Hollywood Heights! Leddie must go on

chapter 2

Chloe walked into Rumor and quickly scanned the tables. The familiar dark head she was looking for was not there. It was a long shot, but she took every opportunity to "happen" to run into Eddie. At this point, all she had left were chance meetings with him around town.

The truth had come out that Chloe was driving the car that killed Katie. The police and prosecutors couldn't press charges, however, because it had turned into a he said/she said between her and Tyler. She had taken care to destroy the proof that Tyler had found. In the end, all they had was his word against hers, and she could be very persuasive.

She saw Lily sitting at a table in the back corner. Good, she followed directions. Chloe walked through the restaurant spotting the hottest guy at a table along the way. She gave him a smile and raised her eyebrows inviting him to smile back. The girl sitting across from him got furious, and he had to talk her out of leaving. Chloe loved using her beauty to control men.

"Thank you for meeting me," Chloe said to Lily as she sat.

"You made it sound interesting," Lily said. "Don't disappoint me."

Lily's angry tone told Chloe that Lily still hadn't forgiven her. When the story broke about Chloe's involvement in Katie's death, Lily was upset she wasn't given the exclusive. Chloe wasn't going to go on camera and admit to anything. That whole debacle was just a hiccup in her plan of fame and fortune. She knew that Eddie probably would never take her back, but that was okay. She could still use him to her advantage.

"I need your help with a project," Chloe said.

"I should be surprised but with you anything is possible," Lily said dryly. "What project?"

"I want to write a book about my life," Chloe said.

Lily laughed, "Are you serious? Who would read about you?"

Chloe knew she should get up and walk out. Nobody spoke to her like that, but she needed Lily's help.

"Well, Oz Silver wanted to do a movie about my life . . ."

"Was that before or after he got arrested?" Lily snapped.

"Do you want this exclusive about Eddie Duran or not?" Chloe asked.

"Eddie?" Lily said sitting up straighter, "What does he have to do with this?"

Chloe smiled because she knew she had Lily on the hook. "I want to write a book not just about my life, but a tell all about Eddie Duran."

"Hi Mom," Loren said as she walked in the door with Eddie close behind. Eddie's eyes darted around but didn't see Max. He had promised to be here by now.

"Hi honey," Nora said as she looked in the fridge. "What are you two up to?"

"Eddie wants to – "

"Work on some music this weekend," Eddie interrupted. He looked at Loren trying to keep her from revealing too much just yet.

"Oh, yeah your father said that you two needed to hit it pretty hard soon," Nora said. "Do you two want to stay for dinner? I'm thinking of making spaghetti and meatballs."

Loren looked back at Eddie, "Either way."

A knock on the door prevented Eddie from having to answer. Loren opened it and laughed when she heard Eddie's sigh of relief to see that it was Max.

"Sorry I'm late," he looked directly at Eddie. "I had to make arrangements."

"Arrangements for what?" Nora asked from the kitchen.

Max hugged Eddie and Loren and walked to the kitchen and gave Nora a big kiss. He pulled his head back and smiled. Max loved the curiosity in Nora's eyes.

"What are you up to here?" Max asked Nora not ready to tell her what he was planning.

"I was about to get started on dinner," Nora said. "Spaghetti?"

"I think that's a great idea," Max smiled, "But I was thinking of going out."

"Oh, ok, we can do that," Nora said. "Do you kids wanna come along?"

Loren and Eddie looked at each other, but Max answered, "No, they don't because where we're going takes a while to get there."

"Ok, you have me completely confused and curious," Nora said. "What do you have up your sleeve?"

"I was thinking Italian food . . . in Little Italy . . . in New York City."

Max loved the expression on Nora's face. He knew she was running through her mind the thousand reasons why they shouldn't go on such a spur of the moment trip. He had an answer for every single one of them.

"I think you can go pack your bag now," Eddie whispered to Loren. Loren laughed and quickly stepped to her room.

"What about Loren?" Nora asked. Loren was always Nora's biggest concern. She felt guilty about throwing caution to the wind and following her heart. She was still a mom and had to be responsible for her only daughter.

"Oh, I'll take care of her," Eddie said stepping into the kitchen. "We have to get to work this weekend anyway. Jake booked some studio time next week, so we have to be ready."

"I don't know Max," Nora started to say.

"Look, the kids have work to do, and while we won't make it to New York City in time for dinner tonight, we can be there for dinner tomorrow in Little Italy. Tonight we'll eat on the plane."

"Max . . ."

"And you know Eddie will take care of Loren."

"I know . . ."

"And I need some alone time with you," Max purred as he put his arms around her waist. He nuzzled her ear embarrassing her with Eddie standing a few feet away. Eddie quietly left the kitchen and joined Loren in her room.

"Are we clear?" Loren asked as she put her clothes in her small suitcase.

"Pop's working on her, but I think so," Eddie said as he sat on her bed.

Loren walked over to the bed and sat next to Eddie. Seeing him in her room didn't shock her anymore. Some of their best talks were held in this room. She linked her fingers through his and rubbed his hand with her thumb. She loved the feel of his hands. He had a style of playing the piano that was uniquely his and made her pulse quicken.

Loren searched Eddie's eyes and saw nothing put happiness and love. She knew that he was still bothered by what Chloe had done to his mother. Perhaps she could never be tried for the crime, but Loren was relieved that the truth was out. Eddie still needed a way to come to grips with the fact that he almost married the person responsible for his mother's death. They still had not talked it out, but she felt that wall coming down. He would talk when he was ready.

"Anything else special I need to pack?" Loren asked.

"No, just you," Eddie said as he kissed her, "And those gorgeous lips." He softly kissed her eyes, "And those beautiful eyes," and then he kissed her neck, "And this delicious neck."

Loren felt a tingle ripple through her entire body as she leaned into his kiss. She put her hand on his head unsure if she wanted to push him away or run her fingers through his hair. She knew she should stop him, especially since they would be alone soon enough.

Eddie lifted his head, and the desire in his eyes shook her to her core.

"Are you ready?" he asked in a whisper.

Loren knew he was asking about more than just her packing.

"Yeah, I think so."