Free Someone Like You by Andrea Carmen

here. He left all the photos here and at our house in Montauk.”
Alex saw another one, a picture of Luke’s mother and his father. His father was smiling, frankly in love. “When was this?”
“I think…that was during their engagement celebration. I think my mom would like you, if she were still alive.”
“Why’s that?”
“You’re cute,” he said with a smile.
“Right.”
“I just think she would.”
He began to rummage through cupboards and cabinets. “Alright, choose,” he said, opening every cabinet and shelf in the kitchen.
“I think we can have Italian tonight,” she said with a smile.
They took out all the ingredients to make a pasta dish. Lucas turned on some music on an iPod dock that lay on the kitchen counter.
“You don’t mind?”
“I love Foster The People,” she said as she began boiling water for the pasta.
Lucas began chopping up garlic across from her. She looked so cute, swaying with the music as she stirred the pasta. “You can dance, you know,” he said.
She smiled a shy smile and danced around more, singing as well in an off-key voice. He sang along with her, laughing at the same time.
“ Ooooh la love, I’ve fallen in love and its better this time than ever before ,” they sang together.
On impulse he offered his hand out and they danced a silly dance, with her twirling around while holding a ladle.
He hadn’t felt this happy in quite a while. He looked at her laughing, her fine nose crinkling as she did and he suddenly promised to himself that all he wanted in life was to see her happy with him. It felt like cloud nine, as cheesy as his head made it sound. He also kept telling himself that it was too good to be true.
It was ruined a few weeks later.
* * * *
Margo was smiling as she sat inside a cafe. Lucas was across from her..
“Well this—this is incredible,” she said holding up a photograph. She scrutinized it with her well-trained eye. Alex Forbes, her personal assistant, was smiling; all dressed in gym gear, looking every inch the perfect athlete/model in the photo.
“Your training’s done pretty well,” Lucas said, sipping his latte.
Margo raised her chin up. “Thank you. But I believe you’ve instilled some self-assurance in her that she forgot to show to us.”
He had invited her for another date for the coming weekend as he hadn’t seen her since the grand launch of Trekker. She reluctantly agreed again.
The grand launch was a resounding success. His clothing had good reviews, his store displays had good reviews and it had rave reviews from bloggers and health and fitness websites. Alex got a heap of compliments from just about everyone during the event. He felt a frisson of jealousy when men asked to take a photo of her or to have a photo with her. Her face was nearly everywhere in New York. Trekker opened its flagship store at Macy’s. Two others followed in a month’s time.
Alex had stopped working as Margo’s personal assistant, signing a year’s contract to be talent for Temperley Models, instead. Alex was glad she was no longer in the office all the time. The rumours spread against her made her feel terrible. That she had seduced Lucas Conrad, that Lucas paid Margo to absorb her into the agency, that they had a love nest near 93rd…Alex didn’t tell Lucas this, but she distanced herself a little from him, especially when they had a short lunch date one day.
They were at an open air Italian pizzeria in the Upper East Side. Lucas had sweet talked Margo into allowing Alex for a lunch discussion. While they were in the middle of laughing over something silly, a voice broke into the conversation.
“Lucas! Baby, is that you?”
Baby? Alex paused, feeling her heart sink. She turned to see a svelte, blonde woman wearing a long sleeved designer dress she’d seen at Henri Bendel’s a month ago. She looked perfect in it. Alex bit her lower lip. She saw Lucas’ face. It looked peeved. Because of the situation? Was he dating both of them at the same