A/N: So, the wife showed up, and y'all know that's going to make for drama, however, please be assured that the Zade will always win through in the end in my fics ;) Thanks again for all those lovely reviews, folks :)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 8
"I am going on a date."
Lavon looked so stunned as he glanced up from his paperwork, Zoe felt like she ought to be offended somehow, and yet, she was okay with it. She supposed it was sort of shocking for her to be making such an announcement. After all, she had been really, really adamant about her no dating in Bluebell policy. It was just things had changed lately. Well, one thing had changed. Not that she was even going to let herself think that about.
"So, anyway, I need outfit advice," she told Lavon, turning a slow circle so he saw her dress from every angle. "What do you think?"
"Seriously, Z?" he asked, seeming to be visibly wincing when she finally faced him head on again. "Come on now, you know I love to help you out, but dresses? Ain't really my thing. Besides, whatever you wear, you always look great, you know that."
It was a sweet compliment and she smiled on hearing it, sure at least that when it came to Lavon she didn't have to worry it was just a throwaway nicety. He had to be one of the most honest and decent men she had ever met in her life. The only problem was, he was so much the big brother type to her, she could never have considered dating him, not even for a second.
No, it was Wade Kinsella she had gone ahead and fallen for, which made her some kind of stupid, Zoe was certain on that, and never more so than when she first heard he was married. She started wondering then if they were ever really friends at all. After all, who didn't tell their so-called best friend they had a wife the whole freaking time?!
"So, am I supposed to guess who this date of yours is with?" Lavon asked then, backing his chair up from the desk and getting to his feet, "or should I just go ahead and assume that you and Wade finally-"
"I am not going out with Wade!" she denied it hotly, wishing she hadn't been quite so quick or loud when she realised Lavon had his hands held up as if surrendering. "I'm just... I'm not," she confirmed in a more reasonable tone. "I don't date married men, Lavon."
"Well, I can understand that," he agreed, moving to perch on the front edge of the desk next to her, his arms folded across his chest, "but you know that Wade ain't exactly a married man, right? I mean, sure, turns out he and Tansy never did get around to making the end of their relationship official, but they ain't-"
"I know the story." Zoe confirmed before he could tell it again. "Addy told me. They got married four years ago, on a shrimp boat in international waters. Apparently, there was a lot of alcohol involved."
"From what I heard, yeah," said Lavon with a grin, immediately wiping the smile away on noting that Zoe didn't find the situation at all funny. "Anyhow, Wade and Tansy, they fought like the Hatfields and McCoys the whole four months they tried to live together, and then, that was that, marriage over, case closed. We all figured they was divorced long since. Nobody knew they never got the paperwork signed off."
"Wade knew," said Zoe bluntly. "He knew he was married and he still... Not that he and I..."
"Aww, come on now, Z. Wade didn't keep some big dirty secret from you," Lavon assured her. "He and Tansy were never serious. I'm not sayin' what they did was right, but it's not like they were married in any real way. It was a drunken mistake, like somethin' that happens in Vegas. It didn't mean anything."
Zoe knew he was probably right, but it didn't really make her feel any better. Part of her reason for waiting so long to get close to Wade was his reputation with women. He was the love 'em and leave 'em type and Zoe knew for certain that she did not want to be loved and left. If she was going to take a chance on Wade, it had to be when he was prepared to commit in some way. She wasn't looking for a marriage proposal or anything, but certainly a little monogamy. That was probably a tough ask from a man who had been routinely cheating on his wife for the past four years. Yes, the circumstances of his marriage were kind of crazy, but still.
"Why are we even talking about Wade?" she asked then, shaking her head and resetting the conversation before it went any further down a road that was only going to make her sad and frustrated. "I was telling you about my date, not with Wade, but with a real Southern gentleman by the name of Dr Judson Lyons," she told Lavon proudly.
"Oh, we love Jud," her friend smiled widely. "He treats Burt Reynolds. There's not too many vets out there who make house calls for alligators."
"Well, that's great that you know him and think he's a nice guy. Sometimes, my judgement can be a little off with people. Guy people. Dates, you know?" she explained. "I guess I don't really have a lot of experience in this area, but Judson seems like a really nice guy. He came into the practice to thank me for how I patched up Bo, the mascot pig, and he was just so handsome and he had this amazing smile, plus he's a doctor like me, which is cool. Okay, so for animals not people, but still. Somebody has to treat the poor animals, right?"
"Right." Lavon nodded, smiling yet. "Well, let me be the first to say that I'm real happy to see you embracing the dating scene of Bluebell at last," he told her kindly. "I think it'll do you the world of good to get out there and have some fun with a real nice guy like our Jud. He'll treat you right, I'll bet."
"I hope so." Zoe smiled back at her friend. "Tomorrow night, he's taking me to a real restaurant for our first date. I never had that before."
Lavon looked more than a little shocked, a question on his lips that he never got to ask as the doorbell rang. He got up fast to go see who was calling, though not before telling Zoe their conversation wasn't over yet.
"That's what you think," she muttered to herself, heading for the back door to let herself out.
It would have been way too embarrassing to have to admit she hadn't been on a first date in eight years. That she and her ex had been together for six years, and that was just a study session that turned into a hook up that turned into six years. Zoe really was a little behind when it came to dating, another reason why she was probably better off not getting mixed up with the very experienced Wade Kinsella. Sure, they could be friends, maybe, as and when Zoe found a way to get past the part where her so-called bestie kept a wife from her these past few months, but that was all. Zoe could date in Bluebell, but she wouldn't be dating Wade.
"Judson is my guy," she said to herself, walking with a purpose towards her carriagehouse.
A wolf whistle stopped her dead in her tracks, about twenty feet from her front door. Zoe turned to see Wade just then getting out of his car, pushing his aviators up on top of his head as he gave her an appreciative look.
"Well, hell, doc, I didn't know you owned a dress like that," he told her, with a salacious smile.
"Why would you?" she called back, determined not to react to his obvious pleasure at seeing her dressed in such a way. "I only dress this way for dates."
With that she turned away and continued walking up onto the porch of the carriagehouse. She stopped by the front door and turned back.
"Maybe if you ask your wife, she'll dress up nice so you can take her somewhere... suitable," she said sharply, then walked right into her house, slamming the door behind her.
Zoe cursed herself the second she was alone. She didn't need to be so mean to Wade. After all, what had he really done wrong? Sure, they flirted a lot and kissed a couple of times too, but they weren't together. They went to dinner once, but it hadn't been a date. They had never been on a date, never slept together, and she had made it more than clear to him that she only wanted to be friends, despite feeling differently sometimes. Wade owed her nothing, so why was she now being such a bitch to him, just because he had a wife she never knew about?
"Doesn't matter," she told herself, moving away from the door and further into the house.
Standing in front of the mirror, she looked herself over in her little black dress and decided she liked what she saw. Judson would be impressed with her looks, as well as her skills as a doctor (which he had already observed) and her mind which she would use to its greatest effect on their date tomorrow night. Judson Lyons wouldn't know what hit him, and Wade Kinsella? Well, he could just do whatever he wanted. Zoe Hart didn't care anymore.
"Wade? Wade! What in the heck is wrong with you?"
The look on Tansy's face showed genuine concern and Wade felt bad for making her worry like that. She really had been a damn good wife to him these past four years. Undemanding and real flexible on the whole fidelity thing, just like they said in the office with Tucker a while back when they signed the divorce papers. The problem wasn't Tansy, no way, so he supposed he really ought to tell her who was.
"Uh, I don't really know how to explain this in a way that's not gonna sound weird," he told her, as they took a seat on the nearest bench together, Wade rubbing his forehead that ached some before he even really started talking. "So, that electricity-hogging neighbour of mine that I told you about..."
"Dr Hart," Tansy cut in immediately. "Sure, our paths crossed. Seems a little uptight to me."
"Uh, yeah, I guess she can seem that way sometimes," Wade was forced to agree, "but a lot of times, she's not like that at all. We get along pretty good. You know, bein' neighbours and all, that's a good thing, and come on now, who doesn't wanna get along with a doctor? I mean, those kinda skills can be useful, and she's a decent person, even if she is from New York-,"
"Wade," said Tansy, cutting him off once again, but he couldn't mind so much, because even he knew he was starting to ramble a little. "You like her, don't you?"
The scoffing sound that left his mouth was automatic, unstoppable, but it was as fake as any noise he ever made his whole life and they both knew it. There was no lying to Tans. They knew each other too long and too well for that.
"So maybe I do like her," he said grudgingly. "And maybe it's driving me insane, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Tans. It ain't like it was with me and you, or me and any other woman I ever... well, you know how I am."
"She's real different, alright," Tansy agreed with a sigh. "And you know I don't wanna talk outta place when you like her so much, but she seems a little... well, like I said before, uptight. Maybe a little superior, kinda. I don't want you gettin' mad at me for sayin' so."
"Like I would." Wade rolled his eyes. "I know you well enough, Tans. Ain't a mean bone in that crazy hot body o' yours," he said, laughing when she shoved his shoulder for the way he phrased it. "Hey, believe me, I know there are parts to the way Zoe is that make her real different to most folks around here. Maybe that's what I like so much about her, I don't know for sure. All I know is, I feel for her more than I felt for anybody in a long time. That seem crazy to you?"
"Not necessarily." Tansy shook her head. "That's kinda how it is for me right now, with Colt. Of course, it's okay for me, 'cause when I started to like him, he liked me right back, and now, we're in love and gonna get married," she said happily, smile fading in an instant as she stared at Wade. "I'm guessin' Dr Zoe Hart doesn't exactly have those same feelins for you that you have for her?"
"I guess not too," Wade sighed, slumping down further on the bench. "Not that I ever asked, but see, she has this whole no dating policy. At least, that's what she said from the second she got here. No dating in Bluebell, since she only plans on staying a year and all. She said she just wanted to be friends and, weird as it sounds, I tried to stick to that. Sure, we flirt sometimes, and that is a two-way street, believe me, plus I don't mind lettin' her know my door is always open if she ever wanted to..."
Tansy rolled her eyes. "Like any woman needs a reminder of what you're offering, Wade Kinsella. You're not exactly subtle."
"Hey, you love that about me."
"Yes, I do," she agreed, laughter in her voice, "and I always will, but you and me doesn't work. We already figured that out. Me and Colt, on the other hand, that's something I plan to make last forever. And you know, just 'cause Zoe isn't so sure she wants to date right now, she could just as easy change her mind."
"That's the kicker, ain't it?" said Wade, making a face. "She just did decide to start datin', only it ain't me she came callin' on. Seems the vet, Judson Lyons, he asked her out, and from what Lavon tells me, Zoe couldn't be more excited to go to dinner with that pet protector. I can't compete with that."
"Says who?" That question made Wade frown pretty hard as he looked to Tansy then. "Come on, Wade, just because you and Zoe are real different kinds of people doesn't automatically mean you can't be together. Maybe she did just decide to start dating because Judson asked her. Did you ever actually ask her out?"
"Hey, I made her plenty of offers," he said fast.
"I said, 'Did you ever actually ask her out?', dummy" Tansy repeated, smacking him across the knee. "I ain't talkin' about offerin' her a chance to see your bed linen up close."
For that, Wade had no answer, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times with no sound coming out when he realised it. Maybe Tansy had a point. He never actually did ask Zoe out on a date the way Judson apparently had. He flirted, he tried to get her to come over to his place or let him into her place, to spend the night or whatever, but he never told her he really liked her. Never actually tried to go out rather than stay in.
Tansy sighed. "You'll figure it out, I know you will," she said, smiling sweetly. "If it's meant to be, then it'll be," she insisted, leaning in with her hand at his face as she kissed his cheek.
The next moment she was up and leaving, telling him she hoped to see him again real soon, but Colt would be waiting on her, so she had to skedaddle. Wade wasn't paying full attention, even as he raised his hand to wave her goodbye. Tans was good people, no doubt about that. Maybe they had been fools to get married like they did, but he wouldn't trade having her in his life for anything in the world.
She sure had helped him out today, giving him a little confidence to maybe actually talk to Zoe about what he felt for her. After all, what harm could it really do? If he asked and she said no, that she still wanted to be just friends, at least he would know, and he wouldn't really be any worse off than he was right now.
Getting up from the bench, Wade decided to follow after Tansy, to thank her for her help and advice, since he was pretty sure he hadn't managed that before she left. Besides, he figured it might be good to meet this Colt person, to shake him by the hand and congratulate him on being so lucky as to win the heart of one Tansy Truitt. She really was a lot smarter than people gave her credit for, Wade thought, or so it seemed after the advice she just gave him. Of course, he started to doubt her judgement all over again when he saw her run into the arms of one Todd Gainey Jr!
"Oh, hell no!"
To Be Continued...
