Willow locked the door to the bakery and sank down to a chair beside Talia, who had come by to hang out while she graded papers. “At least you and Zane won’t be the talk of the town anymore. I swear I fielded more questions in my classes about what Zane was really like than I did about the actual lessons. Now people will be gossiping about the movie instead.”
“True. Although I have to admit, Zane did a great job of keeping the onlookers at bay.”
Talia set down her pen and studied Willow. Of all her sisters, Talia was the one who took the most time to tend to her appearance. Her thick, dark brows were perfectly shaped, like Liz Taylor’s, which made her eyes pop. Her makeup was flawless, and Willow knew she threw it on in a matter of seconds, like she had been a makeup artist in a previous life. A brilliant makeup artist, given her genius IQ. Talia was taller than Willow and their other sisters. At five nine, the girl who had once been as lanky as an asparagus stalk had turned into one of those women who could wear anything, though she almost always leaned toward the professional side, whereas Willow preferred comfort over anything else.
“He’s really changed, hasn’t he?” Talia asked.
Willow smiled. She’d been thinking the same thing last night when she and Zane had taken a walk around the lake.
“I think it’s less about changing and maybe more about finding comfort in being himself again. His real self. Have you ever felt like you’ve known someone your whole life, truly knew them, but you were the only one who did? Zane is exactly the guy I’ve always known he was.” She put her hand over her heart. “Here, I mean. Not when we’ve seen him over the years when he was snarky and putting on a show.”
Talia leaned across the table with a curious expression. “What was it like? When you and Zane first realized you wanted to see if this would work. What was that like? I keep trying to picture it, but you’ve always been so . . . I don’t know. Careful around him? Sassy toward him? Those two things conflict, but you seemed to be both around Zane.”
Leave it to her astute sister to ask the one question that could nail Willow to the wall with her lie. A string of guilt wound around her neck at the prospect of deceiving Talia again.
“It was maddening, exciting, and scary as hell.” Wow, that wasn’t a lie.
Talia’s eyes narrowed as she sat back. “I don’t think I could do it.”
“Be with Zane? I hope not, considering he’s with me,” Willow teased. Talia was careful with the men she dated. She and Willow had never shared secrets the way Bridgette and Willow did. Willow and her other sisters had tried to pry details from Talia after her dates, but she was tighter-lipped than a zipper.
Talia laughed. “No. Be with someone with that public of a wild past. I mean, I love Zane. You know that. But I remember him as the funny kid who hung out with Ben, which makes it easier to look past all the other stuff.”
“You know what, T? I can honestly say that I’ve never been with any man who makes me smile and quiver and laugh and cry—in a good way, of course—as much as Zane. I’m terrified of what will happen when he goes back to California, but I’m just as afraid of what will happen if he doesn’t. He could resent me if he moves away from the place he’s lived for so long. But the media would drive me crazy if I moved there, and I’m afraid of gorgeous fans pawing at him all the time. I’ve never been a jealous person, but with him, it’s hard not to be.” She sighed. “Believe me, I know there’s a lot to be afraid of. But there’s so much goodness. I wake up and see the man I never realized was one of my best friends. Nothing beats that.”
“Well, we all knew that. Before you opened the bakery, you texted him to ask his opinion.”
“Yeah,” she said absently. “See? I never really thought of us like that. Zane was just . . .” The boy I fell in love with and could never let go of. “Zane. But now I see our relationship more clearly. And even though there’s all that scary stuff floating around, I trust him. I really, truly trust him. He looks at me like he wants to disappear into me. I don’t know where we’ll end up, or if I’ll slaughter Remi Divine the first time they kiss, but I know I want to be with him.”
“Geez. That’s a whole different level of things I could never do.”
Willow shrugged, though her insides were twisting into pretzels. “I knew he was an actor when we got involved. What kind of person would I be if I got jealous of his costars?” She pushed to her feet and went to the pastry display. “Seriously. So what if Remi is gorgeous, and rich, and going to thrust her tongue down his throat?” She took out a tray of Loverboys and shoved one in her mouth. She held it up, offering Talia one.
“No, thanks, but I can see how well you’re handling the idea.”
“Hey, whatever it takes, right?” She returned to the table with a glass of water and her pastry. “I’m meeting Zane and his assistant, Patch, at Dutch’s for drinks and dinner in a little while. Want to go? I asked Bridge to go with me, but she couldn’t.”
Zane had texted earlier to say he and Patch were in his trailer in case she needed him, which she’d found very thoughtful. Apparently all the A-listers needed their own trailers, despite the fact that Zane was staying at Willow’s apartment just down the block. She guessed that made sense, so he had a place to go between scenes, though it still seemed like an excessive and unnecessary expense to her. Then again, what did she know about the movie business? She was having a hard time reconciling the guy who had made a point of being in the bakery yesterday morning at eight o’clock sharp just to take a walk with Sam so he could check the decking on Sam’s house, which Sam had mentioned was in need of repair, with an A-list actor who needed special accommodations. Zane had once again become Z, the guy she’d fallen for years ago, only now he’d recaptured her heart with a vengeance.
Talia gathered her things. “I don’t think so, sorry. I have a lot of papers to grade.” She leaned down and kissed Willow’s cheeks. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. I wish you’d reconsider joining us. Maybe you’ll meet someone nice.”
Talia wrinkled her nose. “You know I don’t love bars. Good luck catering tomorrow.”
After Talia left, Willow double-checked the ingredients and recipes for the next morning, finished cleaning up, and finally went upstairs to shower and change.
An hour later she stood at the entrance of Harley Dutch’s pub, feeling ridiculously nervous. She’d taken far too long to choose an outfit, even though she knew Zane wouldn’t care what she wore. She looked down at her black skinny jeans, blousy white spaghetti-strap top, and flirty, strappy red heels. She was overdressed for Dutch’s Pub and overdressed for her. But after her conversation with Talia, she felt the need to measure up. She hated that feeling, but she’d be damned if she’d sit in the pub wishing she’d dressed sexier when women were ogling her man.
“You just going to stand there looking pretty, or are you going in?” Piper reached for the door.
Willow startled. “Where did you come from?”