Date Shark (13 page)

It wasn’t until he looked at the third photo that he realized Luke must have taken these pictures. Eli knew Leila had met Luke after the show, and that he was a photographer. Neither of those realizations had been the reason for Eli’s sudden desire to punch Luke in the mouth. It was the smile Leila wore in the photo. She looked so happy. It made Eli incredibly jealous that within minutes of meeting Leila, Luke had been able to produce such a happy, baggage-free expression. He stared at the pictures, silently wondering if he had already lost his chance with her.

Chapter 11

Assignment

Eli was a big fat liar. That had become Leila’s mantra about five minute after waking up Monday morning. Now with her work day not even halfway over, she swore at him under her breath every time she was forced to stand up. He’d promised running would work out her sore muscles. He promised her body would get used to the torture. He had been dead wrong. Her legs, her abs, her ankles, they all hurt. The next time she saw him, Leila planned on stomping on his toes really hard—if she could lift her leg high enough to even manage it.

“Hey, Leila,” Ana said as she breezed into Leila’s office. “I just saw the window banners you designed. They look fabulous. I thought the Buxton font was the way to go, but you were absolutely right about the one you designed. Writing out the new line in a font that looks like dozens of little beads looks a million times better. A customer just came in and told me how great she thought it was.”

“Glad you liked it.” Leila’s cell phone started ringing. She patted the papers all over her desk to try and find it with no luck. She finally spotted it over by her fax machine and groaned. “Ana, could you grab that for me?”

Ana crooked and eyebrow at her. “Are your legs broken?”

“No, just on fire.”

“Huh?”

Leila groaned. “Could you just grab my phone? I’ll explain in a minute.”

Ana sauntered over to the fax machine and snatched up the phone. Her face split into a grin. “Luke? If he’s calling that must mean your date with him this weekend went pretty well. That was the other thing I came in here to ask you about.”

Leila blushed and held out her hand for the phone. For a moment, she thought Ana was going to hold onto it until she told her everything. Leila held her ground. Ana finally handed it over reluctantly, but didn’t leave. She clearly wanted the details on Leila’s date. Leila reminded herself that Luke might just be calling about business and answered as professionally as she could manage with her boss’s eager eyes following her every move.

“This is Leila Sparro.”

“Hello there, Miss Leila Sparro. This is Luke Deveron. Is there a reason we’re speaking so formally?”

His humor and casual nature instantly put her at ease. She laughed. “No, I guess not.”

“Well, good. You had me worried for a minute. I thought maybe you’d changed your mind about how much fun you had with me.”

“No, of course not. I’m looking forward to lunch tomorrow.”

Ana perked up, leaning in as if that would make her get details any faster. Leila shooed her back to no avail.

“That’s actually what I was calling about,” Luke said. “Could we do lunch today instead? My departure got pushed up a day because my boss wants me to make a pit stop in New York to cover some speech. Are you too busy for lunch today?”

“Lunch today?” Leila glanced at Ana for approval. Her boss motioned for her to take the date. “No, I can meet you today.”

“Actually, I’m on your side of town. How about I pick you up in about fifteen minutes?”

“That sounds great.”

“Alright. I’ll see you soon.”

The second Leila dropped the phone, Ana demanded to know everything. Knowing she only had fifteen minutes, Leila gave her the short version of her date with Luke Friday night, her run with Eli the next day, and select bits of what she and Eli talked about. She held back on the scrapbook because she knew Ana was still mad at Eli and didn’t want her to think badly about him, but she also worried about what the reason behind Ana’s animosity towards Eli was. She thought it had something to do with her, but wasn’t sure what. So she kept the recounting of her morning spent with Eli to a minimum. She guessed she had made the right choice when Ana’s first comment was about Eli and not Luke, despite her hawkish interest in him a few minutes earlier.

“So Eli actually encouraged you to go out with Luke? What did he say after you told him about your date?”

“Well, he warned me that Luke’s adventurous nature might present some problems for me … since I’m kind of boring, and all.”

“He said you were boring?” Ana asked.

“No, he said I was careful, but it’s pretty much the same thing. When I said I’d have to compromise with Luke, you know try some of the things he likes and say no when I wasn’t confortable, Eli seemed pleased. He said compromise was good.”

Ana folded her arms. “Huh, well that’s good. I’m glad he was able to help you.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?” Leila said it hoping for a reaction, and she got one.

“Friends? Is that what you two are now?”

“Yeah, that’s what Eli said anyway, that he wanted to be my friend. He even invited me to go hang out with him and a couple of his friends this weekend when Luke’s out of town.”

For some reason, that put a sour expression on Ana’s face. Leila was about to ask her what was wrong when Luke knocked on her office door. She waved him in and stood up before remembering her aching legs. She clutched at the desk and forced herself to stand up completely.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked. Ana only snorted and walked out with a quick goodbye to Luke.

Leila loved working for Ana, but lately she had become as much work to figure out as everything else about her job put together. She was almost as confusing as Eli. Leila reached for her purse and winced.

“Really, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I was recently forced to take up running. My legs are extremely sore, but I’m great otherwise. Better now that you’re here.”

Luke grinned. “How coincidental, I feel exactly the same way about seeing you.”

“Were you forced into running too?” she asked with a smile.

“No, but it has been a hectic day dealing with my travel plans, my boss, some of the writers, and everything else. I would like nothing more than to disappear with you right now,” he said.

“Sounds perfect … as long as I don’t have to walk very much.”

“Would you like me to carry you to my car?” Luke asked. He looked hopeful she would take him up on the offer.

Not that Leila didn’t dream of having her own personal white knight, she just thought it might be a little conspicuous. “Just walk slowly, if you don’t mind.”

Luke laughed. “No problem.”

The mad dash Leila usually found herself making in and out of work every day while dealing with her designers and printers was considerably slowed by her aching legs. Halfway out of the building, she almost reconsidered Luke’s offer to carry her. Then the movement actually started to feel good, her muscles loosening a very small amount. They made it to the car and Luke started driving. After a few blocks, the thought occurred to Leila that he hadn’t bothered to ask her where she wanted to go. Finding that slightly annoying, but not enough to complain, she sat back and watched the buildings and pedestrians fly by. When Luke pulled up to a park covered in huge old oak trees Leila looked over at him for an explanation.

“I’m going to spend the next two weeks eating fast food and living in a cracker box hotel room. Being outside and eating normal food is something of a ritual before going on assignment. Do you mind?” he asked.

Leila smiled. “No, of course not.”

“Maybe I should tell you first that I am a lousy cook. All I’ve got are turkey sandwiches and some chips and soda.”

“Sounds perfect,” she said.

Not fooling herself into thinking she was some kind of savant in the kitchen like Conrad seemed to be, Leila’s mom did not skimp on her domestic education. Leila could cook all the basics, and even a few more elegant dishes. She often ate out because of her busy schedule, but Leila always preferred home cooked meals when she had the opportunity.

After grabbing their picnic lunch out of the trunk, Luke came around to help Leila out of the car. She waited patiently only partially because of Eli’s advice. Mainly she just wanted to use him as a crutch. He didn’t seem to mind, keeping his arm around her waist until he found a suitable picnic spot. Leila was grateful for his foresight when he pulled a blanket out of his bag and spread it out. She had just happened to wear a skirt today and didn’t feel like having the prickly grass poke at her legs the entire meal.

“So,” Luke asked once they were settled and eating, “what are you going to do for the next two weeks while I’m gone? Aside from calling me every night and telling me about your day, that is.”

“Calling you every night, huh?”

The playful grin on his face made Leila smile. “How else am I going to keep from getting incredibly bored and depressed?”

“Read a book?” she offered, grinning back at him.

“Hmm, I doubt any book would be as interesting as you.”

Leila snorted at that. “You’re delusional. My life is pretty boring. I’m pretty boring.” Just ask Eli, she thought. Or Luke, for that matter. They were in agreement that Leila needed to up the interest factor in her life.

Finished with his sandwich, Luke laid down on his side and looked up at Leila. She had already finished her meal, so he tugged her down next to him. Their bodies were separated by the accumulated dishes and packaging of their lunches; however, their faces had ended up quite close. Leila found herself holding her breath in the face of such close proximity.

“Your life is not going to be boring over the next two weeks,” Luke said, “because I have an assignment for you.”

“An assignment?”

He nodded. “If I have to go on assignment, so do you. I think that’s fair.”

Leila chuckled at his nonsense. “By whose standard?

“That’s not important,” he said with a grin.

“Oh fine. What’s my assignment?” Leila asked.

A subtle shifting of Luke’s body brought him even closer to Leila. That twisted up mixture of fear and excitement started beading on her skin. Luke’s fingers stroked her arm from shoulder to fingertips as he said, “For every day I’m gone, you have to try something new. Then call me and tell me about it.”

“What?” Leila asked, pulling back a little. But not too far. “I don’t have time for that.”

Luke was not about to be put off. “It doesn’t have to be big. Eat somewhere new. Watch a horror movie. Whatever you want.”

“Why?”

“Because trying new things is fun,” he said casually, but then his expression turned more serious. “And because then you’ll have a reason to call me every night, something I would very much like you to do.”

“Really?” Leila squeaked.

Luke pulled her back to him. “Yes.”

Leila was pretty sure her breathing had stopped. His lips were so close to her. The intensity in his eyes was captivating. She was almost positive he wanted to kiss her. She was almost as sure that she wanted him to. There was a part of her that was terrified of him actually doing it, though. Maybe that part shone through the most, because eventually Luke sat up. Uncertain, Leila tried to follow him. She was surprised when he stopped her.

“Just relax, Leila, and give me your foot.”

“What?” she demanded.

He grinned at her startled expression. “What kind of guy would I be if I left town knowing you were in so much pain? Give me your foot so I can massage it for you.”

Leila hesitated. Was this one of those things she shouldn’t refuse because it would hurt his feelings? Leila wasn’t sure. It seemed rather intimate, but her muscles really, really hurt. Still unsure, she timidly shifted her foot into Luke’s waiting hands. He smiled warmly at her as he removed her sensible black flats. Leila’s eyes closed in pure bliss as his hands started working to take away the pain. She barely even noticed his hands moving up her leg. All she cared about was that he was taking away the awful ache.

At some point, he took her other leg and went to work. Leila was pretty sure she was in heaven. Eli might not approve of her letting Luke put his hands all over her legs—although he never went past her knees—but Leila thought that if he had a problem with it he should have offered to do it himself.

Freezing at the thought of having Eli massage her legs, she momentarily forgot about Luke. What would that be like? she wondered. Would he stop at her knees? Leila mentally slapped herself. He wouldn’t need to stop at her knees, because he’d never be the one touching her legs. Eli was a friend. Nothing else. He’d made that pretty clear. Her mind would just have to remember that.

Minutes later, Luke’s hands slid off her legs. She didn’t bother trying to stop the small whine that escaped her lips. Her displeasure at no longer having his fingers trailing across her skin made Luke smile. Lying down next to her again, Luke asked, “Are you going to accept your assignment?”

Feeling vaguely like Tom Cruise in
Mission: Impossible
, she couldn’t help asking, “Will you self-destruct in five seconds if I don’t?”

Luke chuckled. “It’s very possible. I don’t like the prospect of not hearing your voice for two weeks.”

“Do you really want me to call you every night?” she asked, honestly curious.

He nodded as he drew his fingers slowly across her cheek.

“Okay,” Leila said, “but there are a lot of very small, very simple things I have never tried. This may not be nearly as interesting as you think it will be.”

“It will be interesting because it’s about you,” Luke said.

Looking for any sign that he was joking, Leila was relieved when she found none. It was a refreshing feeling to have someone want to know about her life, even if it wasn’t very interesting. She felt like that hadn’t happened in a very long time, but thoughts of Eli quickly crept in to remind her that Luke wasn’t the only one who thought she was fascinating. But Leila wasn’t sure Eli counted because she still had no idea why he wanted to be around her so much.