Authors: Marianne Stephens
SecondSightDating (4 page)
Dan only sought out affairs, ones without clingy,
starry-eyed women reaching for that brass ring of matrimony.
Mutual flings
suited his outlook on love.
His heart, as well as his soul, would remain safe,
hidden away from further damage.
Crap.
He had Morgan to thank for this mess.
Shows what can
happen if you beat your best friend repeatedly at poker.
This revenge was a
doozy.
And since Morgan was his superior, Dan could do nothing but play the
dating game.
Morgan and the guys back in his department probably enjoyed
laughing at his expense over his unwanted assignment.
They’d all taken turns
trying to “fix him up” with “nice” girls, the ones with commitments in mind.
Nice for some guys, but not for him.
He had no heart to give anyone.
Certainly
not to “nice” women.
Getting his fuzzy brain back to the present, he focused on
the application form, verifying the information he’d written, per his boss’s
orders.
Yep.
He’d done his job.
All was as it should appear.
“There’s nothing more to add.
Unless you want me to say
something about pets.
I noticed nothing’s here asking if I have one.”
Serena’s pert little mouth formed a perfect “O” and he
watched in amazement as it then transformed into a smile.
“You’re the first
person who’s brought that up.
I have to admit, I never considered that
particular question.”
Dan read aloud what he’d written across the bottom of the
last page, “I like dogs but not cats.” He looked up at her.
“Don’t have one,
though.
Think that might make a difference?”
She took the form and tilted her head as if pondering his
question.
“Hmm.”
Dan placed his arm across her desk, stretching out his palm
for her to touch.
He waited for her warm fingers to send shivers through his
body as before.
Dating her would be interesting, if she wasn’t a suspect in his
department’s investigation and on the mayor’s wanted list.
Serena lifted her hand and brought it close to his open
palm, an instant burst of heat radiating from it.
She hadn’t touched him, but
letters already started racing in her head.
Blurred ones, but seemingly larger
than in her normal letter visions, swam in a furious dance pattern.
She lowered a finger and traced a path up and down his
fleshy palm.
The static charge caused by their contact jolted her body and
should have had the effect of making her hair stand on end.
Her other hand flew
up to feel her head in an effort to convince herself that she didn’t look like
a wild woman after a very bad perm.
Letters became clearer, more pronounced and vivid in color.
Most times, her visions would only appear in black and white.
Rarely did color
enter her “sights”.
Hmm.
Color.
Shades of green, pink and blue, outlined the
letters…the same three she’d seen the first time she’d touched him.
S.
E.
X.
Now she’d read them in that order, regardless of how they appeared to her,
alphabetical order be damned.
Dan’s letters were sex.
Maybe adding information about pets made some difference, at
least in the addition of hues.
And, the letters were bolder, bigger and further
spaced apart to give definite distinction to them as individual entities.
Serena’s breathing raced with every stroke she feathered on
his palm.
Too bad men were off-limits in her self-proclaimed celibacy.
Anyway,
she still wasn’t convinced he was a true believer.
Staying far away from that
type was an absolute necessity.
She broke their contact, blinking as she tried to refocus on
his face.
“So?
Any new letters for me?”
“No.
The same letters came again, only stronger this time.”
Dan frowned as he slumped back into his seat.
“Is that good
or bad?”
“Probably a good sign.
We must be on the right track if the
letters are the same.
Like I said, this is new territory for me.
Having the
three letters, I mean.”
“Fine.
I got your message about dinner.
It’s okay with me.
Do you have your date set up?”
“That’s what I’ll be working on as soon as you’re gone.” Her
cheeks heated as she regretted her brusque manner in an attempt to get him to
leave.
“Oh.
Sorry.
Didn’t mean to overstay my time.”
“I’m…I didn’t mean that the way it came out.
I just have
lots to do before Friday.”
Dan stood then headed for the door.
He winked at her and
said before leaving, “I’m looking forward to our date.”
She watched his retreating back as he walked out her office
door.
Nice view, even from the rear.
His full, masculine frame strolled, almost
strutted, away from her, displaying a swagger of confidence with every step.
A
man in control.
Someone comfortable with issuing orders.
Self-assured in the
world around him.
Why did he need her help to find a date?
Did the qualities
she assessed him to possess not translate to interacting with a woman?
His
friends gave him a certificate to her agency.
They thought he needed help?
What about his “Please.
I want to do this” comment?
Maybe he
was shy around women.
Hard to believe, since he didn’t seem to have any trouble
talking with her and stirring her interest, but it could prove to be true.
He was sexy and charming in a smooth, polished sort of way
Serena figured came natural to him.
Maybe, from experience.
Lots of experience.
Yet, he wanted her help in finding the perfect woman.
With a giant mental shake of her head, she decided to focus
on what he’d said as he left moments before.
Our date?
He meant his date and
her date.
No “our date” existed because they weren’t dating.
Sure, they’d be
together, but not with each other.
It was time to find herself a date.
Procrastinating wouldn’t
make it any easier.
The sooner she settled on Mr.
Number whatever, the quicker
she could get back to running her business.
Closing her eyes, she rested her head in her hands as she
willed a number to appear.
Foggy at first, then numbers started spinning in
circles through her mind.
Dan’s face was no longer there, but the same numbers
appeared.
Four, one, eight.
Four-eighteen.
His number.
And, this time, the damn
things were in color.
Same shades as his letters.
Same boldness.
Same bigger
size.
Damn.
“Fine.
I give up.” Serena spoke aloud as she threw up her
hands and flopped her head back against the headrest of her comfy desk chair.
If those were her numbers, so be it.
She’d look at Mr.
“One”, Mr.
“Four” and Mr.
“Eight”.
One of them had to be available for dinner
on Friday, someone with whom she’d have at least one thing in common.
A man she
could parade in front of Dan, watch him interact with his date and get him off
her case about dating.
Full of anxiety, resignation and doubt, she looked forward
to Friday like a teenager looked forward to going back to school after
Christmas break.
Chapter Three
“So?
Seen any ghosts yet?
Is she a gypsy fortuneteller?
Wart
on her nose?” Morgan bombarded ridiculous questions at Dan the minute he
entered the department.
Eyeing his boss/ex-best friend, Dan cocked his head toward
Morgan’s office.
“Mind if we discuss this in private?”
“Sure thing.”
The men entered the office and Dan noted the sly grins from
coworkers and curious glances.
He paid particular attention to shutting the
door before he said anything.
“You do know that we’ll never play poker again.
I won’t live through more revenge tactics like this.”
“Hey, you’re my best investigator.
Everyone else is either
married or in some type of relationship.
You’re the most likely candidate since
you’re not attached to anyone.”
“Fitzgerald isn’t involved.”
“Sending a gay guy might not work.
If she is psychic—and
personally I don’t believe any of that mumbo-jumbo stuff myself but my orders
come from higher up the food chain here—she could see right through his act.
Hell, even Fitzgerald admits going undercover like this wouldn’t work for him.
I’ve got to go with whatever I think will work.
You’re the most likely,
convincing guy we have available.”
Dan flopped down in a chair, annoyed at his fate.
“I suppose
everyone’s been talking about this.”
Steve Morgan eased into the oversized leather chair behind
his desk.
“Dan, you know you give us plenty to talk about, on or off the job.”
In a sarcastic tone, Dan replied, “Thanks for being my
friend.”
Steve laughed.
“Boy, this case is really bugging you.
What
happened?
Is she a real witch?”
“Nope.
That’s the problem.
She’s a knockout.
If I wasn’t a
‘plant’ there, I’d be tempted to ask her out, weird abilities or not.
And, for
the record, I’m not saying I believe this ESP stuff either.”
His boss got out of his seat and walked over to Dan, shaking
his friend’s shoulder.
“Rein in those hormones, Casanova.
You’re supposed to be
a nerd needing help.
If you let loose with any of that Daniel Reese Carrington
appeal women seem to fall for, you could compromise this case.”
Dan shrugged.
“I know I need to be helpless.
She’s not
making it very easy.
I don’t seem to be her ordinary male client.”
“How so?”
“She has this system using numbers and letters for her male
and female clients and then matches them using her ‘sight’.
Apparently, I’m an
unusual case.
When she touches me for letter matches to her female clients, I
only spell one thing to her.
Sex.”
Steve leaned forward in his seat, a frown creasing his
forehead.
“Your letters spell sex?
Maybe that Carrington charm’s out already.
Enlighten me about this ‘touching’ procedure and spare no details.
I didn’t
realize you’d be subjected to bodily contact, but it looks like you survived.”
A grin spread across his face.
The next ten minutes were spent with Dan explaining his
encounter with Serena.
It included their plans for double-dating, a ploy to
cover his keeping an eye on her and her business.
Whatever it really was.
“Now you know how crazy this whole thing is.
Are we sure the
mayor’s daughter went through this dating service?
Did she really meet this guy
through Second Sight Dating?”
“Yep.
You read and heard what I did.
Who else would call
their date Mr.
‘Eight’?
Miss Sight gives numbers to the guys, right?”
Dan’s cell rang, the special one he’d been issued for this
case.
“This has to be her.
I haven’t given out this number to anyone else.”
He plugged a wire into the bottom of the phone, connecting
it to a recorder before answering.
“Dan Reese.”
“Mr.
Reese, or I should say, Mr.
‘Four-eighteen’, this is
Miss Sight.
I wanted to let you know we’re all set for Friday night.”
“So, who’s my first date with?”
“You’ll be meeting Miss ‘S’.
You might remember her as the
blonde who lives in Overland Park.”
“Yeah, I remember her.
Fine.
I’ll be at the restaurant at
seven.
You gonna be there, too?”
“I’m still working on that.”
Time for some feigned begging
.
“I’ll feel a whole lot
better about this if you do come.”
“Yes, well…uh…I’ll be there.”
“Good.
I’ll really feel more confident with you by my side.
See you then.”
Dan ended the call as he watched Steve turn off the
recording device.
“Guess I’m having dinner on Friday with date number one.
Or,
should I say, Miss ‘S’.”
“What about Sight?
Will she really show?”
“I think so.
I assume I sounded needy enough to want her to
come along.”
Steve shrugged.
“Sounded that way to me.
What do you know
about Miss ‘S’?”
“Blonde, wants to be a model.
Real easy on the eyes.
Practically falling out of her untied top in her picture.
Probably a publicity
shot.”
“Or invitation to check out future offerings.
For a price.”
Dan rubbed his hands over his face before replying.
“Yeah,
well, I guess I’ll find out.”
“The insurance company’s on notice to field calls about your
‘new’ job.
Good thing my wife’s a VP over there and they cooperate with us.”
“Thank her for me.”
“So, all you have to do is make sure you play up the
drooling, shy guy role.” Steve slapped him on the back.
“Practice in front of a
mirror or something.”
“I’d wipe that grin off your face if you weren’t my boss.
I’ve got work to do.
Mind if I slam your door shut when I walk outta here?”
Steve’s laughter echoed throughout the room.
“Hey, be my
guest.
That’s better than bloodshed.
Especially if it’s supposed to be mine.”
Dan exited the office, swinging the door closed
with a half-hearted but audible whack.
Once back at his desk, he reviewed the short glimpses of
information he’d studied for his three possible dates, the ones “head-picked”
especially for him by Serena Sight.
Hell, he knew her last name was just for
show.
The department was checking into her background although everything
seemed to be in order and all legal.
She’d given him mini-bios for each woman.
Good thing he had
an almost photographic memory and could remember practically everything he
read.
“Miss “S”, soon to be his first date, was eager to be a
famous model.
Younger than him.
She’d written down that she loved to entertain
and help people have a good time.
Could be interesting if she didn’t expect to
be paid and included sexual forms of entertainment as good times on her list of
favorite things.
Yep, that body could be an entertainment center all by
itself.
So much for his first bachelorette candidate.
His next candidate, closer to his age, was a bright,
red-haired beauty, looking for a career change.
Now a dog groomer, she looked
toward enriching her life, meeting new people and making more money.
Her words,
not his.
Hmm.
He’d noticed her long, elegant fingers on the hand
she’d demurely splayed by the open “V” of her blouse.
Those fingers washed
dogs, but would do a hell of a massage and more, for a man.
Sex for money was a
lucrative way to increase her income.
His bachelorette second date.
And, his last future date was also a younger woman.
The
sultry-looking woman had light brown hair highlighted with blue and purple
streaks.
One year of college before she decided to become an actress.
Worked
with some local theatre group and studied colors, costuming, all things to
fantasize and create the allure that acting encompassed.
Again, what the lady
wrote.
She could be well-equipped with outfits to suit anyone’s
desires.
Another great body to deal with.
Lots of men would pay plenty to act
out their sexual fantasies.
And she would be his third and final bachelorette
date.
Thinking of the fantasies he might enjoy, Dan realized one
woman came to mind and none of his future dates were involved.
Right at the
moment, they seemed to star his prime suspect, Serena, “Miss Sight”.
Damn.
* * * * *
“Just pick up the freaking phone.” Serena ordered herself to
call Sean, her Mr.
“One”.
Getting this over with as soon as possible would be
the best way to deal with it.
As she dialed his number, she looked over his picture and
application once more.
There had to be something she could label as a common
interest for them.
He was blond, an Adonis by the standards of some women, but
just too pretty for her tastes.
He reminded her of a preening peacock.
She’d
caught him gazing at his own reflection in her office mirror many times and
considered him vain.
Mr.
“One” wanted someone petite, maybe someone he could
tower over.
Serena’s matching his height didn’t exactly place her on his choice
list.
Music.
She liked country and rock.
He liked rap and heavy
metal.
She shrugged.
Probably wouldn’t be time to listen to any of their
desired types of music at dinner in an Italian restaurant.
There was one common interest.
Maybe they could talk about
books instead since they both liked to read, although he hadn’t listed what
type of books he preferred.
Surely they could find something to say to each
other concerning literature that would be enough to build one night’s
conversation on.
After five rings, Sean’s answering machine turned on.
Serena’s eyes rolled to the ceiling and she groaned as she heard his phony
French-accented voice spouting off a series of “Bonjours”.
It went downhill
from there.
Closing her eyes, she willed her voice to hint at some
microscopic shred of enthusiasm instead of dripping of the sarcasm that hung on
her lips.
Maybe some women found his charade alluring.
It just made her want to
barf and stay a few chosen states away.
She hung up the phone, less than eager to receive his return
call.
But, she said she’d go to dinner and Dan expected her to show.
Serena would meet with Sean and convince him to have dinner
with her as a foursome.
She knew he’d go to dinner and might ask her out again,
just as she knew he wasn’t the one for her.
She could “see” it.
* * * * *
“I had no idea you were looking for a date.
We could have
saved a lot of time if you’d told me that when I first came in here.”
Sean’s preachy comment matched his sly grin.
One that Serena
wished she could wipe off his face with one well-placed smack.
The man made her
skin crawl.
“Yes, well, I just decided to do some looking and your
number matched what I came up with.
I know neither of my letters are a
first-choice match on your list.
Anyway, should we try for Friday night?”
He gave her a leering look that said it all.
Yep, he wanted
the date.
“Sure.
Sounds interesting.”
“We’ll be with another couple.
I hope you don’t mind.
They
would like to meet but have others around.
Since we all like Italian food, I
thought….”
Sean put up his hand as if to stop her reasoning
explanation.
“Hey, the more the merrier.
Do I pick you up or will you meet me
there?”
