The Comeback by Abby Gaines Read Free Book Online

Woman wasn’t as good as the prolonged coverage the bachelor contest would receive in America’s biggest-selling weekly magazine. Not to mention on TV. But as far as Gaby was concerned, it was an excellent step toward her goal of getting Zack into the contest.
    She didn’t tell Zack she was still holding out for that—he’d figure it out soon enough. In the meantime, why ruin what was turning into a productive business relationship?
    Although Zack was engrossed in working with his team on his car setup, he’d kept his promise, and let her call the shots on the interview preparation. They’d rehearsed answers, then she’d fired difficult questions at him in an attempt to provoke him. He was even trying to give answers that were more than the bare minimum.
    The only thing he wasn’t good at was turning on the charm with an interviewer. Though it frustrated her, Gaby found his inability to be shallow rather appealing.
    She had high hopes for this interview, first that he would impress Now Woman, and second that he would find the experience not too painful. Then the next time she asked him to enter the bachelor contest, he would roll over and sign on the dotted line.
    Unease flashed through her as she tried to imagine Zack rolling over for anyone.
    This will work. We’re getting along so well. Zack just needs a little push. She chanted the line for the thousandth time asshe pressed the doorbell of Zack’s French-style country home on Mountain Island Lake. Apparently he’d chosen to live away from the NASCAR enclave that clustered around the better known Lake Norman. Chad and Brianna also had a house nearby.
    Zack didn’t answer the door. Gaby glanced at her watch. Nine o’clock, an hour before the reporter was due.
    She called Zack’s cell. When he picked up, she heard a metallic thump, suspiciously like a hammer hitting metal, in the background.
    “Are you at the workshop?” she asked.
    “The guys and I have been working on the setup.” The words were rushed, excited. “We’re this close to finding the problem.”
    Gaby took a calming breath. “You have the Now Woman interview at ten. I’m at your place.”
    Zack cursed. “The thing is, there was more to the car’s tightness last week than just the track temperature. We just haven’t been able to figure out—”
    “You need to be here now,” Gaby ordered.
    Silence. “I can be there in fifteen.”
    “You’re nearer half an hour away,” she said. “I don’t want you killing yourself on the way.”
    “Your concern is touching,” he teased.
    Gaby took it as a good sign that he wasn’t too tense. “Just get here as fast as you can, safely. In the meantime, I need to get into your house to set up for the reporter.”
    “Sure. Best to use the great room, I think. It has a nice view.” He gave her the combination that would unlock the front door, and the code for the alarm system.
    Once inside, Gaby stopped for a moment to admire the coffered ceilings, deep carpets and large windows that admitted plenty of light and made the most of the lakefront setting.
    The room that had to be the great room was to the left of the entryway. It was enormous: not even the huge, overstuffedcouches and coffee table the size of a small pool table could diminish it.
    Gaby crossed to the French doors and soaked up the breathtaking view. The lake was a long stone’s throw from the house, the water absolutely still, perfectly reflecting the trees, the jetty, the tied-up dinghy.
    Gaby didn’t have time to admire the outlook. She slipped the DVD she’d brought with her into the DVD player hidden in a cabinet beneath the widescreen TV, and went to make coffee.
    In the kitchen—maple and granite and stainless steel—she tried not to look too hard into Zack’s cupboards and drawers. The house was tidy, but not overly so. Just how she liked it.
    She’d just filled the coffee press and retrieved cups and spoons when the doorbell rang. Gaby glanced at her watch—the