It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark (iphone ebook reader .TXT) 📕

like a prize-winning peacock. Who cared if it was also for the money? Darlene Mitchell, world’s most perfect human, did not think he was a total and complete knob. She actually, maybe, liked him. As a person. Zach could not stop a smile spreading over his face. He inched a step closer.

She inched a step closer.

“My parents might be watching us,” Zach said. “So maybe we should kiss.”

Darlene laughed, her eyes bright and alive. “That is the creepiest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

And because she wasn’t flinching or backing away, he did what he’d been wanting to do all night. Lift a hand to skim her soft cheek. Find the small of her back and slowly move her closer, until they were pressed right up against each other. Thigh to thigh. Belly to belly. Skin to skin. A clenched, anxious part of him finally settled. She was in his arms. Where she was always meant to be. He could feel her heartbeat, loud and fast, echoing his own.

“God, Dee,” he managed, his words rough and unchecked. “You drive me crazy.”

She pulled his mouth toward hers until their lips were hovering, almost touching, and he saw stars and planets and distant galaxies. “You too,” she whispered, and then they were kissing.

Zach had kissed his fair share of women. Correction: Zach had kissed his unfair share of women. Like music, it was something he had both natural and practiced talent for. But kissing Darlene was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. There was so much passion in her body. Passion that wasn’t at all obvious when they weren’t kissing. But as soon as their lips connected, sensible, sweet Darlene turned into a sexy, insatiable vixen. If Zach was capable of conscious thought, he’d realize this transformation was not unfamiliar to him. Because who was the electric performer who could hold an audience’s attention, moving and grooving and owning the stage? The same girl in his arms, sucking his lower lip until he groaned against her mouth.

There was no one but Darlene. They must be together, like this, always, every day, every minute, every second. His hands found the curve of her ass, squeezing both cheeks. He was losing control, the embrace turning fiery. He wanted her, all of her, right here on the bloody pool deck. Why were there still so many of these damn clothes between them?

Darlene broke it off, panting a little. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m not a peep show.”

“Roger that.” No devouring Darlene in public, got it. He fought the urge to reach out for one more kiss.

A voice sung out from the back door. “Guys!” It was Imogene. “Dad wants to play canasta. Darlene, you’re on my team.”

The pair exchanged an amused look. They’d been summoned. Darlene did up her top button that had somehow become undone and straightened her dress. “How do I look?”

Zach pushed a hand through his hair, raking his eyes up and down her body as if he were a man about to lose his sight and it was the last time he’d ever get to see her. “Absolutely bloody gorgeous.”

41

Darlene played two hours of canasta with Zach and his family. No one said anything about her earlier outburst, but when Zach played the winning hand, his father offered a seemingly sincere well played to his son. Darlene intuited the Livingstones were still processing her statement and the fact she’d dared make it in the first place. Maybe that was why the game was especially, noticeably, boisterous. Now, on the road back to New York, Darlene turned to Zach and laughed. “That was all a bit…”

“Bonkers,” he said, both hands on the wheel. “I know. My family’s a lot.”

She relaxed into the passenger seat, feeling warm and a bit woozy from the wine. “Are they always so critical?”

“They’ve always treated me like a court jester, but the pressure to get a good job and date someone respectable”—he tossed her a grin—“is a new thing. Dad has high expectations. I mean, look at Imogene: killing it at work, marrying someone just as successful and brilliant as she is. They’re both Scorpios: talk about a power couple. Mum and Dad just want that for me too.”

She looked over at him, charmed. “When did you get into astrology?”

“I’ve always been into astrology. You just never noticed. Typical Virgo.” He shook his head, and she chuckled. The highway was lined with trees. Only the ones closest to the road were visible, the rest hidden in darkness. “What about your family?” Zach went on. “What’s your wound?”

And even though Darlene never talked about this, she didn’t hesitate in telling Zach the truth. “Expressing love.”

“Really?”

She gazed ahead at the darkened road. It felt safe, not facing each other, in the new, open space they’d created over the course of the night. “Dad’s just not good at it. We can talk about work and politics and culture and stuff.” She smiled, recalling their many debates at the dinner table. “And I know he’s proud of me. The one time I saw him cry was when I got into Princeton. But we’ve never been, like, touchy-feely.”

Zach checked the speedometer. They were under the speed limit. “Your mom passed away, right?”

Darlene nodded. “Car accident. When I was twelve. The other driver ran a red light.”

“How horrendous. I’m so sorry.”

She remembered that night in shards—two cops at the door, her father thinking that at first they’d come for him, then breaking down. Having to make her own dinner for the very first time. The night she stopped being a child. “Thanks. She was pretty great. Mom was touchy-feely.”

“How so?”

“My mom was the heart of my family. She was the kind of person who had an open-door policy, so there were always people dropping by for dinner, always something in the oven. She could sing, too. Not professionally, just around the house, but I get that from her. And she gave great hugs. All the time. Big on hugs.” Darlene