“Hi, Mario,” she said as Zach handed her elegantly into the backseat of the cab. “Thanks for picking us up.”
“Glad to do it.” Mario’s wide grin was reflected in the rearview mirror. “Whatcha been up to?”
“Zach took me for Thai food.”
“Nice.”
“It was nice.” Zach got in and closed the door. “But this woman’s exhausted.”
Mario chuckled, obviously in a very good mood. “Tried to do everything in one day, did you, Hannah?”
“Sort of. Zach’s going to teach me how to whistle for a taxi.” She settled back against the seat with gratitude.
“You know, New York Survival Skills 101,” Zach said as he climbed in beside her. “But not tonight. She’s had enough for one day.”
“Right.” Hannah had sort of hoped Zach would put his arm around her after he climbed in, but he didn’t. She could understand it, though. It wasn’t as if they were going to make out in the back of Mario’s cab.
But then Mario took off with his usual speed, throwing her into Zach’s lap. “Whoops.” She reached for the armrest to steady herself, but Mario whipped around another corner and she was thrown against Zach again.
This time Zach wrapped his arm around her and held on. “I’d forgotten that the ride is wilder in the backseat,” he murmured.
“No problem.” She was grateful for Mario’s driving if it meant being close to Zach for the trip back to her hotel.
“How’d the tuna go over?” Mario asked.
“Some liked it and some didn’t.” Hannah paused to see if Zach would add anything, but he stayed silent, letting her control the conversation. She gave him points for that. “One guy said the can would make a good puck for street hockey,” she said.
Mario laughed and shook his head. “It takes all kinds. And that doesn’t mean he won’t eat the stuff after he’s banged the can around for a while. You did a good deed, bringing the tuna.”
“Most definitely,” Zach said.
Life didn’t get much better than this, cruising through the heart of Manhattan, tucked against Zach Evans while both Zach and Mario agreed that her tuna was a good idea. She’d anticipated loving a lot of things in New York, but she’d never imagined a cab ride would be near the top of her list. Or that a kiss would rank higher than a view from the top of the Empire State Building.
“Here we are.” Mario pulled up in front of the Pearson.
“I’ll just see her to the door,” Zach said.
Mario nodded. “I’ll wait.”
Hannah considered protesting, but she really did want Zach to walk her to the door. Even with Mario there, Zach might give her a quick kiss. He might not, but unless he walked her to the door, there was no chance.
“Thanks for a great evening,” she said.
“It was fun. I just thought of something. Do you have an interview tomorrow morning?”
“No, fortunately. The first one’s at two. I’ll have time to get some different clothes.”
“I’ll only have about an hour at lunch, so-”
She met his gaze. “You don’t have to do this. I can shop on my own.”
“I want to. We can meet at a coffee stand run by a friend of mine.” He pulled out another business card from his wallet and scribbled an address on the back of it. “I’ll be there about noon.”
“Then so will I.” She took the card and smiled at him. “Thank you, Zach. For everything.”
“I had a great time.” He reached up and tucked a daisy more securely into her hair. “See you tomorrow.”
“You bet. Bye, Zach.” It looked like he wouldn’t kiss her, after all. Well, she could live with that. She turned toward the door.
“Hannah.” He caught her by the shoulders and spun her around. His kiss was softer and sweeter than the first one, but because it was unexpected, it still took her breath away.
“Tomorrow,” he said with a tiny smile. Then he walked back to the cab and got into the front seat with Mario.
Heart thudding, she watched the cab pull away and followed the zigzag path of its red taillights until she couldn’t distinguish them from the others going down the street. Finally, taking a deep breath, she pulled the lapels of Zach’s coat closer together and started toward the front door.
Zach’s coat! She hadn’t thought to give it back to him. And being the considerate guy he was, he hadn’t asked. But that meant that he didn’t have her cell phone number if he should need to cancel tomorrow’s shopping trip.
Then Hannah smiled to herself. After that quick kiss, she didn’t think he’d cancel. She thought he might be as eager to see her as she was to see him.
What a coincidence that Mario’s networking contact had turned out to be a guy who seemed so right for her. That was amazing, considering the millions of people living here. Then again, what if it hadn’t been pure coincidence? She remembered the pictures on Mario’s dash. They’d all been couples. What if…no, that was too crazy, even for a place like New York City.
MARIO ARCHED BOTH EYEBROWS as he glanced over at Zach. “Dinner, huh?”
“Yeah, and I’d thank you not to gloat about it. This was a matchmaking deal from the beginning, wasn’t it?”
Mario cut in front of a limo. “Maybe.”
“Just as I thought. And you swore it wasn’t.” Considering how the evening had turned out, Zach couldn’t get very upset.
“All’s fair in love and war.”
Zach sighed. “Yeah, you win. She’s hot, and I’m…attracted to her. I won’t deny it. But she’s a dreamer. I don’t see her lasting more than a few days in this town.”
“Really? How come?”
“Here’s a prime example. After dinner we ran into my boss, and just like that, she thinks I should quit my job.”
“So you can get another one that pays better? Because so help me, if this is yet another woman after money, then I’m hanging up my-”
“No, she’s not another Adrienne. She’s the exact opposite of Adrienne, in fact. She wasn’t the least bit worried about the consequences if I quit. She just thinks I should get far away from Drake Medford. Never mind that I could end up on a street corner selling pencils.”
“You wouldn’t do that, would you? Quit, I mean.” Mario sounded worried.
“Not in a million years.”
“That’s good. Quitting your job is not a wise move.”
“I know that, but she doesn’t.”
“Ah, she’s new in town. She doesn’t know how tough it is to make a living here. She’ll wise up.” Mario landed on the horn as someone dared to swing in front of him. “Were you able to help her get any interviews?”
“We’ll see. The person with the best contact happens to be Ed.”
“Ah. And you don’t want to ask him for help.”
“Come on, Mario, would you?”
“Probably not. Maybe she’ll do fine without that contact. I take it you’re going to see her again?”
“We’re meeting at noon at Iris’s coffee stand.” Zach told Mario about the sage and the sprinkler incident. “I’m going to try to steer her toward more subdued stuff. I think she’ll interview better if her clothes aren’t so bright.”
Mario smiled. “I kind of like that about her.”
“Me, too. But I think she’ll have a better chance if she looks more like a New Yorker.” Zach pulled out money as they cruised to a stop in front of his apartment building.
“Nope.” Mario held up his hand. “My treat.”
“Hey, you have to stop doing this. You’ll go broke.”
Mario adjusted his Giants cap. “Don’t worry about it. I could quit tomorrow and be fine.”
“I suppose if you were careful, you could.” The thought had never occurred to Zach. “I figured you drove a cab because you wanted a bigger nest egg for retirement.”
“Nah. I love the job.” His cell phone rang. “Gotta go. Keep me informed, okay?”