child and finish school. If it hadn’t been for Emily and Alexis and their mothers, I don’t know how she would have done it,” Jared said solemnly. “She hasn’t had anything to do with the male species since then and if you’re gonna be the first man she trusts enough to try again with, you better have your shit together. Alexis loves her like a sister and so do I, not to mention Miss Sydney. If anything happens to hurt the two of them, the consequences will be dire. And I’ll be one of the first ones in line to extract retribution, so don’t get it twisted, Lucas. This is not play time.”
Lucas was running a damp mop over the hardwood floors in the kitchen and dining room while Jared was delivering his summation of the situation. He narrowed his eyes at his older brother and pulled his earlobe, a sure indication of his annoyance.
“What have I ever done to make you think that I’m some kind of pond scum–sucking lowlife who’s going to subject Sherri and Sydney to emotional turmoil? Your track record was no better than mine before you met Alexis. I date a lot, sure, and I haven’t gotten serious with anyone, but it’s not because I’m a sociopath. And if memory serves, you hold the family record for the most women in a month, so you really don’t have any grounds for lecturing me.
“I like Sherri a lot and I love Sydney and I do take this situation seriously, which is why I’ve been taking my time. I’m not trying to mess up their lives,” he said heatedly. “I’m trying to make them both happy so I’d appreciate it if you step off. Give me some credit for having some common sense, you damned asshat,” he muttered under his breath as he stowed the mop in the mudroom.
To add to his growing irritation, Jared was laughing when Lucas returned to the kitchen. “Now what? What’s so freakin’ funny?”
“I’m proud of you, Luc. You reacted the way I wanted you to, which let me know that you’ve got your head on straight. I think that you and Sherri are a good idea, a really good idea. But I’m not the one you have to convince. Your intentions are all in the right place, but Sherri’s gonna take a lot of tender loving care if you want to make her your lady.”
Just then the doors in the dining room opened and in raced the dogs, followed by Sydney and everyone else. Further conversation was impossible, so the only alternative was dessert. But while he was serving the strawberry shortcakes with homemade vanilla-bean ice cream, Lucas couldn’t keep his eyes off Sherri. He’d fallen hard and fast for her. Lucas was a true VanBuren through and through because he knew at that moment he would do whatever it took to find the way to her heart.
Chapter 3
After the Mother’s Day weekend, Sherri had a new perspective on a few things. For one thing, she was beginning to think that date wasn’t a four-letter word after all, especially if the date was with Lucas VanBuren. He had many, many fine characteristics, but the most important of those attributes was the fact that he and Sydney already had a great friendship. Lucas genuinely cared for her little girl. She could see it every time he was around her. And they were around each other often, especially since the Hilton Head holiday.
He had joined their church and he always managed to sit with Sherri and Sydney. Because they routinely sat with Jared and Alexis, it was like being part of a big family, which was rather pleasant. After church they usually had dinner together as a group, especially when the elder VanBurens were in town. Lucas had finally convinced her to go out with him, and they’d had several dates, although their outings always included Sydney. They had gone to the movies, to an amusement park and on a couple of picnics with Alexis’s little dogs, Sookie and Honeybee. Sydney had a ball every time, and Sherri found herself getting more and more comfortable with Lucas. And now they were going on their first couple-only date, a momentous and, for Sherri, completely unforeseen occasion.
Alexis was beyond pleased with the situation and she continued to express her joy the whole time she was doing Sherri’s hair the day of the big event. They were in Alexis’s private styling area at Sanctuary One, the flagship location of the posh spas Alexis had owned for several years. After giving her friend’s thick hair a touch-up and a trim, she had blown her dry and was styling it with the aid of a ceramic flat iron.
“I can’t believe you’ve finally come to your senses. It’s about time you started acting like a real woman. Hooking up with a real man like Lucas is just what you need,” she gloated.
“Alexis, give it a rest! You’re repeating yourself, for one thing. That’s the third time you’ve said that real woman–real man thing. And nobody said anything about hooking up in the slutty way. We’re going to the recital and because Sydney’s going to a sleepover after, Lucas and I are going out. It’s not the beginning of the world or the end of it, so just chill, can’t you?”
“Don’t play with me,” Alexis said sternly. “I have some real hot curling irons within striking distance of your stubborn head, so now isn’t the time for messing around.”
Sherri felt her cheeks getting warm—not because of the aforementioned hot irons, but because Alexis had hit on the real truth of the matter. As much as she tried to deny it, there was more to this date than hanging out with a good friend. Every time she was around Lucas she experienced all kinds of sensations, and not just the warm, fuzzy, family-friend kind. This was the other part of the new perspective she’d gained from spending friendly time with Lucas. Her sex drive wasn’t totally dormant after all. She’d been telling herself that she simply had no desire for a man, but the way she reacted to Lucas’s touch was telling her the truth. There was something about Lucas that constantly reminded her that she was a woman—a fully functioning woman with the same desires as any other healthy female. The sensation was both exhilarating and intimidating, and although she was reluctant to talk about it to Alexis, she wasn’t going to run away from it. But she did plan to downplay the big event to Alexis. She knew her friend would tease her relentlessly to the point of making her nervous, which she didn’t want, not at all. All she wanted was a nice, relaxing evening with a friend. Surely that wasn’t too much to ask for, right?
“So where are you going? What are you going to wear?” Alexis was eager for every detail as she finished styling Sherri’s chic bob.
“I’m not sure. He said it was a surprise. We’re going after Sydney’s dance recital so whatever I wear to that is what I’ll have on. And that’s that,” she said airily.
Alexis looked mildly frustrated. “This isn’t fair. You stayed all up in my business when I was dating Jared and you won’t even toss me a crumb about Lucas, my own brother-in-law. How selfish can you be?”
Sherri grinned unrepentantly. “Pretty darned selfish, I freely admit it. Yes, I did get all up in your Kool-Aid when you were dating Jared, and I got all in Emily’s business with Todd, but that was different.”
“How was that different? Lean back so I can take a weed whacker to those shrubs over your eyes,” Alexis ordered.
“It was different because I was being the voice of reason for you two. Y’all were in love and you needed an objective viewpoint from a concerned and loving friend. It’s not like that with me and Lucas. We’re just two friends enjoying each other’s company. Ouch!”
“Don’t be a baby—you’ve had your eyebrows waxed before,” Alexis scolded.
“It never hurt like that,” Sherri protested. “You did that on purpose to get information out of me, but I keep telling you—there is none. We’ll probably go get something to eat after the recital and that’ll be the end of it.”
Alexis opened her mouth to let her friend in on the fact that Lucas was after something much more than a casual friendship,
