Zoe reminded herself to breathe. It was an involuntary bodily function. She could do it without thinking. Yet she stood, gasping for breath, staring at Foster’s arm.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern etched on his handsome features.
Zoe gasped, taking in a large gulp of air and refilling her lungs. “Honestly, no,” she replied.
Foster was at her side in a heartbeat. “Are you ill? Should we go to the hospital?” Zoe could smell Foster’s scent as he came closer. A combination of subtle cologne and male. Her breath returned with a vengeance, and she practically panted with attraction.
“I’m not ill. Just surprised.” Instinctively, she knew that Foster wouldn’t believe her if she confided about the reading, so she played it off. “I didn’t think you’d be the type to get ink.” She gestured to the elaborate wolf with the piercing blue eyes on his arm.
Foster shrugged. “Guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
“Guess not.”
Zoe took a step back to put distance between them. Suddenly, the tent felt too small for the both of them.
“What can I do to help?” Foster brought her back to the present moment. Zoe pushed aside thoughts of soul mates and predictions and focused on the task at hand—getting ready for the festival.
“Let me show you my merchandise and answer questions you may have.” She gestured to a corner of the tent set up with a small table and two chairs. “I’ll need you to handle the sales.”
“That’s doable,” Foster replied. He walked slowly around her booth, inspecting her merchandise. He picked up a malachite stone, turning it over in his hands. “This is unique.” “That’s malachite. It helps connect to the heart chakra.”
Foster dropped the stone back onto the table as if it burned him.
“Don’t need that,” he said. In his experience, love only led to heartbreak.
Zoe thought otherwise, but let Foster have his illusions. After all, he was helping her today.
* * *
Foster felt like an idiot. He picked up the smooth green stone and placed it more carefully on the display table. He’d practically thrown it down when Zoe said what it symbolized. Not that he believed in any of that stuff, anyway. He was here, so he might as well embrace the odd for the day. He’d be back on familiar territory tomorrow and would just chalk today up to an adventure. How much could one day really affect anything, anyway?
“You have to accept the healing in order to receive it,” Zoe said, showing the array of stones on the table. “Merely touching one won’t give you love cooties,” she added with a smile.
“Love cooties, huh? I don’t need those. Love doesn’t fit into my five-year plan.”
Zoe cocked her head. “Your five-year plan doesn’t include love? That sounds lonely.”
“Nah, it sounds organized. Love throws a wrench into carefully arranged plans.” Like how Ariana had pulled him completely off track for an entire year before he broke it off. She almost had him convinced to step back at work to give them more time as a couple. He nearly lost an important promotion because of her. In the end, she’d issued an ultimatum, and he’d chosen where his heart belonged—his work.
Much like in high school, he lost a relationship because he couldn’t put words on his feelings. He’d tried this time, he really had. But he’d once again retreated to what was safe.
The wolf tattoo was a reminder to be the leader of the pack. To work hard and be unemotional in decisions. Lone wolf.
Zoe sure had a reaction to the ink. He wasn’t sure what would have spooked her, but he now understood Zach’s good-natured ribbing of his sister. Zoe was a free spirit and there was no use trying to figure out what was going on in her head.
One day. He just needed to get through today. In a few weeks, he’d return home to New York and his carefully ordered life. Foster had felt off center for the past two months. Grappling with the loss of his parents and helping Felicity get her bearings running the winery had occupied much of his time. His old life felt like a dream that he struggled to remember as each day passed.
This tent, filled with unfamiliar cards, stones, and spell books, made him itchy. He pictured his desk in New York, with supple leather accessories and carefully arranged supplies. A far cry from this cheerfully cluttered space. The image of his New York office didn’t give him the usual comfort. It felt cold. Hollow.
The losses of the past few months were catching up with him. First Ariana, then his parents. His usual tactic of retreat wasn’t working as well. Feelings he couldn’t name threatened to bubble up from deep inside.
Zoe pulled him out of his thoughts with a question. “What is your five-year plan?”
Her question pulled him into the present moment and his grief. His five-year plan had been derailed and Foster was eager to get back on track. Guilt washed over him. He shouldn’t be wishing himself out of Harmony when his family needed him. Yet he knew he’d feel a sense of relief the moment he stepped onto a flight to New York.
He couldn’t remember when anyone had ever asked him about his five-year goals. For most, the mere mention of a long-term plan silenced further conversation. He glanced at Zoe and she was watching him with curious blue eyes.
“To make partner in my firm within two years. Then I’ll have the income to afford to purchase a penthouse condo overlooking Central Park. On the East Side of course.” Foster had been working for this goal his entire career. The thought of an expensive penthouse in New York had once thrilled him, but now seemed depressing. Having everything he’d dreamed of and no one to share it with was lonely.
“Of course,” Zoe replied, though her slight frown told him she didn’t understand the importance of that particular New York City real estate.
“Do you have a plan?” Foster asked.
Zoe tensed, giving him the impression that he said the wrong thing.
“Why does everyone assume I don’t have a plan? Just because I don’t type it up doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of my business.”
Obviously a sore subject. “I didn’t mean to imply that. I was just being polite and asking in return.”
“Sorry. I hear that all the time from Zach. And my parents. My five-year plan is to buy the building where my store is located. If my earnings keep pace, I should reach that goal.”
“Wow. That’s impressive. I had no idea the…” Foster looked around at a loss for words to describe the tent’s contents. “This business did so well.”
“As you know, we’re a tourist town all year round. My New Age products are popular.”
“Huh,” Foster replied. Way to be eloquent. He really was at a loss for words. Zoe had that effect on him. Even as teenagers, he’d felt tongue-tied around the raven beauty. She’d only grown more beautiful since and Foster nearly swallowed his tongue when he first saw her standing in the field in the dawn light.
Zoe shot him a puzzled look before she turned to the small table and unloaded supplies from a bag. She lay several well-worn tarot decks and an assortment of colored stones on a cloth. Then she moved to the tent flaps and tied them back. “Open for business,” she announced. “You ready?”
Foster nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” And he meant it. He didn’t know what to expect today, but he was game to try. Even though an entire day with Zoe may be torture.
“Hello!” a cheery voice called. Foster and Zoe turned to the sound. Great, his oldest sister.
“Felicity!” Zoe announced, rushing to hug her.
Foster watched as the women greeted each other. Zoe whispered a few words of encouragement to his sister. Felicity had taken the loss of their parents the hardest. She’d been left to run the business, after all. She was determined to continue the Winter Solstice tradition despite their recent loss.
Felicity turned to Foster. “This is the last place I’d expect to find you,” she said with a laugh.
Zoe came to his rescue. “Foster was kind enough to volunteer to help me.”
“Oh, really?” Felicity arched a brow.
Foster shrugged, looking down at his shoes. “A favor to Zach,” he mumbled. Felicity had a way of seeing through him. She always had. He knew she’d make a big deal of him helping Zoe. Felicity was the only one to know his secret—he’d been in love with Zoe once upon a time.