Free Undercover Professor by December Gephart Page B

worked up.
    “There’s a secret passage up above that, if you can,” he instructed, but Lucy knew all about the secret passage already. Her laundry buzzed, followed quickly by his. He led the way to the washers and they worked side by side, occasionally brushing arms as they loaded up their baskets to drop their clothes into the dryers.
    “Have you considered what you’re going to do, once your mom gets better?”
    “Probably go back to Portland. I’m only here for a few weeks.” He huffed a laugh.
    Lucy cocked her head at his chuckle.
    “I tried to talk to Becca this morning, and I think it’s safe to say she is a master at manipulating men. Textbook.”
    “Why?”
    “She is job hunting out in Portland, probably as we speak.” He shrugged.
    “That’s not funny. You have to tell her.”
    He held his hands up. “I’m trying, I’m trying. But she’s living in an alternate universe. Yes means no to her. Up is down..”
    “Do you have a place out there?”
    “Uh, sort of.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “It’s kind of complicated, I guess.”
    Complicated? Lucy pursed her lips. Now he was deliberately not answering questions.
    They continued in silence for a moment. “Hey, I talked to my friend Sara. She said you were writing a piece for the paper. How’s it going?”
    He avoided her gaze, his mouth pinched tight. “Yeah, it’s an article for the, uh...the Shepherd Express .”
    He said it like he forgot who would be paying him for his work. That was odd. “So how is it going?”
    He shrugged, still not answering her question.
    “There’s one right here.” She motioned to an old entertainment paper sitting on the end table. “How soon will it be published?”
    “Not sure. Say, I forgot to pick up softener at the grocery store, do you have some?” He leaned against the dryer, a playful look in his eyes.
    This is what got her in trouble last time. The warm comfort of the laundry, his easy sex appeal, that look in his eyes that said he knew she was interested, despite herself. She shoved the box of softener at him and kept loading.
    He seemed to get the message. He dropped in his coins and returned to the video game, with the music binging in the background.
    Lucy exhaled and finished her dryer load. Putting in the quarters, she glanced at her watch. If only he could be a jerk. If only she didn’t know how nutty Becca was about guys. She could fall for him so easily. Even doing laundry was interesting when he was around.
    If only he didn’t have so many checkmarks against him. No job, lives with his mom, and Becca. How could being with him feel so right, yet he was so clearly wrong? She paced a few steps behind the couch, not sure what to do with the nervous energy that bubbled up like socks in the washer.
    “Hey, wanna sit? You’re making me nervous, lurking around back there.” He didn’t turn from the game but she could hear the smile in his voice. She dropped into the safety of the chair and pulled her cellphone out to check for messages, eager for a distraction. Dell had called. Excellent. She dialed his number.
    “Hey, Dell, sorry I missed your call.”
    Andy flubbed an easy coin jump in the game.
    “Are you free on Saturday? Whitefish Bay is having a Fall Apple Festival, and I’d love if you’d join me.”
    “Saturday.” She watched as Andy directed the character. Muting the music so she could chat, that was thoughtful. “Whitefish Bay Apple Festival? I’ve never heard of it, but sure, I’m game.”
    Andy stared at the screen, but Mario stood still as an evil mushroom marched steadily toward him.
    “They do a three-on-three basketball tournament, so I have to coach some of the kids for a bit, but that should finish up fast, and we can just do appley stuff. Can I pick you up at eight in the morning? The tournament kicks off early.”
    “Yeah, you bet. Thanks for the invite, that sounds like fun.” She hung up feeling virtuous and positive, like scheduling a date with Dell was