One Night Stand-In (Boyfriend Material #3) - Lauren Blakely Page 0,38
one night.
“See you in ten hours,” I say, breaking the silence at last.
“See you then.”
He turns to go, and my heart pounds angrily, like it’s demanding I take that back, like it wants me to ask him to stay.
My pulse spikes.
And I want.
“Lucas!” I call out.
He turns around. His eyes radiate hope. Words tango on the tip of my tongue.
But so does the past.
Not just ours.
But all the pasts I’ve seen. My parents and their pendulum swings of love, hate, and then too much love. A surfeit of love that they smothered themselves in, ignoring the rest of the world.
And the present too.
My job. My business. My focus.
And my sister. That sweet, crazy girl I love to Cassiopeia and back.
“Yes?” His voice is pitched with hope.
I part my lips. “I’ll email Harrison,” I say, speaking from my head, not my heart. “Like we talked about.”
Lucas nods several times, as if agreeing with me is the most important thing right now. “Good plan. Update him. Let him know we’re on track.”
Then he taps his forehead in some sort of good night salute.
Not a good night kiss.
It’s for the best, I tell myself.
If he leaned in and dusted his lips across my forehead, I’d ask him to spend the night.
And I don’t want to ruin what we just got back.
It’s too precious. Too wonderful. I’d hate to break it.
Or us again.
Besides, we still have tomorrow.
13
Early Saturday Morning
To: Harrison Bates
From: Lola Dumont
CC: Lucas Xavier
Subject: Update
Hello Harrison!
Hope you had a fantastic evening. Just a quick morning update to let you know we have collected the Star Wars T-shirts and the guitars. We are on track and should have everything in time for the security deposit deadline.
Sincerely,
Lola
To: Lola Dumont
From: Harrison Bates
CC: Lucas Xavier
Subject: Your update makes me wonder . . .
Is this your way of letting me know you want me to make things harder? Is it not challenging enough for you? I can raise the bar higher if you’d like. Just say the word!
To: Harrison Bates
From: Lola Dumont
CC: Lucas Xavier
Subject: Re: Your update makes me wonder . . .
No! It’s incredibly challenging, I assure you! I’m simply giving you a status report. I wanted you to know that everything is coming along nicely, and we thought you would appreciate an update. I hope you were able to enjoy some quiet last night. :)
To: Lola Dumont
From: Harrison Bates
CC: Lucas Xavier
Subject: Your updates feed my soul
Thank you for asking! I did relish a silent evening with my typewriter, my gummy bears, and no one arguing in the next apartment, over costumes or kale or board games or llamas or whatever.
Also, status reports are so jolly. I do appreciate yours, and even though payback is a delight, I’m not so cruel that I’d ask for more. A deal is a deal. I would never make you jump higher or through a hoop on fire. Or walk a tightrope, God forbid!
I hope you enjoy collecting the rest of the items. Also, while we’re at it, did you happen to try the cheese at Grater Good? I mean, really. Have you ever had anything better in your whole life?
To: Harrison Bates
From: Lucas Xavier
CC: Lola Dumont
Subject: The cheese feeds MY soul
The cheese was decadent.
To: Lucas Xavier
From: Harrison Bates
CC: Lola Dumont
Subject: “Decadent” barely scratches the surface
Melts in your mouth, doesn’t it?
To: Harrison Bates
From: Lucas Xavier
CC: Lola Dumont
Subject: “Divine” is more like it
Yes. I’m thinking of ordering a wheel of Gouda for each of my clients as holiday gifts this year. Alongside a DVD of Die Hard. Make that the whole Die Hard collection.
To: Harrison Bates
From: Lola Dumont
CC: Lucas Xavier
Subject: Allow me to clarify
By “collection,” he obviously means the first three Die Hard films.
To: Lola Dumont
From: Lucas Xavier
CC: Harrison Bates
Subject: Your clarification is correct
Yes. Thank you for catching that. Clearly, no one should even count the latter two. They only belong on a list of sequels that never should have been made.
To: Lola Dumont
From: Harrison Bates
CC: Lucas Xavier
Subject: Birds of a feather
Along with Weekend at Bernie’s II, Pitch Perfect 2, Pitch Perfect 3, and that thing with Jar Jar Binks.
Also, I like you two. I like you a lot.
See, Lola—you don’t have to be all serious with me. We can have fun. Hope you had the fries at Pin-Up Lanes last night. They’re divinely decadent.
To: Harrison Bates
From: Lucas Xavier
CC: Lola Dumont
Subject: Last word
So good I’d practically sell my soul for them.
14
At the same time as the emails fly back and forth
Lola: Whoa. For a second there, I thought he was serious about