Made For Us by Samantha Chase

sweetly.
    “On?”
    “Are we going to share in conversation, or are you going to be all bossy and dominate the whole thing?”
    If Aidan didn’t know any better, he’d swear that Zoe had talked to his family, or at least Darcy. Doing his best to relax, he picked up his menu to give himself something else to look at besides her distracting eyes, distracting hands, distracting everything. “We can talk about whatever you want.” His teeth were clenched so tightly, he was sure he’d broken a molar. He’d dealt with quite a few difficult clients in his line of work with no problems. Why did this woman make him so damn uncomfortable?
    “If you weren’t grinding your teeth when you said it, I would have believed you.”
    That was it. He was done. She was fired. He’d find another design firm because nothing was worth all of this aggravation. Slamming his menu down, he went to slide out of the booth when the waitress came over. “Hey, Aidan! This is a surprise. We normally only see you back there at the takeout counter. It’s nice to see you sitting inside for a change.”
    Aidan had known Tammy Wilson since high school. He was totally trapped. “It’s good to see you, Tammy. How’s Richie doing?” Casually, he slid back into the booth and did his best to ignore Zoe’s satisfied smirk.
    “Working like a fiend, as usual,” she said as she placed two glasses of water and a basket of bread on the table. “The tourists don’t make it easy for him. I think he’s given out an entire year’s worth of speeding tickets in the last week alone.”
    Aidan smiled. “Hopefully that means he’ll let me go with a warning next time I’m rushing through town.”
    “Oh, stop. You don’t rush anywhere, and Richie wouldn’t dare give you a ticket.” She winked at him and then suddenly seemed to realize Zoe was a woman she didn’t recognize. Her eyes went wide and then she looked from Zoe to Aidan and back again. “So…um, hi. I’m Tammy.”
    “Hi, Tammy, I’m Zoe Dalton. I’m working for Martha Tate, doing the model homes for the new Shaughnessy community. I moved to town about a month ago.”
    “I knew I hadn’t seen you in here before,” Tammy said with a smile. “Welcome to the area. What can I get the two of you to eat?”
    “We’ll have—” Aidan started.
    “Actually, I haven’t had a chance to look at the menu yet, Tammy. Can you give me a few minutes?”
    “Absolutely. Take your time.” She smiled at Zoe and then at Aidan. “You should try something new too, Aidan. We happen to make more than pizza and spaghetti and meatballs.” She winked at Zoe and walked away.
    He actually felt himself blush. Picking up his menu, he noticed that Zoe was studying hers with a serene smile on her face. “Enjoying yourself?” he asked.
    Without looking up, she nodded. “More than I thought possible. You’re really quite entertaining to be around. This whole adventure has allowed me to learn so much more about you.”
    “Like what?”
    Zoe found what she wanted to order and then placed the menu down and looked at Aidan. “For starters, you like to have control of every situation. You clearly don’t think anyone can make a decision for themselves and that whatever you decide is better. You don’t like to try new things.” Pausing, she reached for her water and took a sip. “How am I doing?”
    Nailed it in one. Again. A change of subject was definitely in order.
    “So what are you ordering?” he asked with a huff. Geez, when had he become this controlling, predictable guy? Everyone seemed to see it but him. What was wrong with liking some order in his life? Or with wanting to help people make their decisions? When had it become wrong to just stick to the things he liked without it being a federal case?
    Despite how fun it was to push his buttons, Zoe thought she had pushed enough for one night. “I think I’m going to have the caprese salad.”
    “And?”
    “And what? That’s it. I’m having the