Willow glanced nervously at Zane. He draped his arm over her shoulder and kissed her cheek, letting her know he had this. “I think we were, too,” he admitted. “But when it’s right, it’s right.”
Ben came out the back door of the house carrying a cooler and set it down on the patio table. He was a venture capitalist and a shrewd businessman, but in his cargo shorts and tank top he looked more like a frat boy. That was one of the things Zane loved most about the Daltons. They didn’t put on airs. He and Ben had been best friends since the third grade, when they’d pried a bully off another kid in the schoolyard. Zane and Ben spoke over the phone often, and their friendship had never suffered for the distance.
“Zane.” Standing shoulder to shoulder with Zane, Ben pulled him into a manly embrace and lowered his voice. “We should talk.”
Zane had tried to prepare himself for Ben’s reaction, but hearing the concern in Ben’s voice messed with his head. “Sure.”
“I’m putting an addition on my house. Stop by and check it out,” Ben suggested.
“Absolutely. You still running?”
Ben patted his abs. “You know it. You?”
“Of course. I’d like to hit the pavement together, but I’m not sure I’ll have time.”
“If you can fit it in, hit me up. I’ll try to go slow enough not to leave you in my dust.”
Zane laughed. Same old Ben.
While Ben greeted Willow, Piper sidled up to Zane.
“Hey, Piper.” Their embraces were always a little chilly, and today was no different.
“Hi.” A curious smile lifted her lips. He’d take that over the scowl she’d flashed when she’d first seen him. “Engaged, huh?”
He pushed a hand through his hair and shifted his eyes to Willow. His heart rate kicked up, bringing genuine warmth to his words. “I couldn’t let her go unclaimed for another day.”
“Unclaimed?” Piper laughed. “She’s not a dog at the pound.”
“Jesus, Piper. Cut me some slack. It’s a little nerve-racking to know we let you guys down by keeping our relationship to ourselves. What I meant was that I wanted the world to know we were together. I was done playing games, sick of hiding my feelings.” The words exploded out of him much more forcefully than he’d expected, but he’d held them in for so long, he couldn’t pretend anymore. The confession shocked the hell out of him, but it was the truth, and he didn’t want to pretend anymore.
Piper eyed him skeptically. “Hm.”
Hm is right. He stole another glance at Willow, and his protective urges surged forward. He was determined to make sure no one questioned his love for her. It was time to step up his game for his most important role yet.
“We’re here to rescue you,” Talia said as she and Dan came to Zane’s side.
“Piper giving you hell, son?” Her father placed a hand on Zane’s shoulder.
Piper laughed and went back to repairing the bench.
Zane met Dan’s kind gaze, a smile instantly forming on his lips. Dan had been like a second father to him over the years. When he’d first gone out to Los Angeles to try to make it as an actor, Dan had connected Zane with his old college roommate, a big-time producer who had given Zane a place to stay and introduced him to several people in the industry. Zane owed Dan more than the lies they were feeding him. Pile another log on the guilt pile.
“Nah. She’s just watching out for Willow,” Zane said. “How’s it going, Mr. D?”
“Pretty darn well these days. Looks like we’ll be planning a wedding.”
“Sure will.” Zane breathed a little easier. “I hear you’re thinking about selling the Grand Lady.”
“We’re kicking the idea around,” Dan answered. “More seriously this time. We’re not getting any younger.”
“He’s been talking about it for ages, but he can’t let it leave the family any sooner than we could,” Talia said. “So, Zane. What’s the real story?” She set a serious gaze on him. “We had no idea you guys were even dating, and suddenly Willow gets a catering job at a resort and comes back engaged.”
“Talia,” her mother cautioned.
“I’m just curious.” Talia glanced at Willow, who was talking with Ben.
Zane reached for Willow’s hand. “The truth is, Willow and I have been seeing each other for a few months. But we’ve kept it under the radar because . . .” Willow’s palm began to sweat. He hated that they had to live this lie, but they’d gone this far with her family. They couldn’t back out now. “Well, because we didn’t want the added stress of the media making our relationship into a circus act.”
Piper set her hammer on the picnic table and crossed her arms. “How did you avoid the media for all this time?”
“It’s not that hard when it’s your goal.” Zane launched into a diatribe about evading the press and blending in. He rambled for so long he wasn’t even sure he was making sense. Beside him, Willow fidgeted with her ring.
“But, Willow,” Talia said, “didn’t you go out with Billy Crusher two months ago?”
Jealousy burned through Zane. Billy had been a year behind him in school. He was a good guy then, and if Willow had gone out with him, he was probably still a good guy, but that didn’t make thinking about her in his arms any easier.
“I . . . um . . .” Willow stuttered.
“That was all part of the plan,” Zane interrupted. “Keeping things as normal as possible so we wouldn’t raise suspicions. We’ve had to be covert for so long, it feels good to finally have things out in the open.”
“Listen, son,” Dan said. “We love you like our own flesh and blood.” He glanced at Willow. “But that girl there? She is our flesh and blood. I’m not going to pretend I don’t hear the gossip. Not that I believe it, but it’s a wild world out there, despite how homespun we are here in Sweetwater. Just give me your word that my little girl isn’t going to get her heart broken, and I’ll believe you. I need to hear it from you.”
“I give you my word that I will never purposefully hurt Willow.” Zane was surprised at how easily and honestly his answer came.
“Oh my God.” Willow threw her hands up in the air. “I can’t take this anymore.”
The pit of Zane’s stomach sank. “Willow.”
“No.” She held up her left hand and flashed her ring. “See this ring? We’re engaged. Yes, we’ve been sneaking around to see each other, but would any one of you have believed we could ever really make it together otherwise?” She pointed at Talia, her words flying fast and hot. “You question everything to death. I wish I had hotel receipts to show you, but I don’t. And, Piper? For whatever reason, you’ve never trusted Zane, so why would you now?”
She turned angry eyes on Zane, and he was sure the jig was up. His mind reeled, grasping for the right apology for Willow and her family, because even if she never forgave him, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if her family held this against her.