“Have you booked the hotel yet?”

“What hotel?” I frowned at him as he walked back into the room.

“The hotel in Paris.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m doing it now.” I quickly pulled up a website and clicked through without looking properly.

“I expected you to do it as soon as I left.”

“I expected you to be gone for a longer amount of time.”

“Why do you talk back to me, Lola?”

“Why do you treat me like your slave?” I snapped back. Xavier had a way of getting under my skin.

“I don’t think you should throw that word around.” He gave me a solemn frown and I felt very much like he was telling me off. “However, I think I can forgive you if you want to bend over and give me a little show.” His lips twitched and my eyes narrowed.

“Excuse me?”

“For what am I excusing you?”

“You’re a pig.”

“Is that higher up or lower than an ass?” He smirked.

“Can I go now?” I quickly typed in his credit card information and grabbed my bag and stood up. “My boss just told me I have to go on a last-minute trip for work and I’d like to go home and pack.”

“What if your boyfriend decided to take you on a last-minute trip? Would that have been better? Would you have been more excited?”

I stared at him for a moment, not sure if he was asking me to be his girlfriend or what. A feeling of hope surged through me, and I was about to answer when his expression changed to a look of horror.

“Oh shit, I don’t mean if I was your boyfriend and asked you. I just meant if you had a boyfriend and he asked you. General random boyfriend, not me boyfriend.”

“None of your business.” I turned to the table and sorted out some papers so he couldn’t see the embarrassment burning on my face. Trust Xavier to get my hopes up for a minute. Not that I wanted him to be my boyfriend. He’d make an insufferable boyfriend. He was someone I had no interested in dating. Not at all. Not even if he paid me one million dollars. Okay, maybe if he paid me a million dollars. Or even ten thousand. Or even if he didn’t pay me. I sighed inwardly. I was falling for Xavier. I couldn’t help it and I didn’t want to. He was such a pig. But he was so handsome and so funny when he wanted to be.

“So what do you say?” Xavier’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Huh?” I turned around feeling flustered, not knowing what he’d just said.

“I asked if you wanted me to take you shopping, Pretty Woman-style?” He cocked his head and laughed gently.

“Is that meant to be funny?”

“Lola, you do know that I’m joking with you, do you not?”

“I don’t think it’s a joke.” My eyes narrowed. “How many times are you going to suggest I’m a prostitute?”

“I would never even suggest that. High-class escort at worst.”

“I guess you’ve dated a lot of them.”

“One doesn’t date an escort.”

“One doesn’t screw an asshole.” I grabbed my bag and walked to the door. Then I turned around and smiled at him sweetly and continued, “A second time. Smart girls learn from their mistakes.” I walked to the front of the house and out of the door with a smug smile on my face. I pretended to ignore his loud laughter as I walked out. I preferred to believe I’d stuck a knife in where it hurt, even if that wasn’t the case.

“You’re so lucky.” Anna sat on my bed as she watched my pack. “I wish I was going to France.”

“We can go when I get back.”

“With what money?” She sighed melodramatically and leaned back on my bed. “Why does nothing awesome ever happen to me?”

“Anna, we’re in London. Something awesome has already happened. Plus, if we stop eating out so much, we can definitely go to France. The train tickets weren’t that expensive.”

“Oh, I wish I was going on the Eurotrain.” She sighed again. “And to Paris. Gay Paris, where have you been all my life?”

“I’m going to work.” I rolled my eyes at her as I packed my underwear.

“With your lover, who’s a prince?” Anna sat up on my bed and grabbed the underwear out of the bag. “You cannot take these granny panties. Take some pretty things.”

“First off, we slept together once, that doesn’t make him my lover. Secondly, I’m not taking a thong with me to Paris.”

“You do not want to get down and dirty with a prince in granny panties.” Anna threw them on the floor. “No way am I letting you go to Paris with grey and green striped panties.”

“There’s nothing wrong with them.” I bent down and picked them up.

“There’s nothing right with them either.” She grinned and looked at me. “Okay, fine, answer me this question. If Xavier makes a move on you and sneaks into your bedroom for some midnight fun, what would you say?”

“I would say ‘hell no, it’s time to go.’” I grinned, pleased at my little rhyme.

“Really?” Anna raised an eyebrow at me.

“Well ...” It was my turn to sigh. “I would say that at first, but if he decided not to leave I wouldn’t make him.”

“Exactly.” She grinned. “What if he pushes you down on the bed and rips your PJs off and then he sees your panties. You’d be so embarrassed.”

“That’s not going to happen.” I shook my head, but I did go back to my wardrobe and pull out three black silky thongs.

“That’s what I’m talking about.” She grinned and lay back down on the bed. “This sucks. What am I supposed to do this weekend?”

“Why don’t you hang out with Jason?”

“I wish.” She made a face.

“What about Sebastian?”

“Who?”

“You know, Sebastian that we met at the pub. Xavier’s brother?”

“Oh, him.” She made a face. “He’s not really my cup of tea.”

“But at least he’d be someone to hang out with.”

“I suppose I could hang out with him if he really needed someone to chill with.”

“I don’t think ...”

“Fine, fine, tell him I’m willing to spend time with him on Saturday. He can take me to lunch or something.”

“Anna, I don’t even know if he’s free on Saturday.”

“If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll be free.” She jumped off of my bed and laughed. “Okay, I’m going to go and have a Jammie Dodger, want one?”

“No thanks.” I laughed. “You’re addicted to those cookies.”

“You mean ‘biscuits.’” She faked a British accent and we both laughed.

“You’ll be okay this weekend, right?” I gave her a small smile as she left the room and she nodded.

“I’ll be fine.” She smiled back at me. “I’m a big girl. I’ll find something to do.”

“I’ll buy you something nice in France.”

“Just bring me back a hot French man who knows how to French kiss and make pastries.”

“Sure, I’ll bring one for me and one for you.”

“You don’t need one. You have Xavier.”

“Anna, I don’t have anyone, let alone Xavier.” I rolled my eyes at her. “Plus, I don’t want him. He’s an ass.”

“An ass that’s good in bed.”

“Well, he wasn’t that good.”

“So you’d say no to seconds?”

“I don’t know.” I giggled and gave her a quick hug. “I’m going to miss you this weekend.”

“I’ll miss you too, but I expect you to have lots of fun and to tell me all about it. Even the orgasms.”

“Anna!” I exclaimed, shocked, and she just laughed. I sat down on the edge of my bed and closed my eyes. I had no idea why I had agreed to the trip so easily, but I did know that I was excited. I enjoyed spending time with Xavier and I was hopeful that this weekend would see us growing closer. I wanted to get to know the real him. The man behind the mask.

His View

I hung up the phone with the hotel and grinned to myself. Everything was going according to plan. All I needed to do now was call the press. I groaned as I thought about what I was doing. When did I ever call the press to alert them where I was going to be? But desperate times called for desperate measures. I needed the paparazzi to be there, if my plan was going to work.