Catching Lucas Riley (20 page)

“Sure!” she said. She had been going for bright and cheery, but instead her tone registered as an anxious squeak. Lucas laughed.

“Little nervous?” he squeezed her hands. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone eat you.”

“Literally or figuratively?” Alex asked, attempting a brave smile.

“Either one,” he answered. “As long as you promise to return the favor when the time comes for me to meet your family.”

At his confident smile, her nerves quieted. She followed him up to the heavy oak front door, taking a deep breath as he pushed it open.

The house was deathly quiet. It occurred to Alex to wonder if the party was actually a surprise party and they had been mistaken for the guest of honor, but as Lucas guided her quickly through the professionally decorated house, she realized that the party was actually taking place in the backyard. As they emerged on the massive back patio, Alex saw the fire pit blazing to combat the early November chill, as well as the strategically placed outdoor heaters. People were spread everywhere, talking and eating, lounging in a hot tub, playing horseshoes, badminton, and even dancing in a grassy area where a DJ had been advantageously positioned.

“Wow,” Alex breathed. “Ashley certainly does know how to throw a party.”

“Yeah, she missed her calling. She should’ve been an event planner.” Lucas chuckled. “She’s wasted on accounting.”

“A DJ? Really?” Alex whispered.

“Ah, don’t be too impressed,” Lucas replied. “He’s a cousin and practically begged Ashley for the opportunity to show off his mad skills.”

Alex laughed and looked around, her eyes caught by an imposing
figure with white blond hair, pulling himself out of the hot tub. Sealey.

“Oh, I didn’t realize Sealey was going to be here,” Alex said, trying to hide her discomfort. They hadn’t talked at all for the rest of the football game the weekend before. Sealey had spoken intermittently to Ashley, but not to her. After the game, she had considered going to dinner with them all again (Lucas had texted her directly after the game to invite her), but she had begged off with a phony excuse. She couldn’t handle another double date. Not with the fake lovebirds—who were faking their relationship for some strange, unknown, and undisclosed (naturally) reason.

Likewise, Sealey hadn’t spoken to her all week, and she had been surprised at how much she had missed his needling texts. With his avowal that, as far as he was concerned, the project was over, she wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t contacted her to discuss Lucas. But for some reason she thought that, at some point, he might have wanted to talk to her anyway—just to clear the air or something. But her phone had remained ominously silent.

“Luke!” Sealey said cheerfully, rubbing a towel roughly through his hair and across his chest as he approached. “I think your mom’s about ready to kill you. Not awesome, when all the party guests manage to arrive before the guest of honor’s firstborn son. I think she was expecting you a couple of hours ago.”

“I know,” Lucas replied sheepishly. “But I had a few places I wanted to show Alex. You know, the high school, the golf course. All the old haunts. Mom’ll forgive me.”

“You’d better hope so,” Sealey teased. He turned to Alex and gave her a kind smile. “Hey, Foamer,” he said.

“Hey,” she almost whispered. It was a distinctly awkward situation. She didn’t want to meet his eyes, because she was still feeling slightly ashamed from their last encounter. But she couldn’t keep her eyes focused on his shirt or anything either, because he wasn’t actually wearing one. And his lack of shirt revealed a frankly surprising physique. In fact, if everything had been normal between them, she would’ve given him a teasing compliment about it. But with the way things were since their argument, all she could manage to do was turn her blushing
cheeks away from his swimsuit-clad frame and focus her eyes on the empty flower pots to her left.

“You okay, there?” he asked, reaching out to nudge her shoulder with his fingers.

“She’s a little nervous,” Lucas replied, putting his arm around her and pulling her into his side.

Nervous. Right. She could run with that.

“You know, meeting the family,” she said, allowing her eyes to flit up to Sealey’s momentarily. “It’s a big step.”

“Yes, it is,” Sealey agreed, and he ducked his head slightly as he attempted to keep eye contact with her. “But I think it’ll all turn out okay.”

Something in his tone caught her notice, but she wasn’t sure why. It almost sounded like a warning.

“Well, better go appease the matriarch,” Lucas said, pulling her toward the tables loaded with food. “Good to see you, man. Let’s play some ball later.”

“Sure thing,” Sealey agreed, heading toward the house. “See you later, Alex.” He smiled at her quickly before disappearing inside.

Lucas grabbed her hand and led her to the side of a petite woman with short, caramel-colored hair. She was talking animatedly to a couple who could have been either thirty-five or sixty. Alex studied them, wondering if what she was seeing was the result of plastic surgery or just unfortunate coordinated pre-mature aging.

“Mom,” Lucas said, clasping the petite caramel-haired woman around the shoulders when she noticed him standing beside her. “Sealey told me you’re mad at me, but I figure he was exaggerating. After all, who can stay mad at a face like this one?” He pulled an angelic face as he drew her into his chest, where the top of her head barely reached his shoulder.

“I should be mad,” she said, laughing. “You were supposed to come early to help us set up the heaters. Your dad and Sealey had to do everything themselves.”

“I know,” Lucas said, having the grace to look ashamed. “But I got distracted showing Alex around my old stomping grounds.”

“Yes, I assumed as much,” said the woman, turning to look at Alex. “And this must be the woman herself.”

“Yep,” Lucas said, smiling broadly at Alex. “Mom, this is Alex Foamer, my current fixation.” He winked at her. “Alex, this is my mom, Candace Riley. Everyone just calls her Candie, though.”

“Hello, dear,” said Candie, her face breaking into a smile. Alex thought she might be paranoid, but it looked like the smile was a little stiff at the corners.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Alex replied. “Your home is breathtaking. And this area is absolutely beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Thank you,” Candie said politely. “We certainly like it. Are you familiar with North Salt Lake?” she asked.

“No, actually,” Alex replied. “I passed by this past week on my way to a job interview downtown, but I didn’t get the chance to look around much. Most of my travel is a straight shot between Logan and California.”

“Oh, are you from California?” Candie asked, raising an eyebrow in expertly feigned interest. But Alex could tell the difference. It was a very Ashley-esque expression and it was now clear to Alex that she had learned it from her mother.

“I told you that, Mom,” Lucas broke in, and he looked a little embarrassed. “Remember? Alex is from Malibu.”

“Oh, that’s right. I’d forgotten,” Candie said, airily waving a hand.

“Hey, did you say that you had a job interview in Salt Lake this past week?” Lucas asked, frowning slightly at Alex. “I don’t remember you mentioning that before. What job were you interviewing for?”

“Oh, it’s for a traveling speaker series,” Alex said, her voice gaining enthusiasm. “It’s a bunch of different classes on childhood obesity and nutrition, and I interviewed for a spot as a lecturer. My boss recommended me for it.”

“Traveling?” Lucas asked, his eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, just for a few months,” Alex replied. “We’d be doing symposiums in at least twenty different cities. It’s a really great opportunity for me.”

Lucas cleared his throat. “It sounds like it,” he said. But he didn’t sound very enthusiastic about the idea. “I guess I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me about it.”

“Excuse me,” Candie said, in a tactful attempt to give them some
space. “That water looks like it needs some refilling.” She walked away, leaving them alone.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it,” Alex said. “I’ve been really distracted this week and it honestly didn’t occur to me to tell you. I kind of just thought I’d tell you about it if I got the job.”

“So you’d tell me about it once you had already decided to leave me for three months?” Lucas said, and his voice sounded almost angry now. She’d never heard him like that. “Gee, that’s thoughtful of you.”

“Luke, I’m sorry,” she said, reaching out to lay her hand on his arm. “I promise, I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you. I just didn’t think you’d be interested.”

This didn’t seem to appease him at all. “We’re dating, aren’t we? Alex? This is a relationship, isn’t it?”

“Um, is it?” Alex asked, biting her lip, afraid the question would make him even angrier. “We’ve never really established that formally,” she went on quickly. “I wasn’t sure that was what you wanted.”

Lucas appeared to be calming down. He stepped forward, sliding his hand across her cheek. “Trust me, it’s what I want.”

“But what about . . .” She glanced around furtively and lowered her voice. “. . . Olivia?”

“Let me worry about Olivia,” Lucas said, pulling her against him. “From now on, I just want you to worry about us.”

Alex sighed. For some reason, the thought of not worrying about Olivia seemed to lift a ton of bricks off of her shoulders. “I would love to just worry about us.” She smiled up at him.

“Well, just as long as
I
don’t have to worry about the two of you,” said a strong voice from a few feet away.

They jumped apart, startled. Alex looked behind her to see a large, muscular man with curly hair and sea foam eyes.

“Dad!” Lucas greeted, throwing his arms around his father. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks, son,” the large man replied with a wide grin. “And who’s this young lady?”

“Dad, this is Alex, the girl I told you about. Alex, this is my dad, Marcus Riley.”

“Alex, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Marcus said, his grin widening as he took her hand in his huge one. “Luke has told me a lot about you. Dietitian, right?”

“That’s me,” Alex replied, smiling. It was nice to meet someone so overtly friendly, especially after the coolness of Candie’s greeting.

“Great profession,” Marcus said, nodding. “Very important. And you’re from California, right? Malibu? Is your family all out there?”

“Yes. I am.” She nodded. “My parents and two of my younger siblings are. My dad teaches at Pepperdine, so they’re kind of rooted there for now. And I believe you’re in accounting, right?”

“Deep in it,” Marcus said, chuckling. “I’m a partner at one of the big firms downtown. It’s a difficult job but a lucrative one.”

Alex smiled and nodded, not sure exactly what to say to that.
Oh really, sir, how lucrative?

“Well, anyway, it was nice to meet you, Alex.” He smiled at her one last time, clapped his son on the back, and then moved away.

“Well, he’s a cheerful guy,” Alex said to Lucas.

“Yeah, he’s super friendly,” Lucas agreed, but he was watching his dad with a slightly troubled look on his face.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He absentmindedly reached out and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her tight into his side.

“Yeah, fine. It’s just . . .” He turned to look at her. He studied her face for a second and then smiled. “You know what? Never mind.”

After meeting Lucas’s parents, Alex felt like she could relax a little. Lucas introduced her to several more people, most of them family friends. None of them accused her of stealing Lucas away from his perfect match, and most of them seemed genuinely happy to meet her. She was relieved at the lack of enmity.

About an hour after their arrival, Sealey turned up again to formally challenge them to a two-on-two basketball game against him and Ashley.

“Absolutely,” said Lucas, as Alex nodded enthusiastically. She loved basketball, and her height made her pretty good at it. “I have a brand-new ball in my room upstairs. Hang on a sec and I’ll grab it.”

Lucas jogged toward the house, leaving Sealey and Alex alone to stare awkwardly anywhere but at each other.

“So . . . ,” Sealey began, shoving his hands in the pockets of the jeans he’d thankfully changed into. “How have you been?” His white Abercrombie T-shirt emphasized his tan and his clear blue eyes. Blue eyes that flitted in discomfort to Alex’s face and away again. Alex allowed herself to look at him, feeling a little bit better about the awkwardness she felt, knowing he felt it too.

“Pretty good.” Alex shrugged noncommittally.

“I haven’t talked to you in awhile. Anything new with you?” he questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

“It’s only been a week.”

“Seems longer.” Sealey shrugged.

Alex looked down, trying to come up with something to fill the silence.

“Oh, I wanted to tell you!” she exclaimed, suddenly excited about what had occurred to her. “I had a job interview in Salt Lake this last week. It’s for a lecturer position in a traveling speaker series on childhood obesity. It’s just like what I told you I wanted to do! A chance to make a difference!” She grinned happily.