Free Playing the Perfect Boyfriend (Gone Hollywood) by Julie Particka Page A

you. Incapacitating in the best way possible. Inventive. Inactive—”
    “Wait a minute…”
    She leaned in close and nipped at his earlobe. “Last night, when I had you tied spread-eagle on the bed. In your defense, I wasn’t exactly letting you move.”
    He grinned despite himself. “Okay. Mr. In, it is. You can be Ms. Ir. I just have to come up with more words than irresistible.” He had one, but he didn’t want to give voice to it. Telling her now that he was starting to consider her irreplaceable was a surefire way to ruin whatever they had going on. “So about that sundae?”
    “You mean about that drawer issue?”
    He stopped in front of the entrance to Ghirardelli. “Tomato, tomah-to. You know, this place is also a Disney store. If you really want something saccharine sweet, I could buy you your very own Prince Charming.”
    Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. “What the fuck do I need a prince for? Princes are dreadfully dull. I can’t imagine that being fun past the first ball. And I really prefer my men to have two of those…”
    …
    It had been over a week, and Jade no longer had a choice. Desperate times, desperate measures, and all that.
    Thankfully, Vicky picked up on the first ring or she might have disconnected before leaving a message. “Hey, what’s up?”
    “Lunch break. Is your mom gone, and if so, are you busy? Actually, I don’t care if your mom is gone or not as long as you have the time to spare.”
    Vicky laughed. “Home alone and always busy, but I’m also eating for two, so I don’t skip food. I don’t have time to drive into Studio City, though. If you’d told me earlier—”
    “Not a problem, I’m in Brentwood already.” In fact, she was speeding through the streets as fast as traffic would allow. She needed to talk to her best friend like she needed sex.
    No. Bad comparison, Jade. You’re having enough sex. Too much sex. Maybe you should need something else for once.
    “Uh oh. This sounds like lunch in. Want me to order something?”
    “Pregnant woman’s choice.”
    “And that sounds like you want a drink ready when you get here. I’m on it.” Vicky clicked off before Jade responded. There was no need for her to say anything. She and Vicky were the kind of friends who were almost always on the same wavelength. Sometimes they fell out of sync, but this was more common—knowing exactly what the other one needed and making that happen.
    Jade did her best not to feel guilty that she hadn’t been that sort of friend during their last lunch out, but she’d make it up to Vicky. There was no one in her life who mattered more than her best friend. It felt like it took forever to make it to Vicky and Dante’s place, but she turned in just as the delivery guy pulled out of the drive. As had always been their way, she knocked and then strode right through the door.
    “Vicky?”
    “In the kitchen!”
    Safe. Jade was safe here. There would be no men, no distractions, no way she could do anything but have a seat and calmly analyze what the hell she was doing. Down the hall and to the left, and there was her drink, sitting on the edge of the counter where Vicky stood dumping Mongolian beef and rice into bowls. After taking a heavenly sip, Jade waved at the food. “This is what you’re craving?”
    “It’s Dante’s kid—apparently the fire thing is genetic.”
    Jade grabbed plates, silverware, and napkins and laid them out on the opposite end of the table from where Vicky’s computer and binders sat. “You weren’t kidding about being busy.” Shit. She shouldn’t have come here. It wasn’t fair to dump this on her.
    Vicky waved her off and sat at the end of the table. “It’s nothing. I’m just trying to line everything up so I can train my new assistant planner.”
    “Assistant? You hired someone?”
    “It was on the to-do list before I got pregnant. Kind of became a necessity after. But we aren’t here to talk about