by Leslie Kelly
Now the question remained: was this morning’s encounter going to end in anger, ambivalence or attempted seduction?
Chaz was jogging up the sidewalk, looking determined, but he slowed to a walk when he got a good look at her. A confused frown tugged at his brow as he studied her, his gaze resting on her long brown hair, then traveling over her face. She knew the exact moment he recognized her, because his mouth opened in a quick, surprised inhalation, and his eyes widened in shock.
“Lulu? Is that you?”
She pasted a smile on her lips. “It sure is. Hi, Chaz!” She cursed herself for sounding giddy—and guilty. “Er, how are you doing? I guess you’re home from your trip?” She made sure to keep her voice pitched up a bit, wanting to sound as far from the throaty-voiced temptress of the night as possible.
His long-legged strides brought him to within a few feet of her, and he stopped, staring into her face as if searching for something. Or someone?
Don’t find her. Please don’t find her in me.
“It’s really you?” he asked.
“Yup.” She forced the brightest, most unconcerned smile she could manage. “I guess I turned up just like the proverbial bad penny.”
“This is a surprise.”
More like a shock, judging by his expression.
“A nice one, I hope,” she said, just to needle him a little.
“Sure. Definitely.”
Deciding to remind him it had been partially his fault that they’d ended up neighbors, she said, “Oh, thanks bunches for putting me in touch with your Realtor. She was such a big help. She told me this was the best street in the city to live on.”
She waved toward the building she’d just left, and Chaz glanced at it, then back at her.
“You live here?”
“Yes.”
“Right here,” he clarified, tensing. “Three doors down from me?”
“’Fraid so.”
He continued to stare, and she shifted uncomfortably on her sneakered feet. She hadn’t expected Chaz to bring out the welcome wagon, but yeesh, he acted as if she’d contaminated his street.
Finally she asked, “Do I have dirt on my face or something?”
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “When I first saw you, from behind, I thought you were somebody else. But of course, I was wrong.”
“They say everybody has a double.”
He slowly shook his head, and she’d swear disappointment had darkened his eyes. “No, it was just a mistake. She didn’t really look like you at all.”
Huh. What was that supposed to mean? She felt as if she’d been judged and found lacking. What, exactly, did the green-faced witch have that she didn’t, aside from red hair and a mask?
Oh. Right. An untainted history and a name other than Lulu Vandenberg. Even if she were a real redhead, and still had on the dumb mask, she suspected that Chaz would have worn that same expression of disappointment the moment he realized who she truly was.
Shoving aside the sharp feeling of regret, she tried to appear chipper. “So, how’s your family?”
“They seem fine. I talked to my dad this morning.” He chuckled. “Did you hear? We’re all being abandoned for Thanksgiving.”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“Yeah. My family usually meets up at my grandparents’ house down in Virginia for the holiday weekend.”
“I remember.” That was one reason she hadn’t seen Chaz in so many years. He never came home for Thanksgiving, as his family was always traveling elsewhere. And it seemed the two of them had alternated Christmases for the past several years, never making a holiday trip home at the same time.
“Well, apparently our parents—yours and mine—have decided to go on a couples cruise to the Caribbean over Thanksgiving weekend. They’re leaving the Tuesday before and will be gone for ten days.”
“Nice of them to tell a person,” she said, indignant. Then mischief tickled her lips and she grinned. “You’d think they had a life other than us, or something.”
“I know, right?” he replied, sounding just as indignant-yet-amused.
Just to rile him up, she smirked. “I bet yours have already turned your room into a sex den like out of that Fifty Shades book.”
He grimaced. “I know you opened your mouth and said something, but all I heard was mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah.”
She couldn’t hold back a rumble of laughter. When they were kids, they’d all mimicked their parents—well, all adults—in just that way. Words might be coming out of a grown-up’s mouth, but all they’d heard was monotonous noise—like all kids, she supposed.
Funny how the adult world existed so far apart from the kid one, neither believing the other was ever really aware of what was going on. Also funny that she was standing here with a man who’d shared so many years of that world with her.
Yet gazing up at him, she saw nothing of the kid and every inch of the man.
What a delicious-looking man. He was sexy by moonlight, but devastatingly attractive in the light of day. The sun gleamed in his blond hair, and brought out the matching glimmer of gold in his green eyes. Now, clad in sneakers instead of those deadly high-heels, she was reminded just how tall he was, towering over her by several inches. And the long-sleeved T-shirt emphasized those broad shoulders and his powerful chest.
She’d have liked to say that quip about the naughty book hadn’t caused some seriously hawt images to invade her brain, but she’d have been lying. Frankly, she’d had those images in her head since she’d seen him pulling off that sheet last night at the bar, and just about every minute since.
“So,” he said, “I guess that means I’m going to have to learn how to cook a turkey.”
“I hear Stauffer’s does a pretty good job of that, and you get the stuffing and gravy right on top of it.”
He sneered. “Frozen dinners for Thanksgiving? Forget it. How tough can it be?”
“Just remember to take the insides out of the bird before you cook it.”
He paled. “They come with insides?”
“Pretty gross, huh?” Lulu had never been much of a cook, but she was pretty sure they did. “But yeah, I think so. And don’t worry, I’ll play dumb when my mom calls. I won’t let her know you spilled the beans.”
“Admit it, you just want to torment her and make her feel guilty.”
“Ha. I think I’ll call her and tell her I’m bringing home my new boyfriend for the holiday.”
His smile remained, though she would swear it was a tiny bit tighter than before. She quickly thrust the impression away. Ridiculous to think Chaz would give a damn if she was dating anyone.
“You’re seeing someone?”
Okay. So he gave a damn. Interesting.
She thought about implying she was but honestly didn’t want to play those kinds of games with Chaz. Last night was as much gaming as she cared to do with the man. Besides, intentionally making somebody jealous was more his sister’s style. “No. But I can’t come up with a better way to make her sweat.”
“You’re an evil woman, Lulu Vandenberg,” he said, the tone admiring.
“Diabolical, that’s me. How could you have forgotten?”
“I haven’t. But evil looks a little better on you than it did when you were seven and you tied me up to a telephone pole during a game of cops and robbers, and left me there.”
Yeah. She’d kind of done that. “If it’s any consolation, my mom spanked me after your parents called the police to report you missing and I had to tell the officers where you were.”
“You deserved it.”
“I guess I did. I’m really surprised you didn’t just clobber me.”
“I thought about it every day of our childhood.” Amusement danced in his green eyes. “But maybe I just always wanted t
o believe my mom was right.”
“About?”
“She used to say you tormented me so much because you secretly had a crush on me.”
Lulu’s mouth opened and then snapped closed. He sounded so amused, so damned confident, as if he’d decided his mom was right.
“In your dreams, Chaz Browning.”
“You were. Often.”
Her brow shot up. So did her heart rate.
“Well, in my nightmares, anyway.”
She couldn’t help it. She balled her fist and punched his upper arm.
He rubbed at it, giving an exaggerated groan, then broke into a smile. “You still hit like a girl.”
“Do you?”
“Uh-uh.”
No, she didn’t imagine he did, not with those muscle-bearing-muscles.
“I thought you were a lover, not a fighter.”
He certainly had seemed that way last night, when he’d been so close, so very close, to becoming her lover. Damn it, why had Sarah shown up and scared her into running away from what she suspected would have been one of the best nights of her life?
“I am. But I sometimes go to some pretty dangerous places. I took up martial arts, just to be on the safe side.”
Lulu didn’t like to think of him needing to defend himself, though she knew he’d probably had to at one time or another. But it was a reminder of all the reasons why they could never work.
“Did anything like that happen on your most recent trip?” she asked.
“Nah. Totally uneventful. It was pretty boring.”
Right. Except for his quick little excursions into freaking Afghanistan. Not that she could tell him she knew about that.
It had been easier when they’d been strangers.
“When did you get back?” she asked, since it seemed to be the sort of question she should ask.
“Yesterday. Just in time to go out and celebrate the holiday.” He shook his head, as if clearing it of confusing memories, then managed a friendly, if noncommittal, smile. “It was a pretty long trip.”
“You go away a lot?”
“Yes. My job is everything to me, but it has its downsides.”
“Like?”
“Like...well, I can’t have a dog. I’m away too much.”
“I imagine that would be next to impossible.”
“Ah, well, I guess I’m a one-dog man, anyway.”
She understood, remembering how much Chaz had always adored his beagle.
“I do keep him close, though,” he said.
Raising a curious brow, she watched as he pulled his shirt collar down a little, and tugged it away from his skin, just enough for her to make out the ink on his back. Finally, she was able to see what she hadn’t been able to make out last night: his tattoo. The image of a cute little dog was etched on his shoulder, a constant reminder and a tribute to a beloved pet.
How very Chaz-like.
Part of her melted, wanting to hug him to commiserate, and wanting to ask him how somebody so utterly gorgeous and so incredibly nice could possibly still be single.
Another part reminded her she needed to keep up as many barriers as she could, if only to prevent him from ever finding out how she’d tricked him the night before. Chaz had always been very forgiving, but she remembered he’d had a real problem with liars—something he’d said had only intensified with the high stakes of his job. While she didn’t think she’d actually said anything that was a lie, she was certainly guilty of it by omission.
One thing she knew, however. It was going to be very difficult to keep her secret about how attracted she was to him if he kept doing things like pulling his shirt down to reveal his powerful, muscular shoulders and back.
Damn you, Sarah, for making me realize I was making a mistake about twenty minutes too soon!
“Anyway, enough about me. How are you enjoying the city so far?”
“I love it,” she admitted. “The apartment’s great, my job’s going well, I’m making friends.”
“Where is it you’re working?”
Uh-oh. He wasn’t going to trip her up again. Her job was much too unique to give him the same answer she’d provided last night. So she went for the most literal reply possible. “Up on Mass Ave. I’ve become a total city girl, I love taking the Metro train everywhere.” She glanced at her watch, pretending she had somewhere to be. “Speaking of which, I’d better run.”
“Oh, okay. Well, it was good seeing you.”
He actually sounded a little disappointed. Considering he’d just admitted she gave him nightmares, that came as a surprise.
“You, too, Chaz. See ya later.”
Hoping she’d come off utterly casual and not the least bit like the mysterious woman he’d met the night before, Lulu walked away as if she actually had somewhere to go.
She felt his eyes on her as she strode toward the end of the block, but managed to avoid looking back. By the time she turned the corner and risked a peek, the street behind her was empty. Maybe she’d just been fooling herself that he had any interest in her at all.
6
LULU.
Lulu Vandenberg.
Lulu Pain-in-the-ass Vandenberg was practically his next-door neighbor. And to make matters worse, for a minute that morning, from a few doors away, he’d thought she was his fantasy woman from last night.
Honestly, Chaz wasn’t sure which bothered him more—having somebody who’d tormented him during his geeky, embarrassing younger years so close by, or mistaking that girl for a woman who’d blown his mind while she’d blown him.
One thing was for sure—he could never tell Lulu that little tidbit. She’d either laugh in his face...or just slap it. It wasn’t nice to have those kinds of thoughts about your parents’ best friends’ daughter. Or about the girl who’d called you a blockhead for the better part of elementary school.
He managed to hide his snicker when he remembered the new urban slang for the word blockhead. It definitely didn’t mean what it had meant when they were kids.
In any case, he wasn’t going to allow any of those thoughts about Lulu. No way, uh-uh. It had been a simple mistake, quickly made, quickly rectified. He’d mistaken her, okay, amazing body for the one he’d been seeking since the previous night. But when he got close enough to see the dark brown hair and the familiar face, he’d shoved such images out of his mind.
That didn’t, however, mean the realization that Lulu had grown up to be a very sexy woman was easy to forget. Damn, the girl he’d once known was now a stunner, with those long, dark waves of hair falling well past her shoulders and those heavily-lashed eyes. She had definitely grown up in all the right places, developing the serious curves he’d once teased her she lacked. She now had the kind of body that would make a man drop to his knees and beg for her attention. Her jeans had been simple and faded, but had hugged curvy hips and long, slender legs. And her soft red sweater had emphasized full breasts and a slim waist.
Aside from her sex appeal, she was just beautiful to look at. He’d always thought her pretty, with her thick hair and expressive eyes, at least when she wasn’t terrorizing him. But her features had been a little sharp, an impression maybe reinforced by her personality. Now, though, everything had softened, from her face, to her smile, to her voice, to her attitude.
He’d actually enjoyed their brief conversation, and would have liked to continue it. But she’d hurried away from him as quickly as she could. So maybe the long-awaited reunion hadn’t been as enjoyable to her as it had been to him.
Which irritated him. She’d always seemed to have the power in their relationship, and it seemed some things never changed.
He was just about to go back to his place when he saw Peggy, his friend and neighbor—and Lulu’s—waving from the front door of their
building. She gestured him forward.
“Hey, Chaz, can you give us a hand with something?”
“I can try.”
“Great. Marcia got a new laptop, and all either of us know about setting it up is pushing the On button.”
“I can’t guarantee I’ll get you much further than that.”
“Well, if you can at least get us online so we can stream the newest episode of Teen Wolf, we’ll pay you back with a steak dinner tomorrow.” Peggy wagged her eyebrows up and down and stepped out of the way to let him in the building. “Our pretty neighbor will be joining us. I see you’ve met her?”
“You mean Lulu?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded. “Actually, we’ve known each other since we were kids.”
“Oooh, isn’t that interesting?”
“Not particularly.” Wanting to nip any matchmaking ideas about him and Lulu in the bud, he asked, “You’ve lived around here for a few years, right?”
“Yep. We lived one block over until two years ago and right here ever since. Why?”
“I’m just wondering...do you ever remember meeting a really gorgeous redhead? Tall, maybe five-seven, with dark eyes and a great mouth?”
“Hey, I’m a happily married woman.”
“I didn’t mean for you,” he said with a grin.
“Aww, come on, Chaz, you don’t need a redhead when you were shooting some serious sparks with our downstairs neighbor.”
Lulu? No way, not a chance. He might agree she was sexy, but the only sparks the two of them would set off each other would be if it was the Fourth of July and she stuck a firecracker down his shirt.
“We’re just friends. We literally grew up next door to each other.”
“Well, isn’t it a funny coinkydink, you two ending up as neighbors again. Like fate.”
“No, it’s not fate. I hooked her up with my Realtor, who works in this area. No hidden meanings or motives. Lulu and I were childhood playmates, and absolutely nothing else.”
Playmates, adversaries, same difference.
