SecondSightDating (2 page)

“Let’s start over.
I’m Dan Reese and I’d like to use this
certificate.”

His smile undid her.
The chilly sensation in the air
disappeared and Serena relaxed her stance.

Dan sat again in his seat, a sensation of loss without her
in his arms frustrating his body.
I hope you’re on my list
.
She fit so
perfectly next to him, her long, leggy body lined up against his.
She had to be
just a few inches shorter than his six-foot height.
Her shape?
Men would crave
to touch that body.

Everywhere.

Her auburn hair fell freely around her face, framing it with
short, delicate curls.
Those lips, full and painted some shade of dark pink,
begged for attention.
Light, chocolate-brown colored eyes sparkled with flecks
of green and changed in intensity the more he stared at her.

She’d captured his attention all right, if the prickly hairs
on the back of his neck were any indication of sparking his interest.
A lower
portion of his body hadn’t missed responding to the delightful sensation of
having her pressed against him.

Sitting gave him the edge in getting his libido and all
visible signs of it, under control.
His undercover job required a cool head and
level thinking.
Any hormonal reaction would have to take a back burner.

“What do I do first?”

Serena nodded, accepting his willingness to start anew.
She
offered him a handful of papers.
“Fill out these forms.
If there’s anything you
don’t want to answer, let me know.
Some information is vital, other stuff is
optional.”

Dan quickly scanned the forms and noticed they asked
standard questions he’d come across on everything from car loan applications to
job searches.
He began writing, but stopped at the preference list.

Eyeing her, he decided to list her physical
qualities as to what he wanted in a woman.
Career and education requirements
could vary, although he did hope to be paired with someone who could carry on
an intelligent conversation.

For this case, gritting his teeth while posing as an
insurance salesman needing help to find a love match got the detective through
the door.
He used his standard choice of names as a cover, that of Daniel
Reese.
Easy enough to remember as Dan was his first name and Reese, his middle
name.
To ensure his sanity remained intact, complications and headaches
involving simpering, clingy, self-centered women had to be avoided at all
costs.

“Here.” He handed her his form.
“I guess I’ve done my part.
Now what?”

“If you’ll stand over by the door, I’ll take your picture.”

“Be sure and get my best side,” he quipped as he grinned for
the camera.

“And, that would be where?” Serena shot back, making a
mental note that the man could display a sense of humor when he wasn’t
challenging her.
After taking two quick shots, one close-up and one
full-length, both returned to their seats.

Her eyes roamed the questionnaire before she spoke.
Silence,
except for the ticking of a cuckoo clock, reigned in the small office.

“Now,” she voiced with a slight quiver, “I need to touch
you.”

“Anywhere in particular?” Dan drawled, blood pumping faster
through his veins at the mere thought of her hands on him.

“Your hand will do.
For now.” Her lazy grin pushed his sex
drive button again…the one that seemed to be permanently switched on since he’d
walked through her door.

Dan held out his hand, palm side up and rested it on her
desk.
Her fingertips traced a line from his wrist to his fingers then back
again.
His breathing sped up while he watched in fascination at her slight
touches.
Her eyes closed and he detected a low sigh, almost like a moan, escape
from her lips.

The same letters as before rampaged through her head.
Hmm.
She had women with those letters, but none of them would be a match for him,
from what she could remember of their resumes.

Touching him sent shivers up and down her body.
Usually,
just one tiny jolt would accompany her first contact with a client.
This man
was different.
This man revved up her system.
This man could undo the “no man
in my life now” code she’d followed for the past year.

Getting her business up and operating while forgetting Alan
and his betrayal had steeled her resolve to forgo any form of love life.
Her
self-imposed “one year, no dating” sentence had ended, but Serena avoided
looking for a man.
Distance from Dan would be vital.
He would test her
determination to fly solo if he got too close.

Clearing her throat, she offered, “I’m seeing three letters
for you.” She broke their contact by removing her hand and placed both her arms
on her desk.

“Letters?
I thought your application said you’d provide one
match.”

The fingers of her left hand began drumming a cadence on her
desk.
“Well, usually I only see one letter.
But you seem to be different.”

“So,” he leaned in closer, “is that good or bad?”

“Maybe it’s your lucky day.
I guess there could be three
women out there just perfect for you, waiting for an introduction.”

Serena got up and walked into her outer office.
She shuffled
through her files, collecting those of his three possible future dates.
She
retained the files, but pulled out the short, unnamed and non-letter
identifying bio for each woman along with their pictures.
She returned to her
desk and handed them to Dan.
“Here are the ladies who match your letters.”

He studied the bios and photos.
An uneasy twinge of
disappointment over his interest made her uncomfortable as the seconds passed
before he spoke.
What was wrong with her?

“What about them?
Do I come up as a match for any of these
ladies?”

“I won’t know for sure until I give you a number and
interview them again.
I need to touch them too in order to ‘feel’ the
connection.
I’ll contact them today and see when they can come in for a
session.
Do you, uh, have a problem with any of them?
I’ll need to know that up
front.”

“No.
You’re the expert here.
If you say we’re compatible,
I’ll give it a shot.
When will I hear from you?” Slouching in his seat, her
latest client smirked as if he still doubted the whole procedure.

Perhaps speeding up his case would make him a
believer.
Maybe the sooner she hooked him up with one of the eligible women in
her files, the quicker she’d get past the magnetic pull he seemed to cast her
way.
Her mind wanted to ignore the feeling, but her body was more than willing
to be charmed by Dan Reese.

“I’ll get on this right away.
Let me just give you a number.
Uh,” she shuffled through papers on her desk, “my list is here somewhere.”

Embarrassment panicked her as each second passed during her
frantic search for her numbers list for men.
Where the hell was it?
She’d
always kept papers pertaining to men on the left side of her desk and ones for
the ladies on the right.

Peeking at him, she noticed his fixated stare, never
wavering from her desperate quest.
Having already displayed doubts about her
business, he now probably assumed her to be nothing short of an unorganized
fortuneteller.
Great way to do business, Serena.
Finally, one paper
materialized from the heap, but only one number appeared on it.
Strange.
Where
did it come from?

“So?
Is that mine?” His question came out in an impatient
tone.

“Yes.” The number was as good as any and she was positive no
one else had it.
“You’re Mr.
‘Four-eighteen’.”

His eyes widened.
“You have that many clients?
Now I am
impressed.”

Now?
Did he say now?
The heck with worrying about the source
of the number.
Four-eighteen would do.

“You’ll be known as that number until you meet your date.
If
you decide to exchange names, then it’s up to you.”

“You won’t even call me by my name?”

“Makes it easier if I don’t.
Then there’s no chance of a
slip-up on my part.”

He shrugged.
“Okay.
So, do you have a letter?
Are you in the
files?”

His questions caught her off guard.
No one else had ever
asked.
The one time she’d gone with her intuition for herself, her “second
sight” had made one hell of a blunder.
Matching herself with a man from her
client list remained her biggest mistake.

“No.
I just do this for others.
This is a business.
I’m not
trying to find a match for myself.”

Mr.
“Four-eighteen” edged his body closer to lean over her
desk.
“I’d think matching someone for yourself would be an easier challenge
than handling strangers.”

On the defensive, Serena quipped, “I could if I wanted to.”

“Would you object to proving that to me?”

Damn.
Caught in a lie.
She had to go open her mouth and say
she could do it when she knew it wouldn’t work.
Dating Alan had proved that.

“Look, I know you’re uneasy about being here and my
arranging a date for you, but I’m running a business and I…”

Dan interrupted, “Are you afraid to be your own client?”

“Of course not.” His question irritated the hell out of her.
Surely there would be one man in her files she could date a few times without
worrying about anything long-term developing.
She knew that wouldn’t happen.

“Fine.
If it’ll make you feel more at ease, I’ll do a number
search for myself.
Now, let’s get back to you.”

“No.” He shook his finger at her and laughed.
“That’s not
enough.
How will I know you actually go through with this?”

Jerking to her feet, Serena rose to her full height and
placed her hands on her hips.
“What do you suggest?”

He got up, leaned slightly forward and rested both hands on
her desk.
As he stared at her, he answered,“We’ll double-date.
I won’t be so
nervous about all this with you there and you’ll see how things go for me since
I’m not your usual client.”

A brain freezing sensation took control of her mind for a
second or two.
Her mouth opened, but no words popped out.
Double-date?

“I can’t go out on other clients’ dates.”

“Why?”

That one simple word had her thinking.
He was right about
his being different from all the others.
Maybe she should be around to see how
her matchmaking went for him—her very unusual case.

She would arrange his date and one for herself.

And, watch him.

Very closely.

Out of curiosity.

For research on her gift.

The sound of the cuckoo clock interrupted the silence
between them once again.
Grateful for the reminder that another client was due
in five minutes, Serena put on her best business-like front.

“Mr.
‘Four-eighteen’, I’ll contact one of your
letters and interview her.
Then, I’ll get back to you about a meeting.
I’ll set
up something for myself so we can be a cozy foursome as you requested.”

One eyebrow quirked up, but other than that, his face
remained unchanged.
“Good.
I feel better about this already.
I guess I’ll just
wait to hear from you.
I’m looking forward to our dinner.”

She stuck out her hand to shake his.
Instant heat raced up
her arm and through her system as his warmth invaded her body.
Letters danced
again in her mind, swirling faster as her blood pumped swiftly through her
veins.

The man was dangerous, a threat to her sanity and
self-control.

“I’ll wait for your call.” He gave her a half-smile, turned
and strolled out the door.