Page 43 of Crossing the Line
A Night to Remember
Paisley Grove
We tried to carry on with dinner for as long as we could. We were girls who were determined to not let a pair of boys ruin our night, but Lake received a phone call from Mason. As soon as she hung up, she seemed distracted. And I think Orion and his pay-to-play date got to Treasure more than she let on. Of course, having a view of Hercules and Lauren irked me. So we had all the leftovers boxed up, split the food between us, and left.
When I got home, I showered and then cleansed and moisturized my face. Now I’m in bed, wearing panties and a tank top. I’m sitting against the bed’s large gray headboard, scarfing down a fancy sort of cracked lamb Bolognese from Treasure’s restaurant. The portion is very small, the size of an appetizer. Regardless, the food hits the spot. It’s really tasty, and my stomach isn’t growling anymore. So, those are pluses.
I gaze at a scene from tonight’s news playing on the oversized TV that slides out of the foot of my bed. But I’m not really paying attention to what’s being said or shown, although I can tell the content is very sensational.
I shake my foot, fighting the urge to call Hercules. I’m surprised he hasn’t reached out to me. Maybe Orion talked some sense into him. Although if Orion is the kind of person Treasure says he is, then he’s not one who talks much sense into anybody.
The back of my head collapses against the headboard as my sigh mirrors a deflating balloon.Who are we kidding, anyway?A friendship with Hercules is like trying to eat one potato chip without my mouth watering for the next, and the next, and so on. The sex we had last night was nothing short of epic. My body is still reeling from his hands all over my skin, and him being inside of and on top of me. We almost kissed tonight.
I shake my head just as my cellphone chimes. Like a frightened cat, I leap out of bed and pounce on my purse sitting on the oversized armchair. My heart constricts when I read the name on the screen.
On the third ring, I take a breath, get a grip, slide the answer bar to the left, and calmly say, “Hello.”
* * *
This is reckless of me—ofus. Hercules asked if I wanted to do something that wasn’t dull.
Chuckling, I crooned, “What do you have in mind?”
“You’ll have to wait and see,” he said, flirting.
Ultimately, I agreed to spend time with him. Hercules ordered a car to pick me up and take me to a building in our neighborhood. I was given access to a private elevator, which raced me to the rooftop floor. On a helipad, Hercules and a helicopter were waiting for me.
And now we’re soaring through the sky. We have earphones on so we can hear each other over the purring engine. I can’t help but split my attention between Hercules and the lights twinkling below us. Gosh, New York is a gorgeous state. The whole East Coast can be majestic. California always felt new and bold, but this side of the country feels like history.
“How are you?” Hercules asks.
I rip my gaze from the landscape below and smile at him. “Where are you taking me?”
His mouthwatering smile grows wider. “You can’t handle surprises, PG?”
“Yes. I can handle surprises.” I’m giddy, beaming like I would have been if Hercules asked me out on a proper date back in high school.
His toothy grin takes my breath away. Gosh, his teeth are so white. He takes care of himself. That’s a turn-on too. Then he says how surprised he was to learn that Treasure owned the Chest of Chelsea.
“So was I.” I gnaw on my bottom lip thoughtfully. “I don’t think her parents know.”
Hercules seems to consider what I’ve just said. I’m waiting for him to say something that’ll lead me to say more. But he’s taking too long, and I want to say what I’ve been thinking about the whole mess of Treasure buying a restaurant and being engaged to a legendary fuckboy actor too.
“Because if they knew, her dad would’ve mentioned it to his wife, and his wife would’ve bragged to my mom about how regardless of being cut off from our grandfather’s trust, Treasure, like me, was out in the world making it on her own. And probably even more successful since she wasn’t at all connected to the family billions. And then my mom would’ve called me to discuss how Treasure knows nothing about owning a restaurant.” Shaking my head while gazing at Hercules unfocused. “I can hear my mom ask, ‘How many restaurants survive their first year? One in three or one in four?’” I say, mimicking her Southern Californian accent. “She wouldn’t wait for me to get her the accurate answer before declaring that Treasure would definitely be on the losing side of that statistic.” I sharpen my focus on Hercules.
He looks troubled. “Your family sounds like my family.”
My sigh is suffused with heaviness. “Well, at least Treasure and I have made a pact to never engage our mothers in negative speech about each other.”
“That’s very progressive of the both of you.”
His compliment makes me smile. “Thanks.”
He smiles again, setting his fiery focus on my mouth. I think he wants to kiss me. But we can’t kiss. Regardless, I go on to explain how my mom and Treasure’s mom are competitive. There’s history between Treasure’s mom and my mother who used to be a world-class fashion model, and Leo—Treasure’s father—and Xander, my dad.
“Whenever we’re together, my parents do this odd duo act where they tell the story of how Heartly Rose chose Xander over Leo. And that sort of explains why people say Treasure and I look alike. Because the Grove brothers have similar taste.” I roll my eyes at how amusing and crazy that all sounds. Sometimes I have to remind myself that the “grown-ups” in my universe are not gods. They’re merely human beings with pasts that contain elements of tragedy or comedy, depending on how I look at it.
Hercules watches me with the same penetrating gaze and sexy smile he held before I decided to turn into a motormouth.
