The Relationship Coach (9 page)

Lacey sighed and wanted to scream with frustration at how people assumed so much about her business and relationships in general. “My business is tough on romance. I’m not in it for hearts and flowers. I find people partners who are compatible. Who share the same interests and goals and complement each other,” she said, letting her frustration come through in the pointed way she finished each sentence. “As for the sparks or passion, as my mother likes to call it, if the desire is there, fantastic. If not, as long as they are satisfied with one another, it doesn’t matter.”

Reed sat back and began to laugh, staring at her in surprise. “I admit I’m shocked. This is not what I expected from you.”

“Why? The divorce rate in this country is almost fifty percent. If we as individuals concentrated more on the person and less on the passion, then the divorce rate would decline.”

“But the passion is what draws us together,” he said, leaning toward her until they were inches apart. “Passion is what makes a man pursue a woman.”

“Not intelligence, compatibility, or even looks?” she asked him, leaning forward herself, until they were right up in each other’s faces.

“That’s the icing on the cake,” he said, his voice whisper-soft.

For a moment, she felt breathless as she stared into his gaze. His heated stare left her body warm, her pulse tingling, and she leaned back in the booth to escape the restless sensation. Oh, this man could charm his way into a woman’s bed before she remembered to say no. Lacey would have to be very aware of his charismatic appeal.

“That means it’s okay for us to just hop into bed with one another, regardless of the fact we have nothing in common?”

“Yes!” His response was enthusiastic and loud enough that people around them turned to stare.

Most definitely, he was all about the passion and not about the romance and the monogamy.

“I totally disagree. When I sleep with someone, there has to be a connection. But I need a kinship of the mind and the soul, not just of the body,” she said, her voice rising in pitch.

“God, I wish my camera was on you now. I wish I was filming the passion for your business that I see on your face right now. Very interesting,” he said. His voice breathless, his gaze intense.

Lacey stopped and stared at him, surprised at this side of him. They’d disagreed about this subject, and yet, he recognized her excitement about relationships. She knew she loved her job, but she’d never thought about how it came across to other people-her emotions exposed on her face, the dedication to teach people to dig further, before they acted on urges that affected them for a lifetime.

With sudden clarity, she knew everything was going to be all right. Reed Hunter’s responses to her questions seemed honest and forthright. Even telling her he didn’t believe in her line of work.

She had to trust him to show her profession as one she loved, one that she was passionate about. A professional love he could capture with his camera lens.

“Mr. Hunter, I’m going to trust you to show my enthusiasm for my job in this film. I’m going to trust you with my life, my business.”

Reed raised his wine glass, and she raised hers. “To a great documentary.”

“To a film that’ll win you an Oscar and grow my business,” she said, certain she’d made the right decision.

***

Reed hit the speed dial number on his phone.

Graham answered on the third ring, his voice groggy like he’d been sleeping.

“It’s a go!”

His voice immediately changed. “She said yes.”

“We’re hitting the road with her next week, and she’s going to give me a list of clients who agree to be filmed.”

Adrenaline pumped through Reed’s veins like a speed junkie. He could hardly wait to start filming Lacey Morgan. Tonight at dinner, the animation on her face had revealed her passion as she spoke about relationships. Expressions like those were the kind he strived to show in his films, even when he didn’t agree with the subject.

Such dedication he recognized because he felt that way about filmmaking. And every time he saw it in someone else, it surprised him.

“Way to go, Reed. I can’t wait to see how you hang this bitch,” Graham said. “I’m sleeping alone tonight because of her.”

Reed felt a moment of unease. Something that he’d never felt before when he worked with Graham. They’d always been in complete harmony, and they would be this time, as well.

“Well, you won’t be sleeping alone for long. I’m sure once Juliet sees what we discover about Mate Incorporated, she’ll come running back.”

Reed couldn’t understand why Graham didn’t want to move on. He couldn’t understand Graham’s single-mindedness to go after Lacey. They’d both been dumped, but Reed was wise enough to know that eventually Blair would have given up and left him.

“I trolled her website this evening. I answered the questionnaire about true love and even considered signing up to find someone who meets my needs,” Graham confessed.

“Geez, are you nuts!”

“It’s just I really like the idea of finding my true love and mating for life.”

Reed laughed, knowing he’d been had. “Funny, you had me going there for a moment. I believed you were falling for this crap.”

Graham chuckled in the phone. “Just testing you.”

For what?
Did he not believe that Reed wanted to reveal this charlatan as much as he did?

Well, to be honest, when he’d first met Lacey, he’d agreed her business was shady, but after dinner tonight, he thought she believed in what she did. Even if it was outrageous. “So did I pass?”

“With flying colors,” Graham said. “Now bring me a documentary that reveals this bitch.”

“Will do,” Reed said.

“I expect a report on how it’s going in about three weeks.”

“Sure thing, boss. Hope you sleep better knowing it won’t be long until Juliet is back.”

“God, I hope so.”

***

Lacey had set the lunch up with her sister a week ago, ostensibly to talk about the wedding plans and ask her what she wanted Lacey to handle.

She waved to Kerri, and noticed she carried a big canvas bag. Her sister was a bigger planner than herself, and that canvas bag could only spell trouble.

“Hey, girl.” She stood and hugged her sister. “What’s in the bag?”

“Wedding magazines, brochures. I need your help in a huge way. Do you realize the wedding is two months away?”

Lacey hoped to convince Kerri she was making the biggest mistake of her life. She wasn’t any more ready for marriage than she’d been ready to go away to college at eighteen, opting instead for junior college.

College with training wheels and now she was experiencing her first serious relationship with training wheels. Kerri wasn’t ready for the big bike of marriage.

“Yes, are you sure we’ll have time to put one together by then?”

“No choice, we have to. I’ve been accepted to the University Of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, and we’re moving two days after the wedding. Wedding, honeymoon night, pack the car, and drive off the next. Life’s going to get crazy!”

Lacey glanced at her younger sister’s flushed cheeks, bright gaze, and the obvious tension around her mouth. She grabbed her hand. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

Her sister laid down the menu and gazed at her in complete shock. “Of course not.”

From her frosty tone, Lacey knew she’d just made a huge blunder. “Look, I’m not being critical. I would love you regardless if you were pregnant. The way you two are rushing things, I thought maybe there was a reason.”

“Rushing things?” her sister replied, her expression incredulous.

God, could Lacey botch this any worse? “You graduate college next week. Getting married in two months and starting medical school a week later, I’d say you’re on the fast track to killing yourself.”

“And you think I should wait?” her sister said in that tone Lacey recognized from when they were kids and meant Kerri was pissed.

“I don’t want you to make a mistake like Mom.”

“I’m not our mother. Matt makes me happy. I go to bed wanting to be with him. I wake up wanting to be with him and only him. He makes me think about things in different ways. He’s kind and considerate. He takes care of me and loves me even when I’m an angry, PMS-raging, hormonal bitch. He wants to be with me, and only me, and I want to grow old with him.” She took a deep breath, and Lacey sensed Kerri’s anger simmering around them.

How did you make someone see reason when the person they loved took care of them when they were a PMS-raging, hormonal bitch?

“If you don’t want to be a part of the wedding, let me know now, and I will find someone else. You’ve always been there with me, and I thought you would be again, but maybe not.”

Lacey felt like an ogre. She couldn’t have been any uglier than if she’d turned green. “I love you, but I’m afraid for you.”

“Why? Matt takes better care of me than Mother ever did.”

“I don’t want to see you hurt.” Lacey reached out and grabbed her sister’s hand. “I want to be involved in your wedding. Just remember, if you change your mind or you have second thoughts, it’s never too late to back out.”

“I’m not going to back out. I’m committed to Matt. I’m wearing his engagement ring. The wedding ceremony will legalize what I feel for him.”

Lacey sighed, knowing she’d lost this skirmish, but not the war. She was still determined to help her sister realize she wasn’t ready for marriage. “Okay, what’s the plan?”

“We need to schedule a day to go shopping for a wedding dress. Mom wants to go along.”

“She’s not very happy with me right now.”

“Yes, you two fight worse than any two alley cats I’ve ever heard. Talk about a real downer sometimes. Could you please try to get along with her and make it a fun time when we go shopping?” Kerri asked.

Lacey went on the defensive. “I’ll do my best, but you have to admit, she causes a lot of the problems between us.”

Kerri’s eyes bored into Lacey. “Yes, she does, but sometimes Lacey, I think she’s right. While Dean may be the perfect guy on paper, I don’t sense you not being able to live without him or that he makes you happy.”

Stunned to hear her sister say she thought their mother was right, Lacey sat back and stared at her. Did she not understand that giving in to your emotions left you vulnerable?

“Dean and I are doing fine. I haven’t told you because this is yours and Matt’s time, but we’re moving in together. We’ve been looking for an apartment. I planned to tell you the day you announced your engagement, but felt that the day was yours.”

“You’re moving in together?” Her sister’s eyes widened with shock, and she shook her head. “You know what mother thinks about living together. Please, please, I don’t want to listen to the two of you fight while shopping for my dress.”

Lacey shrugged, not looking forward to the conversation with her mother. “Okay, I’ll put this off for as long as I can, but Dean is pressuring me for us to find a place and move in.”

“If he loves you, why doesn’t he just marry you?” Kerri asked, her eyes flashing
duh
.

“Neither of us is ready for marriage just yet,” Lacey responded in her calm, rational tone.

“Yet you’re ready to commit to live together?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe the reason you’re not ready to commit to marriage is because you’re not certain he’s the one,” Kerri said, her expression so much like their mother’s that Lacey had to do a double-take.

“I’m testing everything before I agree to walk down the aisle. I only want to do this once.”

Kerri leaned toward her sister. Her eyes were warm, her brows raised, and her expression one of sincerity. “Lacey, I only want to do it once as well, but with Matt, I knew within weeks he was the one.”

The news that she’d known so soon that she wanted to marry Matt stunned Lacey. Was Kerri becoming their mother? Fear for her sister crackled along her nerve endings, shooting through her like lightning. The very idea frightened her. “I hope like hell you’re right.”

“I know I am. But I wonder about you. I wonder sometimes if you know what real love feels like. I worry about you, Lacey.”

Chapter Six

J
ason released a relaxed sigh and rolled onto his back. Amanda curled around him, slipping her arm across his naked chest. Her breathing slowly returned to normal, as her world righted itself.

“Hmmm, God, Amanda, nothing beats great sex.”

She smiled and pressed her breasts against his ribs. “Pretty amazing.” The air conditioner caressed her sweat glistened skin, as a chill danced over her body, and she pulled the sheet around them, entwining her legs with his.

With her finger, she drew a lazy circle eight around his nipples, amazed at the texture of his smooth skin interspersed with soft hair. She loved cuddling after sex, talking and luxuriating in the sensations.

Jason stretched across the bed to the nightstand and found the television remote. He pointed it at the TV on the wall and hit the on button. Quickly, he scanned the channels until he found a baseball game.

Stunned, she gazed at him in horror.
What the hell did he think he was doing?

“Great, we haven’t missed much. The Yankees play tonight. I’ve got to watch the game.” He pulled his arm from around her, causing Amanda to fall flat onto the mattress. He straightened the pillows and sat up.

Anger rose like a tiger inside her, and she all but roared. “Well, I guess we’re through with intimacy for the night.”

Dark eyes gazed at her, and he raised his brows questioning. “You had an orgasm, didn’t you?”

She threw the sheet back, stood, and walked into the bathroom. “Intimacy,” she called over her shoulder as she entered the bathroom. “You know, where two people connect both emotionally and physically after sex.”

Shutting the door, she took a quick shower. Hot steam soothed her hurt emotions. Did she expect too much? What happened to time spent cuddling after they’d experienced mind-blowing sex?

She toweled off and spread lotion on her legs. Okay, so maybe she’d overreacted a little. She needed to step back and look at things realistically. Life was not like in the movies. Life was not a fairy tale where Prince Charming swept you off your feet, gave you oral sex, and promised he’d love you forever.