The Last Husband (Forever Love #2)(50)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“Are you sure about that?” He laid down flat on his stomach and leaned on his arms while staring at me.

“Sure about what?” His eyes and lips had mesmerized me and I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.

“You know what.” He laughed and all of a sudden I was taken back to the first day I saw him come into the diner. It had been a Friday about 7 p.m. It had been pretty slow and Maria and I’d been dancing around behind the counter. She had been trying to teach me the basic salsa steps and I had been concentrating so hard that I hadn’t even noticed some customers had entered the restaurant.

“Sorry to bother you two dancing queens, but do you think we can get a table?” His voice had been deep and firm, but his tone had been full of laughter.

I looked up, ready to apologize, but the words had stuck in my throat as I gazed into his deep blue eyes. He had stared back at me, and we had what I had thought was an instant connection. I had given him a sweet smile and was about to lead him to a table when I noticed the gorgeous blonde behind him. She stood there snarling at me and then studied her fingernails, and I had felt about six inches tall.

“I’m sorry, sir. This way.” I had grabbed the menus and berated myself mentally for thinking that we had had a connection. There was no way a man like him would be interested in a waitress like me.

“I thought I had walked into a dance class and not a diner.” His eyes teased me as he took the menus and I blushed.

“Sorry about that.” I muttered again and he winked at me.

“Do you guys only have burgers?” The blonde had looked at me in disgust. “What is this place, Zane? I thought we were going to Ruth’s Chris.”

“They didn’t have any reservations, Emily.” He had reached over and caressed her hand. “A burger won’t kill you just this once.”

“I guess so, Zane.” She had tinkled and tightened her fingers in his. I had stood there staring at them for a moment when Zane had looked up at me and smiled. A real, wide, genuine smile, and I had been captivated by him. It wasn’t just that he had been the most gorgeous man I had ever seen but there was a glint in his eyes that had lit a part of me on fire.

“Are you okay, Lucky?” Zane’s expression was worried as he looked at me searchingly.

I nodded slowly. “I was just thinking about the first time we met.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, your expression just now reminded me of that day.” I smiled gently and ran my fingers along his jaw line. “You were so arrogant and hot, I didn’t know what to think about you.”

“I’m just glad you thought about me period.” He stared into my eyes. “To think we may never have met if I had never gone in that diner that night.”

“We would have met.” I leaned forward and kissed him. “We’re soul mates. Soul mates always meet up at some point in their lives.”

“You’re just a regular old romantic sap aren’t you Lucky?” He kissed me back gently. “Can I hear your song for me now?”

“It’s bad.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to say it now.”

“Why not?”

“Yours was so beautiful and mine…well, mine is just really bad and goofy.”

“Nothing about you is goofy.”

“Have you seen me at the gym?” I giggled. “Trust me, if you saw me try to use some of those weight machines, you would think I was the goofiest person that you ever met.”

“Stop trying to change the subject.” He licked my lips with the tip of his tongue. “Let me hear it.”

“If you promise not to laugh.”

“Of course I won’t laugh.”

“Okay.” I groaned. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but it’s really goofy.”

“I’m waiting.”

“Argh. Okay. Here we go.” I cleared my throat and sat up a little bit so that we were eye to eye. I coughed and then recited the poem I had written for him.

Zane, there has never been a man like you

Who has taken my heart and swallowed it up

I want you to know that you never have to doubt

That you have my love forever

I’ll never leave you, never stop loving you, never stop wanting to be with you

You are me, I am you, we are one

The room was silent as I finished speaking and I was scared that Zane was trying to hold his laughter in. I looked into his eyes and I realized that they looked wet.

“I told you it sucked.” I mumbled, embarrassed.

“That was amazing, Lucky. Thank you.” He reached over and squeezed my hand. “Now, what do you want to go and do?”

“Wait, we’re going out?” I was surprised and disappointed that he had changed the topic so quickly but I didn’t want to ask him why. I knew he was a newbie to emotions and I was pretty confident that he was most probably feeling overwhelmed with everything that was going on.

He jumped up off of the bed and stared down at me. “Want to see the Eiffel Tower by night?”

“Sure, I suppose so.” I sat up and rubbed my eyes before getting off of the bed. “I didn’t know we were going to go out right away.”

“There’s no time like the present right?” He laughed forcefully and looked away. He walked over to his suitcase and started fiddling around with it and I stood there watching him unsure of what to say.

“Did I do something to make you mad, Zane?” I asked softly. “Was it my poem? I’m sorry if you didn’t like it.”

He turned around slowly and looked at me with a clouded expression. “I liked the poem, Lucky.”

“So why are you acting so funny?”

“You really love me, don’t you?”

“You know I do.”

“It just suddenly felt real. I know that sounds dumb, but I think it just hit me like a ton of bricks. You really really love me and you are in this whatever happens.” He paused. “I’m not an easy man to love and I know that I’ve already put you through a lot. I guess I’m just wondering how much you can put up with. There are going to be so many more ups and downs with me.” He grimaced. “If you haven’t noticed, I get jealous, angry, and annoyed, and it hit me that at some point you’re no longer going to be thinking we are one. At some point you’re going to regret that you said you would never leave me or stop wanting to be with me. I know you love me. But sometimes love isn’t enough. Sometimes people can push you away so hard that it doesn’t matter how much you love them.”