Still the One Read Free

the room.
    The librarian regarded him thoughtfully. “Zack Ferguson, the poker champion?”
    He inclined his head. “I used to be. I no longer compete.”
    “Oh, my husband idolizes you!” Mrs. Street gushed. “He has the whole series of your
Play to Win
CDs.”
    The last time Katie had looked Zack up on the Internet—which had been about seven years ago, before she married Paul—he’d
     been the top-rated poker player in the world, living a jet-set lifestyle and dating a Victoria’s Secret model. She hadn’t
     been all that surprised at his success; he’d been an amazing card shark even at seventeen. He’d spent most of his evenings
     that summer hustling cards in the back room of the roadhouse the next town over, and he’d made a small fortune.
    “So what brings you to Chartreuse?” Rachel asked.
    He stuck his hand in the pocket of his jeans. “Well, actually, Katie does.”
    The women collectively gasped.
    No one gasped louder than Katie. “Me?”
    He dipped his head in a curt, all-business nod, his eyes giving away nothing. “Is there someplace we can go to talk?”
    Panic shot through her veins. “I—I’m sorry, but I’m with a client.”
    “Oh, honey, don’t you worry about me.” Lulu’s bug eyes were fixed on Zack as if he were a double serving of mile-high pie.
    “But your hair’s wet and I haven’t cut it yet, and…”
    Lulu wafted her hand in a dismissive wave. “That’s just fine. I’ll come back later.”
    “But—but…” Panic narrowed Katie’s throat.
    “Oh, dear! Silly old me.” Lulu jumped out of the chair and pulled the polka-dotted cape off her neck. “I think I left my oven
     on!” Her wet hair dripped onto her white linen shirt, creating transparent spots. “I better head home right now and turn it
     off.”
    She gave Zack a broad wink as she reached for her enormous orange leather purse and black umbrella on the counter. He rewarded
     her with another smile, causing Lulu to flush like a smitten groupie. She teetered to the door on her high-heeled orange mules,
     her eyes never leaving his face. Zack stepped forward and opened the door for her, then took her umbrella, stuck it out the
     door, and opened it as well.
    “Oh, my,” Lulu murmured, placing one hand against her chest and shooting Katie a look that clearly said,
Don’t let this one get away
. “How gentlemanly. Thank you!”
    “My pleasure.” The wind blew his thick dark hair as he closed the door behind Lulu and turned to Katie.
    He had gorgeous hair—thick and wavy, so deep a brown it was almost black. It looked overdue for a trim, but it had been cut
     by someone who knew what they were doing. Katie could usually tell a lot about a person by their hair, but she wasn’t sure
     exactly what Zack’s hair was telling her.
    She wasn’t at all sure about his face, either. It must be all that poker playing, because his expression was inscrutable.
    “Guess this means you’re free for a few minutes,” he said. “Is there someplace around here where we can get a cup of coffee?”
    “The Chartreuse Café is right around the corner,” Rachel volunteered.
    Zack’s eyebrows quirked up. “That old place is still in business?”
    “Oh, yeah. It’s like sharks and cockroaches—it’ll still be here, unchanged, long after everything else is extinct and gone,”
     Eula said.
    “So you’ve been to Chartreuse before?” Bev prompted.
    Zack nodded. “I spent the summer here with my aunt’s family eighteen years ago.”
    “Really? Is that when you met Katie?” Josie asked.
    “As a matter of fact, it is.”
    The memories of that summer flooded her mind. Katie had been seventeen, working at the bait-and-tackle shop down at the lake.
     When Zack had walked through the door one hot afternoon, his gray T-shirt clinging to his lean frame, her lungs had felt as
     if they’d forgotten how to work.
    “How do you breathe in here?” he’d asked.
    For a moment, she thought he’d read her mind.