Page 68 of Heartbroken Husband
“Come on. Let’s check the kitchen.”
“I already did,” she said. “There was no one there.”
I nodded but headed in that direction anyway. “Maybe Zach was just showing her something and they’re back there now.”
Jennifer didn’t seem convinced, but she followed me anyway, sighing deeply when we walked into the kitchen to find it wasstillempty. “Told you.”
“Yeah.”
I walked in further anyway, checking the locks on the sliding doors that led out to the pool. Lu could swim, but it was still a massive relief that none of them were open. As I turned to continue the search, I caught sight of a note on the counter next to the coffee machine.
I raced over and picked it up, quickly scanning the short message and exhaling deeply at what it said.
Taking Lu on my run with me.
See you later.
-Z
My head bowed under the crushing relief that took hold deep inside. I would have preferred if he’d texted so I would have seen the message as soon as I’d woken up, but she was fine and he’d left word. That was more important than anything else.
“Lu is out with Zach,” I said to Jennifer, setting the note back down and studying the coffee machine. “I’m not sure when they’re going to be back, but would you like something to eat?”
She shook her head and climbed onto one of the barstools. “I’m just thirsty. It’s hot here.”
“Very,” I agreed, pouring her a glass of water before reaching into the cabinet right above the coffee machine and striking gold.
I’d found the mugs. I slid one out, still a little uneasy about Lu, but she was safe with Zach. I reminded myself of that at least four times as I made coffee and then turned toward the fridge.
Within twenty minutes, I had breakfast started using the meager groceries we’d picked up before arriving yesterday. Eggs, fruit, pancake mix, and yogurt. Jennifer sipped her water as she watched me work, quiet but not unhappy.
She just kept looking around like she was afraid to touch anything, and frankly, I felt the same. The house barely even felt real to me.
The place looked like something from a magazine spread, sunlight pouring across marble countertops, every scatter cushion and throw perfectly straight, and every piece of furniture fitting like it had been designed specifically for the spot where it had been placed. It was incredible.
Eventually, Jennifer went to find a coloring book and some pencils, setting herself up at the island while I flipped pancakes. A little while later, she suddenly gasped. “They’re back!”
Before I could stop her, she bolted toward the patio doors and I grabbed my coffee, unlocking one of the doors for her before I followed her out onto the back terrace. As soon as I caught sight of them, however, I promptly forgot every coherent thought in my head.
Zach jogged along the path leading up to the house shirtless and flushed from running, sunlight glinting off damp skin and broad shoulders while Bear trotted beside him. Sweat darkened the waistband of his running shorts and his chest rose steadily, as if somehow, he wasn’t even out of breath despite how long they’d been gone.
Lu rolled slowly up the path behind him on her scooter, looking absolutely exhausted but happy. Seriously happy. I blinked hard at the sight, then turned back to Zach, intending on asking him what he’d done to ease the permanent frown off her little face, but the second I looked at him again, words were the last thing on my mind.
It had been eight years since I’d last seen Zach shirtless, and the years had been good to him. He’d gotten even more delicious. On the rare occasion that I’d spent any time with Amber’s friends, I’d heard them refer to some men asthirst-trapsand dear Lord, Zachary Westwood fit that description perfectly.
My gaze slid down the sharp lines of his stomach and the flush beneath his skin, tracing the sweat sliding down his chest. Thankfully, I was snapped out of my blatant ogling when Jennifer raced toward them.
“Where did you go?” she asked excitedly.
Zach bent slightly, bracing his hands on his hips for the first time since stepping into view. He was barely out of breath, but it was obvious he’d been working hard.
“I had to make sure he was actually running and not fibbing about being fast,” Lu said, like she was the authority on speed.
Zach looked over at me, amusement flickering across his face. “She made it about five miles on the scooter before getting tired and grumpy.”
“I wasn’t tired,” Lu protested immediately. “I just thought you might need a break.”
He glanced back at her. “You said your legs were broken.”
