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fondness. She’d
clearly had some nice cards and presents so far—though he expected none of them
were particularly things she wanted, more the sort of stuff people buy
when they don’t know what else to get.
    “What’s in the haul so far, sweetie? Anything we can sell
for millions, quit our jobs and move to a desert island?”
    “Ugh, I wish,” she said, putting a small gift box on the
growing pile. “Just the usual, so far. Perfume, earrings, necklaces,
bracelets…though one of my colleagues has clearly been listening for a change.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah. She got me a gift voucher for Forbidden Planet.”
    “Oh, right.” He tried to sound a little confused. “You mean
that geeky shop you like?”
    “That’s the one.”
    “Fantastic. Wish I’d thought of that.”
    She narrowed her eyes at him again, and Zach mentally kicked
himself. Cool it, mate, otherwise she’s going to get suspicious.
    Fortunately for him, at that moment the doorbell went.
    “Shit!” Reese zipped out of bed and ran for the bathroom. “I
bet that’s my mother!”
    Zach smiled, then turned and headed for the front door to
find out.

Chapter Eight
     
    Reese smiled for what felt like the bazillionth time as she
waved goodbye to her family. She paused for a further minute out of politeness
as they walked down the street, then closed the door. Letting out a heavy sigh
of relief, she shoved on the safety chain and shot the dead bolt, slumping
against the cool wood.
    “Hey.” Zach’s voice came from behind her, gentle in tone.
    “Hey,” she said, slowly turning around. When she caught
sight of him, she frowned. “What are you…”
    Her boyfriend had slipped on a pair of wire-rimmed glasses
and fluffed his dark hair. He’d changed out of the jeans and T-shirt he’d been
wearing since he’d gotten out of the shower and into a purple shirt, mid-brown
slacks and smart shoes. There was something vaguely familiar about his outfit,
but she couldn’t for the life of her work out why he was wearing it. Especially
not the glasses—Zach had perfect eyesight.
    “Sweetie,” she said tentatively, wondering if it was possible
that having her family at their house for almost the entire day had triggered a
nervous breakdown. It would be understandable. “Why are you, uh, dressed up? I
thought we’d agreed to stay in this evening? Clearly a walk and lunch is off
the table now, but we can always do that on my next day off.”
    Zach tsked . “We’re not going out, birthday girl.
We’re staying in, just like you asked. And that’s fine by me. It fits in with
my devious plan perfectly.”
    “Your devious plan?” Reese shook her head. She still didn’t
get it. Why would Zach put smart, if not entirely “him” clothes on if they were
staying in?
    “Yes.” He stepped up to her and put his hands on her
shoulders. “I love you, sweetheart. What I love even more is the fact that I
bought you an Amazon voucher for your thirtieth birthday and you didn’t bat an
eye. But that’s not your real present. This is.” Waving his hand, he indicated
himself.
    “You put a shirt and trousers on to have sex?” She giggled.
“That’s very, um, considerate of you, darling, but wouldn’t it have made more
sense to take your clothes off? ”
    The look on Zach’s face told Reese she still wasn’t getting
it.
    He rolled his eyes. “Doctor, for a seriously smart woman,
you’re being very dumb. Think about it. Yes, this is my shirt. But have you
ever seen these trousers before? Or these glasses? I’m trying to be someone.”
Running his hand through his hair, he sighed. “Fuck, I’ve done this all wrong,
haven’t I? I remembered your chosen order and was sticking to it, but this
outfit is the most vague—you’d have twigged straight away if I’d chosen any of
the other ones, I’m sure.”
    “Outfit? My chosen order?” Zach was right—she must be being
completely dumb, because she could not comprehend what was going on. Who the
fuck was he