A Fare To Remember_ Just Whistle_Driven - Vicki Lewis Thompson [22]
“Because?”
He looked into her eyes. “Because you’re beautiful.”
Oh. A girl couldn’t get too indignant after a response like that, could she?
“Mario, he means well,” Iris said. “He only wants to see his friends happy.”
“I’m sure he does.” Conflicting emotions rolled through her. “But…no offense, Zach…I’ve always liked the idea of choosing for myself.”
“Me, too. But I decided not to let that keep me from spending a little time with you. And that’s all I have in mind. Just because ninety percent of Mario’s fix-ups turn into marriages doesn’t mean—”
“Ninety percent?”
“Good instincts, that Mario,” Iris said.
Hannah took a deep breath. Despite how much she liked Zach, she couldn’t help feeling railroaded, almost like a mail-order bride. A guy with a ninety-percent ratio in matching couples had targeted her for Zach. Mario knew Zach fairly well, but he didn’t know Hannah hardly at all. How could he guess what she wanted or needed at this stage in her life?
She gazed at Zach. “Look, I got to New York yesterday. I’m looking for a new job, a new life. One thing I’m not looking for is a husband.”
Zach nodded. “Fair enough. I’m not looking for a wife, either.”
“A steady girlfriend?” She wasn’t sure that she wanted to fill that slot, either. If they’d met by accident, it would be different, but this had been plotted out. She wasn’t a rat in somebody’s science experiment, damn it.
“I’m not looking for a steady girlfriend, either,” Zach said.
A hot, temporary lover? She thought of her plans for the suite tonight. What a shame if she turned out to be the only one using that king-size bed and Jacuzzi.
Zach sighed. “Hannah, I can see you’re upset about this. We don’t have to spend the lunch hour shopping together if you don’t want to. We can go our separate ways, and in a city of this size, we’ll probably never see each other again.”
Now, that was an unpleasant thought. She’d had fun with Zach last night. More than fun. He kissed better than any guy in recent memory. She shouldn’t let that ninety-percent thing scare her into giving up those kisses forever. Hot kisses did not a wedding make.
“I’d like to go shopping,” she said. “I just want us to understand each other.”
“I think we do.”
She took a deep breath. “I think so, too.” Maybe her big bed and hot tub wouldn’t go to waste, after all.
CHAPTER SIX
ZACH WAS GLAD HE AND Hannah had cleared the air. He’d had a rough morning between moving into the corner office and watching Ed set up in the little space Medford was giving him. Spending some carefree time with Hannah during his lunch hour had been something he’d looked forward to. If she’d wanted to end their relationship, that would have made this a totally sucky day.
Instead they munched on Iris’s pastels de carne, meat-filled pastries Hannah had insisted on buying for both of them, as they walked to the first resale shop a couple of blocks away. Iris had suggested Zach leave the suit jacket Hannah had returned at the coffee stand and pick it up on his way back. As she’d taken it from him, she’d murmured an apology for causing problems.
Zach had assured her that it was better to have everything out in the open. Before he’d left, Iris had whispered that she really liked Hannah. Well, so did he. That still didn’t mean they’d end up on the ninety-percent side of Mario’s record.
When they arrived at the first resale shop, Zach saw a women’s black business suit in the window. “There you go.” He pointed to it. “If that fits you, it would take you through all your interviews.”
Hannah gazed at the suit and wrinkled her nose. “It’s so black.”
“Right. People tend to wear a lot of black in New York.”
“If you’ll excuse my saying so, I think that’s boring.” Hannah opened the door of the shop and walked in.
In fifteen minutes they walked out again. Hannah carried a bag that contained a blue-and-gold dress and she wore her other purchase, a bright green blouse paired with a skirt that included every color in the rainbow. Zach gave her credit for shopping speed, and he had to admit she looked great in the clothes,