Chapter 45
Liz shook her head in disbelief. “You’re the replacement Carly got?”
“Carly? Who said anything about Carly? I’m going to kill Charisma for this!”
“Wait a minute, what does Charisma have to do with this?” Liz asked. “Carly called you take her place, right?”
“No, my mom called me to take my sister to camp. Charisma was supposed to go with me, but she canceled at the last minute, saying she found a replacement to go instead.”
They looked at one another for a moment, then groaned. “He did it again,” Lucky said, running a hand angrily through his hair. “Doesn’t he know when to quit?”
“Obviously not. Well, I guess you’re off the hook then. I’ll just take her myself.”
“Oh no, I promised my mom I’d do this. You can just go back to Kelly’s or something, I can handle it.”
Liz shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her defiantly. “I’m not going anywhere but that camp. I gave Luke my word that I’d make sure Lulu got there safely, so I’m taking her.”
“And I promised my mom the same thing, so we’ve got a bit of a problem here,” he answered. “Either one of us backs off, or we both go.”
She thought for a moment, weighing the two options. She knew going on this trip with Lucky could only lead to disaster, but she didn’t want to go back on her word to Luke. If she backed out, and something happened while Lucky was driving, she’d never forgive herself. She looked up the stairs at him and could tell he was having the same internal battle over this. “Fine, we both go,” she said, sighing as she went into the living room to wait for them to come down. “We’ll take turns driving, get her to the camp, then turn around and come back. How hard can it be?”
“I guess we’re about to find out,” he muttered, turning around as Lulu finally emerged from her room. “Are you ready?” She nodded and followed him down the stairs. Liz joined them and they all went outside.
Lucky immediately headed for his car, while Liz went towards hers. They both stopped and glared at one another. “Oh, don’t tell me we’re going to be doing this all day!” Liz groaned.
“Well, if you just agree with me instead of fighting everything, we won’t. Look, why don’t we just take mine? It’s a rental, it has better insurance, and, frankly, it’s nicer.”
“Oh, so now you’re insulting my car? Can this trip get any more exciting?” She frowned and walked over to his car. “Fine, we’ll take yours, but only because I don’t want you driving mine. Let’s go.”
Lucky smiled at his easy victory and tossed Lulu’s bags into his trunk. Liz slid into the passenger seat after buckling her into the back, then waited for Lucky to get in. Once they were all in the car, he started it up and pulled out of the driveway. Liz reached up and turned down the radio, then changed the station.
“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked angrily, switching it back.
“I’m not listening to that crap the entire way,” she answered, putting her station back.
“Well, I’m not listening to your crap the entire way, either!” he shouted, once again switching stations. “When I’m driving, I need loud music.”
“Fine, but when I’m driving, we listen to my music,” Liz said, figuring the only way the were going to get through this trip was to compromise.
“All right, I guess that’s fair,” Lucky grumbled. “I’ll just sleep then, anyway.”
“Are you going to fight the entire way?” Lulu asked from the backseat.
Lucky looked at her in the rearview mirror and smiled. “Probably. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Dad. This is all his fault.”
~*~
Luke pulled into his driveway and smiled when he saw Liz’s car there, by itself. He went up to the front door and unlocked it, entering the house quietly. “Anyone here?” he called out, chuckling when there was no answer.
He walked over to the phone and dialed, waiting for the other end to pick up.
“Hello?” Charisma answered.
“Looks like it worked. Liz’s car’s in the driveway, but Lucky and Lulu are both gone.”
“Really? You know, I was worried for a minute that only one of them would take her. I guess you were right about them being so stubborn.”
“Of course I was right. I’m always right. It’s a tragic flaw.”
“I can see that. Did you tell Carly yet?” Her voice hardened slightly at the mention of Carly, and Luke chuckled.
“That stuff I was saying about Caroline before, don’t let it scare you. She’s mostly harmless, as long as you don’t threaten her territory.”
“Territory?”
“You know, Jason Morgan, Sonny Corinthos, whichever man she happens to be sniffing around. If you’re not competition, then you’re cool.”
“Why don’t I feel reassured?”
“I’m just saying that her bark is much worse than her bite. She only shot Tony because he had kidnapped her son, and got off with no more than a slap on the wrist. She freaked out after the verdict was read, that’s all. I really don’t think she would have done it under calmer circumstances.”
“Oh, well I guess that makes more sense. Anyway, thanks for the tip. I hope your plan works, because I’m running out of ideas. I managed to get him to agree to do a show when they get back, so that could be our last resort if need be.”
“Always thinking, aren’t you?” Luke asked, grinning. “That’s cool. I don’t suppose he has any love songs you could convince him to sing?”
“None. That’s part of the reason I’m helping you. If Spence falls in love, he might write a nice ballad, and everyone knows that’s where the big bucks are.”
“Oh, so this whole thing is really a business venture?”
“No, but this way I can write off my expenses while I’m here!” She laughed, then cleared her throat. “I better go. Call Carly, I’m sure she’s dying to know how they did.”
“Will do. I’ll keep you updated. Bye!”
Luke waited a moment, then dialed Jason’s penthouse, figuring Carly would be there. Sure enough, she answered.
“Hey, Caroline. Thought you’d like to know they took the bait.”
“Really? I was sure one of them would back out!”
“What is this? No one has any faith in me anymore?” he asked, acting offended.
“Well, you have to admit, it was a pretty big long-shot. I just hope they don’t kill each other in the car!”
“Nah, won’t happen. They’ll just argue a lot, and, with a little help from my devious little brain, they’ll realize that they’re head over heels for each other.”
“Or they’ll just come back and kill you for what you did.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. If they really are stubborn enough to fight their feelings through this whole thing, Charisma’s booking a show for him when they get back, so we’ll have another chance. I just hope we don’t have to do any more. This stuff gets tiring. How do you do it?”
Carly laughed. “I don’t anymore, remember? Trust me, I know how you feel. Scheming is a pretty big workout sometimes. Anyway, Jason’s home, so I have to go. Let me know what happens!”
“I will. Later, Caroline!”
He hung up and looked around the empty house, chuckling to himself, then glanced at his watch. “10 AM. Well, in about 12 hours, I should be getting a pretty angry phone call from the cowboy. Better make sure I’m not here.” With that, he grabbed his coat and headed out of the house, off to the club to do the books.
