Zach knew this grin was fierce. “The DA is still going for second degree murder for Alvarez, isn’t she?”
“Oh, yeah.”
The two men looked at each other. Zach pushed his tray away.
“We won’t give up on Sheila,” Bran said after a minute. “We need to know now.”
“We do,” Zach agreed, “but Tess got me to thinking. I...really don’t believe Dad would have done anything like that. I haven’t said that, and I should have. I held on to too much anger, for a lot of reasons.”
“I guess I did, too.”
Zach lifted an eyebrow. “You going to relent where Mom is concerned?”
“You mean, agree to see her?” Bran grimaced. “Probably. I guess seeing her won’t kill me. Just so you know, it’ll be more for your sake than hers, though. Might make your wedding awkward otherwise.”
Zach felt a squeeze of pleasure and, yeah, a jolt of panic, too. Marriage? Was he really going there?
Yeah.
“You’re the one with an upcoming ceremony,” he pointed out.
If Bran had any doubts, he didn’t share them. “You’re right. You’ll have to get in line.”
“Not like I’ve asked Tess to marry me.”
“But you will, won’t you?”
She was his everything. Of course he would be.
“Probably.” Who was he kidding?
Bran nodded.
“I need to get upstairs.” Zach pushed back his chair and grabbed the lunch tray.
He stopped when his brother said, “I’ve been thinking...” It sounded awkward enough to make Zach curious.
When Bran stalled, Zach prodded. “You’ve been thinking...?”
“Yeah. Uh, speaking of weddings... Would you consider being my best man?”
Floored, he said, “You have some good friends.”
Bran smiled crookedly. “But only one brother.”
“Yeah.” Zach had to clear his throat. “It would be an honor.”
“Good. Thanks.”
They bussed their trays, everything important already said, and parted in front of the elevators.
* * *
THE DAMAGE TO Tess’s house had been primarily confined to the one corner, but was still substantial. The fire had reached the hall and the bathroom and leaped up through the ceiling before firefighters had put it out. The stench permeated the entire house.
Her wardrobe was history, she discovered almost immediately. Without thinking, she had asked Zach to grab her some clothes to wear home. He’d said, “Yeah, about that...”
Tess called a woman friend, who’d gone shopping for the basics for her.
Zach and she opened windows to start airing her house out and discussed whether he would do the work on it. But she decided not as that would prevent him working on his own house. Her insurance would cover the cost of bringing in a contractor.
Plus...somewhere in that discussion, they’d decided she would move in with him once he had working plumbing, instead of the other way around. Neither had said, “This house will go on the market.” They hadn’t needed to.
On the positive side, she had plenty of furniture to fill his empty rooms, even with some having been destroyed by fire or damaged by the smoke.
In the meantime, they would be staying at her father’s—in separate bedrooms.
Tess hated not being able to sleep with Zach, but knew it might be just as well. She had a headache that wouldn’t quit. Sex wasn’t happening. Neither, for her, did work. Greg had someone they’d used before to fill in for Tess at Fabulous Interiors.
Putting in long hours every evening, Zach wasn’t at her father’s much. Having his bathroom back together had become a high priority for him.
On the Sunday after the attack, Tess decided she felt well enough to make the trip to his place.
She admired the dishwasher he’d installed and the work he had accomplished in the bathroom. She knew the bathtub surrounding could wait, but that he couldn’t set the sink in place until the tile was finished on the countertop. She offered to start the tiling.
“I like this,” she said, stroking the vanity. It was solid maple finished in a simple, Shaker style. “White walls, though? Really?”
“It’s primer.” He defended himself. Of course, she already knew that. “You can pick the color, within reason.”