Dating for Keeps (2 page)

When Lucas arrived at her door that evening, she realized with relief that she had made a wise outfit choice. One look at Lucas caused her breath to catch in her throat. He was wearing perfectly tailored khaki slacks paired with a smart blue blazer and a tie. Tessa couldn't remember the last time she had gone on a date with someone so impeccably dressed, and it certainly made an impression on her. There was just something about a man who made a conscious effort about his appearance.

"Good evening, Miss Brewster. I hope you're in good spirits.  I have a little something for you." His deep voice with its enchanting accent was as smooth as melted butter on toast. As he spoke he removed an arm from behind his back and displayed a large bouquet of crimson roses.

"Oh my! How beautiful," Tessa exclaimed. "These are really so lovely. Thank you." Her astonishment and delight was evident as she took the roses from his hands.

"Wow!" Becky said, walking into the foyer where they were standing. "Those are gorgeous. Nice work," she winked at Lucas.

Tessa colored at her friend's bold manner. "Well, I think we should be going, right?"

"Ah yes, I don't want to be late for the reservation." Lucas offered Tessa his arm then turned to Becky. "It was lovely seeing you again Becky. Have a wonderful evening."

He escorted Tessa out of the apartment on his arm, in the fashion of a true gentleman. Outside, she was astonished to find a black town car waiting for them.

"Is this your car? You actually have a driver?" Tessa asked, puzzled as Lucas helped her into the vehicle.

"Why yes, I do. I find I am able to get much more work done when I have someone else behind the wheel. Sitting in traffic doesn't seem to be a very productive use of my time."

"No, I guess not. Speaking of which, what exactly do you do for work?"

"Oh, I'm in international business," he replied vaguely with a wave of his hand. "Boring stuff really. I will admit, I find your line of work to be fascinating. You work in an antiques shop, is that right?"

"Well, yes I do." Tessa admitted, feeling rather ashamed of her seemingly insignificant career. "For the time being anyway. My aunt owns the shop but she doesn't have much of a head for business, so she hired me on to help run things."

"Well, it sounds wonderful to me. You must come across some remarkable old items."

"Well, sometimes I suppose," Tessa conceded. "But I also come across a lot of junk. Those worthwhile antiques only come along every so often."

"You know, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" Lucas asked. "My grandfather was a great violin player. He used to collect antique violins and when I was a boy he would take out his collection and we would look over them together. He even taught me to play a few notes on one. It is a very special memory for me. He passed long ago, but as a sort of remembrance to him I like to pop into antique shops now and then and if I spot a violin I tend to buy it. Do you know if you have any violins in your shop?"

Tessa thought for a moment then frowned, "No, I'm pretty sure we don't at the moment. I can't remember the last time we had a violin come through. I think they are quite rare."

"Oh yes, they are. That's why grandfather liked collecting them so much. If you do happen to get your hands on one, would you set it aside for me? I would love to buy one." As if he needed to verify his interest he added, "Cost isn't an issue."

"Certainly," Tessa smiled. "I think it's wonderful that you were so close to your grandfather like that. I'll let you know if I find anything for you."

The car slowed and Lucas leaned forward to look out the window. "Ah, here we are." He waited for the driver to come around and open the door, then he offered Tessa a hand as she got out of the car.

"Rizzuto's! I had no idea we were coming here."

"Is that alright?" Lucas asked with concern in his voice.

"Oh yes, absolutely. I'm just surprised, that's all. I've always wanted to come here, but haven't had the opportunity." Tessa knew the reason she had never come to this restaurant was because it was the most expensive in Chicago, but she didn't tell that to Lucas. She already felt there was a gap between their social standing and she didn't want to widen it intentionally.

The two entered the restaurant and were showed to a corner table that was clearly meant to be separate from the rest of the dining room. Without any prompting, a waiter appeared as soon as they sat down, bringing with him a bottle of champagne. Tessa wasn't well-versed in types of champagne, but she guessed that the bottle was expensive.

"To my beautiful date Tessa Brewster. May this be the beginning of a wonderful friendship." Lucas raised his glass in a toast.

"Cheers," Tessa replied, clinking his glass and taking a sip. The coolness of the champagne was much needed as it helped calm her giddy nerves. Feeling a bit out of her element in such a fancy restaurant, she picked up the menu and flipped through it.

"I honestly have no idea what to get," she said.

"Do you have any certain food preferences or allergies?" Lucas asked.

"Not really. I'm pretty easy to please in the food department."

"Well, can I be so bold as to order for the both of us? I have a general idea as to what is good."

"Sure, that'd be great!" Tessa felt a bit relieved that she didn't have to worry about choosing her meal; she couldn't even pronounce most of the menu.

Lucas proceeded to order, and the meal that followed was one of the best Tessa had ever eaten. A steady stream of courses arrived, each more decadent and delicious than the last. Lucas also made sure to keep the champagne flowing, although Tessa was careful not to drink too much. She was conscious of the fact that this was her first date with Lucas, and she really knew very little about him. Drinking too much and letting her guard down could be a costly mistake.

As they were eating Lucas was the first to initiate conversation. "So Tessa, please, tell me a little about yourself."

"Well, I'm 26 and originally from Florida. I came to Chicago to go to college and fell in love with the city, so I never left. I got a business degree in college and have spent the past several years working in my aunt's antique shop, helping her run things."

"Is that what you want to do forever?"

Tessa colored with embarrassment. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it my dream career, but it works for now. It's giving me very practical experience in the business world, and I do love being around so many items that have such a rich history. Every piece tells a different story."

As their meal progressed, Lucas asked Tessa many questions and encouraged her to talk about herself. Finally she succeeded in turning the questions on him. However, he was unwilling to tell her much

"I'm thirty years old and moved here from the UK when I was eighteen. I work in international business, which has treated me well but altogether my life is lonely. I revolves around a lot of traveling, business speak and tiresome meetings. I've been waiting a long time to meet someone like you," he told her.

"What about your family?" Tessa prodded.

"Oh, they're back in the UK. Tell me more about your work with antiques, that fascinates me."

Try as she might, Tessa was unable to get much more information out of Lucas; every question she asked he deftly deflected.

Later that night Tessa reflected on the wonderful evening she had had. Although Lucas had been a gracious and generous host, she felt a twinge of concern that while she had told him everything about herself, she still knew virtually nothing at all about him.

"How'd it go?" Becky asked eagerly as Tessa got ready for bed.

"Wonderful," Tessa admitted with a smile. "He was unlike anyone I've ever met. Don't think you're getting out of this bet easily," she joked to Becky. "If I have my way there will definitely be a second date this time."

Chapter 3

Tessa and Lucas met for three more dates the following week. In fact, not a day went by when she didn't even see him or talk to him.

"You guys are getting really serious, huh?" Becky asked her one evening as she came in from a movie date with Lucas.

"I don't know, I wouldn't say that. He does seem to like spending time with me though. Besides, I have to keep him around; I have a bet to win you know."

Becky laughed, "Well, bet or not I think you should definitely stick with him. He's like your very own prince charming. I can't believe you were so lucky to find such a great guy."

"He is nice, and I like him a lot, definitely. But I don't know, I kind of have a funny feeling about him sometimes. Almost like he is too nice. And it is strange how he won't tell me anything about himself."

"Are you crazy? He seems perfect to me. He has literally showered you with luxury. You've dated a lot of guys Tessa, and none have been so considerate as to bring me flowers, just because I was your friend." She gestured towards a large bouquet of daisies, brought to her by Lucas the previous evening. "Ron was very suspicious when he saw those today, and it took me almost half an hour to convince him that Lucas is interested in you and not me. I'm thinking this will pay off nicely for me because he felt like a bad boyfriend afterwards," she grinned. "Seriously Tessa, Lucas is like a diamond in the rough."

"Well, that's just it," Tessa replied. "Sometimes I think that he is too nice. It just have a funny feeling about it. He's very mysterious."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, take last night for instance. We were at dinner, and of course he picked one of the most expensive restaurants in town. He brought you those flowers and was very talkative in the car on the way there, but once we got to dinner he seemed very withdrawn and would barely talk to me. Twice during our meal he got up to take a phone call, and one of those times he was gone for fifteen minutes. When I asked him about it he got short with me and said he just had business to take care of. And then there was the other guy..."

"Other guy?" Becky prompted her.

"Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but there was a man sitting by himself a few tables away from us. It seemed to me that he kept watching us. Every time I looked in his direction he would glance away, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was staring."

"What did Lucas say about him?"

"I didn't mention it to him. He seemed so wrapped up in his phone calls that I didn't want to upset him."

"I'm sure it was nothing. You were probably just imagining things. I think you read too many novels," Becky joked. "I also think that this is your non-committal side coming out. Here you find a drop-dead gorgeous guy who takes you to the fanciest restaurants and wants to spend all his time with you, and yet you try to find something that is wrong with him. Tessa, this is why you never have a boyfriend, because you try to find faults with perfectly good men."

"Maybe you're right," Tessa mused. She thought of her reasons carefully. "It is possible that I'm overreacting I guess. But sometimes it just seems too good to be true, you know?"

"Well, if you don't want to date him, I will," Becky joked. "I think he's perfect."

"You would," Tessa laughed at her friend. "I didn't say I'm ready to give him up just yet. Like I said, a bet's a bet and I intend to win."

Chapter 4

While an outsider might observe that things were going seamlessly with Lucas, there was one aspect of his relationship with Tessa that was a bit strange: after two whole weeks of dating, they still hadn't kissed. Expensive dinners every night, lavish gifts, and beautiful flowers, but still no kiss. It was strange, but somehow Tessa was okay with that. 
Maybe its just the British way
, she had thought. Lord knows she didn't want to rush things, especially since she was partly only committed to this relationship because of her bet with Becky.

"So can I see you again tomorrow?" Lucas leaned close to Tessa as the two were ending yet another enjoyable evening, this time at the opera. For a moment Tessa thought Lucas was finally going to go for the kiss, but instead he stopped short suddenly. She tried hard to hide the disappointment that surprised even her.

"Um, no sorry, I can't hang out tomorrow actually. It's the day that Becky and I are moving into our new apartment, remember?" Tessa searched Lucas's face for recognition. She wanted to see if he had actually been listening to her when she told him.

"Ah yes, of course, how could I forget? Is Ron helping you?"

"No actually, he is out of town for a work conference. It's just going to be Becky and me."

"Just the two of you moving all of your furniture and stuff out of the apartment? But who do you have helping you? A brother, uncle, cousin..."

"No one," she said plainly. "Just the two of us."

"What?! Two young women moving into an apartment all by themselves. What kind of country is this? It would be unchivalrous of me not to help. Please, let me assist you. What time would you like me there?"

"Oh no really, you don't have to help. I don't want to put you out," Tessa interjected.