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music and making conversation, talking a variety of subjects. Joey did most of the talking while Zoe listened but she asked questions once she didn’t understand a few things, piquing Joey’s interest even more in her.

Zoe was perfect. That was it. There were no other words to explain her. The more time he spent with her, the more he fell for her.

The proverbial record scratched yet again. What was he thinking? He was based in New York, she in L.A. 3,000 miles was a long distance no matter how often they would see each other. Zoe was upfront that she didn’t do long distance relationships and Joey felt the same. He just wished he could tell his heart that. It was better to treat her like another forgettable woman than invest time and emotion in.

Fuck, he was becoming guarded again. It always happened when he started to feel

emotions for someone and saw something special within that person. Most of the time, that person would eventually show their true colors and the relationship ended shortly afterward. But Zoe…there was something about her that drew Joey in. She could be his best friend as well as his lover. That was a weird combination. None of the other women had that about them.

Speaking of which, his girls kept calling him as if his sudden departure from New York set off a bat signal to the women. He finally had to put his phone on vibrate but the calls kept coming. Worse yet, he knew Zoe noticed the phone calls coming in. This was not a good ending to an otherwise perfect day.

“You’re busy tonight,” Zoe mentioned as Joey’s phone buzzed again. “You’re Mr. AT&T

over there.”

“Normally, I’m not this busy.” Joey finally put his phone on silent. “I just have a lot of contacts in New York, that’s all.”

“A lot of contacts, huh?” Zoe asked.

“A few, yes.” Joey replied.

“If you want to answer your phone, you can.” Zoe looked out the passenger window. “You won’t offend me if you want to talk to your girlfriend.”

Joey glanced over to Zoe. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Okay, your
girlfriends
,” Zoe clarified with a twinge of smirk on her lips. “You don’t have to explain anything to me, Joey.”

Joey pulled over along the side of the road and stopped the car. He then got out of the car and walked over to the railing. Zoe followed behind him. “I’m going to do something that I’ll probably regret in five minutes.” Joey stared out into the night.

“Oh?” Zoe asked. “And what is that?”

Joey retrieved his cell phone and tossed it into the ocean water. “That.” He turned to Zoe and grinned at her. “It’s a good thing I have a backup of all of my pictures and contacts or I’ll really be in trouble right now.”

“You didn’t have to do that to prove a point to me, Joey.” Zoe said with a half-grin. “I know what this is and I know what you are.”

Joey stepped closer to Zoe and caressed her arms. “And what am I?”

“The Italian Hugh Hefner,” Zoe replied as Joey chuckled, “a reputation you’re very proud of. Tell me I’m lying.”

“I’ll admit I like to play the field and see what’s out there. Not too many women

understand that my business comes before them and that’s a hard sell. It’s not that I can’t do a relationship; I just don’t want to. I’ve canceled more dates at the last-minute due to meeting with vendors and scouring locations for events than I would like to admit. Madre’s used to be one out of ten floral shops in town. Now we’re one out of fifty. And you know what? All those shops are copycat knockoffs of what we’re doing. They go to an event, see a design that Eli did and the next thing we know, we see that exact same design a few weeks later at some social event. We’re constantly upping our game to be ten steps ahead of the curve. That means I’m working insane hours. That means I’m up at seven in the morning and I might get home around seven at night, if I’m lucky. That means my weekends won’t be filled with picnics and shopping trips but overseeing a wedding or celebration and helping out my mom and Eli.

“So why am I telling you all of this? Why did I just toss my very expensive cell phone out into the water? I just upgraded that phone last week and now it’s going to cost me a small fortune to get another one. I promise I’m not going to play you. I’m not going to lead you on and have you believe we’re going to get married and have babies when I’m not even thinking that. I will be honest with you and say that now, right here and right now, you’re the only one I want to spend time with. So yes, I might have to fly to L.A. And yes, you’re going have to fly out to New York.”

“I can’t afford to see you as much as I want to, Joey,” Zoe interrupted.

“I got you covered.” Joey nodded. “Just let me know when you want to see me and I’ll make it happen.”

Zoe wanted to believe what Joey told her. Hearing stories from Kieran and confirmed by Joey himself made the doubt rise within her. He was promising her everything and absolutely nothing at the same time. “I have my own life here in L.A. I’m your brother’s assistant and he depends on me to run Fits and Giggles when he’s not there. He and Tiana briefly mentioned how they want me to be a designer for that children’s clothing line they’re coming up with so my hands are tied there. I can’t just stop everything at the drop of a hat because you want to see me.”

Joey smiled. “I love a woman who has her own ambitions and goals, who doesn’t rely on me giving her money for some $200 jeans or some expensive handbag she can’t pronounce.

Been there, done that, don’t want to repeat. I’m not asking you to give up your career for me, Z, and I wouldn’t want you to.”

Zoe relaxed her shoulders and dropped her stance. “It’s going to be difficult. I haven’t done a long-distance relationship in a long time, J.”

“I haven’t done anything like this at all, Z!” Joey smiled. “You might have to help me with protocol and all that stuff.”

“Protocol?” Zoe smiled.

“Protocol. When I can call, when I can’t call, when I should act a fool when I hear another man in the background…you know, protocol.” Joey winked.

Zoe laughed and Joey noticed how the moonlight hit the irises of her eyes at just the right angle, bringing out the soft amber in them. “Do you do this with all of your girlfriends?”

“I don’t, actually.” He ran a hand through her ebony hair. “Just one.”

“And what’s her name?” Zoe inquired.

Joey softly kissed Zoe’s jawline before meeting her lips. “Zoe.”

Zoe closed her eyes as Joey’s lips once again devoured hers. She wasn’t supposed to get involved. She knew it was wrong on all accounts. It wasn’t going to work, said one voice in her head. You two will have no time for each other, said the other. Yet her body was yelling at her, practically screaming, let this man touch you everywhere and don’t let him stop until you’ve climaxed a few times.

Once again, Joey’s hands wandered all over Zoe’s body and the only thing separating them besides their clothing was air and opportunity. If Zoe wanted to let Joey down, now was the time to do it and that would’ve been the end of it. But as his lips found yet another erogenous zone, Zoe felt her resolve become weaker and her panties moist. Her breathing became more laborious, and soft moans escaped her lips as she clutched his body, holding on for dear life.

The heat between them was explosive as she felt his erection press into the vee of her sex.

He growled each time she moaned as they slowly moved with each other, frustrated by their clothing, restricting them to full access.

“Joey,” Zoe finally managed to whisper.

“Yes,
regina
?” He breathed against her neck.

“Fuck me.”

Joey quickly pulled out the condom that was in his back pocket while Zoe quickly stepped out of her shoes so she can pull her jeans off. “I thought you would never ask.” He undid his jeans and pulled them down. He quickly sheathed the condom on his shaft. He hoisted Zoe up against her truck and wrapped one leg around his waist. With a quick movement, he was inside her.

They both moaned upon instant contact. The friction and warmth of her as her walls

deliciously welcomed his shaft. He slowly began to move inside her, gathering her other leg in the process as Zoe held onto his neck. They moved in unison, as if they’ve been lovers and knew each other’s bodies.

Zoe lightly moaned against Joey’s neck, sneaking in passionate kisses to him. Their

tongues danced in the same frenzied spirit as their bodies moved, joining again and again. They managed to pull away briefly and stare into each other’s eyes, seeing the hunger and want they had for one another. It was no longer two people who lusted after each other. No, they had surpassed that point a long while ago.

They were in love. Deep, plunging, no-holds-barred in love.

Zoe clenched tighter around Joey’s shaft and her breathing became shallow and sporadic.

She clutched his back as he drove into her and soon, climaxed, her weak legs trembling as her body shook and a soft cry escaped from her lips.

“Oh Joey…” she whimpered.

Hearing her climax sent Joey over the edge and he drove into her a few more times before he came, his body still as he released into her. He buried his face into her neck as her slick folds continued to milk his shaft.

“My god, Zoe…” he breathed.

Joey continued to hold her as his mind processed what he just went through. He was so used to having good sex – great, even – with forgettable women that he didn’t realize how sex was with someone he
loved
. He no longer wanted to fight the feelings. He no longer wanted to make excuses as to why the relationship couldn’t work, why
they
couldn’t work. He was going to do whatever possible to make them work. He had to. His heart was inexplicably tangled with hers; too precious to undo and didn’t want to attempt.

Instead, Joey accepted what happened.

****

“Here’s something I hear often:
che bel cazzo grosso!
”

“And what does that mean?”

“What a nice, big cock!”

Zoe laughed at her boyfriend as they were tangled up together in bed. After their tryst on the freeway, they went back to her condo and had several repeat performances, with each act becoming hotter than the last. Joey became a fan of Zoe’s gag reflex as she took him whole into her hot mouth over and over while Zoe almost ripped the hair out of Joey’s scalp as his tongue dived into her honey repeatedly as if he invented the art of eating pussy. Dirty talk was combined with hand-holding as they rocked back and forth, staring into each other’s eyes, silently pledging their love.

“Did you teach your girls that?” She asked with a smile.

“They learned it on their own,” Joey rubbed Zoe’s shoulders, “I didn’t have to teach them anything. Am I lying?” Zoe fell quiet and looked up at the ceiling. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Zoe turned to him. Her fingertips danced along his muscular chest. “Well, I would be lying if I said you didn’t.”

“Tell me something in Chinese.”

“
Wo ai ni
.”

“And what does that mean?”

Fuck!
Zoe said the first thing that came to her mind, forgetting the actual meaning of the words. I love you. It was too soon to say that. Way too soon. Even if she did mean it. Even if she wanted to shout it from the rooftops. Even if her heart was bursting through her chest.

“Olive juice.” Zoe quickly countered.

“Olive juice?” Joey laughed.

“Yeah,” Zoe’s eyes glanced everywhere in her bedroom, hoping to spot anything that had those words, along with a heart or anything heartwarming and fuzzy, wouldn’t be out in the open. “Olive juice.”

“Okay,” Joey rubbed Zoe’s shoulders. “Hey, Z?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Olive juice you too.”

Fifteen

Present time, New York

Zoe smiled as the memory of her and Joey declaring their love to each other appeared. She remembered that entire week was just bliss. They went out to dinner a few times, were treated like royalty at the L.A. hotspots, rented a few movies at home, and made love like it was going out of style. The thought of how Joey pistoned in and out of Zoe’s tight heat while he held her arms above her head made her clit pulsate in desire.

She’d never been with anyone else since their breakup, a year prior, nor did she want to.

Between designing Tyson’s Heart and relocating to New York to pursue the fashion line full-time, Zoe simply didn’t have time for a relationship. She simply chuckled at the thought of moving to New York – it was that reason that set the break-up in motion and she ended up doing it anyway. The difference was clear, however, she moved to New York on her terms and not Joey’s.

Not that it would’ve matter. She purposely went out of her way to avoid him and made sure any places she was a frequent guest, complimentary of Joey, she didn’t patron. The only person she kept in contact besides Kieran and Tiana was Nicola, who regularly encouraged the pair to get back together. She could never understand why the pair just didn’t bury the hatchet and work on their relationship but Zoe knew. She understood loud and clear.

He hates me
.

The truth was hard to hear and more difficult to swallow. Zoe had given Joey plenty of reason to despise her and curse the ground she walked on. He was stubborn, to a fault, but he always fought for what he believed in. If someone told him no, Joey would exhaust the person into saying yes. He spent hours upon hours in business meetings, going over the finest details and making sure there weren’t any unforeseeable surprises. So when Zoe told him to let her go, a part of her didn’t think he would actually do it.

But he did
.

It was a thought that disturbed her – the fact that Joey didn’t try to fight harder for their relationship or he simply gave up because it wasn’t worth the effort anymore.

Now he’s here
.

Joey was sitting front-row at the fashion show, getting a bird’s eye view of Tyson’s Heart.

At the end of the show, Zoe was going to appear on the catwalk, holding Tyson’s hand as she smiled and waved at everyone. It was inevitable she was going to see Joey, should he stick around for the big finale. It was going to be the first time they would see each other since their fateful fight and breakup at Joey’s apartment.