Undercover Professor Read Online Free Page A

kiss. And she and Dell had only been out twice. Maybe that next kiss would be better. Their lack of chemistry was disconcerting, but it wasn’t a list item.
    More importantly, she had to protect Becca. She’d go on this double date and call Andy out. She’d warn him to stay away from her dear, sweet cousin. She found Andy’s name on her phone and took a little pleasure in jabbing the delete button. She couldn’t wait to see the shock on his smug, bearded face when she caught him in his lie.
    * * *
    “Lucy, I don’t know what to wear,” Becca wheezed into the phone at six-fifteen, just as Lucy finished getting herself ready. She expected this call, planned for it even. The workday had dragged on. She snapped at two of the sales-floor boys as they monkeyed around with the batting cage machine. As if she wasn’t already irritated. Going through this farce of a double date, and irritated with Andy for being such a jerk.
    And why was she nervous? It was stupid, really. All she had to do was make sure Andy knew she had the upper hand. Convince him to leave Becca alone.
    And perhaps make an impact on him for all womankind. Hah, no pressure.
    Hopefully Becca wouldn’t be too upset when Lucy sent Andy packing. And also, try to find some sort of spark with Dillweed. Can’t forget that this is date number three.
    “Just calm down. Let me finish, and I’ll come over.” Lucy snapped on her silver watch and a few simple bracelets. God bless Becca, her closest friend and only family. Becca and her mother, Aunt Ruby, were the last family she had left. They saved her ass when she needed the help. She would stand by Becca, thick or thin.
    “You’re such a lifesaver. I’ll open the door.”
    Lucy put the last swipe of mascara on her eyes, tossed her little bag together and swung on her scarf, mittens and fleece. Fall in Wisconsin could be brutal. She patted her new skis hopefully. Soon the slopes would be covered in powder, and she could break them in. Locking the door on her way out, she pushed into Becca’s apartment next door and hurried into the bedroom, ignoring the tornado of clothes strewn around her pastel-pink room.
    How she ever lured men back to this princess cave was a mystery. Correction—Lucy only had to look at Becca’s body and remember why guys catered to her particular brand of crazy.
    “That’s what you’re wearing? Jeans and a T-shirt? Shit.” Becca scrabbled at the zipper on the back of her sequined dress and kicked out of the heels, spinning in circles. Lucy put her hands on Becca’s shoulders, looking her in the eye.
    “It’s just the Electric Lounge. It’s burgers and beers, and maybe some drinks after, right?” Lucy nodded, seeing a bit of realization come into Becca’s eyes, and gently turned her around to help unzip the silky bit of gown. Becca pulled it over her head, and threw herself down at the vanity to curl a thick strand of hair.
    “You’re so lucky to be pretty without trying, Lucy.”
    Lucy snorted, digging into the overflowing dresser for an appropriate T-shirt. “I try, Becca. But thank you, my love, it’s always nice to hear.”
    Just another reason she adored her nutball cousin. Even if she was a fruit loop to other people, they stuck together. It was just them and Aunt Ruby against the world.
    “No, I’m serious, Lucy. You have that hot bod.”
    “I work out all the time.”
    “You have a great job.”
    “But no college degree.”
    “And you’re tall.” Becca sighed the word tall , like it was magic.
    “Well, yeah. I guess I am, compared to you.”
    Lucy shoved a few stuffed animals off Becca’s bed, and sat back to wait for her cousin to finish changing. She slid into her jeans, tugged on the T-shirt and boots and belted her pea coat before dabbing on a last bit of eye glitter. Lucy picked up the fallen stuffed unicorn. There, in the corner, laid a big stack of brand-new gaming equipment, a console, a pile of games, a few different controller options. Becca was