Chapter Four

“Go to sleep, sweetheart. Pray for brains.”

-Dorothy Zbornak

After Luke had walked Lola back to her car the night before, they’d made plans for Wednesday night. They were going to order food and do a round of lets-get-to-know-each-other-real-fast.

That was Lola’s idea. She said in order to pull off their pretend relationship they needed to know details, likes and dislikes, favorite things, and more. She insisted there would be a need for a master list and organization.

Luke was just looking forward to seeing her again. If he had to make a list to do so, well, that’s what he’d do.

All morning he kept thinking about her. She’d looked so beautiful the night before. He liked talking to her. He liked the way she licked his ice cream. Yeah, he really liked that.

He shook his head and tsked. He’d gotten nothing accomplished all morning. Not to mention, that he really needed to curb all the liking he was doing with Lola. As great as she seemed so far, he simply didn’t do relationships. He may not know all her likes and dislikes and favorites yet, but he knew enough to realize that Lola McBride was a relationship-type of girl.

Right now, he needed to be cognizant of keeping their relationship in the pretend-only category. Yet, when his boss asked if anyone wanted to join him in South Arlington for a quick meeting with a client, Luke jumped up. Lola worked at the Shirlington Library, only a couple blocks from where they were going to be. He could surprise her.

An hour and a half later, Luke left the meeting feeling optimistic about work and excited about his personal life. He headed over to the library. It wasn’t the largest library, but it did sit right in the heart of the Shirlington neighborhood, in South Arlington. A neighborhood that boasted dozens of restaurants and bars, a large dog park, tons of bike and walking trails, and easy access into D.C. or Old Town Alexandria.

Lola said she and Frankie lived in an apartment in Shirlington. He wondered which one. There were apartments, condos, and townhouses galore.

He entered the library, taking a moment to relish the blast of air conditioning. It was another ninety-plus day in the nation’s capital. D.C. was known for its hot and humid summers, but June wasn’t usually quite this bad.

He took a few steps into the library. His gaze swept the rows of computers and comfortable recliners up against the wall of windows. People were busy typing away and perusing books and magazines. He could hear some kids over in the corner of the room. No doubt it was the children’s corner.

He sauntered up to the counter where two women were working. “Excuse me, can you tell me if Lola McBride is working today?”

One of the women—her nametag identified her as Sandy—pointed toward an area behind a couple of large printers. “Lola is helping a customer right now. She should be finished shortly.”

The other woman, whose nametag was obscured by her long hair, said, “Lola didn’t tell us she was expecting a visitor today.”

“Yeah, well, this was a spur of the moment thing. I wanted to surprise her.”

“How sweet,” Sandy said.

“It is sweet.” The second woman nodded in agreement. “So, you’re one of Lola’s, um, friends?”

Luke had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing at the overly obvious fishing. Sandy elbowed her coworker in the ribs.

The other woman rolled her eyes and then glanced at her watch. “Lola’s due for her lunch break soon.”

Perfect. “Thanks,” Luke said and crossed the room.

He found Lola talking to an older man. Luke leaned against a stack and watched Lola in her element. She was patiently explaining something, and the man was nodding and taking notes.

She was wearing a navy-blue pencil skirt—a fashion term he’d overheard his sisters using—and a cream-colored tank top. The outfit was demure and professional, yet sexy as hell. When she reached for a book on a top shelf, she went on tiptoes and her shirt rode up, revealing just the briefest hint of smooth, silky skin.

Luke almost swallowed his tongue.

She continued speaking with the older gentleman, pointing out things and using her hands to gesture around the library. She walked him toward the copier and must have been instructing him on how to use it. She removed her glasses and dusted the lenses off with the edge of her top.

Those damn glasses, Luke thought. Why did they make him respond this way? If there was no one else in the library, he’d like to take her behind the stacks and have his way with—

“Luke?”

He snapped to attention at Lola’s voice. “Uh, hi, Lola.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I had a meeting not far from here. I thought I would stop by and see if you wanted to grab lunch.”

“Lunch?” Her cheeks reddened.

“Yeah, lunch is typically the middle meal of the day. People eat it anywhere between noon and two.”

She batted at his shoulder. “You’re so clever. Maybe you should be working in the library instead of me.”

“Oh no, trust me. You look wayyyy better here than I…I mean, I think you’re right where you should be.”

She offered him a quizzical look but didn’t say anything to his slipup. She started walking toward the info desk at the front of the library. He dutifully followed her. “It’s actually time for my lunch break. Did you have a place in mind? There’re lots of options around here.”

“Nope, nothing specific,” he said.

She checked in with her coworkers and then grabbed her purse. Luke couldn’t help but see the two women grin at Lola. One of them even winked.

They headed out into the heat, and Lola stopped and tilted her face up to the sun. “Mmm, feels good.”

Why did every sound she made sound so sexual? Luke hadn’t been with a woman in a couple months, but he usually had more restraint than this.

“I’ve been cooped up in the air conditioning all day. This feels great.” She ran a hand down the column of her neck. Then she shook her hair back over her shoulder. “What are you in the mood for?”

You. Naked. On the info desk.

Luke shook his head. “You pick. You know this area better than me. Last time I lived here, there was hardly anything in this neighborhood.”

“It really has changed. They’ve built Arlington up so much over the last decade.” She peered down the street. “How about…pizza?”

Luke was impressed. He fully expected her to want some boring salad with dressing on the side. But she surprised him yet again. Lola showed him to a pizzeria. As soon as they entered the place, the aroma of tomato sauce, oregano, and cheese wafted out to greet him. His mouth watered immediately.

Lola suggested they split a pizza and take it to go. “Let’s eat outside.”

“You do realize it’s over ninety degrees today.”

She laughed. “Afraid you’ll melt? Don’t worry. I know a nice, shady spot by some water.”

After their pie with pepperoni, extra cheese, and mushrooms was ready, they grabbed two waters and headed back through the main street of Shirlington. They crossed the street and walked over a little wooden bridge and found a bench.

“What is this place?” he asked.

“This,” she said, sweeping her arm toward a long black fence surrounded by trees on one side and a bubbling stream on the other, “is the Shirlington Dog Park. It’s a quarter-mile area for dogs to run and play. See, sometimes the dogs go down and play in the stream.” She pointed toward a couple of labs happily splashing in the water.

Lola was right about the shady spot and the pizza. Both were great. When he took his last bite, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back on the park bench. “This really hit the spot.”

From their dark-green bench they had a prime view of the dogs running around, enjoying their off-leash time. Lola sighed as she watched a couple of the dogs chase a ball. “I really want one.”

He’d like one, too. “What’s stopping you?”

“My landlord. Frankie and I rent, and there’s a no-pet clause. Plus, Frankie’s allergic anyway. But someday…it would be nice to have someone.”

Someone? Luke’s curiosity piqued.

“What about your family?” Luke realized they’d only talked about his family last night. He didn’t even know if she had any siblings. “Do they live around here?”

She shook her head, but her eyes stayed trained on the ground in front of them. She curled one leg under her and then smoothed her skirt over her knee.

“So you’re another D.C.-transplant, huh?” The D.C.-area was so transient. Between all of the colleges, the insecurity of jobs on the Hill, the military, people were always coming and going in the nation’s capital.

“Actually, I’m from Alexandria.”

Oh. “Did your parents move out of the area?”

“They died.”

Yikes. His stomach clenched, the pizza forming a big old knot. “Both of them?”

“Yeah. My dad died in a car accident when I was in high school, and my mom had cancer. It came on really fast. Well, um, sort of.”

Sort of? What did that mean?

“She died when I was in college.”

Lola said the words robotically, like she had repeated them a thousand times. But the look in her eyes belied the stoicism in her voice.

“I’m really sorry.”

She shrugged.

He wasn’t sure how to proceed. “What about other family?”

She shook her head and glanced down. “Nope.”

“What do you mean nope?”

“I don’t have any family. I don’t have any siblings. Both my parents were only children so I don’t have aunts, uncles, or cousins either.”

His heart ached for her. “I’m so sorry, Lola. That must be hard.” She had to feel so alone. He took a gulp from his bottle of water. It did nothing to help with the large ball that formed there.

“Oh, it’s fine. I mean, it’s not really fine, but I’m used to it by now.”

But if her body language was telling, she wasn’t used to it. Then again, could a person ever really get used to losing both parents at such a young age?

“It’s one of the reasons I’m so close to Frankie. We went to college together and decided to room together after. She’s like my family now. No matter how many episodes of The Golden Girls she makes me watch or how many insane ideas she comes up with.”

“Well, I’m glad she came up with the crazy idea of you crashing a reunion. If she didn’t, we would have never met.”

That brought a smile back to her face. “I don’t know. You might rethink that statement after this weekend.”

“Something tells me we’re going to have a great weekend. And, hey, if it’s really, truly awful, we’ll just slip out the back door and go see a movie.”

She giggled. “That’s how my parents met.”

“Oh yeah?”

She nodded. “Kinda. My dad had been set up with this woman who was apparently awful. He went out on a big group date with a bunch of friends. His date started making out with one of his friends. He was so annoyed that he slipped out of the theater and ducked into a different movie. My mom had bought a ticket for some romantic comedy, but she went into the wrong theater.”

“Let me guess. She ran into your dad?”

Lola grinned and pointed at him. “You got it. They sat a couple seats away from each other. Turns out the movie was really scary. My mom kept inching closer and closer to my dad. The rest is…history.”

She’d seemed alive and happy while she told the story. As soon as she finished, Luke noticed that that spark went out. Sadness replaced it. How horrible to lose both parents so young. And to not have any siblings or cousins or anything. Since he had about a million cousins, it was hard for him to comprehend. His family drove him crazy, but at least they were around to drive him crazy.

He didn’t like that her face had fallen and that her eyes held such melancholy. He wanted to see her happy again. Without thinking, he cupped her cheek. He meant to comfort her. Only, he didn’t know what words to use. What in the world could he ever say to make her situation better?

Behind those sexy glasses, Lola’s eyes met his. Unshed tears pooled in them. He brought his other hand up so that he was framing her face. Then he gently brought his lips to hers. A surprised little gasp escaped her lips. But then she softened. Her eyes fluttered shut, and her lips molded to his.

The kiss was sweet and light, yet the feel of her lips on his was intoxicating. His breath caught even as the kiss went deeper. He tasted the tang of the pizza sauce and the spice from the pepperoni.

This close to her, he could smell her perfume. It was something delicate and floral. Very feminine and very potent.

Their mouths were fused, and their lips moved together in perfect harmony. While the kiss had begun so sweetly, it was quickly becoming more. Much more.

He’d kissed tons of women in his life, but none of them had ever felt like this. He didn’t want it to end. For the next several minutes—or hours, he had no idea—it didn’t.

Finally, they parted and for one split second, they exchanged a glance that was pregnant with wonder and lust and curiosity. He really hadn’t meant to do that. All he’d meant to do was…

He ran a hand over his jaw. What? What had his intentions been? To comfort someone who’d lost both of her parents, sure. But there was more, and he would be lying if he denied it.

Lola was watching him intently, her chest rising and falling. He couldn’t stop it, his gaze drifted down. There was something about the conservatively dressed librarian panting on a park bench after having been kissed thoroughly that made him want to yell out in triumph. More, he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and—

“Luke?” she asked shyly.

“Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you were okay. Your face is all red.”

Was it? He could blame the heat, but he wouldn’t. He didn’t regret what had just transpired between them. Yet, he wasn’t sure it had been the right thing to do.

“I, uh…”

He didn’t get to finish the thought. Thank God. He didn’t know what to say. He heard a loud bark, followed by more barking and woofs and arfs. Then Lola scooted back on the bench and gasped.

“Oh no.” Her hand flew to her mouth as if she was in shock.

Shit. He’d definitely taken it too far. Women like Lola didn’t make out in the middle of the day in a public place. “Look, Lola, I’m sorry about that. I should have asked you before I planted my lips on yours.”

She dropped her hand. “How did that happen?”

Did he tell her the truth? That she was smokin’ hot and he’d wanted to kiss her since he’d first seen her in that tight dress last Saturday? He opened his mouth to attempt some kind of polite explanation just as a herd of dogs came charging by the bench.

“They got loose,” a harried man screamed as several people chased after the pack of dogs, happily running freely.

Both he and Lola popped up. Pandemonium ensued. Dogs were running, owners were screaming, kids were laughing. A barrage of dog names and commands were being shouted.

“Koda, get back here!”

“No, no, Harry, don’t follow Koda.”

“Mr. Bigglesworth, Ms. Tuftsy, come back.”

“Heel, Koda, heel.”

“Who left the gate open?”

“Help!” someone called as they ran by him and Lola.

With no time to waste, Lola and Luke tried to do what they could to help. They managed to round up an overweight Shih Tzu named Ms. Tuftsy and an adorable poodle mix named Harry, who immediately started smelling Ms. Tuftsy’s behind. The culprit of the dog park breakout appeared to be a small black lab named Koda, who broke free only to chase a couple of squirrels up a tree, jumping and barking happily and completely oblivious to the havoc she’d incited.

As the chaos calmed down, Luke turned to Lola. They both started laughing.

“Well,” he began.

“Well.”

“That was an eventful lunch. Is it always like this in Shirlington?”

She grinned. “Maybe not quite as exciting.”

Luke decided he should try one more time to talk about what had happened on the bench. “Listen, I just want to say…”

“Ohmigod,” Lola screeched. She’d glanced at her watch. “Oh no. I’m late. I gotta get back to work.”

They booked it back to the library and said a quick goodbye. There was no time to talk about the kiss that had just happened.

That was a good thing, Luke thought. Because with a kiss like that, he truly had no words.