A/N: So, I wrote this right after last season's finale and long before the new season started. It was one possible way I saw the whole thing going. Obviously, the show went a different direction. I prefer the show's version, since it kept Zoe and Wade together the whole time...but I enjoyed writing this in the break between seasons. Enjoy. R&R! Thanks! -Mac
Disclaimer: I don't own Hart of Dixie.
All or Nothing Predicament
I.
After George leaves, Zoe has to tell Wade the development. She can tell he's angry and disappointed, but to his credit, he keeps his composure. She gives him privacy to gather his clothes and get dressed. She stands in the hall, biting her nails and replaying the last hour of her life as if that would be enough to untangle the mangled mess of thoughts in her head. Wade emerges from her room, fully clothed, with a frown on his face. He steps forward into her personal space. Zoe panics for a minute, thinking he might kiss her and not knowing what to do if he did, but he pulls back.
"I guess this is over," Wade says, meeting her eyes. Zoe realizes she has seen those kicked puppy dog eyes on Wade before, but never noticed what they meant before. "Since you're with George now and all."
"I'm not with George, Wade," Zoe responds. "Nothing is definite. He was supposed to get married tonight. Nothing is set in stone yet."
"It might as well be though, right doc?"
"I don't know," Zoe shrugs. "I just need time to think about everything that happened tonight."
Wade nods, "Well, I guess I'll see you when you're done thinking...or not. Goodnight, Zoe."
"Goodnight, Wade."
Wade goes home and curses George Tucker for his god damned bad timing. Zoe returns to her room, sits down on her unmade bed that still smells like Wade, and longs for the certainty of a short time earlier when George was marrying Lemon and Zoe was set with having to move on. George calls the next day, but Zoe doesn't have an answer for him-so, confused, he has to wait too.
They stay in this kind of love triangle limbo for days.
II.
Zoe chooses George, because she sees it like this: she'll never be able to make a go of it with anyone, least of all Wade, if she doesn't see where the thing with George goes. She calls him a week after his near miss with nuptials and they talk about where they stand with each other. They make the decision to take it slow and see what happens. After she agreed to dinner with him the following day, he gets off the phone and then Zoe is left with letting Wade down. It's a very difficult thing to do and she catches herself saying "I'm sorry" a few times more than is probably necessary, but he seems to understand that when she let him in that night, she never imagined that George would ever be an option again. They agree to stay friends and then, recovering some of his trademark Kinsella cheekiness, Wade smirks and offers her his services should it go south with Goldenboy later down the road. Wade pretends he's okay and Zoe pretends she doesn't see how upset he really is. She looks forward to seeing George in person the next night, now that he's actually hers, she won't let guilt about Wade jeopardize that.
III.
Given the circumstances of his split with Lemon, dining in Bluebell is not in either of their best interests. George makes a reservation at a restaurant outside of town instead, and he drives Zoe away from anyone named Breeland or Kinsella.
They have a semi private table in the back of the restaurant. Around them, unfamiliar faces dine on their own meals. Zoe and George talk over a bottle of wine while they wait for their food, carefully avoiding any sensitive topics. They are quieter after their food arrives, but Zoe catches George smiling at her once or twice and it sets her heart racing. She would have liked it if they were able to have a deeper, more meaningful conversation, but overall it was still a perfect first date.
The car ride back to Bluebell is quiet, but the occupants are content. Halfway there, George reaches over and takes Zoe's hand in his. He gives it a gentle squeeze and he takes his eyes off the road momentarily to smile at her. Zoe thinks about what might happen when they arrive at her place. George will get out of the car, open her door for her, help her out of her car, and walk her to her front door. Once there they will look into each others eyes and George will give her a goodnight kiss. But what then?
Slow and steady, Zoe thinks. Slow and steady.
IV.
While Zoe and George are on their date, Wade sits at home, brooding over a beer or two-alright, a case of beer filched from Lavon's refrigerator. He sees George drive up, all gentleman-like, to call on Zoe. The two drive off into the proverbial sunset, or rather the literal sunset, because George has picked her up fairly early for a dinner date. Wade assumes it's so that he can sneak Zoe out of town and out of reach of Lemon and her little spies. Whatever they are driving off to do, Wade sits on his couch and sulks.
He is still sulking when Lavon comes in and drops a notebook onto his lap. Wade jolts in surprise. He had been super focused on not picturing all the things that could be happening between Zoe and George at that very moment that he wasn't even aware Lavon had entered the building. Wade recovers in time to not spill any of the beer that was conveniently in his hand. With his free hand, he flips to the first page of the notebook and then he looks up at Lavon with an eyebrow raised.
Lavon slides his hands into the pockets of his slacks and says, "I thought you might need that, given the occasion."
"My list of reasons to hate Zoe Hart?" Wade replies as his eyes scan over the page.
"Yes, sir," Lavon nods. "I figured you were feeling a little low, given the quantity of alcohol you pilfered from my kitchen and that this might do you some good."
"The thought was sweet, Mister Mayor," Wade offers Lavon a half hearted smile, "but it's kind of hard to think on all the things I hate about Zoe when a good number of them are also reason why I...well...love her," Wade's face scrunchs up in a look of disgust. "Dear Lord, did I really just say that out loud?"
Wade shakes his head and chugs the rest of his beer down in one go. It's not enough, so he goes to fish another one out of the case. As he's popping open his own, he offers one to Lavon, but Lavon waves him off.
"No thanks, Wade," Lavon says. "I'm gonna head back, but can I give you one piece of advice before I go?"
"Why not? Wade shrugs and begins to sip off his fresh beer, "It's not like saying no will stop you from saying it anyway."
"Tell Zoe how you feel about her."
Wade points at Lavon, "Zoe Hart has made her decision. Ain't nothing I can say to change that stubborn ass mind of hers."
"Zoe made her choice without all the vital information. George is telling her he has feelings for her, feelings strong enough to call of his wedding to a girl he's been with for practically all his life," Lavon begins, "And what are you telling her? Hmm? That you want to sleep with her just to get it out of your system? That you're more than happy to just be a rebound to help her get over George? Honestly, boy, it's no wonder she went the direction she did."
"I'm seriously regretting telling you all the gritty details of my conversation with Zoe," Wade says.
"Yeah, well that's not the only thing you'll be seriously regretting by the end of tonight. I'll tell you that," Lavon mutters as he leaves the way he came.
After Lavon leaves, Wade looks over the couple pages of his handwritten list before closing the notebook and tossing it aside. He slumps back on his couch and continues his attempts to drown his sorrows in alcohol. He dozes off, or so he assumes, because the next thing he knows it's much later than he thought it would be. He walks out onto his porch to get some air and he can see George's car pulling up in front of Zoe's. If he listens closely, he thinks he can hear the two laughing as they get out of the car. It's not a good sign. Wade shakes his head. He can't watch any further. George, being the gentleman type that he is will probably give Zoe a nice kiss goodnight and go his merry way after promising to call her later-a call he'll actually make. Wade goes back into his house and crawls into his own bed, alone. He falls asleep waiting for the sound of George driving away.
When Wade wakes up in the morning, George's car is still parked in front of Zoe's. If it was any other woman, Wade would have offered George a wink and a congratulations. As it was, Wade just wants to punch him in his pretty boy face.
V.
Zoe isn't planning on pulling George into the house that night, but once they're there and his lips are on hers, she kind of wants nothing else. Yes, they had agreed to take it slow, but they are two consenting adults, and there is nothing wrong with spending the night on the first date. She isn't a hormonal teenage girl trying to guard her virtue. She has every right to invite George into her bed and he doesn't complain when she asks him in.
She certainly doesn't regret it afterward. George is romantic and sweet. He is gentle, reassuring and thoughtful. Being with him is nice. It's not quite mindblowing, but it's still great. She's pretty sure it would have been even better if she hadn't been so distracted by thoughts about whether or not this is what George was like with Lemon and mentla comparisons between George's technique and Wade's. It's fun and she enjoys herself-and George enjoys himself-but it's not fun, fun. It's not giggles and giddy butterflies, it just is. It's nice and that's good enough. It's as perfect as she has hoped for. The next time would be even better.
She wouldn't want it to be a purely physical experience-like it was with Wade-anyway.
In the morning, she wakes up in George's arms and she's happy. She still has the wrath of Lemon Breeland waiting to come down on her head, but she feels like it will be worth it if her mornings start like this one. It's probably a little bit creepy of her, but she spends the first few minutes of being awake watching George sleep. It doesn't last too long because soon enough his eyes are blinking as he starts to wake up and focus on her face, hovering over his.
"Good morning," George murmurs.
Zoe smiles, "Morning."
Zoe thinks the polite thing to do would be to offer George breakfast, but as it's been proven that she doesn't quite know her way around a frying pan, George has to join her in Lavon's kitchen. Luckily, the kitchen is empty when they slip in and they start making breakfast together. Every so often, George will lean over and sneak a kiss in between frying up bacon and scrambling eggs. They don't hear the sound of approaching footsteps over the sound of sizzling in the pan.
They do hear Lavon's voice raise up and then abruptly cut off when he sees who is in his kitchen. "Well something smells delicious, Wade. Did you think about what-"
"Uh, morning, Lavon," Zoe says and offers him a little wave. "If you're hungry, there's enough for you to have some."
Lavon frowns, "Zoe, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure," Zoe slides away from George and joins Lavon on the other side of the kitchen. "What's up?"
"In private," Lavon says and pulls Zoe around the corner out of sight of the kitchen.
The scene feels eerily familiar to Zoe, "What is it Lavon?"
"I can't have the two of you here, Zoe," Lavon says. "I'm serious about this."
"Look, I know you and George are still ont he outs, but-"
"This isn't about me and George. This is about you and Wade," Lavon shakes his head. "I told you about messing around with his head, but what's done is done. I'm just not gonna let it go any further. The last thing Wade needs is to come in here to see you and George Tucker acting all cute, like what y'all are doing ain't hurting anybody."
"Lavon-"
"Just take your food, take George and get back to the carriage house, before Wade sees you," Lavon says.
Zoe nods, "Okay."
When she heads back to the kitchen, Lavon calls after her, "And leave me a plate."
As they are walking back to her place with their breakfast all packed up, George turns to Zoe and asks, "What was Lavon talking about when he said 'you and Wade?'"
"You heard that?" Zoe responds.
"It's not like you went very far and no one exactly lowered their voices," George says. "What did he mean by it, Zoe?"
While Wade knows both halves of the story, Zoe never told George about her brief trist with Wade-for good reason. She doesn't want it to matter, but perhaps it does. Especially if George and her are supposed to have a real relationship in Bluebell with everyone involved watching, she has to tell him the truth.
"The night you were supposed to marry Lemon, Wade and I got trapped together in this barn because of the storm," Zoe explains. "Things were said and one thing led to another-"
"You and Wade slept together in a barn?" George raises an eyebrow.
"No!" Zoe explains, "We got out of the barn, we got a ride home and we slept together at my place instead of going to your wedding."
George frowns, "How could you not tell me this before?"
"It wasn't supposed to mean anything," Zoe says. "it was supposed to be just a one time thing, that's all. Get it out of our systems and be done with it. Now, it seems Wade might not have been honest about how he feels."
"You should have told me," George shakes his head and walks a few long stides ahead of Zoe, putting distance between them. "So, he was there when I-?"
"Yes," Zoe nods.
"God, Zoe," George scowls. "You said you would wait for me."
"You were getting married, George," Zoe says. "We've only been together a day. You can't get mad at me about something I did before, not when a week ago you were supposed to be marrying another woman."
George sighs, "You're right. I'm sorry. I just thought there might be at least a few people who might be okay with us being together. Guess I was wrong."
"We can do this, George. You and me," Zoe says, "but we have to put the past behind us."
"Start fresh," George agrees.
Zoe smiles as George closes the distance between them again. He gently takes her into his arms, careful to keep their containers of breakfast foods out of the way. He leans down and kisses her softly.
Zoe pulls back a moment later, "Our breakfast is getting cold."
George laughs lightly and takes her hand to guide her the rest of the way to her place. So the morning hasn't gone as perfectly as Zoe would have hoped, but she decides that it is the right way to start their relationship if they want it to be something special.
VI.
Their relationship isn't a secret, nor do they pretend that it could be. They just do their best to keep their private life private for the first few months. They don't do anything really couple like or affectionate in public out of respect to those who might see. Zoe and George are mostly together behind closed doors-at least for awhile or until the people of Bluebell can get used to them being together. The fact is even they are still getting used to each other. For George, being with Zoe is much different than being with Lemon. As such, he is a much different George than the one he was when he was with Lemon. For Zoe, George is practically her first real relationship. The guy she was with in New York barely counts for anything, now that she's seen what real love is like. For her, it's all new territory for her as well. That's alright, though, because they're crossing that road together and taking it as it comes.
VII.
Wade swears off women. Now that he has admitted to himself, and Lavon, that his feelings for Zoe Hart go much deeper than he'd like, he needs the time and space to move on. He cannot do that if he fills his bed with a long line of mediocre substitutes. He respects the power of the rebound, he truly does, but he doesn't want to rebound from Zoe, not really. He wants to recover fromt he damage she did to him, but that does not mean a return to his old ways. The best way for him to show that his feelings for Zoe were since would be to improve himself to the kind of man Zoe could have chosen over George Tucker.
He tries to build a real friendship with Zoe and treat her like he should have all along. He avoids making trouble for her and George, by making himself scarce when they're together. When he finds himself alone with Zoe on the plantation, around town or on the few occasions he injures himself and requires her services, he is friendly. Not flirty or suggestive, just friendly. He does this in hopes that Zoe will be able to see that he cares about her in a way that is real and meaningful.
Maybe one day, Zoe and George will break up, and she'll see Wade as a viable option down the road. Or maybe they won't break up, maybe Wade will be a guest at their wedding one day, but he'll do so as one of Zoe's closest friends. He feels bad about it, but he really does hope for the first scenario.
VIII.
George makes a habit of bringing Zoe lunch and eating with her in her office a couple times a week. Brick didn't like it much in the beginning, but he doesn't make snide comments at the same frequency anymore so Zoe takes that as an improvement. She still keeps her office door closed as a precaution.
It is one lunch time date such as this that the cloud of blind happiness Zoe has been riding on comes to a grinding stop. George and she finish eating lunch and she walks him out. Out front of the building, George leans down and kisses her goodbye for the first time out of the safe confines of her office. When he pulls back, Lemon is standing on the sidewalk in front of them, waiting to enter the door their public display of affection is blocking.
"I was just leaving," George says. He avoids looking at Lemon and keeps his head down as he passes, "Good afternoon, Lemon."
He waits for her softly spoken, "afternoon, George," before heading back to his own office.
Lemon doesn't take her eyes off of Zoe and she remains standing in the same spot, even after George leaves.
"Lemon, I know that must have been difficult for you to see," Zoe starts.
Lemon smiles, "Oh, hun, you're quite mistaken. I'm...perfectly fine with this thing that George and you have going. Now you're looking at me like I'm a crazy person, but it's true. I'll tell you why. It's like this. The night I was supposed to marry George, he came to me and he told me that he loved me but that I deserved someone who loved me with his whole heart. He couldn't marry me because he had feelings for you too. Here's how I see it: it's not good enough for me to only have half of his heart, but he's just dandy with you only having half of it. So maybe one day George will come back to me or maybe you two will be together forever. Either way, George seems to think that I deserve better from him than you do. I could hardly be jealous of you, Zoe Hart."
"I-" Zoe stammers.
Lemon continues to smile and pats Zoe on the shoulder as she walks past, "I'll just be in to see Daddy, now. You have a good day, Dr. Hart."
Zoe obsesses over what Lemon said for the rest of the day. George has a lot to do on a case, so he's working late. Instead of spending her evening with him like she usually does, she goes to the Rammer Jammer for dinner and a drink. Lavon is sitting at the bar, so she joins him.
"Evening, Zoe," Lavon says.
"Hey Lavon," Zoe reciprocates without looking up at him. She's still frowning as she thinks over all Lemon said for the hundred thousandth time. She signals Wade and he walks over from the other end of the bar.
Wade leans against the bar across from her, "The usual, Doc?"
"Please," Zoe nods.
"Coming right up," Wade moves to fix her drink.
"Something wrong, Zoe?" Lavon asks.
"Hold that thought," Zoe holds up a finger as Wade puts her drink on the bar. She takes a moment to gulp it down, "Another, and don't be stingy with that stuff."
"Whoa there, Doc," Wade frowns in concern. "Use your words and spare your liver."
Zoe turns to Lavon, "Did Lemon ever talk to you about when George called off the wedding?"
"She told me a few things, but she was kind of distraught, so not all she said was recognizable as the English language," Lavon answers. "Why are you suddenly curious?"
"Trouble in paradise?" Wade raises an eyebrow. Lavon shoots hiim a look and he shrugs.
"No. George and I are fine," Zoe says. "At least, I think George and I are fine."
"Okay, Zoe, just tell us what's going on," Lavon says.
"Did Lemon tell you what George said exactly?" Zoe asks, meeting Lavon's eyes directly.
"She said he told her he couldn't marry her because he had feelings for you. That he couldn't go through with it when his whole-"
"-heart wasn't hers?" Zoe finishes.
"Something along those lines," Lavon shrugs.
Zoe shakes her head and runs her hands back through her hair, "Can I get that refill, please Wade?"
"Uh, sure," Wade scrambles to refill her glass. "Is there a particular reason for the interrigation? I mean, if everything is still copacetic between you and George, why all the questions?"
"Lemon said something today," Zoe starts and pauses to drink her drink before continuing, "and I was wondering if she was telling the truth or if she was just trying to cause problems."
"And?"
"And," Zoe finishes her drink. "I have to go."
Zoe stands and wobbles on her feet for a second. Lavon puts a hand on her arm to steady her, "You alright there, Zoe?"
"I'm fine," Zoe nods.
"Look Zoe," Wade says, "I'm off in twenty minutes, so let me drive you home."
"I said, I'm fine," Zoe repeats.
"Humor me?" Wade asks. "It will give me peace of mind knowing you got home safely."
Zoe looks at Wade and sees the genuine concern on his face that mirrors that on Lavon's. These are the two friends that she can truly count on, so she surrenders. She slumps back down on her bar stool, waits for Wade to finish up behind the bar and follows him out when he's done. She spends the short drive with her forehead pressed against the passenger side window. Wade is considerate enough to not ask her any questions or try to make any mundane small talk. He parks in front of her place and turns off the engine. She's still facing the window, but she can tell that he's turned toward her.
"You know, Zoe, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here," Wade says. "Whatever is going on in your head right now, I know it's got you down, so if you need someone, I'll be there, anytime, okay?"
Zoe turns her head to look at him, "Thank you, Wade. You're a good friend. You're a good guy," Zoe laughs lightly. "I never thought that would come out of my mouth when I first came to Bluebell, but you proved me wrong and I'm glad you did."
"Thanks for saying that, Zoe," Wade says.
"If I do need someone to talk to, you'll be the one I'll call," Zoe says as she pushes open the passenger door and gets out.
Once she is in her bedroom, Zoe crawls into her bed and lays in the dark to think. Zoe isn't sure how she feels about it if what Lemon said was true. She does know she needs to figure it out before she sees George. Sleep creeps up on her while she is still conflicted. Her dreams play out the debate as she tosses and turns in her bed. In the morning, she is still not certain, but she knows she has to talk to George. She hopes he can take away her doubts, but she also doubts that he can.
IX.
The knock on her door startles her out of her thoughts. When Zoe opens the door, George is on the other side with coffee cups in hand. He smiles at her and she almost wants to forget everything that Lemon said. It's not quite enough though.
"I thought we could have a nice morning together before work, since I couldn't come last night," George says as he steps through the doorway.
George moves to kiss her and she steps back, "George, I need to talk to you about something."
"Is this about yesterday? I never would have if I had known Lemon was right there," George says as he puts down the coffees. "Did she say something? I know she can be mean sometimes-"
"She did say something-it wasn't mean, exactly, well it was a little but mostly it just made me think." Zoe shakes her head as her thoughts get jumbled.
"Why don't you start with what she said?"
"No," Zoe says. "Let's start with what you said. When you called off the wedding, did you tell her she deserved more that half your heart?"
"I-" George frowns. "I did say something like that. I told her it wasn't right to marry her if I had any kind of feelings for someone else."
"But it was alright for you to start a relationship with me when you still have feelings for Lemon?"
"That's different, Zoe. I wanted to see where this would go-"
"-and if it went nowhere, you could go back to Lemon with a clear conscience," Zoe finishes.
"No, that's not what I meant," George shakes his head. He runs a hand over his hair. "I don't think that's what I meant."
"George, be honest with me here," Zoe sighs. "Does any part of you still want to be with Lemon?"
"Lemon and I have history, there's always going to be a part of me that loves her," George answers.
"I didn't ask if you loved her at all, I asked if you want to be with her," Zoe corrects. "There's a difference, George. You almost married her, I could understand if there were residual feelings, but if there's even a part of you that wants her back...that's not the same-"
"Zoe-"
"-because I deserve the same as Lemon. You should want to be with me one hundred percent. If there is a part of your heart that wants to be with Lemon, then..."
"Then what, Zoe?" George asks softly.
"Then I deserve better. I deserve someone who loves me with his whole heart, same as Lemon, and if that's not you, then maybe where you belong right now isn't with either of us."
George's mouth opens like he is going to respond, but nothing comes out.
Zoe lets out a breath, "I was afraid of that. You would have argued if I was wrong, which means that I was right."
"I'm sorry, Zoe."
"Me too."
George leaves and Zoe is single again. As she closes the door after him, she sees the coffees getting cold on the side table and she blinks back tears. Without giving it much thought, she walks across to Wade's and knocks on his door. He opens the door looking like he just crawled out of bed.
Zoe fights back the urge to burst into tears, "I could use a friend right now."
Wade opens the door wider and gestures her inside. Zoe sits down on his couch and he sits beside her, leaving adequate space between them. He waits for her to talk. It takes awhile as she gathers her thoughts and tries to form the words.
"I broke up with George," Zoe finally says. "He, uh, he still has a part of him that wants Lemon and I deserve better than that, don't I?"
"Of course you do, Zoe," Wade responds and shifts closer to put an arm around her shoulders.
Zoe leans against him, "You don't think I'm being stupid?"
"Well Doc, I'm a little bias, but no I think you made the right choice," Wade says. "Though you probably shouldn't be asking the guy whose been waiting fo you to be single again so he can have a shot."
"Wade, I've been single for all of five minutes," Zoe shakes her head. "You aren't really-"
"Give me some credit, Doc. I know you're not looking for a rebound or anything this time," Wade chuckles.
"Good," Zoe says, "because you deserve better than what you offered me in the barn. You shouldn't have to be anyone's rebound or the person someone uses to get over someone else. You have a good heart, Wade."
"I'm good with just being the friend you need," Wade says. "I'm just warning you that you're less likely to get an honest opinion and more likely to get me to agree with anything you have to say that's bad about George Tucker."
Zoe laughs lightly, "That's fine. Maybe you can rid me of the misguided assumption that he's the perfect man."
"I'll do my best."
Wade hugs Zoe tighter and she lets a few tears fall. She has learned a lesson from the time she spent with George. As much as she wishes that she could have kept George in the process, she knows it's for the best. After all she had learned the past few days, she thinks maybe what she had with George wasn't really true love but the illusion of it, that she believed in because she was so happy to be getting what she wanted for the first time in a long time. She just needs time to figure it all out, to figure herself out.
X.
It's months later and Zoe finally feels that she is completely over George. She finds she is able to enjoy being single when she isn't ppining over someone she can't have. She spends her time working and with the friends she's collected in Bluebell. She is happy and it's for more than just getting the guy. She's even able to genuinely be happy for George when he eventually decides to get back together with Lemon. Life goes on.
One evening, Zoe is enjoying a quiet night in when all of her lights go out. She groans and her initial reaction is still to be angry, but she reigns it in. This has become a silly way that she and Wade signal to each other when the other is needed. It's not like the first time she did it on purpose-they use it for much more innocent reasons Zoe usually calls him over when she needs help with something or wants to talk and Wade generally calls her when he's bored and wants entertainment. They're still just friends, though Zoe can't deny that a repeat of the first intentional power outage hasn't crossed her mind once or twice.
Zoe slips on a more appropriate shirt and then walks across to Wade's. He opens the door for her before she even reaches it. He steps aside to let her inside. Taking in the candles and bottle of wine on the table by his couch, Zoe frowns.
"Are you trying to seduce me, Wade Kinsella?" Zoe asks lightly.
"Nah, I wanted someone to celebrate with," Wade answers.
Zoe sits down on the couch and pulls her legs up under her, "What are we celebrating?"
"Let me pour you a glass and then I'll tell you," Wade says as he sits beside her. He pours them each a glass and hands one to Zoe.
"Feeling fancy tonight, Wade?"
"Well, I would have served you one of my soon-to-be signature cocktails, but I'm not trying to get you drunk," Wade replies.
Zoe's eyes widened, "Soon-to-be? Do you mean?"
Wade smiles widely, "You got it. I've got the loan and the place all settled. There's still a lot of stuff to be done, so it will be awhile before the place opens, but it's official. I've got my own bar."
"That's amazing, Wade," Zoe exclaims and, mindful to put down her wine first, throws her arms around him. "I'm so happy for you."
Wade hugs her back, "That was exactly the reaction I was hoping for."
"Well, this is exciting. How else would I react?" Zoe says, puling back slightly. "Things couldn't be better for you."
"I could think of one thing that could make it better," Wade says.
Zoe sighs, "You said you weren't trying to secuce me."
"I'm not," Wade shakes his head. "I just think it's about time I told you something that I've been keeping to myself for a long time."
"What is it, Wade?"
"I'm in lvoe with you, Zoe Hart," Wade says. "At first, I didn't believe I could possibly have real feelings for anone, least of all you. I missed so many opportunities to be honest with you because I wasn't able to be honest with myself. Then you were hung up on George, and I couldn't compete with that. I wasn't the kind of guy you wanted to be with, and you chose George, so that was obvious. Things are different now though. I'm better, I've tried to be better, to be the kind of man you could want. And I still think there's something here, if you'd be willing to try."
"When I chose George, I wasn't choosing him over you, you know that right?" Zoe frowns. "I had wanted him for so long that once he opened the door, it wouldn't have worked with anyone else until I tried with him. I never would have been able to admit that there's something between us, if I didn't try with George first."
"So you do think there's something between us?" Wade raises an eyebrow. He takes Zoe's hands in his and meets her eyes. "Look, Zoe, you asked me once if you deserved a man who loves you with all their heart, and you do. I could be that man. you're the only one who has ever made me feel like this, so if you're in it, I'm in it, one hundred percent."
Zoe tilts her head and smiles, "I would like to try. I'm all in."
Wade grins, "You won't regret it, Doc."
Wade kisses her ten and Zoe feels it to her finger tips. He winds his fingers through her hair and deepens the kiss. Eventually, they make their way to Wade's bed. Much like the first time, it's playful-light laughs and smiles. There are giddy butterflies in her stomach. It's fun and mindblowing and she's only thinking about Wade. Zoe sees that as a very good sign.
Afterwards, when they are tangled in his sheets together, Zoe says, "You were trying to seduce me, just admit it."
"I had high hopes," Wade laughs and kisses her again. "I figured I would go for all or nothing and see what happened."