Shit! We’ve been discussing what to do about Penny and we’d forgotten about food. “I’ll call the restaurant downstairs and have them send up pizzas.” I pull my phone out of my pocket.
She gives me a hard stare. “Fine. I want one with extra anchovies and mozzarella cheese. Pay them extra if necessary to speed it up.” Like the dancer she is, she gracefully spins on her heels and sashays from the room.
Hayden watches her leave. A huge grin spreads across his face. “Man, I love that woman.”
“I can tell by the goofy expression on your face,” I remark.
“One day you’ll be wearing one too and you won’t even be sorry.” Hayden grins.
One day you’ll be wearing one too.
Not if I can help it.
Chapter Fourteen
PENNY
After Lucas’ family leaves, I help him gather the empty pizza boxes and glasses and take them into the kitchen. The room is huge with a large, white marble bench, charcoal cabinetries lining the wall, and top-of-the-line, modern, stainless-steel appliances. Soft ambient lighting from strategically placed sconces gives the room a cozy feel in such a large space.
“Do you do a lot of cooking and entertaining?” From what I’ve seen of his penthouse so far, the apartment is way too big for one man. You could easily fit a dozen more people.
“I don’t cook a thing.” He chuckles. “Not when I can have the restaurant downstairs deliver almost anything.”
“The penthouse seems so big for one person.”
He places the pizza boxes on the counter. I take the glasses to the sink then stack the dishwasher.
“I travel a lot for work. When I’m home, my brothers and their families are here a lot. I need all the space I can get when they’re around,” he jokes.
At dinner the brothers messed around with each other, calling one another names and poking fun. All done with love and affection behind their disparaging shit talk. There’s no doubt they are tight. Seeing them all together had me wishing for that kind of connection. What would it be like to be part of a big, loving family?
“Speaking of family, I need to call my mother and Claudia. They must be wondering where I am after the run-in with the paparazzi at Oaks Valley. Is there a room where I can make some calls?”
“Sure. You can use my office.”
Lucas leads me through the apartment decorated with stunning paintings and artwork. When he opens a door and I step into his office, I gasp. And it’s not because of the magnificent floor-to-ceiling view of New York’s city lights, it’s because of the blown-up photographs arranged haphazardly on the walls, propped up against furniture, and sitting on easels. It’s like I’ve stepped into a gallery.
On the walls I take in the photos of beautiful women dressed in Alessi designs. They’re not your normal catalogue photos. They’re artistic. Different from anything I’ve seen before. The locations look like they’ve been pulled from fairy tales. Mystical and magical. Photos propped against the furniture are of nature; mountains, valleys, and I recognize the area around the cabin.
“These are stunning.” I walk to one of a woman wearing a white, flowing, silk dress, lying on a bed of pink roses. Diamonds and pearls are draped around her neck and wrists. She’s looking into the distance with a whimsical expression. “You are so talented.”
“Thank you.” He dips his head like the comment embarrasses him. Surely he knows he’s great. He must get told so all the time. “I’m including them in an exhibition in a couple of weeks.”
“You’re displaying your work? That’s amazing. People are going to love them.”
If I hadn’t asked him to delete the photos he’d taken of me in the woods, would they be added to his collection? Displayed so people can look at them? A shiver travels over my body at the thought. After my experience in the past, I could never show mine. Even though I know they were beautiful and tasteful, I’d never be brave enough.
He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me so my back is pressed against his chest, resting his chin on top of my head. Like he knows what I’m thinking, he says, “I would have put your photos somewhere more private.”
Turning in his embrace, I tilt my face up to look at him. “And where would that have been?”
He grins. It’s so sexy I feel it down to my toes. “Blown up and put on my bedroom ceiling so I could look at it every night and—”
“Have sweet dreams?” I interrupt, knowing where this is heading.
Heat flashes in his eyes. “More like kinky ones.”
Playfully, I lightly pinch his chest. “I thought they were meant to be artistic photography?”
