by Olivia James
"It's nice to meet you, too. And no, you're not late." She checked her watch. "In fact, you're one minute early."
"In a big family, if you're late you might miss out on seconds," Luke replied, trying to make a small joke to ease the tension of a blind date. "I learned to be punctual or starve."
Shaw slid the book onto the seat next to her, her hands fluttering nervously. "I...um...I'm an only child."
"Then you probably didn't have to arm wrestle for the last drumstick."
She didn't have a chance to reply because the waitress arrived at the table, pad and pencil in hand, ready to take their order. Shaw ordered a chai latte. Luke ordered a shot in the dark. He also talked her into sharing a slice of lemon cake with him. He could have easily eaten one - or more - himself but he didn't want her to think he was a glutton on the first date.
"What's a shot in the dark?" she asked when the waitress headed behind the counter to start on their order. "I've never heard of it before."
"Coffee with a double shot of espresso."
Her eyes widened. "That sounds...caffeinated."
"It is. Very. I discovered them when I was in college and I needed to stay up all night studying."
"And now?"
"Now I just like them when I haven't had much sleep. I've been burning the midnight oil lately on a case."
"You're a cop? I mean...sort of. Melissa said that you used to be but now you're on some sort of special task force."
Luke was always having to explain about his job. He didn't mind it though because he loved what he did.
"I was a cop, but now I work for a private firm. They specialize in helping small towns and counties with complex cases that they might otherwise not have the manpower or experience to deal with. They don't want to have to hire a person that wants vacation and health insurance to deal with a murder that may only happen once every five years. Plus, they simply may not have the experience in dealing with cases like that. That's where we come in."
Shaw's delicate fingers played with the paper napkin. The nails were short but well-kept, painted a pale blue that just matched her eyes. She really was a beautiful woman with her pale blonde hair and porcelain skin. She was dressed casually in faded blue jeans and a red cotton sweater. The fall weather had turned quite cool recently.
"She said you specialized in serial killers and stalkers. That must be very interesting."
It was and if he wasn't careful, he'd talk about his work until her ears fell off. His sister had warned him when she'd set up this date. No talking about grisly murders. Melissa wasn't sure that Shaw would appreciate his enthusiasm for the puzzle of catching a killer.
"It is," he agreed, careful not to appear to be too eager to discuss dismembered bodies. "I'm lucky to be given a chance like this so young. I haven't been doing it long, but the cases are interesting."
The waitress returned with their drinks and food. Luke poured a little sugar into his coffee and then took a sip. So good. This was definitely going to help him wake up. He'd been looking through missing person reports with Ryan until about two in the morning.
"So you have an online channel?"
Luke didn't want to hog the conversation. He wanted to know more about her. Melissa had made her sound amazing and so far, she seemed to be what his sister had promised.
But it was early yet.
Shaw took a small bite of the cake and nodded. "I do. It started out as sort of a lark while I was working on my masters’ degree in psychology, but it's really grown and now it's my full-time job."
He'd heard quite a bit about her career, actually and he was impressed. It wasn't something he could do but he admired that she could get in front of the camera and put herself out there.
The fact was...Melissa had told him about Shaw's persistent "fan" that wouldn't take no for an answer. She'd asked his opinion, but he couldn't really give it as he didn't know the details or had read the messages.
Should I bring it up? Will I ruin a perfectly nice afternoon? Probably.
"So you give people relationship advice? Do they write in? How do you choose what to put on your channel?"
He decided to go with more general questions to keep the peaceful atmosphere.
Shaw's expression instantly brightened up at being asked about her work, which Luke liked. He wanted to be with someone that was as passionate about their work as he was.
"They do write in and I look for themes in the problems. For instance, I just did a show about boundaries in relationships. Not just romantic ones, but friends, family, and co-workers. We as humans are conditioned to give into people so that we're nice. Being a nice person is really valued but when that niceness comes at too high of a price and our boundaries get stomped on it's bad for the person. People need healthy boundaries with others."
"I can see what you're saying. I had a guy I used to work with that always tried to get everyone to pay for his beers or food when we went out after a long day. He always had a reason that he couldn't pay. Bills, a girlfriend, a sick dog. Whatever. Eventually, we all kind of got tired of covering him all the time and then he'd get pissed off and say we weren't being good bros."
"And then out of guilt, someone would give in," Shaw guessed with a nod. "That's common. People like that don't see boundaries the way you or I do. They only see obstacles to be overcome. The means or method doesn't matter. That person's feelings don't matter. Only the goal does."
"That's one of the signs of a sociopath."
"True, but just one. The latest research says that sociopaths make up about four percent of the population but remember that it's a spectrum. Not everyone is going to go out and commit crimes."
Chuckling, Luke took a sip of his coffee. "I wasn't saying they would, just making an observation about boundaries. Sounds like an interesting show. I might have to check it out."
Shaw's cheeks turned pink. "Sorry, I get sort of passionate about my work. In fact, I have a meet and greet scheduled next week for some of my subscribers. I've done about a half dozen of these around the country. I rent out part of a restaurant, order a bunch of food and then talk to them, answering their questions. That sort of thing. My agent says that it's important to have create personal connections since my job is online and rather impersonal."
"I think that's a good thing. I'm that way about my work too. It's not just a job to me. It's far more."
She nodded in understanding. "I feel passionate about my work too. Helping people is important to me. I don't do it for the attention. In fact, I'd rather not have any of that."
It was an opening. Should he bring up her fan now?
He didn't get a chance too, however, as she continued speaking.
"So this is probably when I should say that my career is the number one thing in my life right now. I'm not sure why I agreed to this blind date as I work most of the time. I rarely go out and socialize. I feel like I have to strike while the iron is hot, if you know what I mean. The opportunities that I have now won't necessarily always be there and I don't want to waste them."
Ouch. He felt the same, but it was tough being on the other end of the speech.
He pointed his fork toward the half-eaten lemon cake. "How about we wait until after we finish this before we decide to get married and have kids?"
Her mouth fell open in shock at his outrageous statement but then her full pink lips widened into a grin and she began to laugh. Her blue eyes sparkled and her cheeks turned red, and he was once again reminded of just how attractive Shaw Parker was.
Slapping a hand over her mouth, she shook her head. "I'm so sorry. Again. I was so intent on getting that out there that I didn't think about how pushy and cold it sounded. I swear I'm not usually so ill-mannered and awkward."
Luke liked a woman that could laugh at herself. And at him. He also liked that she could apologize, even though he didn't think she'd done anything wrong. He'd been around too many people that could never admit to being less than perfect.
"You're just fine," h
e assured her. "I kind of wanted to say the same thing but didn't know how to phrase it. My career is important to me too and I tend to work a lot. Anyone that I have a relationship with will have to deal with that. My hours are actually much more regular than when I was a cop, but they still aren't nine-to-five."
Shaw's brows rose. "Where does that leave us?"
That was a good question. Luke was definitely physically attracted to this woman, and so far, she appeared to be easy to get along with. His gut was urging him to move forward, ask her out again and see where it all might lead.
"How about it leaves us cautious?" he replied. "We take things slowly and don't look too far ahead. Just enjoy ourselves this afternoon, and then decide if we want to do it again. If we do, take it one date at a time. If either of us wants to stop, we do it. No hard feelings and stay friendly. After all, you're one of my sister's best friends."
"One date at a time," she repeated, nodding her head. She looked like she agreed. "So at the end of a date we decide if we want to repeat it? Interesting. I like not having to look too far in the future."
"We just keep things casual. I'm guessing we'll eventually figure out if we hate each other."
"Casual. That's a great way to describe it. We're casual with each other. I won't expect us to go out every Saturday night or stuff like that. If we keep the expectations low at the beginning, then that should also keep the stress low as well."
"And who doesn't want less stress?" Luke laughed. "It sounds like we have a plan."
"Plans are good. Now tell me more about your job. It sounds really interesting."
Luke hoped she meant that because he was going to do as she asked. By the end of this date, she might never want to see him again.
Luke Brewster was a nice man. Funny, charming, and obviously intelligent. He was everything his sister had promised.
He was good looking too. Handsome and yes, sexy. Dark-haired with soft blue eyes, he was a big man, well over six feet tall with wide shoulders and muscular thighs that stretched his denim jeans. All the furniture around him seemed too small for his frame, as if he was normal-sized but the coffee shop was a dollhouse. Even his hands were big and she had no doubt that he could break her in half if he wanted to. She didn't feel threatened, however, as he seemed quite mild-mannered as they chattered away over coffee and cake.
Her phone buzzed on the table and she quickly checked it. Taylor. They'd made a deal to check in during the date in case she needed a quick exit strategy. Her friend had been adamant that Shaw wouldn't need it as Luke was a great guy, but she'd offered it anyway. Just in case they didn't hit it off.
His phone buzzed just seconds later as she was typing out a quick response.
It's going fine.
He was tapping out a reply too.
"Did you have a friend checking in?" he said with a grin. "Mine was making sure I didn't need a work emergency to get me out of here."
Shaw's mouth fell open. He'd had a backup also? She wasn't sure how to feel about that. She'd had one, of course, but it hadn't occurred to her that he might as well. But it really made sense. He'd probably been as nervous and wondering whether this was even going to work out.
"Taylor offered," she finally answered. "I thought it might be a good idea. You know, in case we didn't hit it off and ended up arguing about politics and which actor was the best Doctor Who."
"David Tennant," Luke replied immediately. "But I'll give Matt Smith honorable mention. I sure as hell don't want to talk about politics, though. That might be dangerous."
She wrinkled her nose. "Would it be awful if I said that I avoid the news these days? It's just all so depressing sometimes."
"I'm a news junkie but I promise not to tell you anything unless we're invaded by little green men from outer space."
"Deal, although I'd probably figure that one out on my own."
They continued chatting over the rest of the dessert. Shaw talked about several of the episodes she'd done for her channel, and he'd spoken about a few of the cases that he'd worked. As conversations often do, they'd come full circle back to her career. The cake was long gone and their cups were empty. It was getting close to the time to wrap up the date. Two and a half hours had flown by.
Rubbing his chin, Luke grimaced. "I wasn't going to mention this at all but since we're back talking about your career..."
Shaw had a feeling about what he was reluctant to bring up. If they were going to see each other again - and it looked like they would - they might as well get this over with.
"Go ahead," she urged. "I'm guessing Melissa told you about it."
"She did," he agreed. "She mentioned that you have a fan that might just be far too enthusiastic. He won't go away."
"That's the long and short of it. I keep blocking him and he keeps creating new profiles. My agent says that this is par for the course with a public career and that I shouldn't give him any attention. Eventually he'll go away on his own and bother someone else who will give him that attention that he craves."
"Do you agree with that assessment?"
"For the most part I do. Most of these people that message me are annoying but they're not going to hurt me. They get off on being anonymous."
"Keyboard warriors?"
Shaw nodded. "Exactly. They'd never have the guts to say those things to me in person, but on the internet no one knows you're a cocker spaniel."
It was her go-to joke and he did laugh, thank goodness. He seemed to get her strange sense of humor, which was a relief. She'd been on a date a few years ago and the man had told her in no uncertain terms that she wasn't funny at all. She'd been home before nine that night. Looking back, he hadn't had much of a sense of humor. He hadn't cracked a smile the entire date. Not one.
"I'm not sure about the whole cocker spaniel thing. Do you know how hard it has to be to type with paws? It's most likely a raccoon. They have thumbs."
The thought of a raccoon sending her mean messages on the internet had her giggling.
"I'm picturing an angry raccoon pounding on his keyboard, commenting on Facebook," she laughed. "Thank you for the image. This one’s going to stick."
"It might be a monkey," he went on, a smirk on his handsome face. "But I doubt it's a penguin. Those wings would make it difficult to type as well. You can probably take a lion or tiger off the list too."
Shaw tried to keep a straight face. "I've heard bears are quite socially conscious, so it might be a grizzly."
"Or Bigfoot. He's just trying, in his own socially inept way, to reach out to society. He just wants to belong."
"I think I should say at this juncture in our relationship that I'm not sure that I believe in Bigfoot. The Loch Ness Monster? Sure, that's a no brainer. She's real. But Bigfoot? I'm a hell of a lot more skeptical."
Luke's lips twitched with laughter. "I think you're right to be. In this age of cell phones, shouldn't there be a photo of him by now? With all the lost phones, you'd think he'd find one, take a selfie, and get an Instagram account."
Still chuckling, Luke sat back in the booth. "I have a good friend who believes that Bigfoot is real. He actually makes a good case when you talk to him. I'd love it if he were right."
"You guys get along okay?"
"Sure, he respects that I'm the type that needs more evidence and I respect his belief that he has all the evidence that he needs." Luke leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. "Don't think that I haven't noticed that you've directed the conversation away from your number one fan. If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. I don't want to force things."
"It's not that I don't want to talk about it," Shaw explained. "It's just that I'm not sure what's to be gained from it. I'm trying not to give him any attention, and I don't want him to take over my life. Honestly, I'm hoping to just ignore him and eventually he'll go away."
"That could happen."
Luke didn't look convinced.
"But you think it's unlikely."
"I didn't say tha
t. I don't even know what he's been saying or how many times he's tried to contact you. I'm just saying that it could all go away. Most of these issues do resolve themselves."
"Some don't."
"That's true. The problem is you don't know which situation you have."
Shaw had known this was where they were headed.
"You want to look at his messages."
She didn't phrase it as a question, because it wasn't one. It was written all over his face. He was concerned, which was nice since they'd only just met today.
"I do," he confirmed solemnly. "Just let me read through them. I assume you've saved them?"
"I did, because my agent told me to." Shaw picked up her phone but didn't unlock it. Should she send them to him? She didn't want to make more of this than it already was. "I have all of them in a folder. But..."
"You don't think it's all that bad?"
"I'm sure it's nothing. You'll be wasting your time, and I know you're busy with your new job because Melissa told me so. You told me so."
"They let me eat and sleep. You don't have to send them to me if you don't want to, but it might give you peace of mind to have someone else's opinion."
What if his opinion didn't agree with her own? Was she the type to stick her fingers in her ears and sing over anyone that disagreed? She'd always prided herself on being open-minded. Now it was time to put that to the test. If she believed that her fan wasn't any threat, what would be the harm in letting him look at the messages?
“I'll send them to you."
He was going to see that the entire situation wasn't anything to worry about. Everything was just fine.
4
Later that evening, Shaw took a long, hot bath, soaking as she replayed her date with Luke Brewster in her head. It had gone far better than she'd ever hoped. He'd been everything that Melissa - and Taylor - had promised. Handsome, funny, and intelligent. She'd found out that he also had a masters’ in psychology, although he was clearly putting his degree to a different use. She was trying to help people and he was catching them when they were beyond that help.
