by Candy Caine
If only he had more time to interact with Raven…
* * *
Raven kept stealing looks at the handsome man sitting and obviously enjoying his dish of ice cream. It lent some truth to what he said about passing by and getting a sudden urge for ice cream. The glimpses of him in his tailored suit and what might lie beneath his clothing made her heart beat more rapidly. She had nearly turned to mush inside when he looked at her so intently with his deep blue eyes. His soothing voice had struck a vibrant cord in her. When he’d stood at the counter, he’d projected some kind of force field that had made his nearness overwhelming. Of course, such thoughts were silly, especially because he was a stranger to her. But despite that, she still found it difficult to tear her gaze from his profile and truly welcomed the interruption of a new customer.
After the man left, Marge walked over to Raven. She pointed to the door with her chin. “The man who just left, did he have trouble deciding on a flavor?”
“Not at all. He was definitely a vanilla man.”
Marge looked at her strangely. “I was referring to the ice cream,” she deadpanned.
The two women shared a laugh.
* * *
Raven worked until six and was relieved by Josie, a high school senior who worked until closing at nine. Raven liked her set hours, which allowed her to plan her life like any normal person. Though after all her years of crazy hours, she wasn’t certain what a normal person did, she knew she’d find out quickly enough. At least there’d be no last-minute calls to her aunt, notifying her she’d be late. Consistency and normalcy. Just what she needed. And she intended to enjoy it.
As she drove home, Raven’s mind wandered back to her weird interaction with the handsome stranger. When they were conversing, she’d focused on his exceptionally blue eyes that were framed by the longest black lashes. And she liked it when he smiled, which he did a lot. With thirty-two flavors to choose from, she thought about his decision to have vanilla ice cream. She wondered what he’d think if he knew vanilla was her favorite flavor, as well. Too bad, she sighed. Since he was passing through, she’d probably never see him again.
Dottie was putting dinner on the table as Raven walked through the front door. “Great timing!” She called out to her niece.
Raven steeled herself. The first thing Dottie asked every night at the dinner table had never varied since her decision to leave the law firm. Tonight was no different.
“Did you come to your senses yet and quit your job at the ice cream parlor?” Dottie asked.
“No. Working there is the result of coming to my senses. Besides, I dare you to tell me that you don’t like my hours.”
Dottie sighed deeply and shook her head. “So did anything exciting happen today at the ice cream parlor?”
“We weren’t robbed and no one set off a bomb, if that’s what you’re asking,” Raven said sarcastically.
“God forbid. Meet any exciting customers?”
“The president was too busy to come, so we were stuck with the usual suspects. Why do you ask?”
Dottie shrugged. “No reason. Just trying to have a conversation with my favorite niece.”
“Only niece,” Raven corrected.
Dottie pursed her lips. “We had more exciting conversations when you were a lawyer, only niece.”
“Sorry to disappoint. All the excitement I need right now is creating ice cream concoctions.” Raven knew her aunt loved to hear stories about her trials. To be honest, her new job was just as exciting as watching paint dry. Perhaps her aunt would be interested in the vanilla ice cream guy. “Come to think of it, there was something unusual today.”
Dottie looked up expectantly at her niece. “Like what?”
“A man came in for some ice cream, but seemed unusually talkative.”
Dottie resisted the urge to jump out of her chair and pump her fist. Instead she smiled. “He was probably just trying to be friendly. After all, you’re a very pretty girl.”
Raven sipped her iced tea as she looked at her aunt. “Anything exciting happen to you lately?”
* * *
Lucas walked out of the ice cream parlor and got into his car. He sat there replaying the entire conversation with Raven in his mind. What an idiot he must’ve sounded like. She must be laughing her bloody head off with that other woman. How the hell did he lose control of such a simple conversation like that? He was a psychologist, for God sakes. He should be the one in the driver’s seat. How had Raven been able to snatch the control from him and put him on the defensive?
He shook his head in disbelief and slammed the steering wheel with his palm. He’d gone to Flavor of the Week with every intention of spending thirty minutes tops checking out Dorothy Williams’s niece in order to stamp her with his sanity approval. Just because someone wants to get off the treadmill that’s going too fast doesn’t mean they’ve suffered a breakdown. In fact, he should commend her for realizing that the pressure and stress were too overwhelming before they did her in.
Well, things certainly didn’t go as planned, did they? What was that saying his grandmother used often? “Man plans and God laughs.” The Guy upstairs must be roaring with laughter by now.
Then he realized that despite what had happened, he wanted to see her again. This was coming from the guy who trusted women as far as he could throw them. He’d never been the same after Heather. And despite everything, he wanted to see Raven Gould again? Raven wasn’t crazy. He was.
Chapter Six
The following day, during a late break between patients, Lucas called Dottie Williams. He’d found himself making excuses to delay the call, simply because he really didn’t have the heart to disappoint the woman. Her concern for her niece was overwhelming, but he had warned her that this might happen. He just couldn’t give her a definitive answer. Still, he felt bad about it. As he heard her phone ring, he hoped her reaction wouldn’t be too negative.
“Hello, Dottie? This is Dr. Lusk—”
“I’ve been waiting to hear from you,” Dottie said with more than just a hint of urgency in her voice.
Lucas swallowed hard. He had an awful feeling this conversation was not going to go well.
“I stopped in at the ice cream parlor yesterday and met Raven. From our short interaction she appeared well adjusted and happy. There was no obvious sign of any mental deficiency or evidence of a recent breakdown. She simply liked what she was doing. And if this makes you feel any better, she’s the most patient counter person who’s ever waited on me. Trust me when I say I really pushed her buttons, but never got a rise out of her.”
“Maybe you need to spend more time with her so you can make a better assessment. And if you get to know her better, perhaps you could talk some sense into her.”
“What are you suggesting, Dottie? That I go out with your niece?”
Tears began to fill Dottie’s eyes. “I don’t know. I… I… I feel so helpless. I can’t shake the feeling that she’s making a terrible mistake and there’s nothing I can do to stop her.”
“I’m sorry if I upset you,” Lucas said hearing the choked tears in her voice. “Look, I really want to help you, but unless you come up with some way that I can meet your niece without being obvious, I’m just as helpless.”
When Dottie didn’t reply to his last statement Lucas grew concerned. “Dottie? Are you still there?”
“Uh-huh. Very much so. I think I may have come up with an idea—that is, if you’re free for lunch tomorrow,” Dottie said excitedly.
“I believe I am. My afternoon appointments begin at 3:30 tomorrow,” Lucas replied.
“That would be perfect,” Dottie said and began to tell Lucas her plan. This was her last shot, and she prayed it worked.
As Dottie made herself a fresh cup of tea, she silently thanked Raven for being such a creature of habit.
* * *
The following day, Raven went to lunch at noon and headed over to the coffee shop that was walking distance from the ice cream parlor
. She’d mentioned to Dottie more than once that they made the best chicken salad sandwiches.
As Lucas pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop, he hoped he was doing the right thing. His last encounter with Raven had been far from stellar and left him feeling foolish afterward. It gave him reason to question if what he intended to do wasn’t just as idiotic. He’d have to tread lightly and tamp down his budding attraction for the woman. That hardly helped, of course, and complicated matters. One thing he knew for certain. She was sharp and must have been some lawyer—well worth the six-figure salary she’d been getting. With that in mind, he could still leave.
The image of a distraught Dottie Williams flashed in front of his eyes. The sound of her sobbing on the phone tore down what little resistance remained. Then there was this, he thought, as he pulled Raven’s picture out from his binder. He traced her full red lips with his finger, wondering how they’d taste. Or if her caramel-colored skin was as soft and silky as it looked.
Lucas wasn’t sure which part of the equation motivated him more. He sighed and cast his fate to the wind.
He went inside. Almost instantly he spotted Raven sitting at a table reading a book as she munched on a sandwich. He ordered lunch for himself and headed over to the table near hers. Needing to get her attention as he passed, he clumsily knocked into the side of the table.
Raven looked up from her book. “Hey! What the—I know you. You’re Mr. Vanilla.” Then narrowing her eyes she studied him. “Either this is one huge coincidence, or you’re following me.”
Lucas crinkled his nose. “Mr. Vanilla, huh? That’s a great way to be remembered. And for your information, I don’t follow people around.”
“Well, aside from being apropos, I have no idea what else to call you.”
He looked into those temptress eyes of hers and felt his cock stir.
“Try Lucas, for starters.”
“Is that really your name?” she teased.
“Why would I tell you to call me that if it weren’t?”
Raven smiled wryly with her arms crossed.
Focusing on her lovely mouth, Lucas replied.
“Oh, I get it. You’re still not sure our meeting is accidental. Okay. Here’s a question for you. How did I know you’d be here?”
“You would if you’ve been following me,” Raven said, tapping her foot.
“Duh,” Lucas slapped his head, making her laugh. Then he added, “Do you honestly think I’ve been following you?”
Raven pursed her lips. “Not really. But I don’t believe in coincidences, either.”
“There’s always a beginning point for everything.”
She rolled her eyes but found him intriguing, just the same.
“Oh, yeah, there is,” he said emphatically.
“Such as,” Raven challenged playfully.
“Eventually we’re going to get past all this weird stuff and have a normal conversation, so what do I call you?”
“We’re going to have a conversation?” Raven said as she noticed the twinkle in his eye.
“It’s not that great a leap of faith,” Lucas said.
Raven began to laugh.
“What’s so funny about that?”
She shook her head. “You’re a very strange man, Lucas. Goodbye."
“At least tell me your name.”
“Raven. Enjoy your lunch, Lucas.” She dismissed him and opened her book.
Lucas sat down at his own table and began to eat. He wondered what, if anything, to do next. How could he learn anything about the woman if he couldn’t even engage her in a worthwhile conversation?
Raven watched him sit down. The man might be weird, but he’d piqued her interest and she found him amusing. He was also quite good-looking and very sexually attractive. She couldn’t help but notice his large hands with long, thin fingers and his easy-going smile. Yeah, she found his mouth sexy and wondered how his lips would feel on hers, but it had to end there. No more messy relationships. She rarely went out twice with the same man. Since the sorry mistake with Gordon White, men had been just a distraction for her, and right now she had no desire to get close to anyone. The fallout from Gordon had been too devastating for her, and she didn’t want to go through any more hurt again.
Her rational side feared that her emotional side, led by her heart, was letting her defenses down. She was unnerved by Lucas, who was different from the likes of most men she’d encountered. He wasn’t coming on to her, and in a strange way, she found this disappointing. However, that didn’t explain why every time she came in contact with him, she felt her balance upset by some imaginary force. This force played havoc with her vitals. Her pulse would quicken and her mouth grew dry. And there was the familiar tingling of excitement she couldn’t explain away. When it first happened the day he walked into the ice cream parlor, she poo-pooed it away, but now…
Raven reminded herself that thoughts like this were ridiculous. She was a grown woman, not a ditzy eighteen-year-old.
The shrieks of a woman interrupted her thoughts. She, like the others around her, including Lucas, gravitated to the source. A little boy, about five, was apparently in distress. One minute Lucas was a bystander, and in the next, he was by the woman’s side.
“Help him! Don’t let him die!” The woman shrieked.
“I need you to remain calm. Can you do that?”
She nodded, but Lucas was already performing the Heimlich maneuver on the boy. Something resembling a piece of meat was ejected from the boy’s throat. Soon normal color returned to the child’s face. The woman hugged and kissed Lucas.
“That was somethin’ else,” a woman said to Raven. “That boy was definitely a goner.”
“Yes. He saved the child’s life.” Raven replied looking at Lucas appraisingly.
The buzzing of several conversations replaced the near silence of moments before. Someone had placed a 911 call, and five minutes later, two EMTs rushed inside, followed by a policeman. Raven watched as Lucas explained what had taken place. The EMTs checked out the child and left, while the policeman jotted down the information for his report.
Finally, the policeman left. Adrenaline ebbing, Lucas went back to his table and chugged down his glass of water.
Raven walked over to him. “Those are some mad skills you have there. Are you a doctor?”
“Not an MD.” Lucas said, hesitating on whether he should lie or tell her the truth. It would have to come out sooner or later so he opted for the truth. “I’m a psychologist.” He half expected her to whip out a crucifix or a garland of garlic. But she didn’t.
“A psychologist, huh?” She pursed her lips.
He nodded and braced himself for the onslaught, but again, it never came.
She shook her head. “I hate psychologists,” she said quietly.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Very funny.”
“I wasn’t being funny,” Lucas said.
“Oh, yeah. You didn’t preface it with ‘this is a joke,’” she said sarcastically, gesturing quotation marks around the words this is a joke.
“Can I ask you a question, just as an aside?”
“Now what?” Raven said looking down, as if she couldn’t meet his eye.
“Okay. Forget it then,” he said.
Raven sighed and folded her hands across her chest. “Ask your question.”
“Do all women wear the same dress size?”
“Really? I’m not going to answer a stupid question like that,” she said, looking at him through narrowed eyes.
“I’m being serious. Please answer it.”
“All right. The answer is obviously no.” Raven replied, defiantly.
“So, having said that, why do you hate all psychologists? Do you think they’re all bad people?”
For the moment, she was blindsided, not expecting such a question, but recovered quickly.
“Of course not.” She pointed at Lucas. “You just saved a child’s life. That makes you a hero and a good
guy.”
“But I’m also a psychologist.”
“Okay. I see your point. I’ll amend my statement. From now on, I hate all psychologists except you. How’s that?”
“Better—”
“But we can work on that,” she interrupted.
It was exactly what he was going to say.
“You were going to say that, right? Admit it.”
He nodded.
Raven pumped her fist and mugged. “I’m really good, aren’t I?”
“Yes,” Lucas agreed.
“But you were right about something else.”
“What’s that?” Lucas asked arching an eyebrow.
“That it’s wrong to tar an entire group of people with the same brush.”
Lucas nodded approvingly.
“Honestly, what you did with that kid back there says a lot about you,” Raven said.
“Really? Like what?”
“Well, for starters, you perform well under pressure,” she said.
“Interesting. What else?”
“You care about others and that makes you a good person— despite your nefarious profession.”
Lucas chuckled. “You know, you’re okay yourself. Say, this conversation gives me an idea.”
Eyebrows raised and curiosity aroused, Raven asked, “What’s that?”
“Why don’t we take this newly found admiration for each other to the next level?”
“And what might that be?” Raven asked, hands on hips.
“Join me and engage in some more pleasant conversation.”
“Are you certain we’re ready for that?” Raven teased.
“I’m willing to chance it—if you are.”
Raven had enjoyed the verbal jousting with Lucas. However, suddenly she feared pushing too hard and scaring him away. She had a tendency to do that with most men, but Lucas seemed different. She liked him, despite the fact that he was a damn psychologist. There was something appealing about him that attracted her and made her extremely conscious of him. Each time she saw him, the pull became stronger. Perhaps it was just pheromones.