The Last Husband (Forever Love #2)(38)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“Your friend is crazy,” I whispered in her ear and she grinned at me before hitting me in the arm.

“Be nice,” she whispered back. “Leeza, get off the bed and let’s go downstairs.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” She jumped up and I noticed that she looked sad.

“Is everything okay, Leeza?” Lucky arched her eyebrows.

“Yeah. I’m just a bit down.” She pouted her lips and I reluctantly decided to ask her why.

“What’s wrong? Is there anything we can do?”

“I’m just sad ’cause Evan, you know, your friend Evan? Well, he dumped me.” She batted her eyelashes at me. “I’m a little sad. I thought he was interested in me.”

“Sex doesn’t equal interest, Leeza,” Lucky chided her friend and continued on. “You didn’t even really know him. And don’t get me started on that crap you said about Zane and how he was a stalker.”

“That’s what Evan told me!” Leeza cried out. “He told me I should let you know.” She pouted again as she looked at me. “How was I to know? I barely know him. You barely know him.”

“I know him a lot better than you do. Do you think I’m an idiot?” Lucky’s voice was taut.

“Well, you did just come here on a whim.”

“I don’t expect you to understand, Leeza, but I don’t want you trying to sabotage my relationship. You’re one of my best friends, and that won’t change, but I’m not the same girl, anymore. I changed a long time ago.”

“What did you do to her?” Leeza turned around and pointed at me. “Did you turn my best friend against me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, coldly, irritated and annoyed. The last thing I needed was for this to become a volatile situation. I didn’t know what Evan was planning, but if he was as involved with this drug trafficking as I thought he was, and it went as deep as the FBI said it did, then Lucky was in some real danger with Leeza around.

“Leeza, let’s go downstairs.” Lucky grabbed her friend’s arm.

I put my hand up. “Wait.” I walked over to Leeza and gave her a big smile- a big, fake smile. I really wanted to interrogate her about what she knew, but I knew it wouldn’t be smart. “Maybe we got off to a bad start, Leeza. Hi, I’m Zane.” I offered her my hand. “I’m Lucky’s boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Her jaw dropped open. “I thought you guys were just sleeping together.”

“Leeza!” Lucky’s voice was angry. “Let’s go get a drink.”

“Lucky, you go downstairs. I want a quick word with her.” I smiled gently and waited until I heard her going down the stairs to speak to her friend. “You listen, and you listen good. I don’t know what game you’re playing, and I don’t know if you realize just how much trouble Evan is and what sort of trouble you’re dragging Lucky into, but you better believe that I’m on to you and what you’re doing. If I find out you have betrayed Lucky in any way, I will make sure you never see her again.”

Leeza stood there with her mouth hanging open and I saw some saliva escape from her mouth. She looked at me in shock and I thought my words really struck a chord. There was no way I was going to allow her to jeopardize Lucky’s safety or the case against Braydon and Evan. I gave her one last, hard stare, and stood by the open door, ushering her out of the room.

As I got ready for my dinner date with Angelique, the nerves in my stomach threatened to bring me to my knees. Angelique and I had a connection, and I couldn’t let it go. I had been excited about this night and this moment for a few months. Our relationship together hinged on this moment, and as much as I loved Lucky, I couldn’t let this go. I couldn’t let Angelique go. Not now when we had come this far.

Chapter 8

Lucky

“Take good care of them, Leo,” Zane whispered urgently to his friend, and it was all I could do to not roll my eyes.

Zane had been acting weird ever since we picked Leeza up, and I wasn’t sure why they had that near-fight in the bedroom earlier. Both of them were acting a bit weird, and I wondered if there was some history there that I didn’t know about. I laughed to myself at my thoughts. There was no way Leeza would have slept with him and not told me, and I knew that Zane would have been honest with me about it, as well. We were a team now. We told each other everything.

“You never told me Leonardo was so gorgeous,” Leeza gushed to me and played with her blonde hair. “Do you think I have a shot with him?” She flattened her short, black skirt and ogled Leo. Leeza’s mood had improved since Leo had arrived, but I could tell she didn’t like Zane at all. “He’s a creep” had been her exact words to me.

“I think he may be seeing someone,” I lied. I didn’t know how to tell Leeza to slow down with the guys. It was a conversation we’d had before, but she had gotten mad at me and called me a “Holier-than-thou, born-again nun.” I had tried to tell her that her sentence didn’t really make sense, and that I was only thinking about her best interests, but she had shot me down.

“If he ain’t married, he’s available.” Leeza grinned at me and walked over to Leo and Zane. “Why, Leo, I’m happy to see that L.A. has some good looking men.”

Zane looked up at me and rolled his eyes at her comment, and I stifled a laugh. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at him in his dark, grey suit and tie. He looked so handsome and debonair, and his hair was shining and his eyes were sparkling. I wasn’t sure exactly what business meeting he was going to, but it was obviously an important one.

I walked over to him and linked my arm through his. “You look very handsome tonight,” I whispered into his ear while breathing in his delicious, manly scent.

“Thank you, my dear.” He looked me over from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and licked his lips. “You look beautiful. I’m jealous that you’ve never gotten this dressed up for me.”

“Well, you could come to dinner with us instead.” I kissed him and he grabbed me around the waist and kissed me back.

“I wish.” He took a deep breath. “I promise that, tomorrow, it will be you and me, and a nice dinner out, wherever you want.”

“I’d like that.”

“And we’ll both get dressed up.”