Wendy meandered to the arched opening of the dining room, where she could remain out of Ramona’s view, but within earshot.
Zachary stepped out onto the front and loosely closed the door. “I do remember that I told you I wasn’t taking you after that little stunt you pulled with Sara.”
Setting her plate down, Wendy moved to the bay windows at the front of the parlor where she could see them. Privacy didn’t play. This was what she’d come back in time for: information.
“She misunderstood me. I never said you thought she was fat and ugly. Can we talk about this, please? I brought donuts,” Ramona said in a sing-song way, lifting a bag.
“This isn’t a good time. I have company.”
“Who?” No mistaking the possessive tone as the word shot out of Ramona’s mouth.
“You don’t know her, and it’s none of your business anyway,” Zachary said.
“Her?”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“You’re not going to let me in?”
“Nope.”
There was a pause, as though Ramona couldn’t believe he’d so flippantly refused her. “Is this a romantic interlude?” She trailed a finger down the edge of his open shirt. “Looks like it.”
Zachary moved away from her. “A romantic interlude? Where do you get this stuff?”
“You’re avoiding the question, which totally confirms it. She spent the night, didn’t she? I bet she’s the reason you canceled on me today.”
“No, I just met her this morning.”
“And you’re already half-naked!”
He flicked at the edge of his shirt. “I threw this on before—look, I’m not explaining myself.”
How could he explain Wendy, in any case?
Ramona tried to look beyond Zachary, rising up on her tiptoes. Failing to glimpse the other woman, she focused on him again with the look of someone betrayed. “How could you do this to me? To us?”
“Ramona, there is no us. We don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“But you loved me once. I could see it in your eyes, feel it in the way we kissed.”
“I didn’t love you. You were presumptuous, insecure, jealous, after two dates. We’re friends, that’s all.”
She swiped at her eyes. “You did tell me you loved me, Zachary. Don’t you dare deny that.”
“When?”
“Last October, just nine months ago. You said you loved my eyes, and the way you looked at me, I could tell—”
“Nine months? You keep track of these things?”
“I keep a diary. Someday you’ll appreciate my dedication.”
“Telling you I love the color of your eyes is not the same as saying I love you.”
“See, you just said it again.”
“I did not. I was—” Zachary bowed his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I’m sorry you got the wrong idea, but I don’t feel that way about you.”
“I thought you cared about me.”
Wendy could definitely hear tears in the woman’s voice. Real or not, she didn’t know. Ramona seemed to have the blood of an actress flowing through her veins. But the desperation in her dark—and yes, lovely— eyes, that was real.
So desperate, apparently, that she untied the sash of her wrap dress to reveal voluptuous breasts and a petite body in shiny red panties. “You’re a hot-blooded young man. I bet you care about these.”
"Ramona, close your dress and leave.”
“Why, too tempting?”
With a harsh sigh, he leaned forward and pulled her dress together. “No, you’re too desperate. Too stubborn. Have some dignity, please.”
She tied the belt and stepped backward down the steps. “Go on back to the other woman. Tell her not to get her hopes up.” She spun around and sauntered off with way too much confidence.
But she had won, after all.
Wendy snatched both plates from the table and sat down on the sofa. Noticing that her plate was untouched since Zachary had answered the door, she stuffed her fried steak in her mouth and ripped off a gigantic bite.
“Sorry about the interruption,” he muttered as he dropped down beside her and grabbed his plate from the coffee table. “One of those hard-to-get-rid-of, can’t-take-a-hint people.”
“Hmm.” Wendy chewed with as much grace as she could with her cheeks puffing out. “Salesperson?”
He laughed without humor as he cut into his steak. “I wish. It was a friend of mine. Well, kind of a friend.”
“A friend who wants to be more than a friend, maybe?”
He winced. “Yeah, I guess you could hear that much.” After taking a huge bite of food and eating it the way a growing young man would, he said, “I started dating her about seven months ago. I’ve dated clingy girls, but I think she would have crawled under my skin if that were possible. I get why she’s like that. After her parents divorced when she was ten, her mother traveled all over with her boyfriend-of-the-month, until the guy disengaged her claws from his wallet. Ramona felt pretty abandoned by her. She lives with her father, who she calls the ice cube. The guy’s nice to me, but I have to admit that he’s hard on her. She grew up thinking she had to win his love, which left her with a mountain of insecurity. I guess she saw me as a lifeline. By the end of four months, it became too much to deal with.” He wolfed down several more bites.
“I’m surprised you hung around that long.”
“I’m a”—he lifted one shoulder, a wry smile on his face—“hot-blooded young man. It was great at first, having a sex nymph for a girlfriend. I thought her lack of confidence would settle down if I didn’t give her a reason to feel insecure. When I’m dating a girl, I don’t even flirt with other girls. But it didn’t get any better, so I broke up with her. I even took the blame, the old it’s not you, it’s me thing. Thing is, we work at the same place, so it’s not like I can avoid her. And to be honest, I feel sorry for her. Her tears, when they’re real, tear out my heart. So I told her we could be friends. I think I’m her only friend, really. That’s enough drama for me.” He ate another bite of potatoes. “I just want an uncomplicated girl who’s fun to be around, you know? Not someone who matches her breathing to mine. And yeah, she did that.”
Wendy smiled. She was uncomplicated. Well, except for the time travel thing which, admittedly, did complicate her. “So she tried to sabotage a potential new relationship?”
“I think so, even though she denies it. If she got hold of you, she’d probably tell you I kick puppies for fun.”
“I’d be furious with her.”
“I am at times, but I know she’s not doing it maliciously. She has this warped belief that we’re meant to be. Fate, destiny, whatever.”
Oops. Wendy wouldn’t say that she felt that way, too. “Sometimes a woman who’s obsessed with a man will do crazy things to get him to love her.”
“Like what?”
That is the question, Zachary. That is the question. “Well, like somehow force him to marry her. Coerce him with getting pregnant maybe.”
“She did tell me I didn’t need to use a condom because she was on the pill. But I did anyway. I know a guy who’s married with a baby at eighteen. It sort of made me uncomfortable the way she kept trying to tempt me to go without the raincoat.”
“Good instincts.” Wendy took a bite of her steak, considering whether to tell him that Ramona couldn’t have children anyway, though she may not have known that then. Or…now. No, better not to confuse him by imparting that information.
He finished the last of his potatoes. “She’ll eventually meet a nice guy and move on.”
He was optimistic. And kind. Should she warn him of his unhappy future? But Wendy didn’t know why he married her, and at this point he’d really think she was nuts if she told him not to do something he obviously had no intention of doing.
All right, whatever force brought me here, tell me what I’m supposed to do.
Zachary picked up the plates and stood. “We can clean up the kitchen and make out if you want?”
She choked with laughter. Well, that wasn’t divine guidance. “You’re awfully fresh.”
He gave her that one-shouldered shrug. “I am a hot-blooded young man, after all, and you are…” He tilted his head, obviously contemplating her. “You are a beautiful enigma. How often does one get to make out with an angel?”
“Tempting as that is, I cannot be a cradle robber.”
He lifted his arms out to his sides, which opened his shirt even more. “I’m not a baby.” And the wolfish expression on his face made the point as much as his sculpted body did.
“No, but you have the word teen in your age, and I’m twenty-seven. That can’t be right.”
Another shrug. “I really don’t see a problem with it.”
She had to laugh at his laid-back debate. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t come back in time to make out with you. But I am fairly certain I’m here…”
“To?” he prompted.
Instead of answering, she asked, “What are your plans for today?” She picked up the glasses and followed him into the kitchen, where he set the dishes in the sink.
“Sailing. I practically live on my sailboat during the summer, at least when I’m not working. Or house-sitting. I start working full-time next month, so I’m getting in as much as I can. Actually, scratch that. Today’s opening day of the Highland games. I’d planned to go with friends, then Ramona horned in, and they bugged out. I was going to hook up with them again, but now I have a better option.” He leaned close to her. “Want to go with me?”
Something about the Scottish event niggled at her. “Sure. That would be fun.”
“Cool,” he said with a grin. “Are you comfortable wearing that?”
She looked down at herself, in his shirt and her leggings. “It’ll work.”
“Give me a few minutes to run a comb through my hair and grab shoes.”
He sprinted up the stairs, and she went into the kitchen to wash the dishes. As she set the last plate in the dish rack, something outside the window caught her eye. She looked out at the bushes and trees shivering in the ocean breeze but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
“Did my angel disappear?” Zachary called from the parlor.
“I’m still here.” She dried her hands and went in to join him. She stopped at the sight of him, afraid she’d returned to present. He looked more like his groomed, adult self with his hair combed back, shirt buttoned and tucked into his jeans. Still young, she decided with relief, taking in his leaner physique and face. “But truth is, I don’t know how long I have here.”
His smile faded as he took her hands and pulled her close. “You mean you’re going to poof and be gone?”
“Probably. I don’t know how this works. So I need to—”
“Kiss me one more time.” His eyes searched hers, the fear of her disappearance as clear on his face as it probably was on hers. “Better yet, stay.”
He leaned down and covered her mouth with his, the urgency of his request reverberating in his kiss. He threaded his fingers through her curls, gripping them, anchoring her. She did the same, clutching at his shoulders. His tongue moved slowly around her mouth, as though savoring every taste, every sensation.
This is how it’s supposed to be between us. Slow, passionate, right. I feel it down to my bones, that we belong together. Laughing together, cooking…making love. Now that I’ve tasted him, felt him like this, how can I ever not be with him?
She felt so warm and safe in his arms that she never wanted to return to the present time. If only she could marry him before Ramona got any more ideas about being his wife. Everything would be solved.
Except that there would be two Wendy Jordans in existence. That wouldn’t work. What if she ran into herself? Would they both explode?
He gentled the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. “Sure you don’t want to just stay here and make out all day?”
“Mm, I do, I do. But…”
That’s when her mission crystallized. She needed to connect him with her seventeen-year-old self. Wait. She searched her memory, finding a vague recollection of going to a concert one summer. Her favorite Scottish rock band was playing.
She kept her hands on Zachary’s shoulders as she backed away enough to look at him. “Are you familiar with Blue Hawk Mountain?”
“Yeah.”
“We have to go.”
He raised his eyebrows at her urgency. “Why do we have to go?”
“This is going to sound crazy.”
“And what part of this whole scenario doesn’t sound crazy?”
“You have a point.” She took a deep breath. “In my time—your future—you’re married to Ramona.”
“You’re right. That sounds crazy.” He scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “Do I lose my sanity in this future of yours and actually fall in love with her?”
“I don’t know why you married her. You—the future you—haven’t told me. I know it isn’t love. You’re miserable, and she has some hold on you. That’s why I’m here, at least why I think I’m here. To change the present.”
“I can’t even imagine marrying her. Then again, I can’t imagine I’m talking to someone from the future either. So if this is all real—”
“It is.”
“Then we need to find out why. Do we have children?”
“No. You told me she can’t have children, and you were rather relieved by that.”
“I told you?” He shook his head, looking to the ceiling.
“I know it’s a lot to wrap your head around. For me, too. But I’ve obviously come here for a reason. We have a connection for a reason. Now and in the future. I hate to ask this, but are you involved in, or considering, some illegal activity? Maybe something you’re doing with her?”
“No. I’d never do anything to hurt or embarrass my grandparents. They’re good people.”
She smiled. So was he. She kept digging. “Do they know her family? Could it be an arranged marriage, some kind of business thing?”
He shook his head. “My grandparents would never do that to me. They don’t like her.”
“I’m reaching, I know.”
“She’s lonely, needy, manipulative, but devious enough to trap me in marriage? I dunno. And me getting duped by her or swayed somehow, I just can’t see it. What am I in the future, some kind of dickweed?”
“No!” How odd that she wanted to defend Zachary to…Zachary. Yep, this was definitely a mind-tangle. “You’re stuck. And frustrated about it. Hey, does that mean you believe me?”
“I have no idea what to believe.”
How could she prove that she knew him in the future? “You play Frisbee golf. You told me you used to play on full moon nights with glow-in-the-dark discs with your friends. It was killer, you said. You even set up a course on the property. How could I know that if we’ve never met?”
He just stared at her, so she went on.
“You’re not much of a beach guy, even though you’re lucky enough to grow up on the ocean. Your grandparents raised you after your parents died. You said they were warm, loving. And they look like lovely people.”
“They ‘look’…you’ve been in their home but haven’t met them?”
Should she tell him that his grandparents were both gone, or so it seemed? “I’m working with you and Ramona to remodel the house. I don’t know where they are.” Technically true.
“Me and Ramona.” He shook his head. “That’s right. You said you were an architect.”
“Your architect,” she was happy to say now. Yours, yours, yours. Okay, she wouldn’t say that. “That’s how I know this house. I’ve measured every room. There’s a beautiful oil painting of your grandparents in their bedroom that makes me want to know them.”
“It’s bizarre, you saying that. I just commissioned an artist in Boston to paint a portrait of them as a surprise for their anniversary. No one else knows about it.”
“It turns out absolutely magnificent. It is the most moving painting I’ve ever seen. Your grandmother is going to be wearing a bright pink sweater in it, isn’t she?”
He slowly nodded. “She is in the picture the artist is basing the portrait on.” She could tell that he was trying to find some logical explanation for her knowing that.
“I saw the portrait in the future, Zachary. I know, it’s hard to believe, but it’s real. The way we connect here is how we connect in the future, too. But we can’t act on it because you’re married. I overheard Ramona say you’d be risking something if you had an affair with me. Leaving her is obviously out of the question. You meeting my younger self will change everything. Ramona will have to move on. So I'll go to the games with you, but only to find my younger self. Maybe we were meant to meet there and something derailed us. Probably Ramona. So we reconnect the rails. My younger self will be thrilled to have a guy like you walk up to her, but don’t be surprised if she giggles a lot. She is only seventeen, after all, and a little shy.”
His eyes widened. “Seventeen? What are you trying to do, get me in trouble? You’re the one who’s all, You’re too young.” His voice lowered. “She’s jailbait.”
“I don’t want you to seduce her, just get to know her. You’ll hit it off. If we’re meant to be together in the future, we’ll get along now. Besides, she turns eighteen on September first.”
“September first? That’s your birthday?”
“Yes, why?”
“That’s my birthday, too.”
She grinned. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” Part of her smile was finding a simple solution to destiny’s derailment. “I can even pinpoint at least one place I know they’ll be. My best friend, Roslyn, loved this band—specifically, she had a huge crush on the lead singer.” Wendy squeezed his arm. “We can do this.”
“How weird will it be to see yourself?”
“Totally. But that brings up a good point. I need to go incognito in case I run into myself or anyone else I know.”
He brushed his fingers through her curls. “And you’re pretty recognizable, especially with these. I'll get you a hat and sunglasses.” He dug in a drawer for some shades, then ran upstairs. He returned with a beige felt hat that he settled on her head, tucking her curls beneath it. “Adorable.” Then he put the glasses on her face. “I’d hardly know you.”
“You do hardly know me.”
“True. But you obviously know me pretty well.”
She put her hand to his cheek. “I know your heart.”
He searched her eyes. “I feel like I know yours, too.”
“Our future together is at stake. Your happiness and freedom, too. Are you ready to do this?”
He drew his fingers down her arm to her hand, then brought it to his mouth. “If doing this means I get to see you again, I’m game.”