“They’re good kids.”
There was a look in her eyes that bordered on sorrow. He wanted to dig, but didn’t. “So why do they call you Ms. Jones?”
She sipped her wine again. “What would you have them call me? The good people of Hilton might know Michael as Mike Gardner, but taking that name would have meant nothing here. And you know Wolfe is a stage name.”
“So you kept yours.”
“It’s just a name.”
A generic name, he decided.
“I’ll answer to Mrs. Wolfe and try not to correct anyone in Hilton if they call me Mrs. Gardner.”
“That sounds like my mom.”
She laughed and something behind him caught her eye.
“What is it?” He started to twist around and she shot her hand out over his.
“No, don’t.”
“Why?” Now he really wanted to know what was going on behind his back.
“Someone caught sight of us. They probably think you’re Michael. If you look, they’ll come over and ask for an autograph or something.”
Zach felt the weight of someone’s stare. “We don’t look that much alike.”
Karen stared at him now, as if analyzing his features, and slipped her hand away. “You can certainly tell you’re related. But you’re right. You’re not identical.”
“I’m the better looking one,” he said with a grin and a wink.
She tossed her head back with laughter. “Oh, good Lord, two mountain-sized egos. No wonder Michael left Hilton, there wasn’t enough room for the both of you.”
“Yep, good thing.” Their conversation bordered on flirtation, but he couldn’t seem to stop it.
“So am I in trouble when I get there? Does your family hate me on principle?”
He couldn’t dispel all her fears, but he could see it was important to her to know she’d be welcome. “I’ll soften the blow.”
She took a longer drink of her wine. “Oh, great.”
“My dad will watch you and say very little. Hannah will talk your ear off. My mom will hold back for a little while, but my guess is you’ll have her thinking you’re a saint in no time.”
“I’m not a saint.”
He wasn’t so sure. Something wasn’t completely up front about Karen, but she certainly wasn’t hell-bound.
“What about your other sisters?”
“Judy’s been at school most of the year. Chances are she won’t even realize you’ve not met until you show up. And Rena is busy with her own kids. Though she is curious.”
Zach filled her in on a few stories that helped define the family throughout their meal. When the waiter offered another drink, Karen suggested he drive home when she ordered another glass of wine.
Maybe it was because Karen was family by default, but Zach’s level of comfort in Karen’s presence was as if they’d known each other for much longer than a handful of hours.
On the drive back home, he asked how she came to know the first lady of the state.
“I worked in administration at a place called Moonlight Villas right out of college. Samantha, you met her last night—well, her sister was in the care facility for years. Samantha and I became friends, and eventually I met Eliza.”
“Did you work at Moonlight Villas when you met Michael?”
“No. I worked for Samantha with her company. Samantha and Eliza are best friends. They’ve known each other for some time. Before either of them married.”
“Of all the people at the party last night, your friends seemed the most sincere.” They were the only ones he noticed helping Karen with anything throughout the night. None of Michael’s friends did that from what Zach had seen.
“I really am blessed to have such great friends.”
He pulled into the driveway of the house, noticed a lack of cars. “Michael’s not home?”
“I’d be surprised if we saw him at all. Producers are night owls and they expect many of the actors in their films to be as well.”
He cut the engine. “The streets roll up at dusk in Hilton. Fair warning.”
She played with the handle of the door, trying to figure out how to open it.
Karen was laughing at herself when he jumped out to get it from the outside.
“Why can’t they make the doors normal? Everything else is over the top as it is.”
He pulled it open for her and stood back for her to get out.
“It forces chivalry,” she said.
He laughed. “Must have been made by a woman.”
She shut the door and turned toward the house only to find her sweater closed inside. “Oh, man.”
Laughing, he leaned over to grasp the handle at the same time she did. Their fingers touched and both of them stopped laughing.
The peach scent of the shampoo she used hit him first, and then the silver fleck of her blue eyes sparkled as she looked up at him.
There it was again, the chemistry he’d been denying since he met her bounced between them like fireflies. He heard her suck in a breath as her eyes drifted to his lips. The heat of her body, close to his, brought awareness of his desire for her over him like a tidal wave. He fisted his hands, and realized that he’d caught hold of her arm. For one brief second she swayed into him and she lifted her face toward his.
Then she twisted away, and the moment was gone.
Zach jumped back, shocked at what had nearly happened between them.