Taken by Storm

“I can see how that would make you a target,” she said, and he wasn’t clear if she was being sarcastic or not. She was not encouraging him, that’s for sure.

“Since we’re both going to Seattle, we should team up. We can take turns standing in lines and watching each others’ stuff.”

Zoey gazed at him, apparently thinking it over. “My ‘stuff’ includes a dog.”

“Casper. I know. We’re buds, aren’t we, Casper?” Cam glanced toward the dog, whose head rested on his paws as he watched them. Casper swished his tail once. “See? He’s all for it.”

She gave a short, humorless laugh. “You’re a brave man.”

“Because of Casper?”

“No, because of your samples. You’d trust me with beer again?”

Was that the problem? He grinned. “It’s packed in a crate inside a foam cooler inside a box. Completely Zoey-proof.”

“Nothing is Zoey-proof. You hang around me, and eventually you’ll pay for it.” She spoke in a bleak tone of utter certainty.

“It would be worth it.”

“Yeah, you say that now, but—”

“Still worth it,” he said firmly.

Her eyes widened. “What makes you so sure?”

“The chemistry.”

“What?”

“Between us.” Cam gestured back and forth. “You’ve felt it. I know you have.”

“Oh, please.” She looked heavenward. “Does that line actually work for you?”

“It’s not a line. It’s the truth.”

“Next you’ll say you can prove it.”

“I don’t have to. Do I?”

Zoey froze. Asking her to admit to a mutual attraction was a gamble, but Cam needed to distract her from dwelling on past mistakes. He hoped he hadn’t scared her off. Right now, it appeared she could go either way.

“You just met me,” she said.

“That’s my point.” He gave her his most reassuring smile. “I want us to get to know each other.”

She still stared at him, wide-eyed, and he really wished he could tell what she was thinking.

“I’m also serious about teaming up.” He gestured toward the monitors, displaying that airline after airline was canceling flights. “This is going to get messy.”

Her eyes flicked toward the monitors. She swallowed. Maybe he’d come on too strong and now he should back off. “Just consider it while I go get my box. We can talk when I—”

“No. No, no, no.” Shaking her head, she backed away. Casper got to his feet and trotted over to her. “There’s not going to be any teaming up. I have to concentrate on getting Casper to Merriweather Kennels to breed with Alexandra of Thebes. That’s the plan and I’ve got to stick with the plan. I can’t add anything to the plan.”

“Uh, okay.”

“You’re looking at me as though I’m crazy.” Zoey exhaled. “But when I get an idea or want to take advantage of an opportunity—that’s when mistakes happen. Take the party. The goal was to get the motorcycle to the brewery, but then when we got there, I thought, wouldn’t it be great if we hid it so it would be a surprise?” She flung up her hands and Casper’s tags jingled as the leash moved. “And you remember what happened.”

“Was getting stuck in Chicago part of your plan?” Cam asked.

“No, and that’s why I have to be very careful. No distractions. So...it was nice meeting you and maybe I’ll see you around.” She stuck her hand out for him to shake.

Cam stared a moment before grasping it. He heard a snap as static electricity shocked them. Zoey’s hand jerked.

Cam laughed. “See? How can you walk away from that?”

“Watch me.” Zoey turned around and walked off, taking Casper with her.

“Zoey!” Cam eyed the empty crate she left behind and called, “I’m not a mistake. Walking away—that’s the mistake.”

She kept going. He couldn’t believe she kept going. Couldn’t she accept that she’d need help eventually, unless she wanted to leave Casper unattended while she got food to eat and their flight rescheduled.

Cam watched Zoey walk away and felt a sense of loss all out of proportion to the amount of time he’d known her. He could contact her once he was back in Texas, but he wouldn’t. Even if this trip succeeded and he got more help at the brewery, he still wouldn’t have time for a relationship. Especially one with Zoey. Carving out the hours to spend with past girlfriends had been a chore, just one more thing on a long list of things. But he sensed it would be different with Zoey because he’d resent the brewery for taking him away from her.

She’s right. Getting together would be a mistake. But still, Cam stood there, unable to look away as Zoey and Casper wove through the crowd. And then she stopped abruptly and a man talking on a cell phone almost plowed into her.

She stared down at the floor and stood for several seconds before wheeling Casper around and walking back.

Caught watching her, Cam expected her to change course, but Zoey strode right up to him.

“Prove it,” she said.

“What?”

“Prove we’ve got chemistry worth pursuing. Because now you’ve got me wondering, and that’s just as distracting as being around you, so why not find out? Maybe we don’t have any real chemistry and I’ll be worrying about nothing. So, I want to know. Give it your best sh—”