Zuri Day - Lavish Loving

London shrugged. “Wish I had something juicy to bring to this obviously bored table, but whoever the person was reminded me of a casual friend who lived in Europe. No one you guys would know.”

“Oh, good,” Diamond said, looking around to ensure her next words would be as discreet as she intended. “Because Ace Montgomery is here but wants his stay to remain private.”

“Ace Mon—” Katrina began to exclaim.

“Shh!” Diamond interrupted.

“The model?” Diamond’s sister-in-law Marissa was the quiet one in this group, but even her whisper held excitement.

“The one in the sexy underwear ads!” Katrina whispered. “Oh, my goodness, what’s his room number? It’s about to go down!”

Katrina began to rise.

“No, you’re about to sit down.” Diamond caught Katrina’s arm and gave her the don’t-mess-with-the-pregnant-lady eye. Katrina dutifully sat down. “That’s confidential information only shared with family.” She looked at Katrina. “Something that on second thought may not have been the best idea. This baby obviously has my brain as cramped as my organs feel right now.”

She leaned back to relieve the pressure from her expanded girth. Finding none, she stood.

So did London. “Are you okay?”

“Just too uncomfortable to keep sitting.” She rubbed her stomach. “I think little Jackson is ready for bed.”

London reached for Diamond’s purse. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

“That’s okay, cousin. Stay here and enjoy yourself.”

“I was headed to the bathroom anyway.”

“There’s one right behind you.”

“I’d rather use the one in the lobby.” Diamond grunted. “Stop being so independent. I’m going to walk you down.”

Two steps out of Wine and the conversation continued. “No.”

“What?” London asked Diamond, her face a study in innocence.

“What?” Diamond parroted. “I’m not stupid. Earlier, it was Ace you saw, and by your reaction whatever happened in Europe with this friend—” she made air quotes with her fingers “—wasn’t as casual as you claimed. Now try and deny it.”

“Dang, was I that transparent?”

“No, I’m that good at reading people. Especially those on the prowl in hotels.”

“I am hardly on the prowl.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, really. I don’t look for men. They look for me.”

“Then you wouldn’t be interested in any information I’d have about him. His room number, for instance? Or that he checked in alone?”

They reached the hotel entrance and stepped outside.

“Okay, what is it?”

“No, you’re probably right. No need to share information you won’t even use.”

“I might use it. Make a phone call. Have a chat.”

“Just a phone call, huh? You can do that through the front desk. Just dial zero and ask for him.”

“I don’t want the hotel staff in my business.”

Diamond raised a brow. “Or your relatives?”

“What’s the room number?” London huffed.

“Oh, darn. Look at our observant and efficient valet staff. Already here with my car.” Diamond spoke to the young man who held the car door open and got inside.

“Diamond!”

Diamond laughed, blew a kiss. “Sweet dreams, London. See you tomorrow at brunch!”

London hid her exasperation behind a smile and waved goodbye. Her frustration was gone before Diamond’s car left the hotel driveway. It had been a few months since she’d broken things off with Maxwell and London was more than ready for some horizontal aerobics. Nothing serious, though. A friend with several inches’ worth of benefits. Or someone like the hotel guest who reminded her of the bad-boy blond Max had recently made famous. Yesterday, he’d seen through her thin wig-and-shades disguise and requested a selfie. Someone like him would be fun. Not someone for whom she’d once had feelings and who was engaged—even married, as far as she knew.

Even though he checked in alone?

Yes, even though.

No Ace. Keep it moving. Got it.

She crossed the lobby to the ladies’ room. The marble-and-brass appointments made even a simple trip to the loo a luxury. London entered one of six stalls and handled her business. She was just about to exit when she heard more women enter, whispering and giggling. London didn’t want to take a chance on being recognized, and at a towering six feet plus in her ever-present five-inch heels, she was hard to miss. That and the fact that over the past five years her oval face, big brown eyes and naturally plump lips had graced the cover of every major magazine in the world. Throughout the Papa Dee celebrations, most had respected her privacy and the situation and left her alone. Not sure that would happen now. She didn’t feel like socializing with strangers but didn’t want to be rude. So she muted her phone and silently scrolled through a social media site, waiting for them to be gone.

“Oh, my gosh! He’s even better looking in person!”

London’s ears perked up. Her head raised, too.

“I know, right? I got a selfie!”

A rustling sound followed as London assumed the speaker was digging through her bag.

“Mr. Hotness in the hot flesh.”

She must have found it.

“Darn it! I’m jealous! You should have asked for one in his undies.”

“I know, right!”

A high five sounded. London scowled.

“Ooh, I’d do anything to be Ellen right now. Fine man like that on vacation all alone.”

“Alone? I thought I read that he was married.”

“Engaged, but they broke up.”

London’s brow raised. Oh, really now. Bathroom breaking news had just gotten more interesting.

“He scheduled a massage?”

“Yes. She gets to massage that fine mass of muscle for a whole hour!”

“Shut up! Why was she the lucky choice?”

“She’s one of the best in the business. It probably doesn’t hurt that she’s married, a grandmother and twice his age. The hotel wouldn’t want any scandal.”

London heard a sigh.

“Guess I’ll have to content myself with changing his sheets and inhaling the cologne lingering on them.”

“Is he in the Champagne bungalow?”

“No, the Pinot Noir. His massage is at noon. I’d love to be a fly on the wall.”

All that talk about Ace’s sexiness made London replace thoughts about boundaries with memories of Ace’s hard body. In that moment she determined that tomorrow at noon, she was going to be that fly.

Chapter 2

They’d all been right. Especially Tyler, one of two business partners with whom Ace had opened Out of the Box, a fashion design company. They’d debuted with a menswear line known to the world as OTB Him. The launch had been as exhausting as it was successful. Ace had worked too hard for too long. He needed a break.

“You know it’s bad when you stop getting on my nerves and start getting on your own,” Tyler Dent had quipped last Tuesday after Ace fired a talented designer and scrapped a clothing direction months in the making. “You’re frickin’ overstressed, man. Either take a vacation or find another partner.”

Ace had responded with a few choice words, an upward flip of a certain finger and a door slam to punctuate his exit. He’d apologized later that evening and Dent, as Ace called him, in characteristic fashion, shook it off, bought him a beer and reiterated his ultimatum. The next day Ace had tasked his assistant with finding him a quiet, private place to unwind, something outside Northern California but no farther than a two-hour drive or hour-long airplane ride away. Among the several links she sent was the place he was now, Drake Wines Resort and Spa. The award-winning hotel and winery had appealed to him for several reasons. The private, freestanding bungalows they featured was only one of them.