Page 57 of Tuxedos and Tinsel

The reassurance didn’t seem to impress the businessman, but the organization had its back against the wall. That they’d approached Lewis for any kind of assistance this close to the event said they were desperate. Susan knew what the two men were thinking. A free-of-charge, former player was better than no player at all.

The waiter returned with Lewis’s water. “Here’s your water, Mr. Matolo,” he said. Servers probably didn’t usually address the guests by name but the young man’s starstuck expression as well as the excited tremor in his voice explained the break in protocol.

“Thanks, mate. Appreciate it.”

Tucking the tray under his arm, the young man prepared to leave only to pause. “I’ve watched every game you ever played in.”

“Wow,” Lewis replied. “What’d you do? Start watching when you were in diapers?”

Susan watched Montclark taking in the exchange, particularly the waiter’s starstuck face. After a few minutes more of conversation—and a request for a selfie—the young man moved on and Montclark cleared his throat. “Very well,” he said, “since you are willing to make a firm commitment and waive your appearance fee…”

“Anything to help the organization,” Lewis replied.

“We appreciate you stepping up on such short notice. Redmayne will send your agent all the information.” The three men shook on the arrangement.

“Remind me to tip that server extra,” Susan said once Redmayne and Montclark had moved on to the buffet table. “His timing couldn’t have been more perfect if we paid him.” There was no doubt his enthusiasm was what had finally convinced Montclark.

“Should I tip you too?” Lewis asked.

“Beg your pardon?”

“For backing them into the corner in the first place. We both know they wanted to use my connections, not hire me. If you hadn’t jumped in with the idea, it never would have come up.”

“You wanted to rehab your image. What better way than to dazzle them with your newfound dedication to charity?”

“Not to mention impressing Graham Montclark.”

“Oh, do his stations carry the matches? I hadn’t realized.” Putting a hand to her chest, she blinked with false innocence.

Lewis chuckled, his accompanying smile devilishly crooked. “Well played, Ms. Collier. I knew I picked the right woman.”

His words had the smoothness of raw honey dripping from a spoon. They ran through her, leaving a slow warmth.

He meansthe right woman for the arrangement.

She needed a dose of reality to counteract the sweetness. None of this was real. She’d be wise to keep that in mind before she did something incredibly stupid.

Like fall for the man.

CHAPTER SIX

LEWISHADDATEDa lot of women in his adult life. Too many really. None of them, though, were like Susan. Granted, that was the point, but never had he thought that different would be so interesting.

They were on their way home, still in character, as it were. He had his arm slung across the back seat while Susan sat close to his side. Not overly close, and certainly not draped across his lap like a lot of his dates. Susan was far too classy for that kind of behavior.

Susan was a lot of things. She was smart and sophisticated, not to mention perceptive. When he had freaked out, she’d known exactly what to say.

An odd experience, it was, being understood. When she touched his hand, the warmth shot straight through him, the sensation simultaneously comforting and terrifying.

He wasn’t used to sharing pieces of himself. Better to maintain distance, he always said. It made leaving easier. With Susan, however—and maybe it was because they were so alike—with Susan, sharing felt normal.

The car turned a corner. In spite of the late hour, there were plenty of lights on. Some of the windows already had candles and in one or two, he spied Christmas trees. “Early birds,” he murmured.

“Who are early birds?” Susan asked. When she turned to look at him, he caught a whiff of vanilla shampoo. Reminded him of cookies.

“The trees,” he replied. “Some people already have theirs up. They’re early birds.”

“Probably the same people who start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween and have their shopping done a month early.”