“The Ninja Turtle,” she clarified.
That still didn’t help. Alex opened his mouth to admit total ignorance and ask if he could phone a friend or something when he heard footsteps. He looked up to see a younger version of Lacey standing there, her blond hair pulled up in a ponytail, her blue eyes unabashedly checking him out. He’d been so distracted by Lacey, he hadn’t even picked up on the girl’s scent.
“You didn’t mention Alex was so hot,” she said. “He’s smoking!”
Lacey straightened, a wry look on her face. “This is my sister, Kelsey. Due to a horrible misfortune of genetics, she was born without the normal filter between her brain and her mouth. She says the first thing that pops into her head, even when she shouldn’t.”
Kelsey grinned. “Just saying what I know my big sis is thinking.”
Lacey rolled her eyes but laughed. Alex let out a chuckle of his own as he stood up.
“So, where are you two crazy kids heading off to tonight?” Kelsey asked.
Lacey glanced at him. “That’s a good question.”
He considered keeping their destination a secret just to tease her, but something told him that Lacey wasn’t the kind of woman to play those types of games. “I got us a reservation at a nice Italian place over on Oak Lawn Avenue. If that’s okay?”
Lacey’s eyes sparkled. “Italian works for me.”
“Me too,” Kelsey chimed in. “Bring Leo and me a doggie bag.”
Lacey promised they would just as a bell chimed, sending Kelsey scrambling into the kitchen. She came back out a moment later, her brow creased in a frown as she furiously typed something on her cell phone.
“Everything okay?” Lacey asked.
Kelsey finished the text she was working on, then shoved the phone in the back pocket of her shorts with a sigh. “It’s my friend Sara. She’s missing, and we’re all freaking out. We’ve been checking in with each other all day, hoping somebody hears something.”
Lacey looked at Alex in alarm. It didn’t take a genius to know what she was thinking. The local news channels had the Abigail Elliott story on 24–7, especially since Councilman McDonald had just announced a sizable reward for information on the location of the missing girl. It was natural for Lacey to assume the worst.
“What exactly do you mean when you say your friend is missing?” Alex asked Kelsey. “Has her family contacted the police yet?”
“Sara doesn’t have any family. She grew up in the foster system.” Kelsey played with the end of her ponytail. “Maybe missing is the wrong word. All we know for sure is that she sent an email to the registrar’s office on Friday telling them that she was dropping all her classes and taking a break from school and that she plans to come back next semester.”
Beside him, Lacey relaxed visibly. Alex felt the tension leave his shoulders too. There was a big difference between missing and bailing on school for a while.
Lacey walked over and gave Kelsey a hug. “I know you’re worried, honey, but it sounds like Sara is just stressed out and decided to take a little break. It’s not that uncommon in college; you know that.”
Kelsey didn’t look convinced. “Sara is an English lit major with a solid 4.0 GPA. My other friends and I are like her family. If she was so stressed out, why wouldn’t she have told one of us? She didn’t even clean out her dorm room when she left. Now she’s not updating her status on Facebook or returning any of our calls or texts.”
“She will,” Lacey promised. “Just give her a little time to get herself together.”
Lacey brushed back a stray strand of hair that had come loose from her sister’s ponytail before hugging Kelsey again. After a moment, Kelsey pulled back and gave a Lacey a small smile.
“Enough about my friends and me. You guys need to leave if you’re going to make your reservation.” When Lacey looked like she wanted to argue, her sister spun her around and shoved her at the door. “Go. I’m leaving in a little while anyway. I’m sure you’re right about Sara just needing a break, but my friends and I are heading out to a few of our usual hangouts to see if anyone else has heard from her.”
Lacey gave in with a laugh, grabbing her purse off the couch. “Okay, okay. Just don’t stay out too late. You have class tomorrow.”
“I won’t,” Kelsey promised. “I don’t have any classes until the afternoon, so some of my friends and I are going to hit the campus quad and soak up some sun while we check out hot guys. Sara was going to join us, but I guess that’s not going to happen now.” Kelsey threw Alex a look, then winked at Lacey. “Maybe you should play hooky and bring Alex with you. I’m sure my girlfriends would appreciate the view. Hell, some of my guy friends would too.”
Lacey’s face turned red, but Alex laughed it off as he opened the door for her. Kelsey definitely knew how to push her sister’s buttons.
* * *
Even though it was Sunday night, the restaurant was crowded. The aroma coming from the huge open kitchen probably had a lot to do with that, Lacey supposed. The smell of food was enough to make her drool. Then again, maybe Alex was the one making her do that. He certainly looked good enough to eat.
When she’d opened her apartment door an hour ago and seen him standing there in a suit with that perfect amount of scruff still covering his jawline, she’d just about gasped out loud. Did he clean up nice or what? She wasn’t the only woman who thought so, either. Most of the female patrons had almost snapped their necks as the hostess led them to their table.
Even though she’d never admit it out loud to anyone, the best part was that Alex hadn’t looked at a single one of those women the whole time. Heck, he’d barely looked at their waitress as they ordered drinks and appetizers. Instead, he’d gazed warmly into Lacey’s eyes as they sat there across from each other.
