Page 25 of When Sparks Fly
Z: Want to stop by my place later to talk?
M: Won’t that be a little crowded?
It took her a moment to realize what he was saying. She looked up at him and mouthedSeriously? Her fingers beat out her reply.
Z: Okay, Tinker Bell.
He looked at her in surprise, his expression telling her he had no clue what she was talking about. So she filled him in.
Z: Short-tempered and jealous?
She meant it to be teasing. It wasn’t until after she’d sent the text that she realized she might have nailed the reason for his hot-cold behavior tonight. Except...why would Mike be all pouty and jealous about her having dinner with Mason? Was it because she’d told him she wasn’t ready? Well, now she was. Besides, Vickie saidhe’dbeen on a date in Rochester, so what was the big deal?
“Is there a problem?” Mason’s questions made her jump. Her face went hot—how rude of her to ignore him for Mike. She shook her head quickly.
“No, sorry. An old friend’s giving me an attitude.” She shrugged. “He must be having a bad day.”
The suddenthunkof glasses hitting the table made them bothjump. Mike stood at the end of the booth, a big toothy grin on his face as if he’d just plucked the drinks out of a magician’s hat.
“Gee, thanks,” she said sarcastically. His weird mood was getting under her skin. “Such prompt and friendly service.”
Mike’s gaze met hers, and a jolt of electricity shot through her. Her lips parted as she sucked in a gasp of air. She and Mike had argued in the years they’d been friends. A little spat here and there. But it wasn’t the annoyance in his eyes that shocked her. It was the...intensity. She saw a blend of anger and caring and what looked way too much like longing. FromMike. She must be seeing things. She blinked. Sure enough, the look vanished from his eyes and he was Mike McKinnon again. Her friend.
“Sorry.” Mike shook his head, chewing on his lip the way he did whenever he felt bad about something. “It reallyhasbeen busy tonight. Tim and I are scrambling behind the bar and... I worked myself into a mood.” He extended a hand to Mason. “Mike McKinnon.”
Mason introduced himself and they chatted briefly about the pub before Mike stepped back.
“I gotta go before my cousin throttles me.” He looked at Zoey for a moment, and she could see he was still struggling with some strange internal battle. There was a vein throbbing on the side of his neck. His smile warmed, no longer a put-on. “Sorry if I was an ass before. Mary called me out on it, too. We’ll catch up over the weekend, okay?”
“Sure.” Her eyes followed him as he returned to the bar. She couldn’t wait to hear what put him in such a mood.
“Well, that explains a lot.”
Once again, she’d forgotten about Mason. She blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
“It’s pretty clear why you didn’t feel sparks with me. There are too many of them tied up between you and the bartender.” He chuckled. “And it was very definitely mutual.”
She almost choked on the laughter that bubbled up. “Me andMike? No way. We’ve been pals since grade school, and we’ve never been more than just friends.Goodfriends, but that’s it.”
“Okay.” He took a sip of his brandy, clearly unconvinced. “He’s who you were texting before, right? The dude was giving me dagger-eyes, and his handshake nearly broke my fingers. That’s bro-code forback the hell off.And when you two had that little stare down?” His mouth slanted into a smile. “That was chemistry, Zoey.”
Was that possible? She sipped her drink and thought about it. Mikehadseemed a little bit jealous. She could have misread him, though. He could have just been concerned for her, with it being her first real dinner date since the divorce. That was probably it. Kelly McKinnon dropped off their receipt, and Mason began to stand.
“Sorry, but you arewayoff base.” Zoey started to slide out of the booth, too. “We’re very strictly platonic.” She tried to sneak a glance back to the bar as they headed to the door. Mike was busy taking a drink order. Mason caught her looking and started to laugh.
“Whatever you say.” He walked her to her car and promised she’d be hearing from his employer about being interviewed to be on the approved commercial technician list. They agreed it had been a nice evening, but he suggested next time they met they should stick to coffee or lunch. He’d glanced at the pub. “Just to be safe.”
Wow.Was he talking about Mike again?
“Trust me—Mike and I would never spoil our friendship by getting...involved.”
Mason made no attempt at a good-night kiss, extending his hand with a smile instead.
“I know what I saw.” He turned to go, tossing his final comment over his shoulder. “There’s a good chance your platonic friend may be thinking differently about things.”
She refused to believe it. Mike wouldnever.His mood tonightmirroredjealousy, but there’s no way it could be that for real.
Could it?