“You
are?” Lucky looked at him suspiciously.
“Yes,
I’m trying to stick to only veggies on my new diet.” He paused. “It’s a
Hollywood thing.”
“Hmm.”
Lucky frowned and shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well, let’s have salad for dinner
then.” I looked at Leo gratefully and smiled. There was a reason why we were
friends. He winked at me again as Lucky got the plates assembled and I laughed
and walked to the fridge. “Thanks for that. I owe you. Do you want a Blue Moon,
Beck’s, or a Corona?”
“Corona
with lime, please.” Leo grinned and I took two bottles from the fridge.
“What
about my wine?” Lucky frowned and then just shook her head. “Have your beers,
you Neanderthals.” She smiled at me. “Typical men.”
“Hey,”
I cried out, pretending to be offended.
“I’m
joking. My dad would always drink beer, no matter what the occasion was.” She
laughed. “Even on their anniversary when my mom wanted to do a champagne toast,
he’d be drinking Bud.”
“You
can’t fault good American beer,” Leo laughed.
“Even
at nice dinners,” she continued. “Even at my birthday parties at McDonald’s.”
“You
can get beer at McDonald’s now?” I looked at her in surprise.
“No.”
She laughed. “No, you can’t.”
“I
used to love McDonald’s as a kid.” I smiled at the memory. “But we only got to
go on special occasions.”
“Me
too!” Lucky exclaimed. “My parents said I could only go as a treat for doing a
good job in school or birthdays.”
“Noah
and I were only allowed to go for a treat as well.” I stared at Lucky in
amazement. It seemed like the universe was trying to tell me that this
beautiful woman was made for me.
“I
hate to break up the McDonald’s love-fest, guys. And I’m not going to tell you
that their burgers are made with horsemeat, and that they have worms in their
milkshakes.” Leo laughed.
“What?”
Lucky exclaimed and stared at him.
“I
said I’m not going to tell you that.” He grinned. “But can we please eat? I’m
starving.”
“It’s
coming, Leonardo.” I rolled my eyes at him.
“It’s
all right for you, Beaumont. You’re full of love in your stomach, but my
stomach is crying out for a juicy steak.” Leo realized his mistake as soon as
the words were out of his mouth and I froze, worried that Lucky was going to
start crying or start reacting in some other overly-emotional way.
It
was silent for a few seconds before Lucky burst out laughing. “You should see
your faces, guys. Like someone’s about to die. I am not that sensitive.” Lucky
walked over to me and punched me in the arm. “I’m not a little kid.” She looked
up at me with laughter in her eyes and I felt myself floating in the endless
pools of her love. “Let’s eat the salad while we wait for the pizza.”
“What
pizza?” I frowned and looked at the oven.
“The
one you’re about to order.” She grinned and kissed me on the cheek before
sauntering into the dining room with the plates and salad bowl.
***
“That
was some great pizza, Lucky.” Leo licked his lips and I watched as Lucky
blushed and giggled. I kept a smile on my face, but I was annoyed. Lucky and
Leo had been joking around all evening and I didn’t appreciate it.
“Well,
I tried hard.”
“That
pepperoni, ooh la la.”
“I
made it by hand.”
“Talented,
I tell ya.”
“Well,
you know, I’m the next Julia Child.” Lucky laughed and threw her head back.
“Next thing you know I’ll be on Chopped or Top Chef.”
“You
can come cook for me anytime.”
“Unfortunately,
Lucky has a job, so she won’t be able to cook for you anytime soon.” I
interrupted, snarky. Lucky looked at me in surprise with a frown on her face
and Leo just smiled at me with his boy-is-he-gone look.
“Are
you single, Leo?” Lucky turned away from me and smiled at Leo once again, and I
knew my face reflected my anger and jealousy. Was Lucky interested in Leo? Was that
why she was confused? Was she developing feelings for Leo? I knew it was an
irrational thought and that they had just met, but maybe she had felt an
instant spark? They certainly seemed to be getting along well together—too
well. I was not happy about their camaraderie and was seriously considering not
hiring Leo as her bodyguard anymore. I wanted someone to be there to protect
her, but not someone she may fall for. I trusted Leo with my life, he had
always been a good friend, but why would I put temptation in his way? Lucky was
a beautiful, vibrant woman and I knew there was no way that Leo was immune to
that. I watched her as she spoke, her face was animated and glowing, and even
her crazy curls weren’t enough to detract anyone from her charm. There was a
bustle of energy and an innate joy that surrounded Lucky. It was what had
attracted me to her back when I first started going into Lou’s Diner. Her
energy was captivating, and you couldn’t help but be swept away by her charm.
I
remembered one Friday night when I had taken a particularly bitchy girl to
dinner, and she had complained about there only being two tomato slices in her
salad. Lucky had smiled widely and asked her how many more tomatoes she wanted,
listing the different types available. “We have Heirloom, Roma, Cherry, and
Pear. Which ones would you like more of?” And then she had turned to me and
winked—a sexy, innocent, knowing wink and I couldn’t stop myself from
grinning back at her. Something my date had not appreciated. I laughed at the memory.
“I
didn’t know you found my dating life so amusing.” Leo’s voice interrupted my
flashback and I saw the concern in his eyes.
“Hey,
you know. An ugly guy like you has it hard.”
“Well,
you know.” He shrugged his shoulders and we laughed. Leonardo had always been
the guy who had women hanging on to him wherever we went. It didn’t hurt that
he was handsome and well-built. It seemed that women had a thing for strong
men. Even when he was a doorman at a club, he had more women outside in the
streets flirting with him than in the bar.
“Do
you have any friends you could hook me up with, Lucky?” He smiled at her easily
and I felt my breath release slowly, and some of my pent up tension
disappeared.
“My
best friend, Leeza, would love you.” She smiled and then looked at me with a
clouded look.
I
tried to make eye contact with her and she looked down. Something was still
wrong. I could sense it. Was Leeza the one she had been on the phone with? What
was going on? A dull ache filled my heart as I wondered if Lucky and I would
ever fully be on the same page. I didn’t want to go through these feelings of
panic and worry anymore. I didn’t want my head to pound constantly in confusion
and concern, and I didn’t want to drive myself crazy every time something felt
off. I wanted Lucky to come to me when she was worried or upset. I took another
deep breath as I knew I was getting upset.
“So
any dessert, Lucky?” Leo licked his lips and leaned towards her. “After that
delicious meal, I’m feeling like some brownies.”
“Are
you sure you want to ruin your perfect body?” She cocked her head and surveyed
him. “How will you get all the girls if you stuff your face with brownies?”
“That’s
why he spends so many hours in the gym,” I interjected with a smile. “If I
spent five hours a day, I’d be buff as well.”
“Now
you’re only half as buff.” Leo grinned at me, not sensing the tension between
Lucky and me. Or if he was sensing it, he was being very careful not to make it
worse.
“Let
me go and see what we have for dessert.” Lucky gave me a hooded look and jumped
up.
“I’ll
help you check.” I jumped up behind her and followed her to the kitchen.
“What’s going on? Did
you speak to Leeza?”
“How
did you know?” She looked at me in shock. “Are you tapping my phone?”
“What?”
My jaw dropped. “Am I tapping your phone? What sort of question is that?”
“How
did you know Leeza contacted me?”
“I
didn’t know. I was just guessing.” I looked at her in confusion. “Why do you
think I’m tapping your phone?”
“Because
you always seem to know what’s going on, and I think Leeza was trying to tell
me that you’ve been stalking me.”
“What?”
I laughed. “What are you talking about?”
“Leeza
called me and said that she was worried.” Lucky’s brown eyes were huge and
accusing. “I don’t really think you’ve been stalking me or anything. But you
know, I couldn’t help but be worried ...” Her voice trailed off.
“Worried
about what?” I frowned, fearing the worst. Did Leeza think we were moving too
fast? Was she going to try and convince Lucky to leave me?
“I’m
not sure exactly. She had a bad connection.”
“Call
her back,” I commanded her angrily. “I want to know what she’s talking about.”
“I’ll
call her later.” Lucky turned away from me and I heard her mumble something
under her breath.
“What’s
that?” I walked towards her and it took everything in me to not pull her
towards me and ask her what was going through her mind.
“Nothing,”
she sighed. “Let’s please finish dinner and talk later?”
“Fine.”
I left the kitchen and walked back to join Leo at the dining room table. He sat
there with an amused expression on his face and I scowled at him. “What’s so
funny?”
“You’re
so sprung on this girl. I never imagined I’d see the day.”
“Whatever.”
I sat down and gulped down the rest of my beer. “So are you free to do the
work?”
“You
sure you want me to do this?” Leo frowned.
“I’m
sure.”
“And
you haven’t talked to Lucky about this?”
“She’ll
say no.” I shook my head. “I need to make sure she’s protected.”
“I
really think you should tell her what’s going on, Zane.” He leaned forward and
stared at me. “She has a right to know.”
“Not
now.” I was firm. “You don’t know her like I do. She needs to be protected and
I can’t do it by myself. I need you to look after her for me. You need to
protect her.”
“Zane,
I don’t want to be dishonest.” Leo shook his head. “I really think she’s a good
person. I don’t want to fool her. As a bodyguard, I need the person to know
they can count and depend on me.”
“You
need to be her friend first. You can’t tell her, understand?” My voice was low.
“Do not tell her that I’ve hired you to be her bodyguard. All she has to know
is that we’re friends.”
“I
don’t feel good about this, Zane.” Leonardo frowned and I could see the tension
in his shoulders. I was tense, waiting for him to make a decision. He was the
only one I trusted with Lucky. I had to make sure that she was protected at all
times, I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to her. I had to hire the best.
“I’ll
do it because I like her, Zane. I’ll do it because you’re my best friend. But I
must tell you, you’re going to lose her if you keep lying to her. I hope that
one day soon
,
you’ll tell Lucky what’s going on.
And I hope you do it before it’s too late.”
Lucky
I
felt awful eavesdropping on Zane and Leo, but something just didn’t feel right.
Zane was acting crazy and possessive and I wasn’t quite sure if Leo was
flirting with me or just being nice. Not that I wanted him to be flirting with
me seriously, of course. That would make him a really shady friend to Zane, and
I would hate for his best friend to be shady, seeing as his family wasn’t
exactly the strongest. So I stood there and listened discreetly. Unfortunately,
I couldn’t hear their whole conversation. The only words I had heard were,
“Tell Lucky what’s going on” and my heart started beating like crazy. And then
I started to feel angry; Zane was still shutting me out. After everything that
had happened with Braydon, he still didn’t trust me. And I still didn’t know
what the stalking thing was all about. I’d been very surprised when he asked me
call Leeza. But maybe it had been a trick. Maybe he was tapping her phone as
well, and knew what she was doing too. Maybe he knew she couldn’t answer.
I
shook my head at my own thoughts.
Stop
being crazy, Lucky
. I told myself over and over again. He’s not tapping your
phone, and he’s certainly not tapping Leeza’s phone. I felt like I was going
crazy and wondered if I wasn’t just plain crazy. I was crazy for all of it. I
mean, really, what sane woman would up and leave college and move to another
state with a guy she barely knew?
But you
knew him for three months
, a voice whispered.
Maybe you weren’t dating him and maybe you weren’t bosom buddies, but
you got to know him. Three months is a long time. People get married after three
months. You just moved for a job. Don’t be so hard on yourself
.
I
stood there debating in my head for another couple of minutes before I realized
that I still had no clue what to serve for dessert. I quickly opened the
freezer and saw a frozen apple pie and some ice cream. Bingo! I pulled the pie
out and preheated the oven quickly. Who could say no to apple pie and ice
cream?