“Hi.”

OK, so he’s not much of conversationalist. The way he says “hi” tells me he’s probably not the sharpest guy in the world, but this is weird. I’ve never lost the interest of a guy so quickly. One minute all smiles and stare, dropping at my feet, and now no smile..and his staring eyes shift ever so slightly.

My less-than-interested new friend looks up. “Aren’t you…”

“No, he died last year.”

I suddenly realize the shadow now covering my body is Alan standing over me. He came back like he said he would. I ignore the riot of my blood and my rapidly increasing heartbeat.

I make a face at Alan to cover my ridiculous pleasure at seeing him. “That’s not funny at all. You shouldn’t say things like that. Not even if you’re joking.”

Alan settles on the blanket beside me. Mr. Hacky Sack is still with us. My afternoon doldrums have instantly vanished, because I’m really glad Alan did look in on me and that he’s saving me from Mr. Hacky Sack who was a disappointment from word one.

I frown at him. “I thought you said you never do bullshit. That fib is a yellow card.”

Something in how he looks at me makes me shiver. “So you do remember parts of last night. This morning I wasn’t sure if you did.”

My face burns and my mind whirls. Why would Alan think I didn’t remember what happened last night? I wasn’t passed out drunk. Just sort of spacey and weird and not myself.

I bite my lip hard to stop my thoughts. I look at Alan. “Should we invite my new friend to stay for lunch?”

“Only if you think you have enough to go around.”

The heat rises in my cheeks like a burn. I wasn’t expecting that naughty comment.

Mr. Hacky Sack looks uncomfortable. He springs to his feet and makes a fast excuse.

Once we’re alone, Alan gives me a harsh, rebuking stare. “I thought I told you not to leave the apartment, and after Jimmy Stallworth I would have thought you’d figure out that you just don’t pick up any guy you meet in New York.”

I give him a frustrated glare. “What? Girls don’t date in New York? Where am I supposed to meet someone? Barney’s or Saks Fifth Avenue?”

He rolls his eyes and reclines back on his elbows next to me. “I think it’s safer for you to wait until you’re back in Santa Barbara to try to hook up with someone. You just don’t have that New York girl savvy and instinct.”

“How would you know? You don’t know anything about me.”

Smug, burning black eyes. “Jimmy Stallworth and Vince Carroll. A savvy girl would have run from both of them.”

I drop my gaze first because he made that point insultingly well. I still get nauseated when I think of Vince touching and kissing me. And I still haven’t processed that I was actually stupid enough to meet a New York drug dealer and help him crash a club to close a drug deal.

“I really hated leaving you today,” Alan says heavily.

I look up and my heart accelerates.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you all day.” Those penetrating black eyes lock on me. “I couldn’t stop worrying. How do you feel?”

I frown, more than a little irritated. “Why do you keep asking me that? It’s really getting on my nerves.”

He ignores the question.

I bite my lower lip and brace myself. “Why did you beat up Vince Carroll last night?”

If Alan has any reaction to that question I can’t see it. “Because he was stupid enough to let the tabloids get hold of you. He was supposed to quietly get you into the car.”

I frown. “That’s a severe response to a mistake, don’t you think?”

He starts to rummage in my bag. “Do you have aspirin in here? I have a terrible headache. I could really use two aspirin and about an hour’s sleep …Cheez-Its, Oreo cookies, Diet Coke...”

“Here, give me that!”

I grab my bag from him.

“Oreo cookies and Diet Coke. Really? I’ll never understand the logic of a girl.”

I hold out the bottle of aspirin and a Diet Coke. “I’ll have you know that Oreo cookies and Diet Coke are one of my favorite things.”

He downs about four tablets. “Why? It sounds repulsive.”

“I’ll have to show you. This is something you can only get by doing it.”

I take a cookie and hold it up to his mouth. He looks suspicious.

“The whole cookie. It only works if you do the whole cookie, and don’t break it and don’t swallow.”

That prompts a look that makes every cell in my body burn while I put the cookie in his mouth. My fingers touch his lips and that draws my eyes to his. This is so childish. Why am I doing this lame stunt with him?

“Now fill your mouth with Diet Coke.”

In a half second, it’s fizzing and I can hear it. I start to laugh.

He swallows, makes a face and I laugh harder. “God, you are amused by the strangest things.”

I ignore the jab. “Rene taught me that at ten.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yes, Rene would definitely be amused by things that swell and fizz in your mouth.”

“Be nice.” I give him a napkin to wipe his mouth. “Why don’t you like Rene?”

“I’ve known lots of girls like Rene. The world is full of girls like Rene. You get sick of them after a while. I can’t figure out why you like her.”

He settles back down on the blanket and puts his head in my lap. The unexpected closeness hits me like a freight train. Such an intimate thing to do, violating personal space, and he does it so naturally.

“So what have you been doing all day?” I ask, trying not to sound completely flustered.

He closes his eyes. “An appointment with my lawyers. Lunch with Lillian, misery in every way. Seven interviews.”

Lillian? There is something in the way he says that name that tells me this person is important to him. “Who is Lillian?”

“My mother. Terrible mother. Marvelous agent.”

I feel absurd relief over learning that Lillian is just his mother.

Those black eyes focus on me. “Why are you laughing?”

I blush. “You sound more British than when you left this morning and I was wondering if that’s the aftereffect of having lunch with your mother.”

He rolls his eyes. “Have you decided what you are going to do, love? Are you staying in New York?”

“I think I’m staying. I want to be close if Rene needs me.”

“That’s a stupid reason for spending your vacation alone. Personally, I don’t think she’s worth it.”

A dozen sharp, defensive retorts about Rene fill my head, but for some reason I don’t say any of them. Perhaps, it’s because he sounds tired, halfway to sleep. I watch the slow softening of his features and stare at his lustrous, dark hair. I really want to touch that hair. I grab my book instead.

Ten minutes pass with me pretending to read before I realize that it’s just not going to happen. Chekhov in the sun was difficult enough. With Alan it’s impossible. Instead, I peek over my book and just watch him. Is he asleep? I can’t tell. He’s still. His breathing is quiet.

My hand refuses to obey my command. My fingers find his hair. The black strands are soft and they flutter through my fingers. I like the way his hair feels. What is it about a guy’s hair? It’s always softer. Probably because they don’t do so much to it.

A woman walking on the sidewalk smiles at us. A random smile from a New Yorker. Miracles never cease. I look at Alan. Two miracles in a single day. He did look in on me. I never expected that. And a woman smiling at me as though I were part of a couple instead of the dreaded single that I always seem to be. I wonder how we look together?

“If you don’t turn a page eventually, you will never finish that book.”

I still. His eyes are closed. How did he know I was reading? How did he know I haven’t turned the page?

“I can’t focus on this book. I hate it.”

His eyes shoot open. “Is that a recent problem?”

I frown. Jeez, another of those questions that seem like more than a question-question. I roll my eyes in frustration.