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about him helping me when my car had broken
down. Had he done something to my car so he could rescue me? I froze and took a
deep breath. No, he hadn’t done anything to my car. I had known my head gasket
was about to go. There was no way he could have made that happen. But maybe he
had been following me. Because how was it that he just happened to pull up
behind me? How long had he been following me? My hands felt clammy and I
realized that I still had the phone next to my ear.
    “Lucky,
are you there?” Leeza sounded concerned.
    “Yes,”
I whispered.
    “Be
careful, okay? I’m worried about Zane. I know he’s cute, and you’ve been a bit
desperate, but I don’t trust him.”
    “I
have not been desperate!”
    “Well,
it’s been over a year.”
    “I
had my rules, Leeza, you know that.”
    “Yeah,
but you dropped that pretty quickly once a man came along.”
    “No,
I didn’t. And he wasn’t the first guy who tried to get with me.” I was angry
now.
    “I’m
just saying be careful.” She paused. “I was thinking that maybe I could come
visit you. Make sure he’s not a stalker.”
    “He’s
not a stalker, Leeza!” I sighed. “And when did you want to come?”
    “Next
weekend?” Her voice was hopeful.
    “I’ll
let you know.” And then I hung up, not caring that I was being rude.
    My
head was spinning and I knew that I needed to sit down and think about
everything. I felt like I was lost in a maze of people I didn’t know and
everything I thought I knew about was wrong. I was angry and upset, and if I
was honest, I was a little bit scared. What else had Zane lied to me about?

 
    ***
    We
ate the apple pie in silence. There was a cold air between Leo and Zane, and I
was also giving Zane the silent treatment. I wanted very badly to ask him why
he hadn’t told me he had arranged to have me at the party. I wasn’t even that
mad. In a way, it was endearing, and I felt a warm glow. He’d had his eyes on
me, just like I’d had my eyes on him. However, I kept my mouth shut because I
didn’t want to bring Leo into our drama.
    I
could see Zane’s surreptitious glances and I just avoided all eye contact with
him. I felt like I was in a spy movie or something—only I was the oddball
that didn’t realize that she was in it. I had no clue what was going on anymore
and I was annoyed. Really annoyed. I liked being in control and knowing exactly
what was going on. Zane had my head spinning.
    “This
is delicious, Lucky. Thank you.” Leo smiled at me and I smiled back at him.
    “Thanks
to Sara Lee.”
    “Well
thank you, Sara Lee.” Leo licked his lips and dropped his spoon back down into
his bowl. “That was really good.”
    “I’m
sorry that nothing was homemade.” I frowned.
    “The
salad was to-die-for.” Leo made some noises that reminded me of sex, and I
blushed.
    “Really,
Leo?” Zane muttered at him.
    “He’s
just showing me that he liked the pie,” I snapped at Zane. “At least he can
express his feelings.”
    “What’s
that supposed to mean?” Zane looked at me with a question in his clouded, blue
eyes. “I don’t tell you how I feel enough?”
    I
remained mute and looked away from him. I didn’t want to start an argument with
him in front of Leo. I wasn’t that angry. And it wasn’t even about expressing
feelings.
    “Do
you want me to sing you a love song in front of Leo, Lucky? So he knows how I
feel?”
    “No.”
My face burned with humiliation.
    “How’s
about some Frank Sinatra?” He cleared his throat. “Let me see, I could sing
‘Lady Luck’ or … wait, ‘Strangers in the Night.’”
    “You’re
an ass.” I glared at him.
    “You’re
a woman.”
    “Excuse
me?” I jumped up. “What does that mean?”
    “You’re
so moody. I don’t even know what your problem is.” He glared back at me.
    “You
stalked me!” I spat out.
    “Here
we go again,” he sighed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m sorry
to burst your bubble, but I’ve never