Somebody cleared her throat behind him. “It’s my rental car,” said the woman who might be his mother. “Steph put her dog in there while she went to get some flowers.”
“Give me the keys,” said Zack, his voice hard and uncompromising.
“Zachary, don’t take that tone with me.” Yep, that had to be his mother. I decided then that I disliked her. “Here.” She held out a leather key fob with two keys and a remote alarm.
I snatched the fob from her fingers, then turned and ran to the street, pressing the alarm button as I went. Zack raced beside me. The door locks clicked, and I ripped the passenger door open. A wall of heat smacked me in the face, stealing my breath. I dropped to a crouch and reached inside, but Zack beat me to it. He scooped up the dog in his arms and hauled it out, carrying it back to the carpark and the only patch of shade in sight.
“Somebody get me some water,” he yelled and lay the limp animal on the cool ground. It was a large mutt with long, thick fur. The poor thing lay panting, ignoring us. One of the girls I’d spoken to earlier pushed through the gawping crowd and handed over a half liter bottle of water. Zack trickled it over the dog’s head, dripping some into its mouth. “Come on, boy,” he murmured. “For Christ’s sake, don’t give up on me now.”
More water appeared, and Zack used it to wet the thick fur, to try and cool him rapidly. It worked. The dog’s eyes sharpened, and he lifted his head, nosing at us both. I crouched beside him and cupped my hands together. “Pour some here.” With my hands as a makeshift drinking bowl, the dog lapped up some water and moments later scrambled to his feet.
I sank to the ground, my knees shaking from the emotion, and gave Zack a tremulous smile. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“What’s going on?” A shrill voice rang out somewhere behind me. “What are you doing to my dog?”
A fresh surge of adrenaline flooded my body. I touched Zack’s arm. “I’m sorry, but this is about to get ugly.”
Chapter Twelve
Anger lent me energy, and I pushed to my feet and sought the dog’s owner.
A petite, china-doll pretty blonde pushed her way through the crowd and almost collided with me. I crossed my arms. “Your dog? Are you even fit to own a dog?”
“What do you mean?” She tried to look past me. “Zack? What’s the matter with King?”
“The matter,” I spoke precisely, enunciating every syllable, “is that he was left in a locked car, with no air. No windows open. In direct sunlight.”
“What?” Her gaze darted from me to Zack, to the dog and back to me. “I was only gone a couple of minutes.”
I snorted in disdain. “More like fifteen. Do you have any idea how hot it gets in a little car? He nearly died. Another five minutes and he might have.”
“Caroline had the keys.” Steph’s eyes were wide and shocked. “I wouldn’t, I didn’t… I love my dog.” She stretched out a trembling hand and touched Zack’s arm. “Tell her, Zack. You know me, I wouldn’t hurt a fly.” She dropped to her knees and hugged the dog, burying her face in his thick coat and, to my horror, she began crying. “King,” she sobbed, “I can’t lose you, too. I’m so sorry.”
My anger dissolved as rapidly as sugar in hot coffee. Her distress was genuine and, I reminded myself, this was a funeral with emotions running high anyway. “Don’t do it again.” There was no heat in my words, and she gazed up at me.
Even with red, tear-swollen eyes, Steph was delicately pretty, and her wobbly smile was aimed at me. “Thank you. I can’t thank you enough for rescuing my baby. King means the world to me. I had no idea I’d been so long.” More tears cascaded, and she swept them away with the back of her hand.
I’m not sure who moved first, Steph or Zack, but before I could reply she stood nestled against his chest with his arms wrapped around her. “It’s okay.” His voice was gentle. “He’ll be okay. I know you didn’t mean to.”
Meanwhile, Zack’s mother curled her fingers around my elbow and led me a few steps away. Was she going to apologize?
“I don’t know who you are and can only assume you’re one of Zachary’s random hookups.” The ice in her tone took my breath away, and that was before I even registered how rude she was. “We’ve just held the funeral for my beloved daughter and the last thing I want is some tart causing trouble over a dog. A stupid mutt.” She pressed her fist against her mouth, and I saw tears sparkling in her eyes.
I opened my mouth to speak but she rushed on over my words. “I can be polite, even though you don’t deserve it. Please leave us. Let Zachary comfort Steph. She’s practically his fiancée, as well as my daughter’s closest friend, and I don’t think it’s fair to upset her any further with your presence, don’t you agree?”
Ouch. That put me in my place. Acid pooled in my gut. Practically his fiancée. Although, if that was true, why hadn’t he sought comfort with her last night? Or maybe he had, after he left me. I stared at them, huddled together and oblivious to the world. Zack’s lips moved, close to her ear, and she nodded while wiping her eyes on a tissue. They looked good together. It’s only sex. Yeah, but the greatest sex I’d ever had.
He’d only offered me two nights. I could hardly protest now.
My silence must have satisfied his mother. She released my elbow and dabbed at her eyes with a lace-trimmed handkerchief. “You must excuse me.”
I just nodded. I’d wait for Zack to finish comforting Steph and then ask if he still wanted me to stay. If he’d changed his mind I’d leave. It’s only sex.
When he lifted his head a few minutes later, his gaze flew over the immediate group, finally coming to rest on me. The tightness in his jaw relaxed, and he gave me a lopsided smile.
One smile and I was suddenly feeling unaccountably shy. I’d seen him naked, for God’s sake. We’d fucked. So why did I now feel awkward with him? Was it something to do with the fragile-looking blonde who’d become glued to his side? “Hey,” I murmured while trying not to fidget.
“We, um, skipped the introductions.” He sounded unsure of himself. “Steph, this is Holly.” The latest random hookup. His mother’s words danced in front of me, and it was an effort to ignore them. Steph chewed on a trembling lower lip and stared at me. “Holly, this is Steph.” His discomfort was tangible, and I took pity on him.
“I live by the beach. I only met Zack yesterday and now I feel awful for gate-crashing, but I was passing by and wanted to pay my respects.”
Her face lit up. “Did you know Marnie? We were best friends all through school, but then lost touch a bit. We talked on Facebook, of course, but didn’t catch up in person.” She snuggled closer to Zack. “I just moved to Wellington a few weeks ago and hoped to spend more time with her. I still can’t believe she’s gone.” Tears filled her eyes.
“I can’t believe her boyfriend didn’t come today.” Zack spat the words out.
“Do you mean Barry?” Steph looked puzzled. “Didn’t she tell you? They split up.”
Chapter Thirteen
I wanted to hug Zack, to soothe the new pain I saw in his eyes.
“No, Marnie didn’t tell me.” He sounded lost. “When?”
“A couple of weeks ago. I think it was right after your latest deployment.”
“Fuck.” He released Steph and then tugged off his beret and scrubbed at his hair. “Why didn’t she tell me?” He twisted the hat between his hands, backward and forward. I think he’d forgotten I was there. His sole focus was on Steph.