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He grinned. “Liar.”
Scrambling back, I managed to evade his long fingers, which were grabbing for me. I fell onto my back, kicking my socked feet out to try and push him away, but he managed to bat them from him, grabbing hold of my ankles. With a huge smile, he pulled me back down the sofa to him. We were both laughing, play fighting with one another, a mass of feet and hands, and I loved it.
Zak’s hand’s then went for my wrists, and his rings were cold against my skin, making me gasp. He paused, his eyes dark and enquiring as he looked down on me. Neither of us spoke, the only sound coming from the TV in the background, as we stared at each other.
When his thumb began rub gently over my waist, I think I stopped breathing. I know I stopped breathing. His head dipped lower until our mouths were inches apart, and I didn’t dare hopethat he was going to kiss me. And he didn’t; he just looked at me, his eyes moving over my features but lingering on my lips. When his tongue darted out, I braced myself, but nothing happened because the moment he moved, the lounge door swung open and Amelia marched in.
“Zak, the Wi-Fi has gone down.” She stalked inside looking down at her phone. “I was playing my music.”
Without any urgency, Zak pulled himself away from me and got off the sofa. I watched, still on my back as he walked over to his sister and gently pulled the phone from her hand. When Amelia’s head came up, she looked over at the TV and I took the opportunity to sit up, acting like I hadn’t been about to kiss her brother.
“He’s making you watchThe Visit,” she cried and swung her gaze to me. “It’s hideous, isn’t it?”
“Did he let you watch it?”
“Hey,” Zak protested, his eyes concentrated on Amelia’s phone screen as he tapped at it. “It’s nothing to do with me. I was watching it, fell asleep, and she sneaked into my bedroom.” He looked up and grinned at me. “Mum and Dad thought she was being murdered she screamed that loud, and I almost shit the bed.” He handed the phone back to Amelia. “You’d disconnected from it somehow. I’ve told you, download stuff instead of using the Wi-Fi.”
She rolled her eyes at him and then turned on her heels. “Oh, and by the way, Mum and Dad are back.”
Instantly, my nerves spiked again, but Zak simply sat down, back at the opposite end of the sofa. He kicked his feet up on the footstool again, looking like nothing in the world ever bothered him.
“I should go,” I said, shuffling to the edge of the cushion. “If your parents are back.”
Zak turned to me and frowned. “Why? They’re very friendly, you know.”
How could one person seem so unbothered by anything? He hadn’t cared that Amelia caught us about to kiss, or that his mum and dad were home, and some random girl was sitting on their sofa.
“Won’t they be mad? That I’m here. They’ve just got home from work, Zak.”
“Mum was reorganising her surgery and Dad was doing follow ups on a couple of surgeries. It’s hardly been a taxing morning for them.” He laughed, and it was deep and rumbling. Another reason for him to set the butterflies off again.
“Zak, I?—”
“This is where you’re hiding.”
I looked up to see a small, pretty woman standing in the doorway. Her dark hair was tied back with tendrils escaping the side. She was wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt with a streak of dirt on the front, and her feet were bare.
Instantly, I looked down at my trainers that I’d kicked off, lying haphazardly next to the coffee table, and I reached for them.
“Mum, this is Maddy from school. She’s a friend of Liam’s and now mine, too.”
I blinked rapidly, wondering how I was going to slip out now that she’d been alerted to my presence.
“Oh hi, Maddy.” I turned to look at her. Her smile was just like Zak’s, and she had a dimple in her cheek, just like him. Her accent was the same, just maybe a little more refined than Zak’s. “It’s lovely to meet you.” Her eyes crinkled at the sides, and I genuinely believed she was happy to meet me.
“You, too,” I replied. I wanted to apologise for imposing on their Sunday, but my mouth was too dry to say anything else.
She looked back into the hallway and then back to Zak and me. “We brought back pizza. Would you like to stay for some, Maddy? You’d be very welcome.”
The lump in my throat grew bigger and my mouth went drier as I squeaked, “I don’t want to impose, Mrs Hoyland.”
“Don’t be daft,” Zak said. “Mum wouldn’t have asked if she thought you were.” He gave his mum a thumbs up. “She’ll stay. Did you get Mexican beef?”
She laughed quietly and then shook her head. “Of course, we did, darlin’. Ten minutes and it’ll be out in the kitchen. And Maddy, please call me Lisa.”
Once she’d gone, Zak grabbed my arm, pulling me close again. “Good, we’re just coming up to the nappy scene. It’s just what you need before you tuck into a Mexican beef pizza.” He burst out laughing, full, deep and long, and I couldn’t help but join in. Until the scene came on the screen, and then I decided that maybe staying for pizza wasn’t a good thing. Then I glanced at Zak and realised that even grimacing he was still more handsome than any other boy I’d met before, so perhaps I would manage it after all.
Chapter Fourteen
