She had changed into a flowing, semi-translucent purple top with a lace-up V-neck and black bra underneath, black leather pants, dark boots with thick soles, and bright purple glasses. The outfit wouldn’t have worked on anyone else, but on Zara, it looked exactly right.
“Okay,” he said as they headed out to his car. “I’m perfectly happy not telling you that I think you look great.”
The pleased smile she couldn’t contain had him grinning again. At times like this, he could almost forget he’d spent so many months gritting his teeth around her. As long as she didn’t start whistling, which she knew drove him crazy, they might be able to rub along okay for the next few hours.
“So,” she said once they were in the car and off to Camden, “I was thinking—”
“Uh-oh.” He couldn’t resist. Just as she couldn’t resist thwacking him on the arm.
“As I was saying, we should make sure we have our story straight before we get to the party. I know we’ve got favorite colors figured out, but people are probably going to want to know how we met.”
He could barely keep a straight face as he said, “You should tell them that you took one look at me and fell head over heels in love.”
“That would be a great story if we wanted them all to think I’ve gone insane.” She barely let the dig land before continuing. “In any case, since I haven’t lost my mind, I’m thinking that keeping our story as close to the truth as possible will be the best way to stave off getting caught out in a lie.”
“No problem,” he agreed. “I’ll tell anyone who wants to know how much your whistling drives me crazy.”
She whistled a few bars of his favorite Metallica song, sending his teeth back into grinding mode. “And I’ll tell them that one day I’m going to take the speakers you’re always blaring heavy metal on in your woodshop and toss them into the river to sink into the mud.”
He didn’t let on that he’d seen her rocking out to his music when she hadn’t thought he was looking. “Telling them it was mutual dislike at first sight is a smart move. Everyone loves an enemies-turned-lovers story, don’t they?” The lovers part shouldn’t have sounded nearly so appealing.
“Exactly. Hating-you-to-dating-you can be our schtick.”
“Instead of a meet-cute, we had a meet-puke.”
The laugh that burst from her made him feel like he’d just won a prize. “Maybe keep that one to yourself,” she suggested, but she was grinning. “The only issue I can see is that someone at the party might want details on how we came to stop being so irritated by each other and fell in looooove.” The word love dripped with sarcasm from her lips. Lips that looked far too tempting for his peace of mind.
“Hmmm,” he said, playing the moment for all it was worth. “That is a hard one. Good thing we have the whole drive to Camden to think of reasons they’ll believe.”
“I’m going to punch you again, if you’re not careful.”
Despite her bravado, he detected a hint of self-deprecation in her tone that he didn’t care for. For all their teasing, his intention was never to make her feel bad. It was more that he hadn’t had this much fun sparring with someone in a very long time. Particularly during the past year, when everyone had been walking on eggshells around him.
Zara didn’t know his damage, so the only eggshells that would come from her were the ones she might decide to throw at him. Whatever happened tonight, he didn’t like the thought of losing their zing-y relationship. It would be far less fun to come into work if he couldn’t go a few verbal rounds with her.
“Just to be clear,” he said in a serious voice, “despite the fact that we’re always bantering and teasing each other, I’ve never felt we were actually enemies, or that we hated each other, or that you in any way have ever made me want to puke.”
“I haven’t either.” But before they could get too gooey, she added, “Although you do really irritate me sometimes.”
“Likewise.”
Perhaps it shouldn’t have made sense that they were grinning at each other after declaring their mutual irritation. But it did.
“Now that we’ve got that clear,” she said in her back-to-business voice, “let’s make a list of the things we can’t resist about each other. I’d say three reasons each should suffice. I’ll go first. You’re really talented, and I love your furniture. Reason two is that you obviously care about your family a great deal. And for my third reason…”
She scrunched up her face, clearly thinking hard. He might have felt a little insulted by how long it was taking her to come up with a third reason, if she didn’t constantly make him want to laugh out loud. He’d never met anyone like her, female or male. Zara said exactly what was on her mind, no matter the consequences. Plus, he wasn’t going to deny that he was pleased by her first two reasons for fake-falling for him—his work and his family were two of the most important things in his life.
“I’ve got it!” She snapped her fingers. “Your lightning-quick comebacks during our bantering sessions prove how quickly your mind works. What woman doesn’t love a man with a brain who isn’t afraid to use it?” She looked extremely pleased with herself for filling out her list. “Your turn.”
“You stole my first reason—that you’re a hell of a designer and manufacturer.”
“Mutual respect for each other’s work sounds good to me, as long as your next two reasons stand apart from mine.”
Rory was surprised to realize it wasn’t at all difficult to come up with his second reason for fake-falling for her. “I didn’t know anything about your family until yesterday, so I can’t copy you on that one. But I have noticed how supportive you are of other artists. You’re the loudest to cheer another maker’s success, the first to volunteer to help, and the last to leave their side when there is still work to be done.”
She looked surprised by his comment. “We all know how hard it can be to get a business off the ground, especially in the arts. Of course I’m happy to help.”
“Not everyone is.”
Though his eyes were still on the road, he could feel her gaze trained on him. “Did something bad happen to you when you were starting out?”
“It’s not something I talk about much.”
“It won’t leave this car,” she promised.
Though they hadn’t exactly been friends up until now, he realized he trusted her not to break her promise. “It was a few years back. Another furniture maker, a guy I really respected, accused me of copying his work.”
“You would never do that!”
Rory appreciated Zara’s conviction more than she could know. “No, I wouldn’t. I don’t know if he felt threatened in some way, or if he was having a hard time in his personal life and thought he’d take it out on me, or if he was just burned out. Whatever the reason, when I called him on it, he backed off, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.”
“Is he still in the area?”
Rory shot her a look. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I’d be more than happy to give him a piece of my mind. I don’t care how many years it’s been since he pulled that crap, or what his reasons were for doing it. You’re far too compassionate and forgiving for your own good.”