The Last Husband (20 page)

“You
can do whatever …” Zane started, and Leo interrupted him.

“You
can come with me to a comedy show if you think you’d like that.” Leo winked at
me and I smiled at him, gratefully. I took in his appearance and I could see
why Leeza was acting giddy around him. With his sun-kissed blond hair, and
sky-blue eyes, he was as handsome as any movie star.

“Oh,
that would be great. It’s so nice that there are still some gentlemen left in
the world.” Leeza batted her eyelashes up at Leo and I could see her preening
up at him.

I
turned my face away as I saw her stick her chest out at Leo. Oh boy, this was
going to be a long night.

“Thanks
for that, Leo.” Zane pat Leo on the shoulder. “I’m glad you’re willing to take
one for the team.”

“Zane.”
I poked him in the stomach. “Be nice.”

“I
am.” He looked at me with an innocent face.

“Don’t
you have a
business meeting,
Zane?”
Leeza’s voice was loud. “Shouldn’t you be on your way? I’d hate for you to be
late. Seeing as you’re so dressed up and all.”

“Leeza.”
My voice was tight.

“Well,
I don’t know anyone who has a business meeting at night and looks like he is on
his way to the church to get married.”

“Leeza.”
I bit my lip. “Stop it.” I looked over at Zane and I could see a murderous look
in his eyes. I knew he was about to lose it.

“Can’t
I voice what we’re all thinking?” She shook her head. “I’m not trying to say it
behind his back. I think it’s rude and disrespectful that he is going out on my
first night in town. What meeting is that important? Evan said you were a bit
of a prick, and I understand why he said that.”

There
was an awkward silence in the room after her words and I felt my blood boiling.
“Leeza, come with me.” I grabbed her arm and dragged her into the kitchen.
“What is your problem? Why are you being so rude and obnoxious?”

“I
just wanted to voice my opinion, Lucky. Don’t you think he’s a little too
smooth? I don’t trust him.”

“Well
I do trust him, and I won’t have you berating and accusing him like that,
again. He’s my boyfriend, Leeza. You may not understand our relationship, but,
frankly, it’s none of your business.”

“I’m
your best friend, Lucky.” Leeza looked at me with wide eyes. “It’s always my
business.”

“What’s
going on?” I took hold of her hand. “What’s wrong with you, Leeza?”

“I’m
sorry, Lucky.” Tears flooded her eyes. “I’m just really upset and hurt.”

“About
what?” I looked at her in confusion. “Because I’m with Zane?”

“No,
no.” She started crying. “I really liked Evan, and everything was going great.
At least, I thought it was. Then, he just broke up with me. Like I meant
nothing to him. Out of nowhere.”

“He
sounds like a jerk, Leeza. But that doesn’t mean Zane is.”

“He’ll
break your heart, Lucky. That’s what those guys do. They aren’t made for girls
like us. They don’t want a long-term relationship. They just want to screw us.”

“Zane
is different.” My voice was soft, but firm. “I love him, Leeza, and he loves
me. And yeah, he’s not perfect. He has issues, and sometimes it’s really hard,
but I know, that at the end of the day, he loves me. He shows it in many
different ways. And I know he trusts me and respects me. And maybe this won’t
be the last relationship I’m ever in. Maybe something will happen and we’ll
break up, but that will be because that’s life. Nothing’s guaranteed. But as
sure as
I’m standing here in front of you, I’m
sure of Zane. Don’t you get it, Leeza? He’s the one. He’s my one. He’s my soul
mate.”

“You
don’t know him well enough to know all that.” She continued crying and looked
at me with a worried expression. “Look, I’ll admit that I’m slightly jealous,
but something about him just seems off and I don’t want you to get hurt. Not
after last time. I was so worried, Lucky. Your parents had died and you were devastated
by that, and then, well, you know. You were heartbroken. I don’t want to see
you like that ever again.”

“Zane
wouldn’t do that to me.” I hugged her to me. “I love you for being concerned,
but Zane wouldn’t do that to me.”

“I’ve
made a fool of myself, haven’t I?” She wiped her eyes. “What’s Leo going to
think of me now?”

“Oh,
Leeza,” I laughed. “He’s going to think you’re a spirited woman and a concerned
friend.”

“I’d
rather he think I was hot.” She fingered through her hair. “I’m going to go
back upstairs and redo my makeup, okay?”

“Okay.”
I followed her into the living room, and watched as she ran up the stairs,
before I spoke to Zane and Leo. “She’s a bit emotional because her ex-boyfriend
dumped her.”

“I
wouldn’t exactly say Evan was her boyfriend.” Zane’s voice was dry.

I
gave him a warning look. “Be nice.”

“Your
friend is a bitch.”

“Zane!”

“Sorry.
Your friend has issues.”

“Zane,”
I admonished him, but couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on my face. “She’s
had a hard time lately, and she was worried about me. Let’s cut her some slack.
I’ve asked her to be nicer.”

“Good
luck, Leo.” Zane laughed as he patted his friend on the shoulder. “Better you
than me.”

“Thanks,
Zane, you owe me,” Leo drawled and I could see the laughter in his eyes.

“Don’t
forget to keep an eye out for Lucky. I want you to make sure she is protected
at all times.” Zane’s voice turned serious.

“I’m
right here, Zane.” I glared at him. “And I can hear you.”

“Take
care of my girl, and no funny business.”

“Zane.”
I blushed at his words and Leo shook his head.

“I
love you, Lucky.” Zane reached down and pulled me to him, kissing me hard. His
hands grabbed my ass, and as he brought me into him, I melted against his
chest. “I’m sorry I can’t be with you tonight, but I want you to have fun.”

“Is
there something you’re not telling me?” I pulled away from him, slightly, and
looked into his darkened eyes. “There’s something going down with Braydon
tonight, isn’t there?”

Zane
was silent for a moment as he studied my face. He kissed me lightly on the nose
and shook his head. “Of course not. I just have some business partners from
Japan who want to meet. I would have taken you, but it’s customary, in Japanese
culture, for business dinners to be just for the men.”

“I
see.” My heart skipped a beat for reasons unknown, and I grabbed hold of his
hand. “Just be home as quickly as possible.”

“Of
course, my dear. Of course.” He kissed me again and looked back at Leo. “Thanks
for doing this, man.”

“No
problem. Lucky and I will have fun tonight.” Leo grinned at me. “We’ll keep
Leeza sane.”

“I’ll
have to remind myself to think of you as a friend and not a bodyguard,” I
teased him and he laughed.

“Don’t
blame me, blame your man.”

“I’ll
take all the blame.” Zane held his hands up. “I just want to make sure my lady
love is safe.”

“I’ll
be safe!” I exclaimed.

Zane
was really overprotective, and while it thrilled me that he obviously cared
about me a lot, it was starting to get old. I didn’t really understand what he
thought Braydon was going to do to me. But I understood that he needed to be in
control, or to at least feel like he was. I had hoped to be able to make him
realize that he couldn’t blame himself for Noah’s death, or his mother’s
leaving. I had hoped that his mother would somehow come back into his life and
help mend a piece of his heart that I would never be able to reach, but after
that phone call, I didn’t think that was ever going to happen. My throat caught
as I thought about the call with his mother. I couldn’t believe how uncaring
she had been. I never wanted Zane to find out about the call. I didn’t want him
to have to go through that pain and rejection again.

“Lucky,
darling, I’m going out now.” Zane squeezed my hand and I looked up at him all
flustered.

“Sorry,
I spaced out.”

“Have
a good night. Keep the bed warm for me.”

“I
will.”

“Maybe
you can do another dance for me, tonight.”

“Zane,”
I chided him, embarrassed that he was talking about my lap dance in front of
Leo.

“What?”
He grinned and gave me one long, hard kiss before walking to the door. “Have a
great night, guys.”

***

“Now
this
is a restaurant.” Leeza sailed
into Providence Restaurant in front of us with her eyes smiling in delight and
anticipation. “So this is Hollywood?”

“Actually,
we’re on Melrose Place, and this is known as Mid-Wilshire,” Leo interjected,
and smiled at me.

“I
love Hollywood, I want to move here.” Leeza grinned at me, the tears from
earlier firmly behind her.

“Uh
huh.” I prayed to God that she wasn’t hoping to live with Zane and me.

“What
do you think, Leo? Looking for a roommate?” She touched his arm and smiled into
his eyes.

“I,
uh,” Leo mumbled, and I think that was the first time I’d seen him at a loss
for words.

“Come
on, Leeza.” I grabbed her arm and we followed our hostess to our table. “Wow,
look at the lights.” I pointed to the sconce lights on the wall of the dining
room and admired all the orchids. “Thanks for bringing us here, Leo, this place
is amazing.” I turned around to thank him and we shared a secret smile.

We
sat at the table and my eyes nearly popped open when I saw the prices on the
menu. The restaurant was expensive, a lot more than I had ever spent on food
before. Maybe even more than I spend at the grocery store in a month.

“Don’t
worry about the prices, girls. Zane’s taking care of it.”

“He
should be,” Leeza said snidely. I could tell she was peeved that Zane had left
before she had been able to come back downstairs and apologize.

“I
hope you girls like seafood.” Leo played diplomat and I nodded. I was
overwhelmed with all the choices. “I suggest we all start with the 1978
Madeira, and I recommend the Kobe beef with bone marrow if you’re not a huge
fan of seafood. If you like seafood, you can’t go wrong with any of the
entrees.”

“Sounds
delicious.” I placed the menu back on the table. “Will you excuse me while I go
to the restroom to wash my hands, please?”

“Sure.”

I
got up from the table and tried not to gape when I saw Robin Williams sitting
with someone in the corner of the restaurant. I walked into the bathroom and
washed my hands, quickly, before heading back to the table.

“Lucky.”

I
heard his voice and froze. I looked over at the table I was walking past and
saw Braydon Eagle sitting there with a cute redhead.

“Hi
Braydon.” I nodded and attempted a smile.

“I
called you and texted you. I wanted to apologize.”

“I
saw.”

“You
didn’t call me back.”

“I
had nothing to say to you.” I looked at the redhead to see how she was reacting
to the conversation, but she sat there with a smile plastered on her face.

“I
didn’t do anything to you, Lucky.” He looked angry.

“Look,
I have to get back to my table.” I made to walk away.

“I’m
not the bad guy here, Lucky.” He stood up. “I don’t know what Zane has told
you, but I’m not the bad guy.”

“Leave
Zane out of it.” I glared at him. “I just don’t like you.”

“You
think Zane is so perfect, don’t you?” Braydon chortled. “Do you think he’s some
lost boy you need to protect and rescue? Don’t be an idiot, Lucky. Zane’s not
some lost boy. He’s a calculating snake, and he’s only using you to make
Angelique jealous.”

“Angelique
was Noah’s ex.” The words tripped out of my mouth, hurriedly.

“Yeah,
but did you also know she hooked up with Zane?” Braydon’s eyes were hard and he
leaned forward as he pushed the dagger further into my heart. “That’s one of
the reasons Noah stopped speaking to Zane. He found out that Zane had fucked
her.”

“You’re
lying.” The blood left my face and my hands felt clammy. “Zane would have told
me.”

“He’s
not the perfect guy you think he is, Lucky. He’s not the perfect guy you think
he is at all.”

“You’re
a liar.” I turned around and walked away from him, quickly. I plastered a smile
on my face as I got back to the table. “Hey, guys. Sorry about that.”

“No
problem,” Leeza giggled. “This wine is so good. Have some.”

“Thanks.”
I took a glass and drank quickly, trying to forget the poison Braydon had tried
to put in my mind. There was no way Zane had slept with Angelique. He couldn’t
have. He would have told me. We were being honest with each other now. I
trusted him.