The Last Husband (Forever Love #2)(12)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“And you’re the most wonderful crazy person I’ve ever known, too.”

“Wait a minute. Who said I’m crazy?” I laughed, happy to see the smile on her face. “I know most men wouldn’t date Worzel Gummidge’s twin sister, but I don’t know if that makes me crazy.”

“Zane.” She laughed and hit me in the arm. “Is my hair looking crazy again?” She looked at me self-consciously.

“No.” I tilted her face up to mine and kissed her forehead as I ran my hands through her long, cascading locks. “Your curls look like you.”

“So it does look crazy?” She smiled at me and pushed her arms around my waist before placing her head against my chest. “You’re so warm.”

I brought her closer to me and wrapped my arms around her as I held her warm body tightly against me. The feel of her so close to me made me feel whole. It made me feel complete. Lucky fit me in a way no other woman ever would.

“Are you still mad at me for reasons unknown?” I whispered into her ear.

“I’m not mad at you, Zane. I’m just confused. The call confused me.” She looked up at me, with a glint in her brown eyes, and all of a sudden, I felt extremely uneasy. “But I would be lying if I told you I didn’t love this, didn’t love you. Your warmth soothes my soul.” She giggled. “Shit, I sound corny.”

“I was going to say you sound like a sweet, innocent farm girl.” I grinned back at her, letting my words mask my concern and worry. “So, Lucky, please tell me, what farm did you come from?”

“The tobacco farm, duh.”

“What, not the cotton farm?”

“My family grew tobacco and cotton, I’ll have you know.”

“Oh, on the plantation?”

“Why, yes, I do miss the plantation.” She reached up and ran her fingers across my lips and I nibbled on the tip of her index finger. “Ow.” She pulled it back quickly.

“There’s more where that came from, ma’am.”

“I bet there is.”

“Hey, guys, any chance of dinner anytime soon?” Leo shouted up the stairs and Lucky pulled away from me with a guilty look.

“Oh no, I forgot Leonardo was here.” She looked at me with anxiously. “I’m such a bad host.”

“No worries, love.” I grinned. She hadn’t even remembered Leo was there. I guess he hadn’t made a huge impression on her after all. I tried to stop myself from gloating. I needed Lucky to like Leo if I was going to follow my plan. I just wasn’t sure if I was making the right decision. One part of me—the part in my brain that was focused on emotions and my worry—told me it was what I needed to do. But the sane part of me—the part that was here with Lucky—told me that I was making a mistake. That I should just appreciate what we had and live life. And I wanted to do that so badly. But I couldn’t stop the voice in my head that told me that I was not enough.

“We’re coming, Leo. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” He laughed and looked past me to talk to Lucky. “I’ve been waiting patiently for your lamb. I hope it’s nearly ready.”

“Oh, my lamb!” Lucky cried out and ran down the stairs. “My lamb’s going to be dried out. Nooo!” I watched as she ran into the kitchen, and a warm, domestic feeling overwhelmed me. Maybe I was old-fashioned, but I wanted to see Lucky in the kitchen, with a bunch of kids around her. I wanted to watch her grimace when she burnt the cookies and delight when her soufflés rose perfectly. I wanted to make s’mores in the fireplace and I wanted to enjoy late night ….

“Zane, can you come and help me, please?” Lucky called out to me and interrupted my daydream.

“Want more wine?” I asked Leo before hurrying to the kitchen.

“I never thought I’d see the day where Zane Beaumont was domesticized.” Leo laughed as he shook his head.

“Shh.” I frowned at him and hurried into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”

“The potatoes are cold and the lamb has cooked too long.” She looked at me with wide eyes. “The dinner’s going to be awful.”

“It smells and looks good,” I said gently, ignoring the fact that the lamb chop looked like a dried up piece of charcoal.

“Liar,” she mumbled and sighed. “I just don’t believe this.”

“It’s okay, Lucky.”

“Argh.”

“Are you okay?” I was starting to think that Lucky was having pregnancy wiles. Maybe that was why she was so emotional? I wasn’t even sure if that was a real symptom, and if it was, I didn’t know if it would be showing up so quickly.

“No, my dinner is ruined.” She opened the fridge and pulled out a glass bowl that I vaguely recognized. “At least the salad is still good.” She lifted up the plastic wrap from the top of the bowl. “Maybe we can do salad and …”

“Did someone say that we were having a salad for dinner?” Leo sauntered in. I gave him a look and nodded my head quickly to the counter where the burnt lamb chops sat. I saw him glance over and he winked at me. “Salad sounds great. I didn’t want to tell you before, but I’m trying to avoid meat right now.”

“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.