Rylie Cruz 3 - How to Date a Demon (4 page)

“
I think I have just the
right person for you already,” I said reluctantly.

He sat up straighter. “Already? Wow.
You are fast. So what do I need to do next?”

“
I’ll call you when I’ve
confirmed with her and then we can set up a date. I think you’ll
really like her.”

I wanted to warn him that if he hurt
her I’d have to cause great bodily harm to him, but that probably
wasn’t the best move for customer service. Anyway, maybe I could go
as a chaperone for the date. Hmm. No, I doubted Jennifer would go
for that.

Neil stood and shoved his hand toward
me. “Thank you so much, Ms. Cruz, I’m looking forward to your
call.”

I shook his hand and smiled, while
searching his gaze. There was something strange about his eyes. Had
I seen him somewhere before? No. I didn’t think I had. Maybe I’d
seen him around and didn’t realize it. After all, he said he lived
close by. That was probably it.

I watched as he made his way out the
door. I needed to call Jennifer right away and tell her about this
hot guy. He was hot with a capital H. Jennifer didn’t answer when I
dialed her cell, which didn’t surprise me. She was always busy at
work and didn’t have much time to answer calls. I left a message
and hoped that she could call back soon.

I’d heard Jack go to work while I’d
been talking with my new customer. Too bad I hadn’t gotten a chance
to see him before his busy day had started, but we’d made plans to
have lunch together and I was looking forward to that. Not just
because I was already starving at nine a.m. but because I wanted to
steal a few kisses too. I couldn’t get enough of his
lips.

***

Jack and I made our way to Café
Beignet. It was a short walk from our place and it was one of my
regular haunts. The laws of attraction pulled me to the beignets on
a routine basis. The hot, powdered-sugar covered pastry made my
mouth water. A gently breeze caressed my skin as we walked; I
relished the milder temperatures of fall in New Orleans. Finally
some relief from the heat.

A large chalkboard menu board sat out
front on the sidewalk and French doors swung wide open, welcoming
us inside. Exposed bricks covered the walls and a mural of clouds
decorated the ceiling. Small iron tables and matching tables were
sprinkled around the space. My mouth watered thinking about the
golden pastry sprinkled with the powdery white sugar.

A mural of clouds and palms was
painted on the ceiling with exposed bricks on the walls. A ceiling
fan whirled in a slow rhythm above us. Topiaries flanked the French
doors that led inside the café. A large statue of a pig in a chef’s
outfit set against the far wall. Chalkboard menu boards hung on the
wall above the register. I secured a table by the door as Jack
placed our orders. My stomach rumbled. I eyed the glass dessert
case while I waited. Maybe I’d leave room for something
sweet.

I had the gumbo and Jack had
jambalaya. After a couple minutes, he placed the dishes down on the
table and took a seat next to me.

I inhaled the delicious aroma, then
said, “So what do you think of the whole Stephen and Jennifer
thing?”

“
The guy is obviously
confused. She doesn’t need to deal with that.”

I gestured with my fork. “Good answer.
But I think he’s keeping more secrets from her.”

He shoved jambalaya onto his fork.
“What kind of secrets could he be keeping from her?”

“
Oh, I don’t know. I mean,
does he have children?” I asked. “Obviously he lied to her about
being married, so what else has he lied about.”

“
You really think he has
more secrets?” Jack asked.

I nodded as I took a sip of my soda.
“Yeah… probably a lot more.”

“
That’s not good.” Jack
hesitated for a second, then asked, “What did his wife say to
Jennifer?”

“
The usual stuff a woman
would say to her husband’s mistress, I guess. She probably wants
Jennifer to stay away from her husband.”

“
That makes sense.” He
stuffed a forkful of food into his mouth.

We contemplated in silence for a
moment, and then I said, “The way Stephen was acting was creepy. He
broke into our house, for heaven’s sake. He’s a policeman and he
should know better than that.”

“
Did Jennifer give him a
key?” Jack asked.

I shook my head. “Not that I know of,
but even if she did, when she threw my paperback out the window at
him, he should have known he wouldn’t be a welcome guest. I guess
some people just can’t take a hint.”

“
Was the book any good?” he
asked around a grin.

I fought back a smile. “It was getting
good, yes. Anyway, I hope he doesn’t come back around. Keep an eye
out for him, okay?”

“
You know I will.” He took a
bite of food.

I placed my napkin down. “I have to
say, I was surprised by what happened though. I thought they were
getting along so well.”

“
They seemed happy,” he
said.

“
Thankfully, I think she’s
done with him. Stephen said he’s getting divorced, but I doubt
she’d ever forgive something like that.”

We ate in silence for a minute, then I
asked the question that had been on my mind all morning. “So what’s
going on with Quinton? I thought you couldn’t stand
him.”

“
I do what I have to do.” He
took another mouthful of food.

A feeling of uneasiness fell over me.
I looked around, but everything seemed fine. People chatted while
enjoying their lunches. Workers were busy behind the counter. I
took another bite of food, but the sensation remained. My attention
was pulled to outside on the sidewalk.

Just then, Stephen walked by. He
didn’t look our way, but he had to know we were there, right? Then
again, he did have a far-away look in his eyes. Had it been just a
coincidence? I guessed that was definitely possible.

“
Speak of the devil,” I
said, touching Jack’s hand.

He followed my gesture and spotted
Stephen. “What the hell is he doing here?”

I shrugged. “I guess he could just be
walking by, but…”

Jack jumped up and I followed him out
onto the sidewalk. Stephen disappeared down an alleyway, never
turning around to acknowledge us. Whether he knew we were around
was something I might never know. I just hoped he didn’t do it
again.

Lunch with Jack had been wonderful.
Well, except for seeing Stephen. That couldn’t have been a
coincidence. Beignets and the beautiful weather had made the day
perfect. Things were going surprisingly well. So why was I waiting
for the bomb to drop? What could possibly go wrong with this
day?

I’d been busy with work. Well, I’d
made sure to keep busy. There was less time to worry if I worked
hard. Once the clock hit 5 p.m., I climbed the narrow stairs to my
apartment. Thank goodness I had an easy commute. Stress knotted my
shoulder muscles and my feet ached.

I walked through the apartment door
and kicked off my shoes. I had to decide if I wanted to lounge in
the bubble bath or prepare a delicious dinner. If I picked the
bath, I’d be stuck with eating one of those so-called filling
low-calorie microwave meals. The thought of one more frozen dinner
wasn’t appealing, so making dinner won over the bubbles.

I pulled the ingredients from the
cabinets and the refrigerator and got busy in the kitchen. It would
be nice to have a relaxing evening in, enjoying a home-cooked meal.
I’d make enough in case Jennifer wanted some too. I could talk to
her about her potential date with Neil. I prayed everything worked
out okay. Maybe I was worried for nothing. Who knew, maybe they’d
hit it off right away. This could be her Mr. Right.

As soon as Jennifer walked through the
door, I bombarded her with the news of my find for her, although it
wasn’t so much of a find as it was just plain luck.

“
He says he is in banking,”
I said as I poured us a glass of wine.

She frowned as she took the glass.
“Well, I guess that means he’s good with money and won’t be dirt
poor.”

“
There you go.” I dished out
the pasta onto her plate.

“
You say he’s good-looking?”
She took a bite.

“
Dark hair and olive skin.
The longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen on a man. His eyes will make
you melt into a puddle.” I waved my fork through the air for
dramatic effect.

“
Do you think he’s good in
bed?”

I almost choked on the wine. I stared
for a beat, then nodded. “As a matter of fact, I think he is
probably great in bed.”

How was I supposed to answer that
question? He did have a wild look in his eyes. Maybe that was a
sign of his sexual prowess.

“
I guess I can give him a
try. I mean after all, I did ask you to fix me up.”

Was she having second thoughts? I
didn’t want her to do it unless she was absolutely sure.

“
I just didn’t think you’d
find someone for me this soon.” She pushed the pasta around on her
plate with the fork.

“
Would you like for me to
double-date with you? If you’re nervous?” I asked.

She looked straight ahead without
answering. Why was she sweating so much? It wasn’t that hot in
here. I walked over to the thermostat and turned the air down
another notch. I was looking forward to winter when it would be
warm instead of scorching.

“
Okay. I’ll do it,” she said
pushing to her feet. “I’ll go out with him. I’ll let you know about
the double date thing, okay? Let me think about it for a
bit.”

“
Sure. No problem. Take your
time. I’ll call him and see when is a good time for him, then we’ll
get everything all set up.”

She nodded with a half-hearted
grin.

“
You know, Jen, you don’t
have to do this, you know?”

She shook her head. “No, I want to. I
mean, a hot guy? Why wouldn’t I want to go out with him? How did
you find him anyway? Was he someone you’d been looking for a date
for?”

I mulled over her question before
answering. I knew when I said it out loud that it would sound even
stranger than it really was. I mean he’d just shown up at the
perfect time. Maybe I would leave that part out. It wasn’t
important anyway, right?

I nodded. “Yes, he’s just a guy
looking for a great girl.” I smiled. “And I just so happen to know
a great girl.”

“
You’re the best, Rylie. I
knew I could count on you,” Jennifer said as she walked toward her
bedroom.

I retrieved Neil’s phone number from
my purse, then picked up the phone and dialed. I’d call Neil and
set up the date for the following night. All of this was moving
quite fast. I guessed that was good for business though. People
knew that when I said I’d find them a mate, I meant
business.

After the debacle with Lily, business
had been better. At least something had settled down in my life and
now it looked as if my relationship with Jack was working out as
well. So much for that curse. It hadn’t been true after all. I
shouldn’t have listened to that silly story in the first
place.

After several rings, he finally
answered.

“
Neil, this is Rylie with
Get a Mate.”

“
Are you calling to tell me
you’ve found my dream girl?” he asked in a teasing tone.

“
Well, yeah, I guess you
could say that. At least I think she’d be a perfect match for
you.”

Get a Mate’s brochure proclaimed to
get it right the first time. I was proud of that motto. Okay, I’d
had a few bad match-ups, but I’d show Neil what a true matchmaker
was all about. Whether this guy was a perfect match for Jennifer
remained to be seen.

“
I didn’t think you’d be
that fast. Apparently you’re good at what you do.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

“
How about tomorrow night?
Would that work for you?” I asked.

“
Tomorrow night sounds
great,” he said with enthusiasm.

“
There’s just one small
detail…” I hated that I had to add this part. But it had to be
done.

“
Oh, what’s wrong with her?”
he asked.

“
No, no, nothing’s wrong
with her. It’s just that she’s my best friend and I thought it
might be a little less awkward if I went along with you
guys.”

“
A chaperone?” he asked with
surprise in his voice. “You’re going to chaperone your
friend?”

“
No, it would be a double
date. I just figured I could fill in the spots if there were any
weird lapses in conversation. Like if you all didn’t know what to
say to each other.”

“
Do you accompany all the
people you match up on their dates?”

“
Of course not,” I scoffed.
“But she’s my friend, you know? I usually don’t match-up my
friends.”

“
So you think the date will
be a failure and she’ll be mad at you?”

“
No, no. That’s not it.” I
tried to hide the uncertainty in my voice.