The Last Boyfriend (17 page)

“You didn’t have to do
that.” I was touched that he had done research for me.

“I wanted to take you to
places that you love, and you love history.” He shrugged. “It
seemed like a sure bet.”

“You’re so much more
amazing than I thought, do you know that?” I pulled him towards me
and gave him a kiss.

“If it means I get lots of
kisses, then I hope so.” He kissed me back and then pulled me
closer to the statue. “Let’s see what the inscription
says.”

Felipe de Neve (1728–84).
Governor of California 1775–82. In 1781, on orders from King Carlos
III of Spain, Felipe de Neve selected a site near the River
Porciuncula and laid out the town of El Pueblo de La Reina de Los
Angeles, one of two pueblos he founded in Alta
California.

I read the inscription
aloud, impressed at how well he had remembered the basic facts. “It
seems like you remembered it all correctly, smarty
pants.

“Well, I’m not just all
good looks.”

“So where to
next?”

“Are you
hungry?”

“Yes.” I laughed. “Are we
going to get food? Please say yes.”

“We’re going to get a hot
dog from Pinky’s. I think they have to be the most famous hot dog
stand in the world.”

“I think I’ve seen them on
the Food Network. Don’t they have a long wait or
something?”

“We won’t have to wait. You
forget my dad runs this town.”

“Oh well sorry.” I put on a
posh accent.

“I’m joking.” He grins.
“Well somewhat, my dad is pretty influential, and we won’t have to
wait.”

“Will I get to meet your
dad?” I asked hesitatingly.

“I’m not sure.” He frowned.
“He’s overseas right now.”

“Oh.” My heart panged for
him slightly and I suddenly realized why he felt like such a
kindred spirit. For all intents and purposes, we were one and the
same. We were both alone in the world.

“But I can still introduce
you to some movie stars if that’s what you’re worried
about?”

“No.” I laughed and grabbed
his hand tightly. “I don’t really care about actors and famous
people.”

“You’re definitely
one-of-a-kind.”

“I like to think so.” I
smiled up at him happily and we walked back to his car. “So now we
go for hot dogs, what next?”

“That’ll be a
surprise.”

“You and your surprises.” I
shook my head and pretended to frown. I was delighted that he had
gone out of his way to make this special for me. Maybe the Zane I
was hoping to find was already coming to the surface. Maybe we
would fall in love and this could be our happily ever
after.

“Let’s go get some
dogs.”

“Sounds good.”

“So Lucky, I want to know
more about you. Tell me about what makes you tick.”

“I love watching criminal
TV shows.
Law and Order
,
Criminal Minds
,
CSI
,
and
Dexter
—”

“I love
Dexter
. The books are
great as well. Jeff Lindsay is such a great writer. His sense of
humor is awesome.”

“Oh, I’ve never read the
books. I’ll have to check them out.”

“I have some at home. You
can borrow them if you want.”

“That would be
great.”

“Oh, by the way, the garage
called me this morning, your car does have a head gasket
problem.”

“I told you.” I hit him in
the arm. “I’m not just some dumb girl, you know.”

“Ow, that hurt,” he
grinned, as he rubbed his arm. “I’m not sure I want to be your sub,
I told you that already.”

“You’re an idiot.” I hit
him again.

“Lucky, I do own handcuffs,
you know. You don’t want to test me.” He grabbed my hand and held
it tightly. “I’d quite enjoy handcuffing you and—”

“Zane, I’m going to start
to think you’re only after me for my body.” I was only half-joking,
but I kept my tone light.

“Lucky, you’re body is just
one of the reasons I like being with you.” He let go of my hand and
rubbed my leg. “You’re the first girl I’ve ever been able to just
be with, with no expectations. You’re not expecting me to take you
shopping on Rodeo Drive, you’re not—”

“You mean I’m not going to
be able to live my Julia Roberts’
Pretty
Women
moment today?” I pouted, and he
laughed.

“We can go to the lingerie
shop if you want. There’s a La Perla in Beverly Hills that I can
take you to.”

“Ooh you’re going to buy me
pearls. What’s next, a diamond?” I joked, but immediately wanted to
slap myself for my gaffe.

“La Perla is a high-end
lingerie store.” Zane’s voice was amused. “And no, no diamonds will
be coming from me I’m afraid.”

“I’ve only been to
Victoria’s Secret before.” I kept the conversation away from the
jewelry talk, and tried to ignore the hurt I felt, once again, at
his words. You know he’s not looking for forever, Lucky. Just deal
with it.

“Then let’s go get you a
teddy. I’d quite like to see that.”

“That’s okay.” I paused and
bit my lip. I was starting to feel like all he wanted from me was
sex. I hoped it was about more than that. I knew it was stupid to
want more, but I couldn’t stop myself from hoping and wishing.
Hopes are for fools, Lucky, the little devil inside of my head
whispered. Don’t be a fool. Enjoy the sex, have some fun, hope for
him to change, but don’t get emotionally involved.

I sighed and turned on the
radio. I didn’t want to keep thinking and analyzing the situation
anymore. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. I just
had to make sure to keep my heart protected. I had chosen to walk
away from my rules. If I got hurt, it would be my fault. “Maybe we
can go another day.”

“After hot dogs, I’m going
to take you to Griffith Observatory.” He slapped his mouth. “Oh
shit, I let the cat out of the bag.”

“What’s that? A place we
can see stars?”

“We’ll be up in the hills
and will be able to see most of LA from above. And it’s an
unusually clear day today, so we should have a great
view.”

“Sounds amazing.” I sat
back and listened to the sounds of smooth jazz coming through the
stereo system. It wasn’t the genre of music that I normally
listened to, but it seemed to fit this moment.

“I’m glad you’re here
Lucky.” Zane interrupted my reverie. “In case you couldn’t tell.
I’m really glad that you’re here.”

Chapter 12

“I can’t believe we’re
having the party tonight.” I grinned at Zane as he prepared me a
sandwich for lunch.

“I know.” He groaned. “I
should cancel it. I want to have you all to myself
tonight.”

“You’ve had me all to
yourself for two whole weeks.” I laughed happily. “I’m surprised
you haven’t gotten annoyed with me yet. We normally see each other
for a few moments once a week, and now you see me 24/7.”

“I couldn’t think of a
better person to work and sleep with.”

“You don’t let me sleep.”
I stretched and Zane stared at my breasts through my top. “Looking
at something?” I grinned.

“Well,
you can’t not wear a bra and expect me not to notice.” He stepped
away from the counter and walked over to me. I hit his arm as he
stood next to me and reached over to grab my breasts.

“Zane.” I laughed. “I’m
hungry and we still have an interview this afternoon before we have
to get ready for the party.”

“We still have time for a
quickie.”

“It’s never quick with
you.” I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him and gave him a
quick kiss. I ran my hands through his hair and pulled away as he
ran his hands over my ass. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m going to go
change, and then hopefully, my lunch will be ready.”

“You tease.” He groaned
and hit me on the ass as I ran out of the room giggling. As I ran
up the stairs to get some clothes from my room, I marveled at just
how great the last two weeks have been. I had been slightly worried
that Zane was going to have next-day regrets after we had sex the
first time, but he had been great. He had been sweet and caring,
and we had been inseparable since we arrived in Los Angeles. It was
almost surreal—I hadn’t expected us to have gotten so close so
quickly. It was even more wonderful than I could have imagined. I
walked into my room and looked at the bed with a smile. I hadn’t
slept in it one night and while it looked comfortable, I wasn’t sad
about that.

“Lunch is ready,” Zane
shouted up the stairs.

“I just got to my room,
Zane,” I shouted back, as I went through my clothes. “I’m going to
be a few minutes.”

“Want me to come up and
help?”

“No thanks.”

“I’m real good with
getting clothes off.”

“That’s the least of my
worries.” I laughed and grabbed a pair of shorts, a bra, and a
paisley shirt I had gotten at a vintage shop. I quickly got dressed
and brushed my hair, letting it hang loose instead of in my usual
ponytail. I applied some light makeup and a dash of lip gloss, and
smiled at my reflection. I looked pretty and in love, and I thought
that this moment was perhaps the happiest I have ever been in my
life.

“Aren’t you ready yet?” I
heard Zane at my doorway, and spun around.

“You are so impatient.” I
rolled my eyes.

“I missed you.” He walked
into the room and grabbed me, pulling me towards him. I clung to
him and stared up at his handsome face, his blue eyes seemed so
open and there was a devilish spark in them.

“I am not having sex with
you, Zane Beaumont.”

“Who said I wanted sex?”
He pouted, and trailed his finger down my throat. “I just came to
make sure you were okay.”

“In case I fell in the
toilet or something?”

“You know, you can’t be
too careful.”

“Well, of course
not.”

“You are the girl whose
car broke down in the middle of the night, after all.”

“Indeed, I am.”

“And you’re the girl that
accepted a job with a strange guy and moved across the
country.”

“I know. What was I
thinking?” I shook my head in despair. “I’m a silly, silly
girl.”

“Yes, you are.” He kissed
my nose. “So, of course you understand why I had to come up and
make sure you are okay.”

“Hmm, I still think you’re
not going to get laid right now.”

“Well then, let’s go eat.”
He laughed, planted a firm kiss on my lips and dragged me out of
the room. “And by the way, your lip gloss tastes like strawberry
milkshake.”

“Yummy.” I stuck my tongue
out at him and he squeezed my hand. As we walked into the kitchen,
I picked up my phone to see if I had any messages.

“Everything okay?” Zane
looked up at me, and noticed my frown.

“Yeah.
It’s just Leeza.” I offered him a quick smile and looked back at
the text from Braydon.

Hey Lucky, I miss you. I
haven’t heard from you in almost two weeks. Give me a call. I’m
coming to Los Angeles soon. I’d love to take you around and show
you a good time. I hope all your history knowledge is paying off
and that Zane isn’t being a complete and utter jackass. I saw
Angelique last night, and she told me she dumped him. I’m sure he’s
pretty sore, so just ignore him. Text or call me.

I read the text message
twice before putting my phone down. I felt my heart thudding as I
accepted the sandwich from Zane. I studied his face to see if I
could see any stress lines around his eyes. I was quiet as I ate my
sandwich. Braydon’s text had ruined my mood, and all of a sudden, I
just wanted to be by myself.

“Hey Lucky, what did Leeza
have to say?” Zane looked at me from across the table with a
guarded expression.

“She just wanted to know
when I’d be back in Miami.”

“Oh.” He looked away.
“What did you say?”

“I didn’t respond. I don’t
really know.”

“I guess when the
documentary is finished.” He stood up. “Are you done with your
plate?”

I nodded and bit my lip as
he carried our plates to the sink. “So do you have a date place in
Los Angeles as well?”

“Sorry what?” He turned
around with a frown.

“Do you have a place you
take your dates every Friday night here as well?”

“No.” His reply was
curt.

“Why were you in Miami?” I
asked him cautiously. “Were you researching for the
documentary?”

“No.” He paused. “I had
some other stuff going on.”

“Like dating a different
girl every week?”

“What can I say? I like
the company of beautiful women?” He walked away from me. “Are you
ready?”