Catching Lucas Riley

by Lauren Winder Farnsworth

  “She finished her bachelor’s degree before she went,” Sealey explained. “She’s the same age as Lucas’s sister, Ashley. Twenty-four. They’re best friends.”

  Oh, great, Alex thought. No wonder Ashley doesn’t like any of the girls Lucas dates. She’s trying to preserve him for Olivia.

  “So it was the four of you just hanging out all the time?” Alex asked. “Were you all best friends and everything? Did you go to the same schools and stuff?”

  “No, not really,” Sealey answered, shrugging. “Lucas, Ashley, and I all went to the same school, but I was two years ahead of Lucas, and Ashley was two years behind him. Olivia went to a private school.”

  “So . . . when did you fall in love with her, then?” Alex asked, wondering if she was about to get an earful for asking prying, personal questions. Instead, Sealey just smiled.

  “I can’t imagine anyone not falling in love with Olivia,” he said. “She’s the kindest, softest, most generous person I’ve ever met.”

  “But she dated Lucas instead of you?” Alex pressed.

  Sealey’s mouth tightened slightly, but a smile stayed firmly attached to his face. “Yes,” he said simply.

  “Did you ever try to date her?”

  “No,” he said and left it at that.

  Alex was confused. Why had Sealey just let his best friend have Olivia up until this point? What had finally inspired him to fight for her? Despite all the time Alex had spent with Sealey thus far, it frustrated her how much she still didn’t understand him.

  Ten minutes later, they were walking through the stadium concourses toward their section. As the crowds grew denser, Sealey took Alex’s arm, leading her toward the right stairway. It felt odd to have Sealey touch her. As she felt the warmth of his hand, she realized he’d never actually touched her before. She compared the way it felt to the way it felt when Lucas touched her. It was nice to have a reference point. While Sealey’s touch felt warm and confident, Lucas’s touch sent her stomach lurching and made her feel slightly feverish.

  As Sealey led her up the stairs to their seats, she heard a female voice calling.

  “Sealey! Sealey! Up here!” Alex and Sealey both raised their eyes to the voice. It was issuing from a petite, tanned little thing with copious amounts of curly, light-brown hair. Her eyes were a curious shade of green. It looked familiar.

  “Ashley,” Sealey greeted pleasantly.

  Oh no.

  Alex’s middle immediately erupted in nauseous nerves. She was completely unprepared to meet Lucas’s overprotective little sister. Why hadn’t Sealey warned her that Ashley was going to be here?

  “I saved your seats,” Ashley said, pointing to a jacket spread over a couple of chairs. “We’ve had people try to take our reserved seats before, so I figured I would be proactive this time. I don’t like to get nasty if I can avoid it.” She smiled, her pouty lips parting to reveal a row of perfect white teeth.

  “So who’s this?” she asked, gesturing to Alex. Was it Alex’s imagination, or did Ashley already have a steely, disapproving look in her eye? How could she already suspect that Alex was crazy about her brother?

  “This is Alex Foamer,” Sealey introduced. “She’s a friend of mine and Luke’s.”

  This introduction surprised Alex. She never expected to hear Sealey concede that she was a friend of his. But the thought pleased her, somehow.

  “Hi, Ashley,” she said cheerfully. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Ashley just smiled at her, her sea-foam eyes looking rather frosty as she studied Alex. “So you’re Alex,” she said, her tone cool. “Lucas was telling me about you just this morning.”

  “Really?” Alex said, trying to suppress her smile. Lucas had told his family about her!

  “Yes, he mentioned he had a date last night,” Ashley said, her mouth twisting in a smirk as she combed her fingers through her hair. “The word pity may or may not have been thrown in there somewhere as well. I can’t really remember.”

  “Well, naturally, it would have been,” Sealey said, giving Ashley a significant look. “That date was the result of Alex taking pity on Lucas. After all, she had to pay five dollars so he wouldn’t be humiliated at a date auction.” He narrowed his eyes at her.

  “Right, that’s what I meant. Obviously,” Ashley said with a look that was entirely too innocent.

  As Ashley turned away, Alex raised her eyebrows at Sealey, surprised that he would stand up for her like that. He just smiled gently at her and quickly reached out to squeeze her hand in a comforting way. She turned back to look at the field, still puzzled. Why was he so different today? He’d never championed her like that before. She felt a sense of deep gratitude. And confusion.

  But with regard to Ashley, Alex was torn. All right, so she wanted to make a good impression on Lucas’s family. Of course she did. But she was not the kind of girl to sit and take insults from an uppity, pint-sized accountant, either. She longed to put Ashley in her place, but she held her tongue.

  Ashley did not follow suit. “So, Alex, what do you do?” she asked with false sweetness, swinging her miles of thick, curly hair forward as she leaned over to get a good look at Alex. “Lucas didn’t mention anything about you beyond your height. But don’t worry about that. I’m sure there are plenty of guys who don’t mind being shorter than their wives.”

  Alex ground her teeth. She wouldn’t let Ashley goad her. She would be the bigger person. “I’m a dietitian,” she replied, her voice determinedly polite. “I work primarily with new mothers over at the hospital.”

  “I see,” Ashley said, her look slightly superior. “Well, that can’t be terribly complicated, can it? I mean, new babies really only eat one thing, don’t they?” She laughed airily. “But don’t feel bad. Some people can’t handle high stress careers, so it’s good that jobs like yours exist.”

  Alex clamped her lips together, determinedly keeping her smile fixed on her face, although it felt strained. “While I definitely do work with new moms to make sure their babies get the best nutrition, I also work with them on their own nutrition,” she said. She was seriously wrestling with the urge to grab the pretty little thing by her curly-haired head and fling her down the stairs. “A mom’s level of nutrition translates directly into her baby’s nutrition, especially if she’s breast-feeding. So I help moms know the best kinds of foods to eat to make sure their babies benefit as well. I also do some consulting to help women who are concerned about losing their baby weight.”

  “Sounds like a pretty important job to me,” Sealey said, although he didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the conversation. He was studying the football field closely, apparently looking for Lucas.

  “Maybe,” Ashley said, giving him a dirty look. Apparently, she was hoping he would back her up.

  “So, Sealey,” Ashley said, threading her hand through his arm. “I just got an email yesterday from Olivia. She’s so close to coming home! Can you believe it’s only a couple of months away? I know Lucas is just counting the hours. The four of us should double that first weekend she’s back.”

  Suddenly, the clouds parted in Alex’s mind. She could see exactly what was going on. Ashley had a crush on Sealey. She wanted her brother to end up with Olivia, and she wanted Sealey for herself. But judging from Sealey’s reaction to Ashley, he wasn’t biting. Which, given Sealey’s proclaimed preference for Olivia, made perfect sense to Alex. But, of course, Ashley had no idea that Sealey was interested in Olivia. Man alive, what a soap opera.

  “We’ll see,” Sealey replied, patting Ashley’s hand and pulling away.

  The rest of the game proceeded in this way. Ashley completely ignored Alex, cozying up to Sealey instead, and made marked comments about either Olivia and Lucas or herself and Sealey. Sealey would answer in short, noncommittal sentences and then turn to Alex, explaining to her the rules and points of the game.

  By the end of the first half, Alex was actually starting to enjoy what she was watching. It was pleasant to be sitt
ing there in the sun with Sealey, his arm across the back of her seat as he pointed out Lucas’s form running back and forth on the field. Her enjoyment of the afternoon might also have had something to do Sealey markedly ignoring Ashley, but it made her feel petty to think such things, so she pretended like that had no bearing on her mood.

  As the marching band began playing their halftime show, Sealey turned once again to Alex. “You hungry?” he asked. “Want to come grab something to eat with me?”

  “Sure,” she answered, rising to her feet. Ashley watched them go, her arms folded sourly across her chest and her eyebrows scrunched. The sight made Alex want to laugh.

  “How about pizza?” Sealey asked as they walked past the various food vendors. “I’m craving bread and cheese right now.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Alex said, reaching in her purse for her wallet. She was always up for a good pepperoni pizza.

  “I got it,” Sealey said, gesturing to the wallet in her hand.

  “Huh?” she asked vaguely.

  “I’ll pay,” Sealey clarified. “I pretty much forced you here. Lunch is on me.”

  “Oh . . . well, thanks,” Alex said, disconcerted. The Sealey she was seeing today seemed like a completely different person than she was used to. She wondered if all the talking about Olivia had improved his mood.

  “By the way, I’m sorry about Ashley,” Sealey said, not looking at her. “I wasn’t sure if she would be here. She doesn’t come to all the games. But if Lucas really told her about your date last night, then I’m not surprised she’s here.”

  “Yeah, she’s . . . you know, charming,” Alex replied, biting her lip.

  Sealey chuckled. “Yeah, she’s a piece of work.”

  “She seems to like you, though,” Alex said, elbowing him in the ribs. “Have you ever been out with her?”

  “Not really . . . not in the way you mean,” Sealey replied, shrugging. “We’ve been out before, I guess, in the sense that she’s invited me as her ‘plus one.’ But there’s nothing going on between us.”

  “No thanks to you,” Alex said, laughing. “I’m sure she’d like nothing better than to rectify that situation.”

  Sealey smiled wryly and shrugged again. “She’s not my type,” he said simply. “She’s beautiful and really smart, but she’s also incredibly manipulative. Her dad spoils her rotten, so she’s gotten used to getting her way. She gets downright irritating when she wants something.”

  “Sounds about right,” Alex surmised.

  Once they had their personal-size pizzas in hand, they headed back for the stairs to their section.

  “Hey, let’s stay down here and eat, if you don’t mind,” Sealey suggested. “Ashley’s driving me nuts, and I’d rather postpone going back up there until Luke’s on the field again.”

  “Sure,” Alex agreed, rather relieved that he suggested it. They sat on a bench side-by-side and opened their pizza boxes. “So, how long ago did you start your company?” Alex asked, taking her first careful bite of the steaming pizza. “Have you been doing this long?”

  “Well, technically, I started my company while I was still in grad school,” Sealey responded, trying to detach a string of cheese from his slice with his fingers. “I knew I didn’t want to work for anyone else, so I decided to do my own thing and focus on advertising for smaller businesses here in the valley.” He took a big bite of pizza and immediately coughed, his eyes watering. “Holy moly, that’s hot!” he exclaimed.

  Alex started laughing. “I’ve never heard you use an expletive before. It’s nice to know that you do that kind of thing, even if you used the goofiest one you could’ve chosen.”

  Sealey looked at her through his tearing eyes and shook his head. “I don’t know where you come up with these ideas about me,” he sputtered, trying to keep his mouth open to let the heat from his pizza escape. “Why wouldn’t I use expletives? Everyone uses expletives. Even goofy ones.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re not everyone,” Alex claimed, taking another tiny bite. “You’re the untouchable, imperturbable Sealey Witchburn. Nothing and no one surprises you. Well, except for thoroughly heated pizza, apparently.”

  Sealey rolled his eyes. “Well, anyway, I picked up a few clients while I was finishing up my MBA. But once I graduated and was able to focus solely on my company, the business really took off. Turns out the small mom-and-pops in the valley really like a locally owned firm promoting them. Plus, due to my ‘single and fancy-free’ status, I’m able to travel wherever and whenever I need to for work, so I can do some advertising for them in other areas of the state if needed. Sometimes in other areas of the country.”

  “Wow, that sounds exciting,” Alex replied. “I have to admit, I’m really jealous.”

  “Jealous?” Sealey asked, his eyebrow raised. “Have ambitions in advertising yourself, Foamer?”

  “No, not about that,” Alex said, smiling. “I just . . . I’ve always wanted to make a difference, you know? Not just here in Logan, but out there.” She gestured widely with her arms. “In the wide world. I feel so strongly about the importance of nutrition, especially for children. I just wish I could do more to educate people.”

  “It sounds like you make a big impact where you are right now,” Sealey reminded her. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

  “Oh, I know I make a difference with the individual people I work with,” Alex assured him. “I just wish that I could reach more. That I could, I don’t know, change the world.” She laughed self-consciously. “Wow, that sounds really corny.”

  “Sure does,” Sealey said and winked at her. “No, it’s not corny. I think it sounds kind of noble, actually. It’s not like you’re aspiring to become famous or wealthy. You’re aspiring to change people for the better. It’s a very unselfish goal.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s unlikely I’ll get anywhere with it.”

  “Probably not, with that attitude,” Sealey said, with a smirk. “Come on! Where’s that confidence you’re so famous for?”

  Alex chuckled. “I’ll find it someday.” She watched him as he enthusiastically downed the rest of his pizza. “Sealey?” she finally said, capturing his attention.

  “Yeah?” he asked, looking at her with his mouth full. It was adorable.

  “I just wanted to let you know”—she looked down at her half empty pizza box so she wouldn’t have to meet his eyes—“I’m grateful for all you’re doing for me.” She looked back up at him, her expression sincere. “And I’m really impressed with you. You’ve done really well for yourself. I hope I can someday accomplish all that you have.”

  Sealey was quiet for a moment as he studied her expression. “Thanks, Foamer,” he finally replied, nudging her with his shoulder and grinning. He had pizza sauce stuck in his teeth. She laughed.

  The last half of the game passed quickly, now that Alex understood the rules. She cheered at all the right moments and kept her eyes focused on Lucas’s form. When he caught a pass and ran it in for a touchdown, she thought she might have screamed louder than anyone in the stadium. By the end of the game she was slightly hoarse.

  “Well, let’s head down,” Sealey said, as the navy-clad USU fans began to stream gloomily toward the exits. Utah State had fought bravely, but unfortunately, the University of Utah had managed to emerge victorious. “Lucas will likely need some cheering up after that whooping.”

  “Are we meeting up with him?” Alex asked, the fluttering of butterflies beginning in her middle.

  “Yep, we’re going to take him to dinner,” Sealey replied. Alex heard Ashley huff behind them.

  “Honestly, I don’t know why we have to change plans last minute,” Ashley protested. “We told him that you and I were going to meet him. He’s not expecting Alex. Don’t you think he’ll be a little irritated?”

  “I doubt it, Ash,” Sealey said over his shoulder as he once again took Alex’s arm above the elbow and led her toward the exit. “Lucas really likes Alex.”

  Ashley muttered something under
her breath, but Alex didn’t catch it. She gritted her teeth for what felt like the fiftieth time that day and clenched her fists, trying to stifle her irritation.

  Twenty minutes later, the three of them stood outside the stadium in an uncomfortable silence.

  Alex didn’t want to say anything to Sealey, knowing that Ashley would hear every word, and she assumed Sealey felt the same way. She rocked back and forth on her heels, willing Lucas to hurry up.

  “There he is,” Ashley said suddenly, pointing to the form of her brother emerging from a metal door to their left. She raised her arms and waved, even though he was only twenty feet away and couldn’t possibly have missed the tall, white-blond figure of Sealey Witchburn.

  “Oh, hey, guys,” Lucas said in a slightly morose voice. “I almost wish you hadn’t—” Suddenly he froze, his eyes falling on Alex. “Alex!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

  It was at that point that Alex realized she didn’t have a story. She couldn’t tell him that Sealey had insisted she come because she didn’t know football. She glanced, panicked, up at Sealey’s face, but he looked utterly unconcerned.

  “Oh, I invited her,” Sealey said easily. “I ran into her this morning and mentioned I was going to the game. She told me she didn’t know much about football, and since I had an extra ticket and knew you two went out last night, I figured it would be a good thing to educate her. After all, how can you ever expect to get a repeat date with her if she doesn’t fully appreciate your football brilliance? I mean, really, what motivation does she have to say yes?” Sealey smiled teasingly at his friend.

  Alex glanced at Lucas, noticing how red he appeared. Wait a minute, was he blushing? Could it be possible that Lucas had mentioned something about wanting a repeat date with her to Sealey? She suddenly felt like singing.

  “Well, if I was hoping to impress her, I’ve done a poor job,” Lucas said ruefully to Sealey, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. He glanced self-consciously again at Alex and shifted his gym bag uncomfortably on his shoulder.