I thought of the various kinds of folk we had around here. "Good luck with that," I murmured. "He may have to go outside the city limits."
Lucas' gaze went cloudy for a minute as he thought about something. "I think..." he said slowly, "that he'll find exactly what he's looking for here."
I tilted my head. "Got someone in mind?"
He grinned at me. "I don't want to jinx anything yet, but I do hope to introduce them. Very soon."
Color me curious. "Well, let's hope they don't kill each other before they figure it out."
I noticed Lucas kept fidgeting with something in his shirt pocket. "Got a ring in there for me?" I quipped, hoping to throw him off balance.
He blinked at me and abruptly dropped his hand. "You wish," he retorted. But there was something there. He was hiding something.
"What is it?"
He ignored me and started making a sandwich.
"Lucas?"
"It's just something I carry around with me," he snapped.
My eyebrows rose. He was hiding something. I looked closer at his pocket. Whatever it was, it took up about half his shirt pocket and made it lumpy. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a bundle of herbs. This was Midnight Cove after all and several of my friends carried things like that around.
I looked up at his still blank face, concentrating way more than he should be on spreading the mayo on the bread perfectly. No one was that serious about mayo.
"Listen," I said quietly. "I know you're hiding something. Something more than that weird bundle in your shirt. I'll let you have your secrets, and I'll respect your space."
Something like satisfaction crossed his face and I couldn't help it. It pissed me off. I tamped it down as best I could and accepted the perfectly made sandwich he offered to me.
I took a bite. It even tasted good.
But even though Lucas could make a decent sandwich, he was also a secretive jerk. He made himself a sandwich and we ate in silence for awhile, the only sound were the birds floating above us and perched in the trees. I watched a couple playing with an adorable puppy and felt the familiar pang my heart got when I saw happy people. I could have that but I decided it was better wasting my time with arrogant jerks.
I sighed and put down the rest of my sandwich. "Thanks for the sandwich and the champagne," I said to Lucas.
"I brought dessert, too," he said, his voice relaxed and friendly.
This guy was totally clueless, but I'd promised him a real date and dates did come with dessert. I debated busting out the itinerary I had made for him, but decided that since this was the last time I'd ever go out with him that I wouldn't be a jerk about it. He was an alpha male, so I'd let him do his thing for a bit.
"Sounds wonderful," I said.
He finished up his sandwich, handed me a wet wipe as he took one as well, then got out everything for dessert. He'd brought the cake cups to make strawberry shortcakes, but instead filled them with what seemed like blueberry jam and whipped cream. He handed one over to me and I took it, along with the fork he'd produced.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Hope you like blueberries."
"I do." The conversation was painful enough for a doctor visit. I munched in silence and once I'd finished, I cleaned up my mess and tossed everything in the trash can a few feet over.
Lucas started to pick everything up. "I had a wonderful time," he said. "I'd like to take you out again." His fingers fumbled with the bundle in his shirt again but abruptly fell away when he saw me notice. A bright, happy, totally fake smile lit his face. "I think this went really well."
I smiled at him. "No thanks."
His smile faltered and fell. "Excuse me?"
"I said no thanks." I stood, stepped off the blanket, and dusted my pants off. "If you'd like to ditch me, I'd do it now while I still have time to catch a ride."
"Why are you saying no?" He looked genuinely perplexed.
