I made a quick cup of coffee, which was exactly what I needed to wake me up. As I flipped to the sports section of the newspaper, the picture on the society page caught my eye, captioned SENATOR PRESCOTT AND DATE AT FERGUSON FUNDRAISER.
Damn. Gretchen was going to be irritated. Not to mention her boyfriend wouldn’t be thrilled since to everyone else it would seem as if she were stepping out on him. Sure, he knew me and knew it wasn’t true, but his friends and family wouldn’t.
Ben sent me an e-mail to tell me I didn’t have any engagements this evening, but that wasn’t going to be the case if I had anything to say about it. The only thing I knew for sure is I wanted to get to know Ms. Washburn, and Ben wasn’t going to know about it.
DRAKE: Good morning. How are you today, Ms. Washburn?
I glanced at the clock and was disappointed to see it was only eight in the morning, so she might still be sleeping. That turned out not to be the case when my phone pinged with a response.
LUCY: Good morning. I’m fine, thank you. How are you, Mr. Prescott?
Yes! Time to put my plan in action.
DRAKE: Are you busy today?
LUCY: Yes.
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Apparently I’d paused long enough for her to think I needed an explanation, because she messaged me again to explain. Smart woman.
LUCY: I’m grading US History mid-term papers.
DRAKE: Ah, my specialty. Would you like some help?
LUCY: You want to help me grade papers?
DRAKE: You don’t think I’m qualified?
LUCY: But you’re a senator.
DRAKE: And that doesn’t qualify me?
LUCY: Yes, of course, but it’s boring.
DRAKE: But you’re not.
When she didn’t respond right away, I decided to call her. I wasn’t much for text messages. In my business, we don’t like anything personal in writing.
“Hello?” Her timid voice made me smile.
“Hi, Lucy, it’s Drake. I called to get your address.”
Apprehension was evident in the silence that followed. After a pause, she said, “My address?” Her shaky words made me grin as I sat back in my chair.
“Unless you want to e-mail me the term papers. I figured reading them in person would be more efficient.” I chuckled.
“You really want to help?”
More than anything. “It would be my pleasure. Plus, I’d love to get in the minds of future voters.”
“Um, okay. I’ll text it to you.”
“Great. If it’s okay, I can bring lunch. Do you have any food allergies or aversions?”
“That would be nice. And no, I eat everything.”
“A woman after my own heart. I’ll be there around noon.”
? ? ?
After impatiently whiling away the rest of the morning, I showered and dressed before I picked up burgers and headed to her apartment.
Ben called as I was on the way and offered to help me plan next week’s schedule, but I told him I had a commitment today. He pushed a little, which was his nature, but I didn’t tell him what or who that involved. The guy had my best interests at heart, but if I told him I was spending the day with Lucy, he’d dig into her past and tell me everything about her, and that wasn’t an option. I’d like to be surprised for a change, to have a relationship with someone that developed naturally, like regular people.
When Lucy opened the door, I might have stopped breathing. Her long hair was piled on top of her head, and she wore tortoise-shell-framed glasses on her heart-shaped face that complemented her beautiful brown eyes.
“Hi. I’m here at your service.” Holding up the warm, fragrant paper bag I was holding, I added, “And I bring gifts.”
She opened the door wider and smiled. “Come on in.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Lucy as she walked into the living area. Her black yoga pants hugged her perfectly rounded ass.
“I think we should eat first,” I told her. “Traffic was a bit heavy, and I’m sure lunch is getting cold.”
“Can’t you do something about that?”