All I've Never Wanted(71)

“Sorry,” Carlo said a bit sheepishly.

I couldn’t be mad though, because after only half an hour in the photography store, I found what I was looking for. All I needed was to put my project together before Zack’s birthday. The end result wasn’t going to be a boat or Cartier cuff links or anything, but at least it was thoughtful.

“Thanks,” I said a bit excitedly as the cashier placed my purchases into a brown paper shopping tote.

She smiled warmly at me. “You’re welcome. Have a nice day.”

“You too!” I chirped, grabbing the bag and swinging it happily. I was so happy I finally knew what I was getting Zack for his present. I kept thinking I should get Adriana something too, but Carlo insisted the group present would be enough.

He hadn’t told me how I could contribute to the group present yet though.

“Are you hungry? We can grab something to eat before we go,” Carlo said as we walked out of the store. “There’s some pretty decent restaurants in here.”

“Sure,” I said. “Where do you want to eat?”

After some indecision, we finally settled for good old pizza at a charmingly rustic parlor tucked into a quiet corner of the mall.

I sighed with relief as I sank down into the red leather booth, my feet thanking me for the reprieve from a hard afternoon of shopping.

“Thanks so much for coming with me, I know guys hate shopping,” I said, lifting my hair off my shoulders and smiling at the waiter as he handed us our menus.

“It’s ok, I don’t mind.” Carlo shrugged, his eyes skimming over the menu. “It’s a nice break.”

“From what?”

Judging from the deer-caught-in-headlights look on his face, it was clear he’d said the wrong thing. “Uh…just from Valesca,” he answered, looking down.

“Right,” I said a bit suspiciously. I had a feeling he was lying to me.

“I’ll be right back, I need to go to bathroom,” Carlo suddenly said, setting down his menu. “You can order for us if you want, I eat anything.”

“Ok.” I stared at his back as he headed towards the bathroom, slightly confused. Why was he acting so weird?

When the waiter came back, I decided to order some breadsticks and a margherita pizza for the two of us. Everyone liked those, right?

“Maya?”

I blinked when a familiar sandy-brown head came into view. “James?”

He grinned when he saw me. “Hey!” he said happily. “Fancy running into you here!”

“Oh, yeah, I was just doing a bit of shopping,” I murmured, blushing a bit as I indicated the bag next to me. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here with a few friends. I live in La Terra, remember?” he added when the questioning look stayed on my face.

“Oh, right.” Now I felt like an idiot. He had told me he lived in La Terra when I met him at Stan Hoffman’s party.


“So, you here alone or are you with Parker?” James asked casually, glancing at the two water glasses on the table.

“No, I’m here with—wait, why’d you ask about Parker?” I frowned a bit, trying to remember if I’d told him I was ‘dating’ Parker. I was pretty sure I hadn’t.

“Some of my friends at Valesca mentioned he had a new girlfriend named Maya,” James explained. “And you’re the only Maya I’ve heard of there, so I figured…”

“Oh, yeah. Well, I’m not here with him.” I cleared my throat. “I’m here with, uh, another friend actually. I needed to find a birthday present.”

“Cool.” James nodded. “I didn’t get a phone call from you, by the way…” He raised his eyebrows playfully.

I blushed. “I have a boyfriend, remember?”

“You can do better than Parker Remington.”

My head jerked up, as his tone seemed a bit sharp, but when I saw his face, it was as relaxed as ever. “Or are you dating him because he’s a Scion?” James questioned.

“Of course not!” I was insulted he would even ask such a thing. “I don’t care about anyone’s social status or whatnot. Parker’s a nice guy once you get to know him. Really.”

“Maybe.” James sounded unconvinced. “I’d advise you stay away from all the Scions though, they’re bad news.”

“Thanks for the warning, but I think I can handle myself.” I used to think they were bad news too, but now that I’d gotten to know them better, they honestly weren’t that bad.

“So, how about it?” James said, sliding into the booth opposite me and abruptly changing the subject.

I was confused. “How about what?”

“A date with me.”

My jaw dropped. “James! You know I have a boyfriend.”

He shrugged, smiling a bit impishly. “Ok, not a date then. A friendly outing?” He gave me a puppy-dog face.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, I don’t think I can.”

“Come on,” James persisted. “It’ll be fun, I promise! There won’t be champagne and caviar, but it’ll be a nice, simple da—er, outing.”

“I don’t know…”

“How about we go to an amusement park?” he suggested. “There’s one right by La Terra. It’s pretty cool, and I know you guys don’t have one in Valesca…”