Catching Lucas Riley (4 page)

“Or that she was the one person brave enough to stand up to the psychotic stalker,” Meredith pointed out, resting a reassuring hand on Alex’s arm. “And maybe they’ll just think it’s a coincidence that they both have red hair.”

Alex was barely listening. She stared out the window, reeling over the idea that she was secured at least one date with Lucas Riley. She had never actually believed she would get this far. One date was really
all she needed to get her foot in the door. It took her several moments before she realized her phone was vibrating in her hand.

“Hello?” she said vacantly, not bothering to check the number.

“Hi, Alex?”

She knew the voice immediately, but she was totally unprepared for it. She felt her blood instantly carbonate as her hand tightened convulsively on the phone.

She nodded stupidly for a moment, before remembering he couldn’t see her. “Yes?” she finally squeaked, trying not to hyperventilate. Her roommates’ eyes were fixed on her.

Somehow, in all her fantasies of dating Lucas Riley and kissing Lucas Riley and marrying Lucas Riley, she had never imagined herself
talking to
Lucas Riley. Her mind was a fury of white-hot panic.

“This is Lucas Riley,” he said. “My friend Sealey told me your name and gave me your number. I just wanted to thank you for bailing me out back there. I really appreciate the save.”

She blinked frantically out the window, her phone clutched in her hand, willing her mouth to move and coherency to issue from it. “No problem,” she finally peeped. She took a deep breath, remembering Sealey’s demand that she be the picture of confidence at all times. “I live to save. I mean, serve. I mean—”

She heard her roommates snickering around her and she longed to kick each one of them, in turn, squarely in the shins. She could practically hear the smile in Lucas’s voice when he responded.

“Well, in return for the rescue, I insist you let me take you out, instead of vice versa. It’s the least I can do.”

“Well, if you insist,” Alex agreed, much too quickly. She could almost hear the imagined smack of Sealey’s hand hitting his forehead at her eager response.
Play it cool, play it cool
, she lectured herself. “I mean, if that’s what you want, who am I to complain?” Alex corrected, molding her voice into as much honey as she could muster.

“Great!” Lucas replied, his voice enthusiastic. “When are you available? A girl like you probably has all kinds of guys after her, so I’m happy to wait my turn.”

Alex attempted to process this comment. Was that an effort to flatter her, or an effort to push off the date as long as possible? Oh, men
were infuriating! Forcing her pulse to slow, she endeavored to think like Sealey.
Don’t be too available . . . he won’t want something no one else wants. Make him think that you are in high demand . . .

“Well, I am booked this weekend and next,” she lied easily. “But I could probably swing something the week after that. What about you?”

“Three weeks from now it is, then,” he replied, and she could see him flashing his gleaming white teeth in her mind’s eye. “How about that Friday night?”

“Perfect. I’ll pencil you in,” Alex said, finally getting the hang of the silky smooth tones.

“Sounds like a date to me,” Lucas said. “I’ll see you then. Have a great night, Alex.” He hung up.

Alex sat motionless in her seat, the phone cradled in both hands, the trauma of the moment finally settling around her. Her roommates gazed at her silently, looks ranging from fear to scorn to amusement on their faces.

Kacey opened her mouth, her head craned around to stare into the backseat, but Alex held up a hand. “Don’t ask,” she said. “I am in no fit state to discuss it at this moment.”

Kacey rolled her eyes and shrugged. Alex jumped a mile when her phone began to vibrate again in her hands. “Oh no! It’s him again!” she exclaimed when she saw an unfamiliar number flash on the screen. “I’ve already exhausted my stores of conversation for the evening! Somebody else answer it!”

“Oh, for crying out loud,” said Kacey, reaching around and grabbing the phone from Alex’s hand.

“Hello?” she said boldly into the phone. She listened for a second and then pushed the phone at Alex again. “It’s not Lucas.”

“Oh,” said Alex, sighing in relief. “Who is it?”

“It’s Sealey,” Kacey replied, a smirk on her face.

Alex doubted that was any better than the original assumption, but the difference was, she had
plenty
to say to Sealey.

“Well, hello, you dirty, rotten—” she started to say.

“Not bad, Foamer,” he rode right over her insults. “Rough start, but by the end you had him eating out of your hand.”

“How on earth do
you
know how the conversation went?” she demanded.

“Luke
made the call on speaker from the car, and I was with him,” Sealey said matter-of-factly. “How else would I know?”

“How do I know how you discover your diabolical secrets?” Alex retorted. Now that the date auction ordeal was over, she felt the irritation at the level of helplessness she’d endured all evening and had every intention of expressing it. “All I know is, you didn’t bother to actually prepare me for exactly what I was going to be doing tonight, did you?”

“I told you to bid. All you did was bid,” Sealey pointed out.

“Yes, after spending a full thirty seconds in cardiac arrest!” Alex screeched. Rachel put her hands over her ears and Jaclyn winced irritably at her.

“I couldn’t give you all the details beforehand,” Sealey said calmly. “If I did, the whole thing would’ve looked too scripted and Lucas would be onto us. You’re not
trusting
me, Foamer. And I did get results, did I not?”

“Yeah,” Alex muttered.

“Then stop your yammering and just be grateful. Now, I’ll be over at your house after work tomorrow to work out our next steps.”

“The date’s not for three weeks!” Alex exclaimed, her eye twitching at the thought of Sealey in her apartment. “What could we possibly have to discuss?”

“You really don’t want any contact with Lucas until your date? You really think that’s the best plan of action?”

“But—”

“Foamer, if you want this thing to go anywhere, he has to already be interested in you by the time you go out,” Sealey said, his voice clearly exasperated.

“Why?” she almost wailed.

Sealey groaned, and she imagined him holding his head in his hands. “Because,” he finally responded, his voice fatigued. “The only reason he asked you out is because he felt obligated. However, in a perfect world, he would have asked you out because he was actually interested in you. Therefore, in order for this date to start out on the right foot, he has to be interested in you before it starts. Otherwise, you’ll be spending the entire date trying to get him interested, and believe me, two hours will not accomplish a task that daunting.”

Alex glared silently out the window at the passing scenery.

“
Capisci
?” Sealey prompted. “I’ll be over at your place by 5:30 p.m.”

“I have swim practice till six,” Alex informed him. “Come over at seven.”

“Fine,” Sealey agreed. “See you then.”

He hung up abruptly, and Alex’s phone fell into her lap. On one hand, Sealey had already proven his usefulness and his expertise. But on the other, she had never met anyone whose company was so fraught with conflicting emotion. Being near Sealey Witchburn was frankly exhausting, but he’d gotten her this far. She trusted him enough to actually admit that she needed him now.

Sighing, she allowed her head to rest against the cool window, even as the car pulled up to the apartment building and her roommates began exiting the vehicle. She prayed the anxiety was worth it.

A
LEX SAT WITH
legs jiggling spastically on the couch, simultaneously anticipating and dreading the sound of the doorbell. On one hand, she was helpless and hopeless without Sealey, but on the other, he was Sealey. ’Nuff said.

“I’d honestly consider making a break for it if I didn’t feel so sorry for you,” Meredith said sympathetically as she folded herself sinuously to the floor in the family room. She began her yoga stretches, her long, dark hair sliding like water across her back. “Just don’t expect me to say anything.”

“Thanks for hanging around,” Alex replied, her brown eyes creased with worry. The rest of her roommates had vacated the premises at the news that Sealey was expected. “I really don’t understand why he has this effect on me. I’m not usually a timid person, am I?”

Meredith snorted. “Uh, no,” she replied with a significant look. “I remain convinced, to this day, that the only reason you’re still unmarried is because men fear you. You’re beautiful, intelligent, athletic, and a spiritual giant. Your only flaw is your willingness to open your mouth. You know, so widely and so often . . .” Meredith’s voice trailed off, and she focused on her downward dog as Alex’s look of flattery changed to one of irritation.

“I’m not that bad!” she said defensively, throwing a couch pillow directly through Meredith’s graceful formation, making no contact whatsoever. She reached for another, determined to improve her aim.
Just then, the doorbell rang. The sound echoed ominously through the apartment as Meredith and Alex looked at each other, wide-eyed.

“Do I have to?” Meredith whined, still in her downward dog pose, as Alex rose to answer the door. “Can’t I just offer moral support from my bedroom? Do I really have to witness—”

“Good evening, ladies,” came Sealey’s voice as Alex opened the door to admit him. “Meredith, what a stunning exhibition.” He raised an eyebrow at her, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. Meredith’s face flamed and she removed her rear end from its position of prominence.

Alex gave her a sympathetic yet pleading look.
Don’t leave me
, she mouthed at her roommate. Meredith glared at her rebelliously but nodded her agreement, rolling her eyes.

“Where are we setting up?” Sealey asked, turning to look at Alex. She wiped her face clean of all supplication and met his eyes.

“Setting up?” she repeated in confusion. “What could you possibly have to set up? Don’t tell me you’ve put together a PowerPoint presentation.”

“Sadly, I didn’t think of that,” Sealey replied, his brow actually scrunching in dismay. He marched toward the kitchen, and Alex noticed for the first time the shoulder bag he carried. A bag that looked depressively heavy.

“Just how much time is this going to take?” Alex asked, feeling the exhaustion sink into her tight shoulders.

“Depends on how quickly you catch on,” Sealey replied. He swung the bag onto the table, where it made a formidable
thump
, and pushed up the sleeves of his tan sweater. “No complaints, Foamer. You’re swinging for the fence, so now you have to put in the prep time to actually score the run.”

“Please don’t start with the corny sports analogies. I can’t take it,” Alex said, sinking into a kitchen chair.

“Lesson Number One: You want to impress a guy, especially a guy like Lucas Riley, brush up on your sports chatter, analogies included,” Sealey said pointedly. “And I hear chatter is something you’re particularly gifted at, Foamer, so let’s put it to good use.”

Alex shot Meredith a look that dared her to say something. Meredith
smirked at her but continued silently on with her yoga in the living room.

“Lesson Number Two,” Sealey continued, pulling a number of file folders out of his bag. “Brush
down
on the
rest
of your chatter.”

Alex looked at him, eyebrow raised. “Excuse me?”

“Look, I hate to break it to you, but men don’t have endless tolerance for prattle,” Sealey said, continuing to pull things out his bag. “I know you think your mind is a treasure trove of brilliance yet untapped, but I promise you, he won’t agree.”

Alex gave him an affronted look.

“Now don’t go getting all offended on me,” he replied, noticing her expression. “I’m sure you’re as brilliant as you think you are, but if you try to convince him of that, simply by telling him so, all you’ll do is make him wish he’d never heard of Alex Foamer.”

“I don’t—” Alex began, but Sealey cut her off.

“When it comes to conversation, less is more,” he emphasized. “Don’t tell him all about you, show him! Let him get to know you through observation.”

“Get to know me—what?” Alex screeched. “Look, I know it’s stupid to spend a first date talking endlessly about myself, but how is he supposed to get to know me if I don’t talk about myself at all?”

“I didn’t say that. Just limit yourself,” Sealey responded. “If he asks you a question about yourself, give him a general answer. Allow yourself to be mysterious to him. Allow him to come to his own conclusions about your favorite color, your perfume of preference, your skill set, and yes, even your character.”

“Okay . . . ,” Alex said, mulling over his words in her mind.

“If you tell him everything about you in a single date, what reason does he have to dig further? You want to intrigue him, to tantalize him, to leave him wanting more.”

Alex looked at Sealey with an expression of disgust. “Remind me what you do for a living again? You sound like you’re quoting some cheesy online magazine.”