Chapter 6
Tucker
When I entered, the café was all done up in holiday lights. Things had been so busy lately, I hardly remembered that Christmas was only a few days away.
I’d told Maggie to meet me here for coffee. Even though what I needed to talk to her about was pretty straightforward, I found myself a bit anxious.
“What’s up?” she asked as she sat down at the table after ordering herself a latte. “You never ask me to meet you for coffee.”
“Why do I need an ulterior motive to want to hang with my sister?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Tucker…”
“All right…” I conceded.
“What is it?” she asked, taking a sip.
“Feel like setting me up with someone?”
“Really? You’ve never had trouble getting dates. Don’t get me wrong, I love a challenge. But why do you need my help all of a sudden when you’ve done nothing but make fun of matchmaking?”
“It’s not exactly about needing a date…”
Maggie crossed her arms. “Okay, then. What’s going on?”
I swallowed. “I want you to make me Lucy’s date at the next event.”
She leaned back in her chair. “Lucy…?”
“Yes.”
“As in my friend Lucy, who’s four years older than you?”
“Correct, but why should the age difference matter?”
“It doesn’t, except that I know Lucy is ready for a serious relationship, and I don’t think that’s something you’ve ever been after.”
I ran my thumb along the side of my cup. “Maybe not with other people. But I’m interested in that with Lucy.”
“Wow.” She laughed. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t prepared for this. I’ve already selected someone for her tonight I think she might like.”
“No offense, sis, but how many times have you said that? You’ve had no luck finding someone for Lucy. Maybe you don’t know what she needs.”
“Oh really?” Maggie cocked her head. “And what exactly do you think she needs? And don’t tell me you’re packing it in your pants.”
I shook my head. “It’s not about that. You’ve been trying to find guys who look good on paper. Lucy doesn’t want that. She wants someone who excites her, who makes her feel something. And that doesn’t always come in a predictable package.”
“Well, it doesn’t get any more unpredictable than you, little brother. I will tell you right now, I didn’t see this coming, even after I got a weird feeling the night I found you at her house.”
“Nothing was going on that night. But I did lie about my reason for being there—no one was following her. Not sure why I felt the need to do that.”
She arched a brow. “So, you went over there to what…seduce her?”
“I’ve been trying to get her to like me as more than a friend recently. But she’s been reluctant to entertain my advances. I think partly because she thinks you’ll be weirded out. But also, she has the same doubts about me that you do.”
“There’s only one way to prove us wrong, but that’s going to take time, if you’re serious.”
I nodded, and the more I thought about the dating event tonight, the more I got a different idea.
“Look, how about this. You don’t need to set her up with me.
You don’t even have to approve of this. All I’m asking is for you to not fix her up with any other dudes until I can properly shoot my shot. ”
“I thought you said you already made a move?”
I rolled my eyes. “I should probably come up with something a bit more eloquent than asking her to choose which body part of mine she wants to see first.”
My sister’s mouth dropped open. “You didn’t…”
“Have you met me?” I chuckled. “It was all in good fun, though.”
She sighed. “You expect her to take you seriously when you’re pulling stuff like that?”
“I’m gonna take a different approach this time.”
“I’d say anything other than your previous approach is a step up.”
I scratched my chin. “Okay, so one more favor besides not setting her up.”
“What?”
“I need you to postpone the event that was supposed to be at the bar tonight. But don’t tell Lucy. Let her show up at the bar.”
***
That evening, my heart pounded as I waited. For all I knew, Lucy wouldn’t show. But if she did, tonight was going to go one of two ways: really great or really bad. I couldn’t imagine there being any in-between.
The door to the bar finally opened.
When Lucy walked in, she looked hotter than ever in a tight, snakeskin-patterned dress that hugged her in all the right places. Either she was trying to impress her date tonight or trying to kill me.
She looked around, bewilderment on her face. “Where is everyone?”
“Why, what were you expecting?” I tried my hardest to maintain my poker face.
“I’m here for my last date. The final Twelve Dates of Christmas event was supposed to be tonight, which I’m sure you already know. So why is no one here?”
“What are you talking about?” I drew my brows in, trying to hold back laughter. “People are here.”
Her gaze moved around the empty bar again. “What?”
I tilted my head. “Are you losing your mind, Luce?”
You could hear a pin drop as she tried to make sense of the situation.
Lucy put her hands on her hips. “It’s just you and me here. I think you’re the one losing your mind.”
“Look…” I pointed to the empty tables. “There’s Maggie over there, schmoozing one of her clients.” I moved my pointer finger to the other side of the bar. “And there’s your boring-as-fuck date waiting for you to arrive.” I turned to her. “You’re late, by the way.”
She blinked. The look on her face was freaking adorable. I wondered if for even a moment she considered whether I was for real.
Lucy blew a breath up into her hair. “Seriously, Tucker, what the hell is going on?”
“Nothing…”
“Tucker!”
“Are you getting pissed at me?” I grinned.
“Yes!” Her face reddened.
“Good.” Wrapping my hands around her cheeks, I went in for the kill, pressing my lips against hers and taking her beautiful mouth in mine.
When Lucy moaned, I felt the vibration down my throat.
Her muscles loosened with each second, tension replaced by surrender.
Our tongues collided as our bodies pressed together.
When I felt her starting to pull away, I brought her in closer.
Her moan was even more pronounced as she once again relaxed into me, wrapping her leg around my thigh, practically trying to climb me.
When I let go, Lucy looked up at me in a haze. “What was that?”
“Everyone knows the best kind of kiss is one in the middle of an argument, Luce.” I winked.
Her mouth fell open. “The quiz...”
“I had to find a way to get you mad, so I could kiss you. Making you wonder whether you were going insane was the best I could come up with.”
Her expression softened. “You were the one who filled out the quiz?”
I nodded. “How did I do?”
“Better than anyone ever has.” Her mouth curved into a smile.
“Let that be a lesson.”
“In what?” She brushed her fingers over her swollen lips.
“I’ll be the best you ever had, Lucy.”
“You closed down the bar to kiss me?”
I inched closer. “I closed down the bar and canceled the event so we could be alone and talk. The kiss was part of the plan, yes. But the fact is, I don’t want anyone else to date you. I want to officially throw my hat in the ring. Because I think you’re amazing.”
“Is it just physical?”
“No, it’s not just physical. How can you think that?”
“Well, the whole…body-part-choice thing, maybe?”
“Forget about that for a second.” I sighed.
“Sure, I’ve had a crush on you from the moment I can remember being attracted to girls, but it’s so much more than that.
” I paused as I thought back to a core memory.
“When we were younger, you cried when my cat died, despite the fact that not a single person in my family shed a tear. I knew then that you were special. I could go on and on about why I like you because I’ve had a front-row seat to your life. ”
“Feel free to elaborate, then.” Her eyes twinkled.
“You’re kind, warm, and funny as all hell even when you don’t mean to be.” I shook my head. “I never thought that ex of yours was good enough for you. You’re the whole package, Lucy. And I want my chance. This feels like the right time to finally shoot my shot. Will you be my date tonight?”
Her chest heaved, and she smiled. “The way I feel when I’m with you lately is different from anything else. It doesn’t surprise me that you scored so well on that test, but even if you hadn’t… I’m not sure it would matter at this point.”
Yes. “Come sit,” I said, walking her over to a table in the corner where I had some specially curated items laid out.
She sat, a look of complete and utter shock on her face. “What’s all this?”
“Well, I thought I’d surprise you with some of your favorite things.”
“How did you even know I liked this stuff?”
“Because all those years when you were writing me off as someone too young for you, I was paying attention.”
Arranged on the table were items I knew she loved: old Nancy Drew mystery books, her favorite Gobstoppers candy, and pink peonies.
Thrown in for good measure was a nostalgic photo of her and Maggie on Halloween, with me as the third wheel dressed as Batman off to the side. And then she noticed the coolest part.
“Holy crap. That’s the bright pink Stanley I waited in line two hours to get, only to find they were sold out.” She lifted it. “I hate to interrupt this romantic moment, but how the hell did you score this?”
I grinned. “Heard you talking to Maggie about missing out on it. I know a person at the store. They’d kept some in the back, so I had him snag one. I was gonna give it to you for Christmas no matter how things played out between us.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I can’t believe you did all this.” She looked up at me. “But it’s not about the stuff. It’s about the fact that you remembered the details.”
“I didn’t want you to think my attraction to you was only about sex.”
“Just to clarify, I’m not opposed to sex.” She winked. “In fact, I wouldn’t even be opposed to sex tonight.”
Fuck yes. My dick twitched. “Well, okay, then. You know, I’m starting to think it’s time to lock up the bar.” Lucy stood from the table, and I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her forehead.
“What do you think Maggie will say about all this?” she asked.
“She knows.”
Lucy’s eyes went wide. “She knows?”
“Of course. How do you think I managed to postpone the event? I had to tell her the truth.”
“How did she react?”
“She gave her blessing, as long as I was serious. She said to tell you she doesn’t understand how her snotty-nosed brother could possibly make you happy, but if it works out, she’s still giving herself indirect credit for matchmaking.”
“That sounds like Maggie.” Lucy reached up on her tippy toes to kiss me before I lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around me again as we fell into a kiss. “Let’s get outta here,” she muttered over my lips.
I didn’t put her down, just stopped to grab our coats. As I carried her out of the bar, I said, “Remember that wish I made when it started to snow on the walk we took together?”
“Yeah?”
I smiled. “It came true tonight.”