Chapter 81
Elizabeth ended up having to close the diner, and by the time she got home, Lucky had already gone to bed and fallen asleep. She was relieved that they wouldn’t have to worry about a repeat of the previous night, but at the same time, she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. Exhausted from working all day, she yawned and crawled into bed, deciding to pack in the morning. They weren’t leaving for the tour until the afternoon, so she should have plenty of time.
~*~
“I can’t believe you waited until the last minute!” Lucky complained as Liz hurriedly tossed clothes into a suitcase.
“Well, if you had woken me up this morning, it wouldn’t have been a problem! Why did you let me sleep so late?” she grumbled, searching frantically for a pair of shoes to wear to the awards show.
Lucky had woke up that morning with Liz, once again, in his arms. She looked so peaceful, he hadn’t wanted to bother her, so he slipped away and went downstairs, letting her sleep.
“You looked tired, I figured you worked late and needed to sleep. See if I ever do anything nice for you again!” he shouted angrily.
“Hey, hey!” Charisma shouted from the doorway. She had heard them yelling all the way downstairs and had hurried up to find out what the problem was. They both stopped and turned to her guiltily.
“That’s better,” she sighed. “Now, whatever it is, is it really worth fighting over like this?”
Lucky pointed accusingly at Liz. “She waited until the last minute to pack!”
“I would have had plenty of time if he hadn’t let me oversleep!” she shot back.
“I’m sorry, but you looked tired! How was I supposed to know you hadn’t packed?”
Liz rolled her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that there was no suitcase sitting out! Besides, you’re always with me, you would have seen me pack.”
“Not if you did it last night,” he argued.
“It’s not my fault you didn’t wait up for me! Anyway, I got home too late to pack. I was exhausted.” She sighed and walked over to the closet. “Some of us work for a living, you know!”
Lucky threw his hands in the air. “What is that supposed to mean? What do you think I’m going to be doing for the next month?”
She shrugged, turning away from him. “Oh yeah, that’s real hard work there. Ride around on a tour bus all day and sing for a couple of hours a night in front of hundreds of screaming fans. Yeah, I sure wouldn’t want that job!”
“You have no idea what my job is like!” he shouted. “It’s not all fun and games like you think!”
“Guys!” Charisma screamed, tired of listening to them, as amusing as they were. “Stop this! Spence, Liz isn’t going to be able to pack any faster with you in here yelling at her like this, so why don’t you go downstairs and give her some space?”
“Thank you,” Liz said, smiling gratefully at her. “I could use a break from him, anyway.”
“Be careful what you wish for, little girl,” Lucky grumbled, pushing his way out of the room. Liz made a face at his back, then shook her head and walked back to the closet, determined to get this over with. She hated packing, and now that she was in such a terrible mood, it was even more annoying.
Charisma followed Lucky downstairs quietly, not wanting to say anything to make him blow up again. He flopped down on the couch and ran a hand through his hair, then looked up at her. “What?”
“Nothing. Um, I have to go out for a little while, but I’ll be back before you guys have to leave, okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” he grumbled, looking away as she headed for the door. Once she was gone, he sighed and reached for the phone. He dialed, then waited for her to answer.
“Alexis Davis.”
“Hey, it’s Lucky Spencer. I just thought I’d check in and see how the divorce was coming.” He looked up the stairs as he spoke, frowning.
“Oh, Lucky, I’m glad you called! We need to decide what Liz is getting in the settlement. Since there was no pre-nup, she’s entitled to part of your estate.”
“You’re kidding! But we’ve only been married a few days, and it wasn’t even real to begin with!”
“It doesn’t matter. A marriage is a marriage, as far as the law is concerned. The two of you need to work something out and let me know before I can draw up any papers.”
“It’ll be a cold day in Hell before she gets any of my money,” he grumbled, more to himself than anything.
Alexis chuckled. “Uh-oh, trouble in paradise?”
“Funny. We just had a huge fight. Actually, it was more like a screaming match. I hope I didn’t blow out my voice, I have to sing tomorrow...”
“A fight, huh? That’s funny, Jax and I never fought when we were married. Well, at least not until we started to have feelings for each other. In fact, I think that’s what tipped us off that there was more than just friendship there.”
He groaned, not wanting to hear this. “Whatever. Elizabeth will probably get back to you later about the divorce stuff. We’re leaving today for a tour. I’ll be gone for a month, but she’s coming back here after a week. By the time she gets back, we should have figured things out.”
Alexis smiled. She was going on the road with him? That should make things interesting. “Okay, whenever you’re ready. It’s still goingt o take a few more weeks for the paperwork to be done anyway, so there’s no rush. Have fun on that tour.”
“Thanks. Hey, if you need a good laugh, check out the American Music Awareds Wednesday night. I’m up for three of them, and she’s going with me.” He chuckled, figuring if anyone could appreciate what they’re going through, it’s her.
“You mean you’re going to have to act married in front of the entire country? Good luck!” She chuckled and quickly jotted it down on her calendar. This was one show she didn’t want to miss! They said good-bye and hung up, then she slipped her glasses on and tried sorting through the file in front of her, determined to get some work done.
A few minutes later, her phone rang. Figuring it was Lucky again, she answered after the first ring.
“Alexis Davis!”
“Hey.”
She smiled, sliding her glasses off and leaning back in her chair. “Hi. To what do I owe this call?”
“I need some legal advice,” the man on the other end said, his voice low and seductive.
“I should warn you, I’m not cheap,” she teased, chewing absently on the end of her pencil.
“Money’s not a problem.”
She smiled, knowing that he wasn’t kidding about that. “Well then, what sort of advice do you need?”
“Let’s say there’s this man...”
“Oh, we’re doing the hypothetical thing?” she joked, interrupting him.
“There’s this man, and he’s discovered that he’s very attracted to this woman, and he’s pretty sure she likes him, too. The only problem is, this woman also has feelings for another man, someone who is one of his sworn enemies, whom he had already fought with over another woman in the past. Now, should he take a chance with her, and face the possibility of another war with this other man, or should he back off?”
Alexis smiled and leaned foward, resting her elbows on her desk. “Well, to be honest, that’s not my field of expertise. What exactly is the legal problem?”
He chuckled softly. “Okay, say the same man is standing outside of this woman’s office right now? Would that be considered trespassing?”
She couldn’t help smiling at the absurdity of his question. “Did her secretary let him in?”
“Secretary’s out to lunch.”
She looked over at the clock. “It’s pretty late to be taking lunch.”
“Let’s just say he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.”
“That sounds like bribery to me.”
“Ah, I see. Well then, what do I owe you?”
“You didn’t use the full hour yet. Are you sure there isn’t anything else you need?”
“Let me think about that and I’ll get back to you,” he said, then hung up.
Alexis smiled and sat back in her chair, waiting. A moment later, there was a knock on her office door. Instead of calling out for them to come in, she stood up and walked over, opening it herself.
The man flashed her a winning smile and pocketed his cell phone. “I thought you’d like to know he decided to just go for it.”
She waited until he was inside, then shut the door, backing up against it. “Well, she’s a lucky girl, then,” she responded flirtatiously as he advanced on her, his lips crashing down on hers.
