Chapter Three
Nathan frowned when Lucas pulled up in front of the café their mothers co-owned and managed.
“Why have you brought me here? I thought I told you I didn’t want anyone knowing I was back in town.”
“Yeah you did, but there’s someone I want you to meet.”
“So what, you called and asked them to meet us here? Good thinking there, man. I was hoping to avoid my Mom on this visit.”
Lucas sighed. “Just shut up and get your ass out of the car. And be nice.”
He couldn’t help smirking. “Hey, I’m always nice.”
“If you say so.”
The two men got out of the car and made the short walk to the café. The bell above the door jingled softly announcing their presence and Lucas entered first but instead of heading over to the counter, he walked over to one of the tables and sat down in the comfy armchair beside it.
“I’ll have my usual.”
“I guess I’m paying then,” Nathan mumbled as he went over to the counter and waited for the woman behind it to turn around and serve him. He drummed his fingers on the countertop and looking around the establishment, he noticed that it was fairly empty and he wondered where his mother and Karen were.
“Hi, what can I get you?”
Turning his head slightly, he looked at the young woman in front of him and he found his lips curling up in a half-smile. Her wide, chocolate brown eyes captured his attention and he could feel himself getting lost in them.
“Hel-lo, I said what can I get you?”
Her voice jolted him out of his reverie and he coughed to clear his throat. “Oh, uh, sorry. Can I get two black coffees, please?”
She smiled politely before asking, “Regular or decaf?”
“Regular. I can’t stand decaf.”
“Yeah, me either,” she agreed as she retrieved two cups and went over to grab the pot of coffee. “I mean, why drink coffee if you don’t want a caffeine fix.”
“Exactly,” he replied with a chuckle. As he dug into his pocket for his wallet, he asked, “So, uh, you’re new here, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t remember seeing you on my last visit here and I’m sure I would’ve remembered that.” His smile grew when he saw her cheeks blush. Digging into his pocket, he removed his wallet and took out a ten dollar bill and handed it over. Their fingers touched when she took the money from him and when her eyes briefly met his, he knew he hadn’t been the only one to feel the spark of electricity that seemed to crackle between them.
She quickly turned and went over to the cash register and a moment later she was back and held out his change.
Nathan shook his head. “Keep the change.”
“That’s too much for a tip,” she told him.
“I’ll be the judge of that. I can’t have you telling my Mom that her son’s a lousy tipper.”
Her eyes went wide for a moment and then she realised who he was. “You’re Nathan.”
He nodded and held out his hand for her to shake. “Yeah and you are?”
“I’m Haley.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Haley.” Picking up his and Lucas’ drinks, he gave her a smile and added, “I’ll see you around,” before turning and walking over to where his cousin sat.
“So, what do you think of her?” Lucas asked as he took his coffee and added some sugar to it.
“She seems nice.”
“Yeah, she is. She’s been working here for a few months now and our moms really like her.”
Taking a sip of his coffee, Nathan looked around at the still empty café. “So when’s this person you want me to meet gonna show up?”
Lucas laughed. “You just met her, dumbass.”
“What?”
“You heard me. You told me the woman you wanted involved in this deal had to be different from those that you usually date, well Haley is different. You couldn’t get someone more different from your usual type.”
Turning in his seat, he watched the petite brunette as she wiped down the countertop and when she just happened to glance up at him, he saw her blush again before quickly turning away from his gaze.
“Yeah, she’s definitely different.”
“Different good?” Lucas asked already knowing the answer. He had watched the interaction between the two when his cousin had been getting their drinks and he was sure Haley was the right person to help him. While he didn’t know her well, he just got a good feeling from her.
“Maybe.”
“Don’t ‘maybe’ me, man. She’s a good person and if anyone is able to help you get your hands on that money, it’ll be her. People are more likely to believe the ‘love at first sight’ thing if it was with Haley than if you tried to dupe them with some vapid airhead.”
“Love at first sight? I think you’ve been watching too many Lifetime movies.”
“Shut up. C’mon, you know I’m right.”
“Maybe you are but like I already told you, this whole thing will just be a business deal. I’m not going to complicate things with sex or love or any of that crap.”
“Fine, but you still need to make it look as natural as possible and I think she’s the best one for the job. And by the way, love is not crap.”
“I know and you don’t need to go spouting off about you and Brooke. Speaking of, how is she by the way?”
“She’s good and so is the baby. We can’t wait for her to get here, you know.”
“Yeah, I hear her hormones have been a bitch.”
“You’re not wrong but hopefully she’ll get back to normal once the baby’s born.”
“Yeah right,” Nathan mumbled under his breath.
“I heard that.” Lucas couldn’t help but laugh though. He loved his wife but there were times she drove him absolutely nuts. Still, he wouldn’t change a thing.
“Okay, so how do I approach Haley about doing this, then? I mean, if she turns me down I can’t have her telling everyone about it.”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah. Look, just go over there now and ask her out. I know she’s not working tomorrow so suggest you go to lunch somewhere and then afterwards, go to the park or something and take a walk. You need to speak to her where no one else is going to listen.”
“Well why don’t I just take her back to the house?”
“Because I get the impression she’s not that type of girl. She doesn’t strike me as being the kind of girl who’s willing to go back to a guy’s house on their first date and you don’t want to scare her away before you at least ask her.”
“You’re right.” He took another drink of his coffee before getting up from his seat and walking over to her. She had her back to him again as she bent down to put something into one of the storage cupboards and he got a glimpse of her lightly tanned skin peeking out from between her t-shirt and her jeans.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to compose himself and remember that if Haley was willing to go along with this charade, then he needed to stop thinking about her beautiful face, her curvy figure and what he just knew to be her soft, silky skin.
“Uh, Haley? Have you got a second?”
Standing up, Haley turned to face him and gave him a shy smile. “Sure, what can I get you?”
“Oh, uh, nothing. I was just, uh, wondering if you were doing anything for lunch tomorrow?”
“How do you know I’m not working tomorrow?” She asked as she tried to contain her surprise at his question.
“Lucas told me. I was thinking that if you didn’t already have plans that maybe you’d like to have lunch with me.”
“I…er…I don’t…”
“Don’t say no. Please?” He gave her what he knew to be his most sincere smile and he internally cheered when he saw her resolve crack.
“O-okay.”
“There’s a great pizzeria down by the park…”
She smiled. “I love that place. Uh, what time should I meet you there?”
“How about one o’clock?”
“Sure. I’ll, uh, see you then.”
“Good,” he said smiling back at her. “I’d better go. Uh, can you do me a favour and not tell my Mom or Karen I was here? I want to surprise them,” he lied.
Haley nodded. “My lips are sealed.”
They shared another smile before he turned and went back over to his cousin. “C’mon, I need to get out of here before Mom gets back,” he said quietly and he waited for the other man to get up which he did immediately.
After they both said another goodbye to Haley, they left the café and headed back to the car.
“So, what did she say? Is she gonna go out with you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we’re having lunch tomorrow and if things go well with that, I’ll ask her if she wants to marry me.”
Lucas laughed. “I’m sorry, it just sounds so funny when you put it like that.” Unlocking the car and then getting in, his laughter subsided as he waited for Nathan to do the same. “Listen Nate, whatever happens with this, don’t hurt her. She seems like a really nice person and I didn’t suggest her so you could treat her like crap just so you can get your hands on your Dad’s money.”
“The last thing I want to do is hurt her, Luke. And anyway, things might go badly tomorrow at lunch and I might decide not to ask her. I’m just gonna play it by ear and do what feels right.”
“Okay, because Brooke happens to like Haley and if you hurt her, then she’ll come down on you like a ton of bricks and kick your ass.”
“Great! You couldn’t have told me she was friendly with Brooke before I asked her out.”
Lucas snorted. “Now where would the fun have been in that?”