There were two bags from the Louboutin store in West Hollywood.  She opened one bag and found a pair of deep red platform pumps with spikes.  She smiled, the Dafodile.  The second bag contained a replacement pair of her favorite Carlotas. She smiled as she ran her hand along the contrasting suede and patent leather.  She placed both pairs on the coffee table and looked at them.

There was a third package which she just pushed aside.  She was sure it was from the DNA lab, and she’d open it when she was alone. Joey pushed the package back toward her.

She looked at him.  “That one’s personal.”

Fine, so he wouldn’t press.  There had been something going on between them all day and he didn’t want to ruin whatever it was.

“Are you hungry?”  Joey asked her.  It was 3:00 in L.A., but they’d started the day on Kansas time.  It had been hours since they’d had brunch.

“I could eat.  But we’ll have to go out, I’m sure anything I had in the fridge has been thrown out by Ben’s cleaning crew.”

“It’s not a problem, I have Tito downstairs.  Let’s go out.”

“Okay, let me change and freshen up.  We’re back in L.A. and I can’t go out without a face.”

“The one you have looks good to me.”

She laughed.  “It’ll look better with some powder and mascara.”

“Fine.  Go change into a star.” He said laughingly.

Jess picked up the unopened package and her purse, turned and went to her bedroom.  Joey pulled out his phone and dialed Ben.

“Yeah, she’s home.  Everything’s secure and we’re going to go grab something to eat.”

Jess came out of the bedroom.  She was wearing skinny jeans and a deep red long sleeved t-shirt.  She sat on the sofa and put on her new shoes.

“Those things don’t need some break-in time?” How the hell did she walk in them anyway?

“No, Ben always gets the size right.  No break-in time needed.  Besides, we have a driver, there won’t be much walking involved.”

Joey made sure the condo door was locked before they made their way to the elevators.  They both reached for the button.  Joey turned his head and gave her a look meant to tell her, that like opening the car door, it was his job.  Jess moved her hand and Joey pushed the button.  He’d overheard Ben tell Lane yesterday that she didn’t have to do everything for herself any more.  The Bellini men were old school in a modern world.  They wanted to take care of their women.  Take care of them as if, and because, they were the most cherished person on earth, not treat them as though they were helpless or insignificant.  He did a mental head shake.  Had he just thought of Jess Parker as his woman?  He smiled.  He sure had, and something about it just felt right.

What was it with him Jess wondered.  Did he need to be in control of everything?  She smiled.  It sounded a bit like herself.  This could go one of two ways.  It could be a constant struggle for control or it could be a continuous dance of give and take.  Dancing, that’s what she’d been doing all afternoon. Dancing around the feelings she had for him.  She hadn’t had a relationship, well, ever.  She dated but she didn’t date anyone for long.  It was hard to keep someone at arm’s length for very long and even teenaged boys wanted a relationship to progress.  Although their idea of the next level was about sex and not emotions, it didn’t matter because she wasn’t giving an inch on either count.  When one of her friends thought she had some new insight and pointed out that she had daddy issues, she had responded by saying, “Some of us like our crazy.” Yes, she knew she had daddy issues and those issues were why she didn’t let a man get too close.  If you didn’t let them in, they couldn’t break your heart.  Joey Bellini had the potential of blasting through the wall.  Hell he’d already proven there was no lock that could keep him out if he wanted in.

The elevator car arrived and they got in.  They looked at each other.  He smiled that Bellini smile.  She blinked those eyelashes.  He took a step toward her.  Another step and she’d be cornered.  She reached up and put her right hand on his chest. She lowered her eyelashes and looked up at him through them.  “I’m sorry about hitting you in the chest with the centerpiece last night. How is it?”

He put his left hand over hers and took the last step forward.  “My bruise has a bruise now, but I’ll live.”

She could feel his breath on her face as he spoke.  Thank God the elevator door opened. But Joey didn’t step away.  She tapped his chest with her fingers and inclined her head toward the door.  Still holding her hand, he turned and they walked out of the elevator.

The guard nodded at them as they walked through the lobby.  Tito opened the limo door and Joey helped Jess in before getting in himself.  He gave Tito the name of a restaurant in Culver City and Tito closed the door.

He looked over at her and smiled. “I hope Chinese is okay.”  Then he reached over and took her hand.

“Actually it’s perfect.  I love Chinese, and that’s one of my favorite restaurants.”

During dinner they engaged in more small talk.

“How soon do you leave for Europe?”

“The end of November.”

“Where are you filming and how long will you be gone?”

“We’ll be filming in both the Ireland and Italy. I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone.  Jer – that’s my agent – said that the producers are thinking about filming all three movies at the same time.  They did it with Lord of the Rings.  It’s a risk in case the first film doesn’t do well at the box office, but if it does, it’s good because it reduces the time between the releases of the next two films.  It also means that I could be gone for over a year.”

They were back in the limo, on the way to Jess’s condo, and he was holding her hand again when he began thinking, “What am I doing?”  He needed to get back to Vegas.  He had a casino to run. Jess was leaving and she could be gone for a year or more. A lot could happen in a year.  Hell, a lot had happened in the past five days.

They arrived at Jess’s condo and Joey told Tito to wait.  They walked through the lobby and, once again, rode the elevator up to the top floor.  Joey held Jess’s hand as he walked her to her door.  She unlocked the door and he bent and kissed her.  At first he brushed his lips gently against hers, but soon the kiss deepened and they were engaged in a serious lip-lock, still standing in the hallway.  He had intended to kiss her good-bye at the door and leave, but no, leaving was the last thing on his mind.

Jess opened the door and pulled Joey into the condo.  Joey closed the door and pushed her back against it.  She was a planner, a thinker, but she wasn’t thinking right now.  Not about the fact that she’d be leaving in a few weeks; not about their complicated family dynamic; not even about their seven year age difference. When they had kissed Wednesday, she’d been acting and he’d been pretending to be Pauli and they had been performing for the paparazzi.  But now, there were no paparazzi and Jess wasn’t acting.

Joey had his hands on the door on either side of her and was kissing her neck as he whispered in Italian. “My sweet, Jess.”  He continued kissing her neck down one side to her collar bone and up the other side.  “My beautiful little fighter.”

Jess ran her fingers through his hair.  “Joey?”

“Hmm?”  He answered as he continued kissing her.

She tugged at his hair.  “Joey?”

He straightened and looked at her.  “What?”

“I don’t understand Italian, remember?”

“When we’re alone, you can understand Italian.”  He began kissing her again.  Her lips, her face, her lips, her eye lids, her lips.  “It’s a romance language, let me speak to you in the tongue of my ancestors.”

It was difficult to argue with him when he presented it that way. She caught her breath. “Quando siamo soli, posso comprendere Italiana.  But only when we’re alone.”  She replied.