Her plan for this week? Divide and conquer. Shed talk to everyone on her list, from teacher to geek. Shed poke around all the places Gandalf featured in his video games and see if she could find some clues. Shed pull strings, make nice and play sleuth. One way or another, if Gandalf was in Bradford, Zoe would track him down for Zach.
But now, faced with actually implementing the plan? She remembered what itd felt like to be a gawky teen. Only now she didnt have her Gothic F-you attitude to hide behind. Of course, shed been faking it ten years ago anyway.
She squared her shoulders. Itd served her well enough before, so she might as well fake it again. Phony attitude or not, she was on a mission. Like SweetCheeks, she had her orders and she was here to kick ass.
Snickering at the image, Zoe reached the door and paused. She really didnt want to go in there. The only way this could be less appealing was if she was going in for a back-to-back mammogram, root canal, public weigh-in.
Would anyone recognize her? Maybe she wasnt a pudgy Goth dressed in black with spiked hair and random piercings, but, as she glanced at her reflection in the door, she realized she hadnt changed that much. Her short, wild hair was still black in places, along with chunky red and blond highlights. She still sported an extra five pounds, but now she emphasized those curves instead of hiding them in baggy T-shirts. And while shed let most of her piercings close up, she wore a small diamond in her nose and eight in each ear.
Yeah, she was still different. But at least now, she had enough confidence in her abilities not to let that bother her. Unlike in high school, when shed been stuck in this town with no options, for this round shed come with an agenda. And that gave her the advantage. She was on the ball and in command.
And flying monkeys were delivering her luggage.
Amused by her own idiotic pep talk, Zoe grabbed the brass handle and swung the door open.
Showtime.
Ten minutes and a room key later, Zoe crossed the lobby, congratulating herself. Shed checked in, gotten her reunion welcome package and managed to avoid any actual reunions.
Zoe? Zoe Gaston, the chic geek?
The shrill chorus stopped her in her tracks. Zoe gave a horrified little spasm before clearing her face and turning toward the giggling.
The Fenton sisters. Two perfect, redheaded porcelain dolls with hearts of ice. Zoe had to fight to put a fake smile on her face. She fought even harder against the urge to run.
Hello, she voiced tonelessly. Fancy seeing you here.
Well, well. Youve certainly changed, one said. The other eyed her up and down, probably gauging the cost of her outfitskinny jeans, ankle boots and a black velvet tunicto the nearest dollar and, from her sneer, figuring shed overpaid.
Amazing, isnt it? Zoe shot back with a smirk of her own. And yet, neither of you have at all.
Julie and Jackie, or Jingle and Jangle as Zoe had dubbed them in school due to their shrill voices and her lack of ability to tell them apart, engulfed her in perfume-laced hugs. Just as oblivious as she remembered, they didnt even notice her stiff-as-a-board lack of a reaction. They just launched into a babbling cacophony of chatter and gossip. As though she was one of them.
Zoes eyes narrowed. The twins had never had time for her ten years ago. Shed have sworn that if it werent for Candices sour-grapes gossip-fest over the award, they wouldnt have even known her name. And now they were welcoming her and acting like she was their friend?
What were they up to?
Did you hear Brad Young is here? Hes divorced now, I heard. And still the hottest thing ever, but now hes rolling in the dough. Jangle tittered.
It was all Zoe could do not to look around in case Brad was actually here in the lobby. How had he aged? Did he remember her? More important, did he remember their one and only date? The one hed cut short for no reason, mid makeout session. The one that had broke her teenaged heart and leveled her tentative faith in the acceptance of her peers.
Zoe shook off the irritating memories and the doubts they dredged up and focused on the twins speculation about how Brad, whod needed that football scholarship to go to college, had struck it rich. Jingle shot Zoe a snide look, her smile dripping glee. Remember that crazy rumor about you and Brad at the drive-in?
Had they read her thoughts? Zoe narrowed her eyes, glad that shed never been the blushing type. The redheads giggle made it clear just how unbelievable they thought the idea of Zoe and the captain of the football team doing the movie mambo was. The speculative look, the disdain in their cornflower-blue eyes, confirmed Zoes suspicion. They werent welcoming her as an old classmate. They were priming her for fodder.
She sighed. Figured. In school, theyd been the gossip queens. Nothing happened but they got the first dirt on it. Obviously they were reprising their grimy roles all over again.
Zoe ground her teeth to keep from telling them to mind their own business. She knew this gossip game was her best shot at tracking down clues on Gandalf. If she wanted to win, she had to play. She considered a coquettish giggle of her own but figured shed choke on it. Instead, she arched one brow and gave a naughty smile.
Lashes fluttering like stiff caterpillars, two sets of heavily lined eyes widened and the women stepped closer.
Hey, Im not a kiss-and-tell kind of gal, she said. The twins exchanged shocked looks. Perfect. Maybe theyd be willing to barter for information on who might be the gaming wizard. From her research, four of the guys in the graduating class were possibilities. Much to her dismay, one of them happened to be Brad, whod gone on to be a computer-science major.
Zoe hoped that a little gossip-gathering, some more online research once she got her hands on the attendee bios at the reunion welcome party tonight, and shed have all the info she needed to pinpoint Gandalf. But she couldnt deny the thought of facing Brad put her on edge.
Of course, Im sure nobodys interested in my little secrets, she said, launching the gossip-gathering portion of her plan. After all, Im not one of the graduating class to go on to fame and fortune. Ive heard quite a few did, though. Cmon, all the former classmates lives cant be complete secrets. Dont we know what a few people are doing? You know, like whos married to who, where everyone is living? Or whos hit it big?
Well, one of the sisters said, exchanging a look with the other, we do have a few details, of course. I mean, keeping up with what everyones been doing is sort of a hobby of ours.
Do tell, Zoe encouraged while mentally mocking her vapid performance.
Well, said one of them, leaning closer. Do you remember Teresa Roberts? She was that girl who had such a big crush on you? She barely waited for Zoes wince before continuing, Shes filthy rich, I hear. Huge success in writing computer programs of some kind.
Teresa? Computer success? But Gandalf was a guy, wasnt he? Then again, this was Teresa. The only person in high school other than Brad to ever show any semblance of interest in Zoe. Maybe using a guys name wasnt so far-fetched.
Before she could ask for details, another woman Zoe didnt recognize joined them in a chorus of squeals and giggles.
Zoe winced. Shed dig for more gossip later, hopefully without having to hear any more shrill laughter. Before she could break in and excuse herself, a ruckus across the room caught her attention.
Teresa? Computer success? But Gandalf was a guy, wasnt he? Then again, this was Teresa. The only person in high school other than Brad to ever show any semblance of interest in Zoe. Maybe using a guys name wasnt so far-fetched.
Before she could ask for details, another woman Zoe didnt recognize joined them in a chorus of squeals and giggles.
Zoe winced. Shed dig for more gossip later, hopefully without having to hear any more shrill laughter. Before she could break in and excuse herself, a ruckus across the room caught her attention.
Someone had overturned a full luggage cart. The giggle twins still babbling in her ear, Zoe watched a guy hurry forward to help collect the bags. Something tugged in the back of her mind, but she ignored it in favor of watching the delicious view as he bent low to retrieve the scattered suitcases.
There it was. The finest ass shed ever seen. Nerves fluttered in her throat and she tapped her finger against her bottom lip as she considered the odds of the front equaling the back. Long shot, she knew. Guys were either good to watch coming or going.
And itd been a long cold spell since shed seen a guy coming.
The man straightened, the luggage all reloaded on the cart and the embarrassed guest reassured. He turned toward Zoe and stopped as if hed hit a glass wall. Their gazes met. She felt the impact all the way across the room. Her tummy spiraling like shed fallen off a cliff, Zoes breath caught. Her body went from hot to blazing.
Gorgeous, was all she could think.
Shaggy coffee-brown hair was shoved off a face that made her think of poets and scholars. His long jawline and dark brows gave intensity to a face that would be pretty otherwise. She wanted, needed, to see his eyes. Were they as sexy close-up as they seemed from across the room?
A loose, blue button-up covered broad shoulders but hid his arms and chest. Zoe wondered what that chest was like. Was he muscled and hard? Or soft and snuggly? Her eyes skimmed the shirt fabric and dropped to the well-fitted denim hugging his slender hips. She sighed in appreciation as she noted how the worn fabric hinted that he dressed left. It was all she could do not to walk over and cup that fabric herself and confirm the suspicion.
Yeah, his body pretty much screamed sex to her. Hot, unbridled, mind-blowing-orgasm sex.
He smiled at her. A crooked, sexy smile that rang a bell in the back of her head. But she was too busy paying attention to the sirens going off in her body to pay attention to it.
His smile pulled her in. She automatically smiled back. Just as automatic was the shoulders-back-breasts-high shift as she angled her body toward him. Suddenly she had a second agenda besides snagging Gandalf this weekto see how many ways she could see this guy come.
2
DEXTER DRAKE FROZE as his gaze met Zoes across the room. Even from ten yards away, he could see the sparkle in her eyes. If eyes were the windows to the soul, Zoes were clear plate glass. Everything she felt was reflected in those bottle-green depths. And right now the reflection was an interesting mix of irritation and intrigue. Hed like to think the intrigue was a little sexual, a hint of interest in him. But even though hed made a fortune with his imagination, Dex wasnt the kind of guy who lied to himself.
More likely, she was trying to figure out why the hell, at his age, he was apparently still working at his parents hotel. Dex winced. This wasnt how hed planned to greet her for the first time. Hed hoped to make it a surprise. Preferably when she was alone instead of surrounded by a gaggle of giggling women who reminded him of overaged teenagers. Maybe when he was dressed decently, and not, he grimaced with a glance at his jeans, like one of those overaged teens himself.
Regardless of timing, Dex couldnt stop his grin. All hed been able to think about for the past couple weeks was seeing Zoe again. And there she was. While hed have recognized her trademark dimple and sassy head tilt anywhere, the rest of her was a delicious surprise.
Sleek and sexy, she wasnt Goth anymore, but her rebellious individuality was still apparent. No longer short, spiky and pitch-black, her hair hit her shoulders in a cacophony of curls and chunky streaks of color. Red, blond and, yeah, he was happy to see, still some black. Shed lost the roundness that ten years ago shed lamented and hed secretly loved. Her black top fell in a straight line to her thighs, but didnt disguise the swell of her breasts or the indention of her waist. A stack of thick silver bangles clanged on her wrist every time she moved her arm, matching metal glinting from her ears.
Just as Dex raised his hand to wave to her, she gave him one last, long glance. Then she turned away. He frowned. What was up with that? He caught his own reflection in the large mirror behind the registration desk and realized that as much as shed changed, so had he.
Ten years ago, hed been a foot shorter, built like a noodle and worn glasses. Laser eye surgery, a good workout program and the discovery of protein had definitely had their effects on his body.
Cool. He could still surprise her. With that in mind, Dex worked his way around the lobby. He positioned himself between the clucking clutch of women and Zoes probable escape route so he could step out and greet her once she headed for her room. He kicked back against one of the rosewood columns, crossed his ankles and arms and let loose a grin. He couldnt wait to see the look on her face when she saw him.
A year younger that Zoe, Dex had taken a lot of advanced classes with her. Brainiacs like them tended to band together. But shed never seen him as more than a sidekick. A younger buddy. Funny, safe and sexless. Emasculating, yes, but still better than the rest of his schoolmates, who usually saw him only as a wallet or the keys to the best party house in town.
After Zoe had graduated and left town, Dex had lost all interest in Central High and had counted the days until his own graduation. A scholarship to MIT had been his ticket away from the memories of his unrequited crush and out from under his fathers ever-unfulfilled demands. College, life and a little bit of luck had healed his bruised heart. But hed never forgotten Zoe. And now was his chance to reconnect, hopefully on equal footing this round.
He heard one of the ditzy chicks ask, So, who are you looking forward to seeing again, Zoe?
His ears, among other things, perked up. Hed love to hear her say his name. Crazy wish, since he wasnt even a member of her graduating class and shed have no reason to expect him here. But the seventeen-year-old in his heart still wished just a little.
Oh, you know, everyone, Zoe hedged. Dex snickered. He knew better than anyone what a lie that was. Theyd spent hours on end holed up here at the hotel, raiding the kitchen and lamenting the nastiness of their peers.
Cmon, there must be someone youre looking forward to seeing again, one of the women nudged. Maybe Brad?
Dex shot upright, peering around the column to frown at Zoes face. Brad? Brad Young? That ass? With an ugly surge of jealousy, Dex remembered Zoes crush on the blond jock. Unlike the typical jock, Brad hadnt been an idiot. Just a jerk. He and Dex had gone head to head in all things science. And usually, Dex remembered with a snicker, hed won.
Maybe, Zoe said with a shrug. Resentment momentarily forgotten, Dex watched the way the soft black fabric of her top moved. Touchably soft, the material emphasized her round breasts. Hed spent years dreaming about those breasts. Lusting as only a callow, teenage boy could. And shed been lusting after Brad the cad.