by M. Malone
For the first date, always meet your date at your designated location. And of course, she'd let this doofus pick her up for their date. As if he hadn't told her a million times to do the exact opposite.
He'd also been very clear not to get in the car with her date. So that was rule one and rule two broken right off the bat. As if he hadn't trained her on how to be careful and what to watch out for. But oh no, Lucia didn't listen to shit. Every time he turned around, there she was, careening headfirst into trouble.
Maybe she didn't see her date as a potential threat, but dammit she needed to be more careful. What the hell did she even know about this guy?
"What the hell kind of name is Brent anyway?"
Noah hadn't even realized that he'd spoken out loud, until the voice in his comm unit laughed. "Last I checked, Brent is a perfectly normal name. Lots of guys have it."
Noah barely restrained a growl. "Matthias, when I want your input, I'll give it to you."
There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. Noah made a mental note to give Matthias some really horrible surveillance duty for the next month. This wasn't funny. This was Lucia. They all cared about her well-being.
Maybe you more than the others.
Yeah, so what? He cared about her. And maybe it wasn't the easiest thing in the world watching her date loser after loser. But it was his job, no strike that, it was his responsibility to look after her. He owed Rafe that much. But how the hell was he supposed to look out for her when she kept making it so damn difficult? Lucia was obstinate, infuriating, pigheaded, and—
Beautiful.
No. She was like a little sister to him. Yet somehow his dick couldn't seem to get with that program lately. More and more frequently, some very unsisterly thoughts wormed their way into his consciousness.
"Matthias, give me something on this Brent guy. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of super-hacker?"
"You better believe it. But, there's nothing on him. Everything is normal. Boring. Most interesting thing about this guy is he likes adventure sports. He skydives, bungee jumps, that sort of thing. Does some triathlons. Maybe he's some kind of adrenaline junkie. But there's nothing else on him. No flags. He lives here in New York in the East Village. No roommates, rent isn't exorbitant. Works for the city. No large withdrawals of cash, good credit. As far as I can tell, he's clean. But that's just his electronic trail. Maybe you're right on this one and he's a little too clean. I mean, there's not even an online dating profile on him. To me, that's weird. Who doesn't have an online dating profile?"
Noah chuckled and then lifted his binoculars again. Lucia was laughing at something. So Brent thought he was a comedian, huh? What the hell was so damn funny? There was too much interference to use the boom mic, otherwise he'd know.
Brent reached across the table and took Lucia's hand, and Noah nearly chipped a tooth from grinding his teeth so hard. He could see Lucia's eyes go wide. Was that surprise? He hoped it was disgust.
Did she actually like this guy?
His gut clenched at the thought. Perfect, just what he needed. Lucia liking this fucking idiot.
It wasn't that she hadn't dated before. She had. Mostly in college. Most of those guys had merely needed a strong reminder to mind their Ps & Qs with her. But this guy, this guy was random—unknown. Which meant it would take more work to scare him off. But Noah was up for the challenge.
Lucia deserved to be happy, just with somebody vetted and approved. After the shit she had survived in her life? The girl needed some happy endings.
Fuck. Not happy endings.
He groaned and turned his attention back to the restaurant. Brent raised a hand and signaled their server. Shit, they were leaving. The real trick was guessing where they were going. He'd put a tracker on her phone, so if he guessed wrong, he could always follow. But what if something happened to her before he could get there?
"Matthias, turn on the listening device on her phone. I'm heading to the house in case that's where they go."
There was a beat of silence. He could almost hear Matthias's silent condemnation. "The thing is, Noah, she's not going to like that."
"The thing is, Matthias, I don't care," he muttered using the same singsong tone.
Yeah, he knew he sounded like an asshole. But this was Lucia. If she wasn't going to take care of herself, that left it to him to do it for her. They had one simple rule: He vetted all her dates. And sometimes, without her knowing, he'd scare them off. But that was really beside the point. It wasn't his fault she couldn't pick a decent guy.
He made a left turn on 10th Ave, right near the USB Theater, then he sped through Chelsea before making a left on 28th Street, heading toward Chelsea Piers. He made a right at the stop sign, turning onto her quiet street. The street was lined with lofts and new apartment high-rises, all boasting a name with Arms, or Manor.
Before she'd moved, Noah and his team researched the building's owners and the neighborhood crime rate. Everything to make sure she would be safe. Well as safe as she could be in Manhattan. It also didn't hurt that he watched her every move. And not in some creepy, stalkery way, but more like a big brother way. Sort of ...
Never mind that. He drove past her building and around the back to the lot he paid for specifically for these kinds of situations. Yeah, so maybe he also paid most of her rent. She thought she’d gotten extremely lucky with a rent-controlled apartment in the heart of the city. In reality, he paid most of the tab. He also paid for two parking spots. Not that Lucia had a car. But in case she ever got one, she’d have somewhere safe to park it. Somewhere right next to the damn elevator. He paid almost as much to secure that spot as he paid for the apartment. His spot was in the darkened shadows somewhere she’d never think to look. He didn’t mind though, because in most scenarios, he was the thing that went bump in the night.
"Matthias, talk to me. Where are they headed?"
"They're stopping for ice cream at Benny's then he's going to take her home."
Okay, so Noah had about ten minutes. Benny's was a local mom-and-pop ice-cream place about five blocks away. He jogged along the parking garage to the side stairs. While he'd insisted that she get a building with a doorman, there was no accounting for the additional exits and entrances into the building. Luckily, this one was exit only. Only confirmed residents had keys. Unfortunately, even your average guy could pick these locks, and he happened to be better than average.
In less than a minute, he was through the door and took the back stairway up to her apartment. She'd listened to him and employed the deadbolt. Problem for her was he had a key.
In seconds he turned off her security alarm. Well, at least there was that. Lucia had been so against it in the first place. At least she realized that a woman living alone needed some security. He glanced around and noted that she'd changed a few things. Was that a new pillow?
Matthias spoke into his earpiece. "You've got about five, boss. They've stopped outside the apartment. I'm going to go ahead and turn off the mic on her phone now if that's okay with you."
More judgment from the youngest member of the team. Whatever. He'd deal with that later. Now, the real question was where to wait for her.
What if she brought the guy in here?
Oh hell no. The mere idea of it had him gripping the edge of the countertop. She had better be coming in alone.
Didn't she know the first thing about dating? Damn it, this was their first date. She was supposed to make the guy twist in the wind for a bit first.
How many one-night stands have you had?
No. He was not going to think about that. It was different. That's all. Besides, Lucia was a good kid. And there was no way Nonna DeMarco would approve.
He'd give her a few minutes to run the guy off herself, and then the two of them were going to have another conversation about dating and personal safety.
She couldn't really be interested in this guy, right? He was boring. Unlike you? Noah grimaced. Yeah well, she didn't need to date any
one like him either. If she did, Noah would have to employ more drastic measures to keep her safe.
No. Lucia needed a nice guy, but someone more interesting than a records keeper.
Okay, if he was going to give her the chance to send Brent packing by herself, he needed to wait somewhere other than the living room. If she caught sight of Noah first, and if she was carrying that Taser he'd given her for Christmas, he might end up as fried toast. He jogged down the hallway and turned left into her bedroom, gently closing the door behind himself.
He hopped onto her bed, bouncing slightly and leaned back against the pillows. I’ve always loved how girly she is, he thought, enjoying the scent of her perfume in the room and looking around at the four-poster bed, the soft colors, and all the ruffled pillows. He also loved that when she completely lost her temper her curls went flying and her eyes snapped with anger.
It was probably why he enjoyed pissing her off so much.
Something caught his eye as he lay back against the pillows, readjusting them for his comfort. Her bottom drawer was open.
Do not open it. Leave it be. She won't appreciate — Oh fuck it.
He pulled it open and took out his phone, shining the flashlight directly inside.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
This is a date. You should be having fun.
Lucia fixed her lipstick in the mirror at Benny's. She didn't need to use the bathroom. She was stalling. Stalling for time. Stalling for composure. Whatever. She wasn't sure what she was doing. Brent was really trying, but she was giving him a half-assed effort.
It wasn't like he wasn't interesting. He was. Yeah, okay, maybe he had no edge. But, there was more to life than edge, right? The guy skydived for the love of God. She should be totally into this. He ran triathlons, so that meant a great body. In theory, anyway.
Then why are you stalling? She swallowed hard.
She fluffed her curls, gently winding a couple of the loose strands around her finger to give them more bounce. Next, she fixed a nonexistent smudge of her lipstick.
Stop stalling. Go back to your date. He won't bite.
Maybe if he did you'd be more into this.
Stop it. Good Catholic girls don't want to be bitten.
No, but fun Catholic girls do.
What was wrong with her? He was cute. And God knew she needed a life. Hell, make that a sex life. It wasn't like she never had any other takers. She'd dated some. But no one who interested her in that deep primal way.
Except for Noah.
And go ahead and mark that under, Never. Going. To. Happen. Noah had been her brother's best friend. Noah fashioned himself responsible for her. Noah was also the biggest pain in the ass she'd ever met. He was always there, invading her life, her mind, her decisions — her family.
She couldn't throw a stone without running into him or one of the men who worked for him. Ever since Rafe had died, he'd made himself her surrogate big brother. Problem was, as sexy as he was, most of the time she found it hard to look at him in a brotherly way.
Not going to happen so she needed to get that out of her head.
Besides, Brent was...great. He was the kind of guy she should want. He was the kind of guy she should be thinking about. Not some guy who was too sexy, too cocky, and too damn good-looking.
Everything about Noah Blake screamed, Danger, Will Robinson, danger. He was the kind of guy that she didn't know how to handle. The kind of guy who wanted a woman who knew what she was doing. And she was not that woman.
Forget about him. Focus on the guy who wants you. The guy sitting outside.
With a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. She could do this. She could play sexy vixen. For once, she didn't want to be the good girl. For once, she didn't want to be the one who was overlooked.
She wanted to feel sexy. She wanted to be wanted.
Lucia slid her gaze down to her purse and the manila envelope sticking out of the corner. Are you sure you want him? Or do you just want what he can give you? She shook her head. Yes, she'd agreed to go out with Brent, because well, he’d helped her. But he was good-looking. And interesting.
Who are you trying to convince?
Yes, she needed the information he'd gotten for her. If it would help her track down who owned that house, and eventually her brother's murderer, then she was going to take it. Because that was all she'd ever wanted. Some answers about what happened to Rafe. She deserved those answers. More importantly, her grandmother deserved those answers.
Rafe had always looked out for her. And if something had ever happened to her, she’d known that he would tear the world apart looking for answers. And looking to make someone pay.
But for the first time in a long time, she’d come to understand that she couldn't make Rafe her whole life. He'd been gone for six years. It was time to move on. The envelope could wait. Right now, she had a date and an ice cream waiting. Besides, Rafe wouldn't begrudge her a life. He may not be so thrilled about the kind of life she wanted, but he'd want her to be happy. And maybe Brent could give that to her.
Not likely. He's not Noah.
Dammit. She had to get Noah Blake off the brain. Lately it had gotten worse. She’d started to imagine heated glances from him. Whenever she was at his office, and she caught him looking at her, she would swear she saw...longing in his eyes. But that couldn't be right. Maybe more of an intensity? What the hell did she know?
All she knew was every time she caught him looking at her like that, she thought about using one of those toys JJ got her as a gag gift. The ones in her bedside drawer that no one knew about. The same ones that she put in a shoebox under her bed every time the cleaning lady came by.
She still flushed at the thought of the ridiculous party favor she’d gotten at that bachelorette party the prior month. The thing was insane. No one on earth was that big. It just wasn't possible. Though it wasn't like she had anything to go on.
If you want something to go on, stop hiding in the bathroom and go on your date.
Checking her appearance one more time, she forced a smile on her face. She was going to do this. She was going to go out there and have a good time and let Brent take her home. And then she was going to let him kiss her good night.
And then, instead of overthinking this, she was going to see where it went.
More resolute, she pushed open the door and grinned when she saw Brent standing there with two strawberry ice cream cones. He handed her one, and when some melted on her finger, he took her hand and gently licked it off.
Oh god. She fought the immediate urge to snatch her hand back. Relax. He's trying to be cute. Not creepy.
"Come on, let's head back," she said. They’d opted to park his car and just walk back to her place.
As they walked and ate their ice cream, the balmy summer breeze lifting a few of her curls, he said "I'm glad you agreed to go out with me. Although you should know, I wasn't above begging."
Lucia took another lick of her ice cream. "You're sweet."
He shrugged. "Not that sweet. I've seen you walk by the Café on fourth before. You can imagine my surprise when you walked into my office. I had to take a shot and ask you out."
Lucia wasn't used to quite so many compliments. Oh sure, at first guys were interested, but then something almost always happened to make them cool off. Most of her dates never went past date one. She was starting to think she was really bad at this. JJ said she just needed to date a few more frogs. Though, it seemed to Lucia that she’d had more than her fair share of them.
In the five blocks it took to reach her apartment, Brent regaled her with stories of his last bungee jumping trip.
"Okay, if I agree to go bungee jumping, where do you suggest I jump first?"
His answer was instant. "Over the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, hands down."
She laughed. “Wait, I have to go all the way to Zimbabwe for my very first jump?"
"There's nothing like it with Victoria Falls thundering behind you. It�
��ll be awesome."
"Okay, maybe I’ll book that trip. But maybe, just maybe, we could try something closer to home first. Maybe not as majestic, but still thrilling."
They reached her apartment just as she finished the last bit of her cone. She shifted on her feet nervously. This was it. The moment she was waiting for. Do or die. Well okay, not do or die, but close.
Brent stepped closer. "Thank you for agreeing to go out with me. And just so you know, I'm going to kiss you in a second. But first, I want to ask you out again. Don't worry we'll take it slow on the thrill rides. But I do want to see you. So what do you say…go out with me again?"
No. "I'd like that."
Despite everything in her body telling her that this was not the guy, she was deliberately ignoring it. He was nice. She couldn't wait for perfect. Sometimes nice and good-looking would just have to do.
He leaned forward, shifting his hand to cup her cheek, and stroking it gently. When he dipped his head down, she had to force herself still. He gently brushed his lips over hers. His lips were firm but undemanding. As if he was waiting for her permission.
He pulled back with a smile. "I'd like to be a gentleman and walk you upstairs if that's okay?"
Upstairs? As in, inside her apartment? Her heart thundered but not from desire. More like pure unadulterated nerves.
She could do this, right? Just because she didn't feel anything when he kissed her, it didn't mean anything. Maybe she just needed more time to get into it. This was the kind of guy that most girls would be drooling over. What was wrong with her?
She took his hand and smiled up at him. "Come on up."
The elevator ride was tense. Or maybe it was just tense to her because she had no idea what was going to happen. More kissing probably. But she had no idea how to do any of what came next. All she had to go on were a few heavy make out sessions. Mostly high school though.
JJ kept telling her she needed to have a one-night stand to just drop the V card already. And that way, she’d be a lot less nervous about it. And maybe she was right. Brent seemed to actually like her, so he was far better than a one-night stand.