AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Elijah glanced at his watch. “I have to get out of here to pick up Scarlett. I’m going to miss out on all the fun when you figure it out.”
“Figure what out?”
Elijah got to his feet and Lucas grabbed ahold of his forearm with the intention of pulling him back into his seat. Unfortunately, Elijah had all the leverage, and he wasn’t about to let his younger brother get the upper hand on him. “See you at home, Lucas. I’m looking forward to you telling me all about it.”
“Elijah—” Lucas snapped under his breath, but Elijah had already pried his arm from Lucas’s grasp.
Lucas shrank down in his seat, finally noticing that he’d drawn more attention than he’d intended to. Even Monique was looking at him with mild disdain. A hush had fallen over the room. Even the mayor had stopped talking and was looking at him.
Tossing a sheepish grin toward those in the front of the room, Lucas tugged on the brim of his hat to hide his embarrassment. Elijah might have helped him open the door to get a date with Monique, but he had just as quickly yanked it out of his grasp when they’d made a scene.
Dang it.
The last half of the meeting was just as boring as the first half. Thankfully, after the mayor started talking again, people were no longer interested in Lucas and all the noise he’d made. As the meeting started to come to a close, Lucas’s energy returned.
Now was his chance to go up to the front and ask Monique on that date. She might not be as excited to say yes to him, but he had a feeling he still had a good chance at getting a positive response.
The second the meeting ended, Lucas jumped out of his seat. He darted around the people blocking the exit of his aisle, accidentally bumping up against Mrs. McDaniel. She gasped and shot him a dark look, but he didn’t have any time to apologize. Monique was bound to make her exit quickly and he needed to get in his shot before she did.
Lucas hurried up the steps to the stand, and by the time he got to her, he was out of breath. He placed his hands on the desk and flashed his most charming smile toward her. “Hey, Monique.”
She glanced up at him, smiled, then gathered her papers. “Hey, Lucas. I’m so glad you were able to come. It’s so awesome that you were willing to—”
“So, I was wondering if you’d be interested in going out with me.”
Monique blinked those warm, brown eyes. Her perfectly pale skin flushed slightly, and her gaze darted to his side briefly. “I’m sorry?”
“A date,” Lucas clarified. “I’d love to take you to dinner sometime. We can talk about all the charitable work we like to do.”
Slowly, Monique got to her feet. She hugged the paperwork to her chest and offered him an apologetic smile. “I thought you knew. I’m already dating someone.”
His heart stumbled. This was what Elijah was talking about. Lucas had been set up. That was a dirty trick to pull, although one that wasn’t quite on the same level as the one Lucas had dished out. Oh, if this meant one thing, it meant war. Elijah was going to be sorry he made a fool out of his younger brother.
Lucas practically choked on his words. “I didn’t. But congratulations. I hope he deserves you.”
“I think so.” She smiled at him again, but he could see the hint of pity in her eyes. He hated that look. Usually, he was the one who gave off those vibes. Elijah was going to get it.
“Well, if it turns out that he’s not such a great guy, you should call me.”
Her smile widened. “Sounds like a plan.” She nodded toward someone who was presumably behind him—someone he didn’t want to turn to acknowledge. “I better get going. He’s waiting.”
“Right.” Lucas took a step to the side to give her a wide berth. He watched her go until she disappeared from his peripheral. This was utterly humiliating. He’d been through his share of embarrassing moments, but this one took the cake. Not onlyhad his presence been pointed out, but he also never attended meetings like this one, and now there were witnesses to him getting turned down.
Lucas allowed his head to hang low for a second, waiting for Monique to leave with whoever had been lucky enough to snag her for his girlfriend. When he was certain she would either be gone or close to it, he straightened and turned.
Just at that moment, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. “Good. You’re still here.”
Lucas glanced up to find Mayor Thompson smiling warmly at him. Great, not this again. He forced a smile, wanting nothing more than to slip out of here with his tail between his legs. “Yep. I had a few things to discuss with Monique.”
Thompson’s head tilted slightly, and his smile widened. “She must think very highly of you.”
That statement was the one thing Lucas wasn’t expecting. “You think so?”
“Yes. Before the meeting, we’d discussed who we thought would be a good fit for the project and she insisted on recommending you. I don’t know what you did to convince her of that, but I’m glad you did.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a pretty… good… I’m sorry, what?”
“The Harris Barn restoration project, of course. Monique is responsible for putting together a team. She said you would make a great leader for the project, especially after all your hard work restoring your own property. All that experience is bound to come in handy.”
