Page 3 of RAKEish

After receiving the information, she’d been pissed. The creator of the app would hear from her. After all, this list could cause irrevocable harm to an individual suffering from depression or low self-worth. She didn’t care that the owner had immediately recalled it and sent out an apology. The damage had been inflicted.

“Hurt pride aside,” Lux spoke succinctly into the microphone, “being dismissed as unworthy of another’s attention—in under one second—caused me to toss and turn last night. During those awake hours, I reconsidered some of my past first impressions of people in general. Not guys trying to pick me up in a bar. Those times where I took one look and said no thank you.” She glanced at her sticky note. Not that she needed to. She knew what was there.

“One person kept popping into my brain. His Royal Highness, Scott Landshire.” It was one thing to be swiped out of existence by men she knew nothing about, but a totally different beast to have had it done by a guy she actively disliked. He’d joined the dating app in January as well and, ever since, had been reporting about his dating experiences in his monthly column RAKEish. A Guide to Dating from a Modern-Day Rake’s Point of View.

Why RAKEish? From what little Lux had bothered to learn about the man, his deceased mom had nicknamed him her ‘little rake’ the day he had been born. This because of a supposed curse on the first-born males on his father’s side to be unreformable rakes.

If it hadn’t been for the fact Lux and Scott had both moved to Manhattan in the fall, he might not have ever hit her radar. It wasn’t like she was a royal enthusiast or a reader of Naked Runway. Those were two things she had no desire to spend her free time pursuing.

But she did know of his move to the city because his arrival had caused quite the splash across many headlines. Including Psychology Today.

RUN AWAY PRINCE or PRINCE ENJOYING YEAR ABROAD?

THE PRINCE OF MANHATTAN TAKES JOB AT NAKED RUNWAY AS AN ADVICE COLUMNIST

“For those of you new to the city, Scott Landshire is a contributor for Naked Runway. Once a month, he updates his readers on the single life from a male perspective. My regular listeners are familiar with my opinion of the man.” On more than one broadcast, she’d delved into why his column did a disservice to women. “His words of wisdom often linger at the corner of criminal negligence and reckless absurdity.

“My opinion of Manhattan’s rake-about-town first formed when I had the not-so-decided pleasure of witnessing the prince in action soon after I arrived in the city. I had been standing outside of a club waiting to be admitted when he arrived in a limousine. Once he’d exited, he proceeded to make his way along the line of those of us waiting and made a production of choosing ten ladies to jump the line and enter with him.” None of his choices had included ordinary women like Lux. “In that moment, I lost all respect for him. A gentleman would have gone to the back of the line and waited his turn.” Or at the very least, given his coat away to any one of the ladies in line wearing nothing meant to keep them warm.

He was exactly the type of man who’d made Mother into Mother. A woman who believed the sum of a woman’s worth was all external. And, if the headlines about him were true, he was exactly like Lux’s father. A man who thought women were disposable.

“I’ve decided to give Scott a second glance.” She’d put it out into the universe. There would be no backing out now. “Not the man himself, but instead, his column.” Well, maybe a little backing out. “In other words, I’ll give his advice a second glance, even though I strongly believe his monthly ruminations are about as useful as a chocolate teapot sold as functionable. Next week, I will report back on the positives I uncover.”

She took a sip of coffee and clicked open a different tab on her computer screen. An image of Scott’s first column appeared.

RAKEish: A GUIDE TO HOOKING A MODERN-DAY RAKE.

What woman in their right mind wanted to hook a rake?

Sure, in historical romance novels, a high-society playboy with a propensity for scandal—or as Scott defined himself, a high-class charmer with a wild side—could be molded into husband material, but life wasn’t a romance book.

“To be fair to Mr. Landshire, his column has glowing reviews. Naked Runway’s readership has exploded ever since his first article.”

The month she’d first unleashed her opinions, she had mocked his suggestions for pickup lines that would work on a rake—these for the women who had to do the heavy lifting to get a man’s attention. You know, the ones not pretty enough, fashionable enough, sparkly enough to get noticed the moment they entered a room.

Last week, Lux had gone on a tirade about his advice to women to allow themselves to be hypnotized to better attract a guy. This after attending a show at a comedy club where a hypnotist had been the main attraction. A hypnotist with a raunchy act.

Her watch vibrated. She glanced at it and saw she had an incoming message from Mother. Ugh. Whatever it said, it wouldn’t be nice. She took a cleansing breath and exhaled.

“I truly look forward to unearthing a nugget of good advice in one of his columns. Perhaps even his one on hypnosis,” she said into the mic. “Not that I will change my mind about his stance on the subject. Truly, if a guy can’t appreciate me for who I am, there’s no way I’ll agree to be hypnotized to make myself more appealing.” Hypnosis was a tool to be used for good, not for laughs. And certainly not to get a man. “Though I’ll peek a second time at Landshire’s column in the spirit of today’s topic—Once Upon a Second Glance—I’ll never use hypnosis for romance.” What was sad, some might. “But I will look for something good.”

“If you’re a fan of RAKEish, give me a call and let me know which of his tips you’ve found success with. But first, it’s time for this week’s sponsored ad.”

She pushed the button to play a fifteen-second advertisement for tomorrow night’s trivia fundraiser and picked up her phone to read Mother’s message:

Why the fuck did you go and tell the whole world you’re a dud at dating? Did you learn nothing from me? The one thing men want less than a plain Jane is a dull Jane. You’ve gone and made yourself both Janes.—Mom

Pain’s grubby fist twisted her heart, causing her to grimace. By now, she should be immune to Mother’s bluntness. According to the dating statistics, it would appear Mother had been right all along about the lovability of plain Janes. Sure, Lux didn’t need a man to be happy, but she sort of wanted one.

A good one, that is.

Not a damn rake.

CHAPTER 2

Scott Landshire sat in the back of an SUV listening to Monday Musings with Dr. Lux Stone, while his driver drove him to work. Once again, the woman had mentioned him on her show. And once again, she’d done so in a derogatory fashion.

What in the hell had he ever done to her?

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