Catching Lucas Riley (11 page)

“Ready for the next steps?” Sealey asked. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. “Are you going to the game tomorrow?”

“The football game?” Alex asked. “I wasn’t planning on it. Why?”

“You do recall something about Lucas being a football player, right?” Sealey prompted, his voice slightly sarcastic. “Don’t you think it might be a good idea for you to actually watch him play? How much do you know about football, anyway?”

“Um, a little,” Alex answered. “I know that a touchdown is supposed to be a good thing, right?”

Sealey snorted. “Yeah, you could say that. Okay, now that I’ve assessed your level of expertise, you’re definitely going to the game tomorrow.”

Alex groaned. “Do I have to?”

“Yes, you have to. I’ll pick you up at eleven.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Alex sighed and hung up. She groaned and collapsed back onto her pillow. Apparently, tomorrow, she began her journey to football fandom. Yay.

“Y
OU OKAY?” ALEX
pressed, eyeing Sealey with interest. They were on their way to Alex’s first Utah State University football game, despite the fact that she had been a student there for four years. Sealey had been oddly quiet since he had picked her up five minutes earlier.

He had looked equal parts fashion model and sports fan in his usual low-waisted jeans and a dark blue T-shirt with a block USU on the front as he stood in her living room, waiting for her. She had silently watched him from the hall for a minute, smiling softly to herself. He carried a white hooded sweatshirt over his shoulder, and he stood with his hands in his pockets, looking uncomfortably around the room. Something seemed to be bothering him, but she wasn’t quite sure what it could be. He was usually so unflappable . . . it must be something huge.

Now, driving toward the game, she was determined to pull it out of him. “Really, you don’t look as put-together as usual. Is something wrong?”

“What makes you say that?” Sealey asked, glancing at her. “How can you possibly tell how ‘put-together’ I am? I promise you, I got dressed exactly the same way this morning as I always do.”

“Okay,” Alex said, but her voice rang with sarcasm. “So there’s nothing wrong with the way you look, there’s just something wrong with the way you sound.”

“I don’t sound like anything,” Sealey said expressionlessly.

“Exactly,” Alex said, pointing at him. “Usually you sound like a whole lotta cranky-pants, coming at me all at once. Why so silent?”

“Oh, come on,” Sealey said, peering at her with a disgruntled look. “I’m not that bad.”

“Oh no?” said Alex, raising an eyebrow. “Most of the time I can literally
feel
you chanting Olivia’s name in your head, just to remind yourself that there’s a reason you’re subjecting yourself to my company.”

Sealey looked startled. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “I don’t dislike your company. On the contrary, I find your company much easier to bear than most people I know.”

Alex gave him a pointed look. “I assume that’s supposed to be some kind of compliment?”

Sealey smiled slightly as he glanced at her again. “Let me put it this way. Do you ever see me spending time with anyone else other than Luke?”

Alex thought about that. “I guess not,” she capitulated, eyebrows raised. “Well, then. Thanks, I guess.”

“You’re welcome,” Sealey said, an amused smile playing on his face.

“So let me ask you something else,” Alex said, changing the subject. “How well do you know Olivia? I mean, did you just meet her when Lucas started dating her or have you known her longer than that?”

Sealey flinched slightly, and Alex wondered if he disliked her talking about Olivia. She couldn’t imagine why. After all, the only reason Sealey was doing any of this was for Olivia.

“We all grew up together, I guess you could say,” Sealey said, somewhat hesitantly. “Our parents were friends, so even though we were all different years at school, we were thrown together all the time.”

“How old is Olivia?” Alex asked curiously. “If she’s on a mission, she’s got to be several years younger than you and Lucas.”

“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 sitting 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.