Free Accidentally Yours by Bettye Griffin Page A

let go.
    “ Hi!”
    He turned his head in a lackadaisical manner. He was getting tired of bold females approaching him.
    But it wasn’t another brazen husband-hunter who stood before him; it was Vivian’s girlfriend, the one who had been with her at the hospital and whose name he couldn’t remember. “Hello. You’re Vivian’s friend, aren’t you?” He hoped she would furnish her name.
    “ Yes. Glenda.” She grinned. “How’ve you been, Doc?”
    “ I’m well. Call me Zack.”
    “ I understand you were on the ski trip.”
    “ You were there, too?”
    “ Yes. I’m not an experienced skier like you and Viv. That’s why you didn’t see me. I was with the novices who had to take a lesson on a little baby slope.”
    He nodded. “One lesson makes it hard to get into, unless you’re there for a few days and have the time to really get into it.”
    “ I guess that explains why I didn’t care for it much.” Glenda scanned the couples dancing. “Oh, there’s Viv. I was wondering where she was.” She turned to Zack. “I’m afraid she might be trapped.”
    “ What do you mean, trapped?”
    “ I think she might be having trouble shaking this guy she’s talking to. She signaled to me a few minutes ago, just before they started dancing. After they finish I’ll make an excuse to go and get her. We do this type of thing for each other all the time.” She patted his upper arm. “I just wanted to say hello. See you later.”
    “ Good seeing you, Glenda.” Zack looked at Vivian again. She appeared to be enjoying herself, but he wasn’t fazed. Glenda had just provided him with valuable information, and he had news for her. He would be the one to get Vivian away from her dance partner. Maybe it wasn’t in the same league as rescuing her from a burning building, but he was sure she would be grateful just the same.
    He walked over to where Vivian and the stranger were dancing and tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me. May I cut in?”
    The man, as he expected, looked stunned. It certainly wasn ’t a request one heard at every function, but he quickly recovered and acquiesced, with a parting smile Vivian’s way.
    “ This is a surprise,” Vivian said as she and Zack fell into step. His timing couldn’t have been better. It was almost as if he knew she was scheming up a way to make a graceful break from Bernard, not because she disliked him, but just so she could do a little more socializing. There was no reason why she couldn’t meet two new men in a single evening. This was only February, but her average so far was zero, and she needed to double up; it would increase her odds of meeting her goal of getting the life partner she sought. Could it be that Zack was interested in being a contender after all?
    She loved being so close to him. He had a delicious, musky scent, and the fabric of his blazer—it felt like a wool blend to her palms—was so soft and welcoming. How wonderful it would be to be able to claim this highly desirable man as her very own.
    By the time they had made a single revolution, she became aware that the eyes of various women standing or moving about on the sidelines were fix ated on her and Zack. They probably all knew him from NBP, but, of course, she was new to the group. Some of the stares were more obvious than others, and while some were curious, others were outright hostile. That meant she and Zack must make an attractive couple.
    “ I hope you didn’t mind my breaking in,” he said.
    “ I thought it was very sweet. I’m flattered.”
    The music began to fade out , to Vivian’s colossal disappointment. That meant the slow jams were over and the dance music was about to return, and she and Zack had barely had a chance to say two words to each other.
    The strains of the next song began as the music they were dancing to grew fainter. “Oh, no, you’re not going anywhere yet,” Zack said in a playful tone when she broke away from him with the intent of going to the