Not Your Match (21 page)

“Stop worrying,” Whitney said.

“I’ll bring a ladder over tomorrow and help you put it up.”

Whitney looked down at him, her eyebrow raised in a challenge. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

She grinned, the smile catlike and terrifying. Ben kept his hands at her waist as she stepped down the ladder, not releasing her until both feet were solidly on the floor.

“Found it.” Rachel’s reappeared, a large decorative clock in her hands. She set it on the counter and squinted up at the shelf. “Not sure how we’ll get them up there though.”

Whitney smiled sweetly. “Ben said he’d bring his ladder by tomorrow and help us.”

“Perfect.” Rachel rubbed her forehead. “You know, Whit, I’m not feeling so great. I’m not sure if I’ll make it to the Lakers game tonight.”

“Oh dear.” Whitney pursed her lips. “That’s too bad. They’re expecting quite a showdown.”

“Hey, Ben loves the Lakers,” Rachel said. “And he hasn’t seen a game since moving to town.”

Ben snorted. They were so transparent. Neither girl enjoyed basketball—this had been their plan all along. “I’m busy.”

Whitney grabbed Ben’s hand casually, the way she had a thousand times before. She flashed him a grin, the one that made him melt while simultaneously striking fear into his heart. It was her adventurous grin, the one that said she was up for anything.

It was a dangerous grin when she wasn’t on her medication, because she would
try anything.

“C’mon, Ben. It’ll be fun,” Whitney said.

Ben knew Rachel wasn’t sick. If he refused to go with Whitney, Rachel would go. But she didn’t know what to look for, what triggers signaled distress. Rachel could end up hurt as well. Whitney could crash the car on the way to the game because she was driving a hundred miles an hour instead of seventy. She could attempt to dash across a busy street because she didn’t want to wait for the crosswalk signal. She could try to jump down a flight of stairs, or drink an unhealthy amount, or any number of things.

He couldn’t risk it. Whatever their relationship, his feelings toward Whitney wouldn’t allow him to knowingly let her walk into danger.

“I’ll go,” he said.

Rachel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but Whitney just grinned. “Excellent. We should probably get going if we don’t want to be late. Tipoff is in less than two hours, and traffic will be a beast.”

Andi entered the executive suite, murmuring a “thank you” to Luke, who held open the door. He looked unusually casual in jeans and a T-shirt, but great all the same. It was their third date, and Andi was starting to feel more comfortable around him.

Andi looked around the suite and let out a whistle. A counter ran along one wall and overflowed with food—fruit, soft pretzels, nachos, and chocolate dipped strawberries were just a few of the items she saw at a glance. She grabbed a pretzel, taking a bite and sighing. Perfect.

Beneath the counter was a glass-doored chilled fridge, stocked with alcohol and soft drinks. Leather couches were stationed in front of a wide screen television. High tables with barstools sat in front of a glass window that looked out onto the balcony, where easy chairs overlooked the basketball court.

Andi pointed to the television, which had to be at least fifty-two inches. “What’s that for?”

Luke shrugged out of his jacket and dropped it onto the couch. “To watch the game.”

Andi blinked, then started laughing. “The game is playing out live right in front of you.”

“Yeah, but sometimes you want to listen to the commentary on the television, or see the instant replays.”

Andi shook her head at the absurdity.

“What are you drinking?” Luke asked.

“Whatever you are.”

He nodded and grabbed two Dr. Pepper’s, handing one to Andi.

“No beer?” she asked. “Wow, I thought all guys enjoyed their games more with alcohol.”

“Brooke doesn’t like it when I drink.” He popped the top and took a long swig. “I can get some of the guys from the team to come up after the game and say hi if you want. Might be a good photo op for the press.”

“You can do that?”

He shrugged. “I’m good friends with the coach.”

Andi put a hand on her hip. “You own the team, don’t you?”

“My dad loved basketball. We have a company suite that holds about fifty, but this is my family’s private one.”

“It’s amazing.” Andi ran her hand over the leather couch, in awe at the opulence.

“The chef will be by later with dinner.” Luke walked over to one of the tables and grabbed a menu, handing it to her. “Just decide what you want by the end of the first quarter, and I’ll place our order. We’ll have it by half-time.”

Andi shook her head and opened the door onto the balcony. Twelve leather easy chairs sat in three rows of four. She picked the front row and slid to the middle. Luke sat down next to her. The box looked out over the court, and she had a perfect view of the players warming up for the game.

“I can’t believe this is your life,” Andi said.

“Your dad’s a partner at a law firm. I doubt you grew up in poverty.”

“Of course not. The firm owns a box here too, and we’d come to games occasionally. But it wasn’t as posh as this.”

“I had my suite remodeled before the start of the season.”

Andi smirked. “No wonder women fall over you. You’re handsome and rich.”

He let out a harsh laugh. “A lot of good that’s done me in winning over Brooke. She doesn’t care about any of this.”

“That’s good. It means she likes you for you.”

He looked down at his soda, rubbing a thumb over the logo. “Brooke and I have been best friends since high school. Back then, Ryder Communications was a small company no one had heard of. When it went public and the money rolled in, a lot of people showed back up in my life, claiming they’d missed me and wanted to reconnect or whatever. But I knew all they wanted was the perks of wealth.”

“But not Brooke?”

Luke chuckled, taking another swig of his drink. “Definitely not Brooke. She’s got all these crazy rules for our relationship so we’ll stay in the ‘friend zone.’” He made air quotes with his fingers. “She added rule number eight when the money starting pouring in—no extravagant or expensive gifts for each other. For her birthday I wanted to get her one of those really nice purses that are popular right now.” He scrunched up his nose, thinking. “A Birkin bag? Yeah, I think that’s what they’re called.”

Andi’s jaw dropped. “Yeah, I’d say that qualifies as an expensive and extravagant gift. Those bags cost thousands.”

“Twelve thousand dollars,” he said. “I wanted to get her the pink one, since that’s her favorite color. Anyway, I lied and said it was a gift from a client so she’d accept the present. She carries it with her everywhere and has no idea how much it’s worth. Trust me, if she knew, she’d have chewed me out.”

“Brooke sounds like a great girl,” Andi said.

“She’s a pain in the neck. She’s stubborn and moody and afraid of commitment.”

“But you love her anyway.”

Luke nodded. “Yeah, I do. She’s worth the risk.”

Andi pursed her lips. Maybe it was worth the risk for Luke. But for Andi, she wasn’t willing to go down that road again.

“Have you made any progress with Brooke?” Andi asked.

“I thought I had. What you said at the ice rink made me think. I’ve had this box since high school where I’ve kept stuff from our relationship—ticket stubs, flowers from dances we attended, that sort of thing. I knew she’d find it meaningful, so I gave it to her and told her how much I loved her. It almost worked. Then she freaked out and told me she’s moving to Italy. She’s made up her mind. I’m losing.”

Ah yes, the move. Brooke’s Italian fiancé wanted to return home. “She really said she’s moving?”

“Yeah.” He sat back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. “I pushed too hard, and she wasn’t ready.”

Andi ripped off a chunk of the pretzel and plopped it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Why is she with Antonio? What does she get out of that relationship?”

“I have no idea.”

Andi gave him a pointed look. “If you want me to help, you’ve got to answer my questions.”

“Okay, fine. I think she views him as safe. A security blanket. She likes that he sought out a matchmaker, and she’s always talking about how compatible the computer system says they are. She loves how his parents and grandparents and sisters have all been married for forever.”

Well that didn’t make sense. “Your parents were married for a long time, weren’t they?”

“Almost thirty years.”

“So why doesn’t she see you as stable?”

“When we first met, I was kind of a player. I was all about the chase, and once I caught the girl, I quickly lost interest. When Brooke didn’t return my feelings, I kept pretending to be the player so she wouldn’t see how much it stung.”

“But you’re not a player. Not anymore.” She smirked. He hadn’t hit on her even once.

“How do I show her that I’ve changed? How do I convince her I’m worth taking a risk? I don’t think she loves me enough to leave him.”

“There has to be something you can do to convince her. A grand gesture or something, like I told you on our first date.”

Luke held out his hands, palms up. “Do you have any ideas? Because I’m fresh out of them.”

Andi shoved the rest of the pretzel in her mouth, chewing. “Is there something from your past that’s especially meaningful? Maybe the moment you first realized you were falling for her?”

His eyes lightened, and he nodded. “I know exactly what to do.”

“Tell me about that.”

So Luke told her about the winter dance in high school, where he had told Brooke he wanted to be more than friends and she’d shot him down. Slowly they worked on a plan to recreate that winter formal so Luke could propose. Andi watched Luke’s face as he talked, animatedly recalling details that would bring the dance to life.

He really loved Brooke. He knew there was a high possibility that she would turn him down, and their friendship would be ruined. But to him, it was worth it.

Andi smiled. “Not too shabby, Mr. Ryder.”

“Do you think it will work?”

Andi sat back in her chair, relishing the softness of the cushions. “It’d work for me.”

“What would work for Ben? You haven’t mentioned him tonight. How are things going?”

Andi sighed. “I think we had a fight.”

“You think?”

“We haven’t really talked in a few days so I’m not sure.”

Luke smiled encouragingly. “Tell me about it.”

Maybe if she talked about it, she could make sense of what had happened. “We had our first dance class this week at Footsteps for Change. It was perfect.” Her mind floated back to Tuesday, when Ben had held her in his arms and she had been putty in his hands. “But then Elle—that’s my friend who works there—brought up our first date, and Ben gave me the cold shoulder.”

“Have you told him how you feel?”

Andi barked a laugh. “No. I’m not even sure how I feel myself.” Andi ran a hand through her hair. “It’s complicated. His ex-fiancée is trying to win him back, and Rachel would flip if she thought there was anything between Ben and I. Which there isn’t. We’re just friends.”

“Yeah, I can tell you totally believe that.”

“I can’t let it go beyond friendship. I’m not ready to deal with his baggage, and I’m not interested in another relationship.”

Luke fell quiet, and Andi turned her focus to the crowds below. It was kind of fun being in the box and having a bird’s-eye view of most of the spectators. There was a couple fighting. The girl had her arms folded and her lips turned down in a frown, while the guy waved his arms wildly while speaking. There was a little boy clutching a miniature basketball, his eyes wide with excitement as he held his daddy’s hand.

Andi’s eyes landed on a woman in jeans and a long sleeved tee, with large hooped earrings and strawberry blonde hair streaked with caramel. The girl glanced up, and Andi gasped.

“What?” Luke asked.