A Better Reason to Fall in Love

by Marcia Lynn McClure

  “Show me how it works,” he prodded.

  “Okay, give me the name of a movie star…any movie star,” she told him.

  “Like who?” he asked.

  “Anybody. It doesn’t matter. Just randomly choose someone. It’s more fun if you choose someone old or not that well-known.”

  Jagger shrugged. “Okay…um…the dude from Gone with the Wind…Clark Gable,” he said.

  Tabby smiled, delighted by his choice.

  “Okay…Clark Gable was in Gone with the Wind with Vivien Leigh, and Vivien Leigh was in A Streetcar Named Desire with Marlon Brando. Marlon Brando was in Superman the Movie with Gene Hackman. Gene Hackman was in Wyatt Earp with Kevin Costner…and Kevin Costner was in JFK with Kevin Bacon.” Tabby blushed, embarrassed. She shrugged and said, “I probably could’ve found a shorter link…but I’m kind of nervous.”

  She looked up to see Jagger smiling. He was entirely amused. Still, was he amused as in admiration for her incredible gift of stupid movie trivia? Or was he amused as in thinking she was crazy?

  “Awesome!” he chuckled. “I get it…so do it again.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s stupid. And besides, anyone can do it.”

  “Come on, do it again,” he begged. “Do, like, I don’t know…John Wayne.”

  “No, really. I—”

  “Come on,” he insisted. “Do it again. John Wayne. Connect him to Kevin Bacon in six degrees.”

  “John Wayne was in El Dorado with Edward Asner. Edward Asner was in JFK with Kevin Bacon.”

  “Seriously?” he laughed. “That’s awesome! Do someone really hard. Can you do anybody? Or does it have to be just through movies?”

  “Well, most anybody who has ever been on TV or in the movies,” she told him.

  “How about musicians?”

  Tabby shrugged. “If they’ve been in a movie.”

  “Okay, like Jonny Lang…the blues singer,” Jagger said. “He’s been in at least one movie that I know of. Can you connect him?”

  “I love Jonny Lang,” she giggled.

  “Me too,” he said. “Can you connect him to Kevin Bacon in six degrees?”

  Tabby smiled. She could! Furthermore, she could see that Jagger Brodie was legitimately impressed with her stupid talent.

  “Jonny Lang was in Blues Brothers 2000 with Dan Aykroyd. Dan Aykroyd was in Christmas with the Kranks with Jamie Lee Curtis. Jamie Lee Curtis was in Forever Young with Elijah Wood. Elijah Wood was with Sean Astin in The Lord of the Rings…and Sean Astin was in a movie called White Water Summer with—”

  “Kevin Bacon,” Jagger laughed. “That’s way weird, man!”

  Tabby laughed. “I know, huh.”

  “So you’re a Kevin Bacon fan?” he asked.

  Tabby shrugged. “Yeah…I guess. I remember seeing Footloose on TV when I was really little. It’s still one of my favorite movies.” She looked up at him, shaking her head with humiliation. “What an idiot I am, huh?”

  “Not at all,” he said. “I loved that movie too. When I was a kid I always wanted to go beat some bad guy up and then go to, like, the prom or something.”

  Tabby laughed. “Well, it’s stupid, I know…but nobody has ever been able to stump me.”

  “Really?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “Do Ginger then….from Gilligan’s Island. I dare you.”

  Tabby smiled, shaking her head. “I’m warning you. It’s an easier one than you might think.”

  “Then prove it,” he challenged.

  “Okay…but you asked for it.” Tabby inhaled a deep breath. “Few people know that in 1965 an episode of Gilligan’s Island premiered called ‘Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy.’”

  “I remember that one,” Jagger interjected. “So?”

  “Well, the jungle boy Gilligan met…was actually played by a very young Kurt Russell.”

  Jagger chuckled, his deep green eyes dancing with amusement.

  “So, your sexy redhead Ginger—aka Tina Louise—was in Gilligan’s Island with Kurt Russell,” Tabby began. “And here’s where it gets really interesting—though it was not in the movie credits when they rolled. Kurt Russell played the voice of Elvis in Forrest Gump…so Tina Louise was with Kurt Russell in Gilligan’s Island, Kurt Russell was in Forrest Gump with Tom Hanks…and Tom Hanks was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon.”

  Instantly, Jagger began to laugh. He was entirely entertained.

  “I guess if you don’t like the ‘uncredited voice of Elvis’ thing,” Tabby thought out loud, however, “I could go with Kurt Russell was in Sky High with Kelly Preston, who was in For the Love of the Game with Kevin Costner, who was in JFK with…”

  “Kevin Bacon!” Jagger exclaimed, still laughing.

  “But then again, Kurt Russell was in Tombstone with Bill Paxton, who was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon too. So there are really a ton of ways to get Ginger to Kevin.”

  “Unbelievable!” Jagger laughed, wiping moisture from his eyes.

  Tabby gasped as he unexpectedly reached out, taking her face between his hands.

  “You’re hilarious!” he said, still laughing. “I think I love you!” He released her, sat back in the couch, and laughed some more.

  “It’s not really that funny,” Tabby said—though her heart was pounding so furiously with elation at his teasing her about thinking he loved her because of her stupid Kevin Bacon gift, she could hardly breathe.

  “It’s awesome!” he argued. “Seriously! How funny. I mean, who comes up with this stuff? Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Seriously?”

  Tabby shrugged.

  “It’s just playing on the whole human web thing, that’s all,” she said. “I mean, you can do it with people too. Look at my friends at work—Jocelyn and Armando, for instance. Just the other day we were saying—”

  She let her words trail off, realizing too late that she’d said too much.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, wiping moisture from his eyes. “What about Armando?”

  Tabby stood and went to sit on the couch once more. There was no avoiding the line of conversation now. She’d opened her big mouth and would have to explain.

  “Well, remember awhile back, when you were having lunch at the Acapulco with David Lowery and his brother?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, Jocelyn was already all gaga over Armando then…even though they hadn’t even been out together,” she began. “However, after I stopped and talked to you—found out that you knew Armando, met David’s brother the college professor—I went back to the table, and we were talking about it.”

  He waited for her to continue, and she was astounded to see that he seemed entirely intrigued. So she continued. “Well, you knew Armando before he moved here to start his restaurant…and that in itself is weird. But add to that this. That professor, David Lowery’s brother? My friend Naomi has been reading his poetry for years! She had tickets to go to his lecture that very night. They met…and Naomi is long-distance dating the dashing Professor Lowery. To make it even weirder, Professor Lowery teaches at Boston University…which is where my friend Emmy’s boyfriend, who is now a soldier in Iraq, went to college before he enlisted. So your friend Armando, Professor Lowery, and Emmy’s soldier are all connected. And Jocelyn, Naomi, and Emmy are all connected…and we all work with you. Weird, huh?”

  “Wicked weird,” he mumbled as his smile faded and a frown puckered his brow. “How can that be?”

  Tabby shrugged. “It just the six degrees of separation theory…proved, I guess. Though I still haven’t been able to connect myself to Kevin Bacon.”

  Jagger chuckled, and Tabby was glad she’d been able to make him smile again.

  Jagger studied the pretty redhead sitting across from him on the couch. He’d always been attracted to her—always thought she was too attractive for her own good. But now—now that he’d seen her outside the office a couple of times—well, every nerve in his body wanted to reach out and fuse with every nerve in hers! He was quiet for a m
oment, contemplating everything that had transpired over the past couple of hours. The storm—her revealing her phobia of driving in snow to him. He liked her house; it was warm, cozy, well-decorated. He liked her music—liked that she had Diana Krall on her iPod. He loved her crazy Kevin Bacon obsession; it was so random and took a great deal of nostalgic brain power. Furthermore, she’d liked his Frito pie. He smiled as he studied her. Things were bouncing around in his mind: ideas, considerations—desires.

  Jagger quickly studied her attire. She always looked so professional and gorgeous at work, and she’d looked good enough to wrestle to the ground and ravage at the restaurant the other night. But her present manner of dress—her little fuzzy pink slippers, plush pink sweatpants with the words “Beach Bum” embroidered across the seat, and simple white knit shirt—was perhaps his favorite of all. He thought he’d like to grab a blanket, roll them up together in it, and…

  “You can watch TV if you want,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “I don’t need TV for entertainment. You’re here.”

  He glanced up to the clock on her wall. It was only seven, and he had a hard time going to sleep before midnight, even on work nights. He wondered what time she usually went to bed. He glanced over Tabby’s shoulder to the window. The snow was blowing thicker than ever. Yep, he was stuck—stuck in a fantasy that revolved around having the dead-sexy redhead from work sequestered all to himself.

  “Okay,” Tabby agreed, though she wondered how he could possibly find her more entertaining than TV. She’d obviously milked her stupid Kevin Bacon game for all it was worth. Now what? “So what do you want to talk about?” she asked out of sheer desperation.

  Jagger grinned, shrugging his broad shoulders. “Everything,” he answered. “Tell me how you feel about…egg salad.”

  “Egg salad?” she giggled. “Are you serious?”

  “Sure,” he assured her. He nodded toward the window—to the storm outside. “It looks like we’ve got plenty of time.”

  “Okay then,” Tabby said, smiling at him. “Egg salad it is. I feel fine about it. I like it, actually. It always reminds me of Easter.”

  Jagger chuckled. “Easter?”

  “Yeah, Easter,” Tabby confirmed.

  As she proceeded to tell Jagger why egg salad reminded her of Easter, she tried to ignore the wave of marvelous joy washing over her. Jagger Brodie was right there—right in front of her—sitting on her couch listening to her tell him why she liked egg salad. It was surreal! And yet, Tabby decided she would bathe in every wonderful moment spent with him. Tomorrow would come, the storm would be gone, and he’d go back to being the unobtainable model at work, to be admired from afar. He’d go back to being the totally hot blues performer at Sweet Genevieve’s. But for now he was stuck with her, and he didn’t really seem to mind—yet.

  She’d enjoy him—that’s what she decided. Tomorrow might whisk him back to his other life, but for now, he was there—sitting across from her on the couch, looking more delicious than a gallon of chocolate and peanut butter ice cream—more delicious than anything. Yep, her mouth was actually watering!

  ❦

  Jagger grinned as he watched Tabby sink lower into her side of the couch. She was so tired—it was obvious—yet she wasn’t about to leave him to be bored. What a perfect little hostess, even if the guest she was entertaining had been forced on her.

  Jagger glanced to the clock on the wall. It was midnight. He wasn’t really very tired, but he could see that Tabby was. As much as he didn’t want to give up her company, he knew he should. His smile broadened as a list of all the things they’d discussed over the past several hours rolled through his head. They’d discussed not only egg salad, Gilligan’s Island, Kevin Bacon, and the human web theory, but she’d revealed to him the reasons for her driving-in-snow phobia, how she and her sister lived together in the house their grandmother used to own, where she went to school, and how she landed her current job. In turn, he’d told her about being born in New Orleans, that his family had moved to Phoenix when he was a teenager, and that Armando was a great guy and she should feel confident in her friend being involved with him. They’d discussed politics, history, movies, music, and a myriad of other topics.

  In retrospect, the subjects they’d covered in conversation were overwhelming. Yet he’d loved Tabby’s contributions—entirely agreed with her opinions. Oh, he’d crushed on her from afar for quite some time, but now that he was getting to know her—well, he knew this girl had him hooked. He wondered if she liked him enough to try and reel him in. He hoped so.

  Jagger was proud of himself too. Here he was, spending the night isolated with a beautiful woman—a woman he was dangerously attracted to—but so far he had managed to keep his flirting to a minimum. It was difficult, for he really enjoyed the way she blushed whenever he did say something flirtatious. But he didn’t want to end up pouncing on her like a hungry panther and ruin his chances. She was a good girl—he could tell. And though he was a man with customary carnal desires toward her, he was likewise what his Maw Maw liked to call “a good boy.”

  So he hadn’t moved to flirt with her beyond a little playful teasing—hadn’t even sat next to her on the couch. He was keeping his distance, keeping temptation at least two feet away at all times. Still, she was tired, and he knew it.

  Feigning a yawn, Jagger stretched.

  “The day is catching up with me,” he said.

  Tabby looked disappointed and relieved at the same time.

  “Are you ready to go to bed then?” she asked.

  Jagger smiled. Oh, she’d walked right into that one! The insinuative comebacks were popping into his head like popcorn tossed right into a fire.

  Still, he managed to resist and simply answered, “Yeah. If that’s okay.”

  “Of course,” she giggled. She looked past him to the window. “Though I’m not sure when you’ll be able to get out of here…so you might as well sleep in if you can.”

  She stood up, and he smiled—again delighted by how cute she looked in her little “Beach Bum” sweatpants.

  “You can sleep in my room,” she said. “I moved in first so I have what would be considered the master bedroom, I guess. It has its own bathroom.”

  She was waiting for him to follow her.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to just stretch out on the couch?” he asked. All of a sudden, he wasn’t sure he should follow Miss Tabitha Flanders into a bedroom. It might weaken his resolve not to pounce.

  She smiled and shook her head. “Of course not. I want you to be comfortable.”

  She started toward the back of the house. Jagger sighed, strengthening his resolve, and followed her.

  “The bathroom is right in here,” she said as they stepped into a purely feminine room.

  “You wouldn’t just happen to have an extra toothbrush, would you?” he asked. Naturally, he hadn’t planned on being stranded, and although he’d accidentally managed to have a change of clothes, he didn’t have anything else.

  Tabby smiled, raised an index finger, and said, “Actually…I do.” She disappeared into the bathroom for a moment.

  “Here,” she said, handing him a small toothbrush still in the packaging and a little tube of toothpaste. “Our nieces never remember theirs when they come to sleep over, so Chloe and I keep extras.”

  Jagger chuckled as he held up the child-sized toothbrush.

  “Thanks,” he said, grinning with amusement. “I’ve never had a princess toothbrush before.”

  Tabby giggled. “Well, you do now…and it’s yours to keep.”

  “Man, you really do know how to pamper a guest,” he said.

  “Now, I’ll just grab some clean sheets—” she began.

  “Don’t bother,” he said. “I don’t care.” And he didn’t. The idea of sleeping in her bed on sheets she’d been sleeping on was almost somehow intoxicating. His titillated reaction to the thought surprised him.

  Tabb
y’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.

  “I can’t let you sleep in sheets I’ve been using for almost a week!” she exclaimed.

  “Why not?” he asked.

  “It would be gross!” she giggled.

  “Naw, it’s okay,” he said. He needed her to leave. His blood was starting to heat up. As he looked at her, his mouth began to water, and he had to force his arms to remain at his sides—to keep from reaching out and wrestling her to the bed to kiss her.

  “Jagger, I cannot let you sleep in dirty sheets,” she argued.

  “They’re not dirty,” he said. Reaching to his back with one hand, he quickly stripped his T-shirt off over his head. He almost laughed out loud when he saw Tabby’s eyes widen—saw her attention focus on his chest for a moment. Still, he figured the fastest way to get her to leave, and thereby save her from being attacked, was to make her uncomfortable in her own space.

  “I’ll just brush my teeth and crash,” he told her.

  As Jagger Brodie stripped his belt from the waist of his jeans, Tabby swallowed and tried to avert her attention from the broad, bare, flawlessly sculpted torso before her.

  “Uh…um…well, there’s towels and washcloths in the…in the cupboard in there if you want to shower in the morning,” she stammered. The magnitude of the situation was beginning to wash over her. She was standing in her bedroom with Jagger Brodie—and he was beginning to strip. It was scandalous! She realized then how tired he must be. He didn’t want to talk any more—just wanted to get to sleep. She thought for a moment as she glanced to his muscular chest once more that Armando had nothing on Jagger Brodie when it came to ripped-ness.