Prologue #3
She blew out a frustrated sigh. “Last week, I was on the street, and he walked up to me and asked me out to eat.”
“He just…walked up to you? On the street?”
“Yeah.”
“And you went?” I already knew the answer, but it had to be asked.
“Yeah.”
I waited a beat. “What corner were you working at?”
Our cover was nearly blown by my short laugh when she whacked me on the shoulder.
“And does he dress like that every day, or is this a special occasion?”
She didn’t want to, but a tiny smile broke free before she remembered herself.
“Have I told you lately how much I don’t like you?” she asked.
I stepped back and grabbed one of her hands, enjoying her smile while I surprised her with a spin. At least one of us would be able to claim they were decent undercover.
“Why did you say yes to him?”
“I was hungry, and he seemed kind of sweet. Stop looking at me like that.”
“This is my natural face when I’m looking at you.”
I surveyed the room. “Hey, he’s still watching. You need to act like you love me, or he’ll be right back over here.”
Immediately, she threw on a smile and pressed in closer, wrapping her arms once again around my neck. The enticing scent of her perfume infiltrated our natural barrier. My hands clasped casually around her waist. For my first undercover non-assignment, it could certainly have been worse.
“What happened next?” I asked. “Was he as sweet as you thought?”
She peered up at me, preparing for battle. “I was trying to be nice. He seemed a little off, socially, you know? And I knew it was probably scary for him to ask me out, so I said yes. It was just across the street at a public restaurant, and there were lots of people around. It was perfectly safe.”
I nodded. It did sound like it should have been safe enough. “What happened?”
She blew out a breath. “He got creepy pretty fast. He started talking like we were already a couple. Planning future dates. He kept finding ways to touch my arm. He told me he’d seen me around before…
” She trailed off. “I don’t know. I’m probably overreacting, but I had literally just met the guy, and he suddenly had all these plans and was buying tickets to take me to see a play on Broadway. ”
The blood in my veins heated to a brotherly simmer.
I turned to find him still watching us in the crowd. I held his stare with my own, without flinching, until he looked away. “I don’t think you’re overreacting.”
“Yeah. Anyway, after we were done eating, he told me he’d pick me up on Friday to go out again. I told him I had my brother’s wedding this weekend and that I didn’t think we could go out anymore. And then I thanked him for the lunch and walked away. I figured that would be the end of it.”
“Did you tell him where the wedding was?”
“No.”
We both swayed absently as we processed that information.
“I’m going to go talk to him.” I released her, only to be pulled back.
“No!” She held my arm. “I can handle him.”
I gave her a look.
She gave me one right back. “I can. That was nice of you to step in, but I can do this. I don’t want to be mean to him. I think he’s just shy and a little socially awkward.”
“A little?” I burst out. “He’s been staring at you all night.”
She acted like I hadn’t said a word. “I don’t need you to do anything else. This is Will’s wedding. I don’t want to cause a scene. Let’s just keep dancing. If we need a plan B, then I’ll let you grunt and hit your chest a few times. He’ll get the hint.”
“I don’t think he’s getting the hint,” I said, my eyes locked on him.
“I don’t want to be mean.”
“You were living your best life ten minutes ago. Now you have a wrinkle in your forehead right here.” I lightly touched the spot above her right eye that wrinkled when she was upset. “He’s the one being mean to you.”
“What if you tell him off and he goes crazy?”
“What if we don’t tell him off and he goes crazy?” I countered.
Her shoulders dropped. “Just…please. Let’s try my way first.”
I stared at her for a long moment, not liking anything about this but also remembering my promise to Will to not start a fight.
“Fine. We’ll keep dancing. But if he doesn’t leave in the next ten minutes, I’m going to talk to him.”
“Fine.”
He left eight minutes later.
In that time, I discovered that Liv was terrible at being undercover, and I spent most of it trying to loosen her up.
I’d successfully gotten her to laugh three times.
Will had given me no less than six warning looks, all of which I ignored.
Leroy wasn’t going to leave unless we were more convincing.
We did accomplish a halfway decent dip that made her blush pretty naturally, so I’m calling it a win.
It was just after that dip that Leroy slunk out of the reception center.
I made Liv stick close to me the rest of the night, feeling better having her within arm's reach.
Will and Meg danced. They cut the cake. She tossed the bouquet. Liv and I relaxed and got back into a groove of chatting with friends and family—at least, Liv did.
I was never able to completely shake the feeling that someone was still watching.