabbed the bottle and, with a gentlemanly air, placed it directly in front of Jing's plate. "I insist."

"Thank you," she said.

The simple gesture spoke volumes. Jing's flushed cheeks told me everything I needed to know about her thoughts on Tyson. I could barely contain my excitement, eager to share this moment with Nolan. But the dear, sweet, oblivious man was too engrossed in his nacho demolition derby to notice.

Determined to clue him in, I attempted a subtle foot nudge under the table. Key word: attempted.

"Ow!" Nolan yelped, his head snapping up. "Did you kick me?"

I bit my lip, trying to stifle my laughter.

"I'm so sorry," I giggled. "It was an accident."

Nolan's eyes narrowed playfully. "Uh-huh. Your mouth says ‘sorry,' but your face is screaming ‘that was fun!'" With lightning speed, he snatched one of my chips. "Payment for my suffering." He popped it into his mouth with a triumphant grin.

I gasped in mock outrage. "Chip thief! Just like in Vegas when you stole my fries."

Nolan smirked. "Just getting you back for stealing my heart."

I smiled. "You're forgiven."

As Jing and Tyson looked on, clearly amused by our antics, I couldn't help but think that we were some pretty darn good matchmakers.

"By the way," Nolan said, gesturing between our identical chicken nacho plates, "You can't keep ordering the same thing as me every time. Show some originality, would you? And don't kick me again for mentioning it."

I rolled my eyes. "For your information, I ordered before you even had your plate in front of you, so I had no idea what you were going to eat."

"Uh-huh," he said, clearly unconvinced. "Next time we go out to eat, we're secretly writing our orders down on a piece of paper. It's the only way to prove you're not copying my impeccable taste."

"Oh, please," I scoffed, then pointed to Jing and Tyson's seafood burritos. "What about them? They ordered the same thing, too."

Jing smiled. "What can I say? Tyson clearly has excellent taste in food."

"And in company," he added, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Smooth," Jing said. A slight blush crept up her cheeks as she playfully bumped his arm. "You sound like a sales guy."

Tyson grinned. "Close enough. I work in marketing."

"Me, too!" Jing said.

As Tyson launched into a surprisingly entertaining story about the Sea Lions latest promotion and how the team mascot got stuck in a bathroom stall for over twenty minutes, Nolan reached over and grabbed my hand to squeeze it, then threw me a wink. Our plan was working even better than we'd hoped. I marveled at how seamlessly the set-up had unfolded. The laughter hadn't stopped since we'd sat down, and the chemistry between Tyson and Jing was off the charts. They'd bonded over everything from childhood mishaps to their shared love of movies.

Tyson, still chuckling from Jing's spot-on impression of Reese Witherspoon from Legally Blonde , asked, "Anyone in the mood for continuing the fun over coffee at California Bean?"

I sighed regretfully. "I'd love to, but I've got another board meeting at the foundation. I'm still playing catch-up after being out of town last week."

"And I promised my parents a trip to Cabrillo Monument," Nolan added.

Jing looked disappointed. "That sounds like fun, but I came with Zena in her car."

"I can drop you back at work later," Tyson offered. "I don't mind at all." He gestured to me and Nolan. "We can talk about these two behind their backs."

"How can I say no to that?" Jing said.

After we said our goodbyes, Nolan walked me to my car, our fingers intertwined. Neither of us could stop grinning about the lunch.

"Did you see how Tyson nearly spit out his drink when Jing made that joke about the beans?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah." Nolan said. "That was pretty funny."

"I tried to get your attention, but you missed when they both reached for the salsa at the same time and had a moment when their hands collided!" I said.

"That wasn't so funny," he said. "I'm going to have a bruise on my shin because of you."

"It's your own fault for not paying attention," I said, arriving at my Malibu and leaning against the door. "But you have to admit, we are pretty good matchmakers."

"We certainly are," he said. "Do you think they knew we set them up?"

I shook my head. "No way. That was flawless execution."

Nolan nodded, then moved closer and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Let's get back to my favorite romance, shall we? When can I see you again?"

I frowned. "Good question—I won't be at tomorrow's game."

"That's too bad," Nolan said, caressing the side of my face. "And the day after? I really want to see you again soon. We need some time alone without family or friends."

I felt playful and batted my eyes at him. "Oh? And why is that?"

We were near the street, with cars whizzing by, but the moment suddenly felt more intimate when he pulled me closer.

Nolan's gaze locked with mine. "Because …"

My heart raced as I waited for him to finish.

Those three words were coming my way.

He opened his mouth again to speak and?—

BANG!

My Malibu shook violently, nearly knocking me off balance. Nolan and I twisted our bodies toward the rear of my car to see what happened. A shiny silver Jaguar had just rammed into my bumper.

A frazzled-looking man in his forties jumped out of the car. "I'm so sorry! I haven't gotten used to my new car. It's much longer than my old one, plus I suck at parallel parking."

"You and me both!" I said, managing a wry smile.

The man rushed to inspect the damage, his face a mask of worry. "Hopefully, I didn't damage your car badly." He rubbed my bumper. "There's a scrape here and a small indentation there." He rubbed it again and then bent down lower to look underneath. "I see nothing else. What do you think?"

Nolan and I walked to the rear of the car to check. There was a minor scratch and a slight dent, but nothing major.

"It's just a little scratch," I said, waving it off. "No big deal. Don't even worry about it."

The relief on the man's face was evident. "Really? Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Accidents happen. And nobody got hurt. That's what's most important. Mine is not a new car, anyway. Please, don't worry about it."

"Thank you so much—I appreciate it," he said, his shoulders sagging with relief. "Let me try this again. Wish me luck."

As the man carefully re-parked his car without further incident, Nolan squeezed my hand. "That was impressive. You have a great deal of patience."

I shrugged. "It's just a car."

"Thank you again!" The driver waved. "You're a saint!"

He walked away, and Nolan and I were alone again.

I smirked. "Wow—did you hear that? I guess I'm a saint."

Nolan pulled me closer, his gaze so intense it made my breath catch.

"I disagree," he said. "You're an angel."

He cupped my face gently, his thumb caressing my cheek. As he leaned in, the world seemed to fade away. His lips met mine in a kiss that was unlike any we'd shared before. It was tender, achingly sweet, filled with a depth of emotion that made my heart flutter.

When we finally parted, Nolan looked at me intently.

"Zena," he whispered, his voice filled with affection, "I love you."

The words I'd been longing to hear washed over me like a warm wave. My heart soared, and I felt a smile spread across my face, so wide it almost hurt.

"I love you too, Nolan," I breathed.

The words felt both momentous and natural, like it was meant to be.

He pulled me close again, our foreheads touching, both of us grinning like love-struck teenagers. Just as we leaned in for another kiss, my phone chimed loudly, breaking the spell. We both laughed softly, the interruption doing nothing to dampen the glow of the moment we'd just shared.

"Sorry," I said. "I'm still monitoring Dad."

As I reached for my phone, I knew that whatever the message was, nothing could top the perfect words I'd heard from Nolan.

"No need to apologize," he said.

I glanced at my phone and smiled. "It's from Mom. They want to invite your parents over for dessert and cocktails on Saturday night."

Nolan raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes!" I said. "They head back to Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon, right?"

Nolan nodded. "They do."

"Mom says it's perfect since the team's on the road and you won't be working. They have an early dinner engagement they already committed to, but nothing planned after that, hence the dessert and drinks. Dad will have the game on the big screen, and we'll just hang out and enjoy each other's company. How does that sound? The dessert will be edible, I promise."

"Sounds great," Nolan said. "I'll let them know."

"And please tell your mom she doesn't need to bring anything," I said, then clarified, "Or prepare anything, if you know what I mean."

"Indeed, I do," Nolan said. "Please warn your parents that mine are extremely informal, as you saw for yourself. They usually only dress up for weddings or funerals."

"I'll let them know," I said. "And it probably would be a good idea to warn your parents that mine can be the complete opposite of them. They dress up for almost everything."

Nolan pulled me close, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Maybe we should make this interesting with a wager. Who loses their cool first? Your dad when my mom tries to start a conga line in his living room? Or my dad when he realizes ‘dressing up' didn't mean putting on his fancy sweatpants?"

I smiled. "Do you think they're going to embarrass us?"

"I can almost guarantee it," Nolan said. "But there's no doubt in my mind it will be very entertaining to watch."

My phone chimed again, and I glanced at the screen.

"Uh-oh," I said, not believing my eyes.

Nolan's smile faded. "What's going on?"

I bit back a laugh, then turned my phone to show him the online video of him and Mitch in the elevator in their compromising position. "You're going viral."