Maid for Love (A Romantic Comedy) (3 page)

Michael stood. “I’ll show you out.”

Zoe followed him to the door, willing herself to keep it together until she could make it to the car. “Goodbye, Mr. Archer,” she called over her shoulder as she made her way down the flagstone path.

“Wait, Zoe, don’t you remember?”

She froze. Reluctantly she forced herself to turn around. “Remember what?”

“Call me Michael.”

***

Michael had what could best be described as a fitful sleep and his mood the next morning reflected his lack of shut eye. “Has anyone made coffee yet?” he asked as he stumbled into the kitchen.

His niece and nephew exchanged amused glances.

“What’s so funny?” he demanded.

“What’s the matter, Uncle M? Were you up late last night thinking about Zoe?”

He frowned. “No, Kathryn, I wasn’t.” Not technically. He’d been awake all night thinking about what an idiot he’d been to ever let her go. Although, he rationalized as he turned on the coffee maker, Zoe had been the one who had wanted to end their relationship. She’d sat him down and tried to convince him that he could forget her. As if it were that easy to forget someone you were in love with.

Except that it appeared to have been that easy for Zoe. Not only had she not been in contact once in the last year, yesterday she’d acted like she’d never met him before. She’d called him Mr. Archer, like he was the high school shop teacher or something. He rubbed his temples. It hadn’t made any sense yesterday and it made even less sense now that he’d been awake all night thinking about it.

His nephew’s voice broke through his thoughts. “So what’s the story with you and Zoe?”

Michael busied himself pouring a cup of coffee. “There’s no story.”

“Yeah, right.”

“C’mon, Uncle M, we saw the way you looked at her,” Kathryn said. “You thought she was hot.”

He carried his mug to the table. “If by that you mean she is attractive, I certainly did notice. That does not mean there is a story.” He sat at the table and reached for a donut. “I see we’re having the breakfast of champions.”  

Josh gave one of his signature shrugs. “Easier clean up than bacon and eggs.”

Michael surveyed the kitchen. While it wasn’t up to his usual standards, it was obvious that the kids had put in a real effort to straighten up. “Looks decent in here. Thank you.”

“Are you going to hang around while Zoe’s here?” Kathryn asked.

He shook his head. How pathetic would that be? It was bad enough that his heart was still broken, he didn’t need his ego bruised on top of that. “I’m heading into the office. Will you guys be okay here without me?”

Without missing a beat, they assured him that they’d be fine. Of course they would. They had their cell phones, tablets, gaming system, and the number for pizza delivery on speed dial. So there was no reason he needed to hang around, certainly not for the privilege of watching Zoe act like she’d never seen him before.

He spent the entire drive to work wondering why Zoe was playing it this way. He’d not had a clue that Maid for Love had anything to do with her when he called to make an appointment. He’d asked around the office for cleaning company referrals and Maid for Love had come up more than several times. He’d been just as surprised to see her as she’d been to see him. But whereas his instinct had been to take her in his arms, hers had been to act like he was a stranger.  Okay. Fine.  He could play it that way.

And he did. Right up until eleven o’clock when he found himself back in his car and headed home. He cranked the radio up high, hoping that the music would drown out the voice of reason that was trying to get his attention. 'Have you no pride?' his inner voice chided. Derided was more like it. The sight of Zoe’s car still parked in front of his house was a relief, if only because it meant that this whole thing could be hashed out once and for all.

He found Zoe in the kitchen with Kathryn and Josh. All three looked up as he came in.

“Hey, Uncle M.”

Michael ignored Kathryn’s knowing grin. He didn’t even bother to look at Josh because he knew he’d see the same barely concealed amusement in his nephew’s expression. Zoe looked mildly surprised but still composed.

“I forgot something,” he blurted out. His gaze settled on his ex. “How are you, Zoe?”

She hesitated only a moment. “Good morning, Mr. Archer.”

He frowned.

“Michael.”

“Zoe, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Of course.”

He directed a pointed glance toward his niece and nephew, which they in turn ignored. “Kids, do you mind?” He motioned to the door with his head but still neither of them moved. 

“Mind what?” Josh asked.

“He wants us out,” Kathryn said. “C’mon Josh.”

Michael waited until they were out of sight, and hopefully out of earshot, before he spoke. “Zoe, what’s going on here?”

She looked around the kitchen. “I’m cleaning.”

“That’s not-” but he got no further before she cut him off.

“The kids did a great job of cleaning up after I left yesterday.” She gathered up a bottle of spray cleaner in one hand and a roll of paper towels in the other. “I’m just going to dust the living room and then I’ll be off.”

She moved to go around him but Michael held his ground. If she was going to carry on with this ridiculous charade that she didn’t know him from a stranger at the grocery store, he wasn’t about to let her get away with it. He stood his ground in the middle of the doorway. “I think we should talk about what’s going on here.”

He could have sworn that he saw a glimmer of understanding in Zoe's eyes. Beautiful blue eyes that had haunted him since she’d left.  He would wait all day if it meant she was ready to confess.

But his niece had other plans. Kathryn came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. “Can I talk to you, Uncle M?”

“Later, Kathryn,” he answered without taking his eyes from Zoe’s.

“Uh, I think now’s better,” Kathryn persisted. She tugged on his arm. “Please.”

“You’d better go, Michael.” Zoe made her move and squeezed past him. “I’ll just see to the living room.”

Exasperated, Michael sank into one of the kitchen chairs. “What is so all fire important, Kathryn, that it couldn’t wait until I was done with Zoe?”

Kathryn sat across from him. “You’re going to be done with Zoe all right if you keep acting like that. Are you crazy?”

He sure felt like it, but that wasn’t something he was about to admit to his fourteen-year-old niece. Or his sixteen-year-old nephew either, he decided as Josh joined them. “You were listening to our conversation?”

Kathryn nodded. “Lucky for you, yes. What were you trying to do?”

Hoping for some male solidarity, he turned to Josh. “What do you think?”

“I think I understand why you’re still single.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that wasn’t cool. Chicks don’t dig that kind of tough act.”

Chicks? Tough act? Michael's ego hit an all-time low.  Had the kids thought he was putting the muscle on Zoe? “No guys, you don’t understand. Zoe and I know each other.”

“Right, you met her yesterday.” Kathryn’s voice was low and soothing, as if she were talking him off a ledge. “We were here with you.”

“No, I mean we dated for over a year.” He looked between them. “We were in love.”

“You’d never guess that by the way she’s acting,” Josh said.

“Exactly.” Michael felt slightly vindicated. “I don’t know what’s going on. Yesterday she acted like she’d never seen me before.”

“You’re sure it’s the same Zoe, right?” Josh asked.

Michael was saved from having to answer that by the withering glance Kathryn shot in her brother’s direction. “She’s certainly acting like she doesn’t know you, but who broke up the relationship? You or Zoe?”

“Zoe.”

“Ouch.” Josh shook his head ruefully. “That bites.”

“Yes, it did. It does.” He turned to Kathryn, whose uncharacteristic frown marred her normally genial expression. “What are you thinking?”

“Why did Zoe run out to her car yesterday? You know, right after she got here?”

“She said she had to make an emergency call to the office.”

Kathryn’s lips curled into a slightly smug smile. “I think not.”

Josh looked between them. “What am I missing?”

Kathryn leaned in and lowered her voice. “I think Zoe remembers knowing Uncle M.”

Remembered him? She’d loved him. That much Michael was sure about, even if everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours made no sense at all.

“She’s not acting like it,” Josh said. “Why?”

“Question of the day, Josh.” Michael sighed. He should be at the office. Not sitting at home hashing over his love life like he was a heartbroken teen. “So what do I do?”

Josh shrugged but Kathryn smiled. “You play it cool. You’re not going to get anywhere with Zoe by acting like the tough guy.”

“I’m not sure I know how to play it cool.”

Kathryn grinned. “We’ll help you, won’t we, Josh?”

Josh’s eyebrows rose. “We will?”

“You bet we will.”

Michael felt a tiny rush of hope followed by a not-so tiny dash of skepticism. “You two are going to help me figure out why Zoe is acting this way?”

“Oh, yeah,” Kathryn all but crowed. “We’re not only going to figure it out, we’re going to do something about it.” She motioned for them to lean in. “I've got a plan.”

CHAPTER THREE

“So what are you going to wear tonight on your hot date?”

Zoe stepped back out of her walk-in closet so that she could see her laptop screen. Skype was a double edged sword sometimes. “It’s not a hot date, Mother.”

Her mother laughed. “That’s what it looks like from here. I can see you flinging clothes out of your closest in a desperate search for just the right knock-him-dead outfit.”

“The only thing I’ll be knocking down tonight are bowling pins.” Zoe sank on to the edge of her bed and hugged an emerald green silk blouse to her chest. “I don’t even think Michael will be there so it doesn’t matter what I wear.”

“Well then, throw on a pair of jeans and one of your comfy old t-shirts and go bowling already.”

Zoe shook her head. Being an only child was a curse. If she’d had a sibling, now would be the perfect time to bring them up to deflect the conversation off of her life and onto theirs. “Thanks, Mother. I appreciate your support.”

“Darling, the very fact that you’re making such a big deal about this, not to mention that you’re acting a little histrionic, tells me more about how you feel about Michael than your words ever did. I want you to really think about what you’re doing here.”

Zoe glanced at the screen. Her mother’s expression was so blatantly sympathetic that she had to look away. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“I think you do but I’ll spell it out anyway. It would appear that seeing Michael again has refueled your desire for him.”

“Mother, really? Who said anything about desire?”

“Don’t interrupt, sweetheart, I raised you with better manners than that.” Her mother disappeared from sight for a moment but quickly reappeared with a white Persian cat which she cuddled to her chest. “Say hi to Precious, won’t you, dear?”

Zoe groaned. “I can see you’re busy, Mother, so I’ll just let you go.”

“Sorry, darling. Where were we?”

Just about to go crazy.

“Wait, I remember,” her mother said. “We were talking about Michael and how you wish you’d never tried to make him forget you.”

“Oh, let me stop you right there. I didn’t just try to make Michael forget me, I did it. Successfully.”

Her mother wrinkled her brow. “Are you completely sure that he doesn’t have an inkling that you were his lady love?”

Lady love? Her mother must have been hitting the romance novels again. “He doesn’t remember me. Yesterday, for a moment, I thought he might have because he said he wanted to talk about what was going on.”

“Oh, that sounds promising,” her mother cooed.

“No, it turns out that he wanted to talk to me about helping him with the kids. He’d rather they not drive because they’re from a rural area and aren’t used to heavy traffic.”

“Ah, I see.”

Zoe had felt the same disappointment yesterday that she heard in her mother’s voice now. Which was curious because she didn’t want Michael to remember her. What’s done was done.

“Tell me this,” her mother interrupted her thoughts. “Why are you helping him out? You don’t run a babysitting service, or a taxi service for that matter. But you obviously agreed if you’re ferrying his niece and nephew to the bowling alley. Why?”

As if she herself knew. But she wasn’t about to admit that to her mother because it would only fuel her belief that Zoe wanted Michael back. Which she didn’t. She didn’t. Really didn’t.

Zoe made a point of glancing down at her watch. “It’s getting late so I’ll give you the short version. I just want to make certain that Michael doesn’t remember me. You know, check to make sure that I did a good job when I erased his memory.” Her words, once they were out, sounded woefully lame even to her own ears. Judging by her mother’s smirk, she agreed with Zoe’s self- assessment.

“If that’s what you want to tell yourself, who am I to disagree?” Her mother leaned forward as if to disconnect their session but stopped to share one last bit of advice. “Don’t wear the silk blouse, darling. It’s something you’d wear on a date, which you insist this isn’t. Goodbye.”

Zoe watched as her mother disappeared from the screen. She glanced down at the blouse she was clutching. A t-shirt it would be.

Once at the bowling alley, Zoe found herself enjoying Kathryn and Josh’s company. She’d never spent much time with teenagers before, and apparently somewhere along the line she’d internalized a few negative stereotypes without realizing it. But the kids were great; polite, fun, energetic, and hell-bent on beating her bowling score.

Zoe was glad she’d forgone the silk blouse. The t-shirt was much easier to maneuver in, neither of the kids appeared to care what she wore, and there was no sign or mention of Michael.

“That’s a strike guys, write it down.” Exhilarated to have finally bowled a decent frame, Zoe whirled around triumphantly and came face-to-face with a man’s broad chest. A chest she recognized. “Michael.”