“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.”