by S. E. Babin
“I can’t,” she said sheepishly. “My contacts are at home.”
“Ah well. Then keep them on and unbutton a few on that blouse. They will be absolutely captivated with the brilliant, yet űber sexy librarian/scientist briefing them on the wonderful possibilities of weed.”
“Joke now. I’m going to be rich, bitch!” Mel grinned and took another sip of coffee. “Now, back to you. Tell me all about Mr. Sexy Leo. If you tell me he didn’t ravish you, I’ll be disappointed down to the bottom of my sensible brown pumps.”
“Prepare for disappointment, my friend. Are you ready to hear this?”
“Stop procrastinating!” Mel glared at her from under her sensible black spectacles.
“Remember that perfect man list?” She fidgeted with her fingers as she watched Mel’s brain work.
A frown settled between her eyebrows. “What does that have to do with Sexy Naked Man?”
“He says he’s the product of that list. And he believes he’s the perfect man for me.”
Mel sat up straight. “Shut. Up.”
Katie held up her hand in the universal scout’s honor pose. “I swear.”
Mel frowned and stared at her. “You don’t actually believe him, do you?”
Katie laughed. “How could I not, Mel? He knew things. About me. About my life. About the list. He pinpointed the exact things on it. And he plugs himself into the computer every night to download knowledge.”
Mel’s eyes sparkled, the scientist in her perking up. “I’m torn between scientific fascination and the urge to have you committed.”
Katie laughed in relief. She might not believe her completely yet, but Mel was on her way. “I know it’s insane. Believe me. I’ve been struggling with it ever since he woke up that day.”
Mel glanced around the room. “So, where is he? You weren’t crazy enough to let him leave, were you?”
“At work,” she said.
“Work?” Mel hopped up from the couch. “Are you insane? You let an android go to work? What work? Disrupting the public peace? What if he plugs himself into an outlet at the local Starbucks to recharge?”
“Relax. He seems to have it all under control. Apparently he was dumped here with a dossier. And anything he doesn’t know he can learn quickly.”
Mel didn’t seem mollified. “You seem awfully relaxed about this,” she finally said.
“I’ve had a couple of days to get used to it.” And I almost murdered him, Katie added silently.
Mel slipped on her heels, walked to the kitchen and rinsed out her mug. “I can’t even believe I’m buying this. I’m a scientist, for crying out loud.” She turned back to Katie, a thoughtful look on her face. “It’s like that mumbo jumbo Law of Attraction stuff!”
At Katie’s confused look, Mel continued. “There’s some fringe science out there that claims people’s thoughts influence their environment. Maybe that night was the perfect storm! Maybe we were all in the perfect place at the perfect time and we were so in tune with what you wanted that we created him.”
“Well, not to state the obvious. But, duh,” Katie said. “The naked man was exactly what that was. We should all give ourselves a round of applause about it.”
She walked over to the coat rack and shrugged her coat back on. “As much as I hate to run, my meeting will start soon. And I’m probably going to have to hurl a couple of more times before it starts. I’m coming back over tonight to meet Mr. Perfect.” She grinned as she opened the door and waved. “Warn him in advance.”
Katie snorted. Could anyone ever really be warned about the whirlwind that was her best friend? “Your meeting will go amazing. Remember. Law of Attraction mumbo jumbo.” Katie waved her hands in a circle pattern. “Woo, woo, mumbo jumbo!”
“Jerk,” Mel mumbled as she clopped down the stairs. “Remember. The rag and heater story was much more entertaining than what you’ve been up to the last few days!”
Katie leaned against the doorframe, watching her best friend drive away. She was right. Maybe she should break her heater. But then again, Katie thought as she stepped back in the house and shut the door, her best friend was researching weed…and might be over-sampling the goods.
* * * *
After Mel left, Katie showered and finally managed to get herself dressed for the day. Once she’d pulled on her riding boots, dried her hair, and smoothed some lip-gloss on, she was ready to go. She’d managed to get several pages of work done before Mel arrived and was satisfied with what she’d written. She hadn’t gotten to any of the real juicy stuff yet, but she still had some time before her agent would be breathing down her neck for another project. It was different from her usual fare, but she felt the story would be well-received. Women, especially her, loved to read about normal ladies struggling. And even though the story had a paranormal slant, Katie planned to give her a completely normal happy ending. Whether that would transfer into her own life had yet to be seen.
After a cursory glance through her fridge for something to eat for lunch, Katie grabbed her purse and headed out the door. Some tapas would hit the spot. Maybe when she got home she could break out the laptop again and write some more before Leo showed up. She pulled her keys from her purse, clicked the automatic lock on her car and then looked up to see Will leaning against the driver’s side.
Her footsteps faltered until they stopped completely. “Hi.” She raised her hand in a lame wave.
Will straightened. “Hi, yourself. Where you headed to?”
“Lunch. Not much to eat in there right now.” She started walking again, hoping Will would get off her car and leave her be. Her heart wasn’t sure how much of him she could handle. Leo was different. Easy. Will was like those school projects she used to make when she was a kid—tornado in a bottle. Water, glitter and an innocuous amount of food color. Pretty and calm when the bottle was sitting, but turned into a turbulent, beautiful storm when the bottle was spun. She didn’t want to look into those topaz eyes, didn’t want to look into that face. She was like a gangly teenager again, afraid she’d spit something through her braces.
“Mind if I join you?”
Her heart stopped. “Why? Don’t you have something to mow?”
She tilted her head to look at him and immediately wished she hadn’t. God. He was gorgeous. And every time she was around him she wanted to fling herself into his arms and smother him with a ridiculous amount of kisses. Leo was right. She was crushing. Hard.
He grinned, a slow slide on that mouth exposing white teeth. “It’s not Thursday.”
“Right,” she said and stopped a few feet away from him. “Not Thursday. Well, I’m going for tapas. I’m sure you don’t like—”
“I love tapas.” He cut off her excuse about men and tiny plates of food with ease. He slapped the top of her roof and gestured for her keys.
“Not only do you want to bogart my lunch, you want me to let you drive?” She snorted in disgust.
“Well, my police scanner told me about a lady fitting your description and driving this particular type of car who got pulled over the other day and almost arrested for indecent exposure. Now, I’m sure that wasn’t you. I can’t imagine someone as sweet and innocent as you ripping their shirt off on a busy highway, but still, we wouldn’t want to attract the notice of the local police, would we? Someone who looks just like you is apparently a danger on the roads! Go figure.”
Of freaking course he had a police scanner. Katie blushed from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes and handed her keys to Will without a word. His rumbling laughter followed her all the way to the passenger side of the car. She got in, slammed the door, and crossed her arms over her chest.
Will was still chuckling when he got into the car. “Buckle up, Exhibitionist Katie.”
“Shut up,” she muttered and tossed her purse on the floor. She yanked the seatbelt on and turned to glare at Will. “Why do you have a police scanner?”
“I like to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on in th
is town. Never did I expect my neighbor to wind up on it. You were the talk of the entire police force over the weekend.”
She groaned, closed her eyes and banged her head against the seat rest. Will started up the car, pulled out of the driveway and headed into town. “Luna’s?”
“Yes.”
“Best tapas in town,” he said conversationally as he stopped to adjust the seat. She’d never get it back the way it was after giant Will got ahold of it. She felt her mood darken every mile Will drove.
He didn’t speak much, only glanced over at her a couple of times. Finally, once they reached Luna’s parking lot and he stopped the vehicle, Will reached over and touched Katie’s arm. Gooseflesh broke out on her skin. “Look, what happened was none of my business. Hell, your life is none of my business. Let’s just chill out, have a nice lunch together and maybe be friends. Can we do that?”
“I still don’t understand why you wanted to go to lunch with me,” she said as she looked over at him.
“Because we’ve been neighbors for over two years and we just now met. And so far, crazy things keep happening. Now, come on. Turn that frown upside down. Get that wrinkle out of your brow and let’s go have a nice, neighborly lunch. Who knows? We might even like each other once it’s over with.”
Too late for that, Katie thought darkly. I’ve already passed the like stage and landed way into the lust one.
Chapter 8
Everything about her was beautiful. The mutinous tilt to her brow, the redness of her cheeks, the way she crossed her arms in anger. Her stubbornness. The way he almost had to hog-tie her to get her to go to lunch with him. Seeing Leo sitting in her house last night had awakened a jealousy inside of him the likes of which he had never known. He wanted to break down her door, drag Leo outside and beat him to a bloody pulp.
But he wasn’t that kind of man. He was a smart one, however. And last night, after hours of tossing and turning, he finally got up and decided to come up with a plan. He wasn’t as pretty as Leo, not as suave or as sophisticated, but he was intelligent enough to know there was a spark of interest inside Katie for him. He could tell it in the way she refused to look him in the eye and her unwillingness to even give him an inch.
Even now, she sat as far away from him as she possibly could. The menu covered up her entire face and her hands were clenched so tightly he could see the whiteness of her knuckles. She was nervous, all right. And probably mortified about the police scanner. Yes, he knew it was dirty, but he’d tried to be nice about it. But it seemed like with Katie, being nice wasn’t the best way to get the girl. So he decided to embarrass her and twist her arm. Anything to spend some time with her.
With one finger, he inched the menu down from her face. “Wine?” He handed her the list. She snatched it without a word. Will chuckled and picked up his own menu. He’d win if it were the last thing on earth he did.
The waiter came over and Will ordered a bottle of wine for both of them. Katie still refused to look at him. The waiter turned a perplexed look to Will and asked if they were ready to order.
“I am,” he said. “Katie?”
A deep sigh came from behind the menu. She slapped it closed and put it down on the table. “Yes, I’m ready,” she snapped. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then opened them again. “I apologize,” she told the waiter. “It’s been one of those days.”
He smiled sympathetically. “We all have them, miss.”
Katie snorted and glared at Will. “I bet not like this one.”
Will chuckled and winked at Katie. She rolled her eyes, but placed her order. Will followed suit and the waiter picked up their menus and left.
“So,” he began. “What’s the deal with your new house guest?” He cringed inside, not wanting to start off the conversation like that, but unable to help himself. His curiosity about Leo was killing him.
“There’s no deal,” Katie said, but her eyes dropped to look at the table.
“Okay.” Will raised his hands in defeat. “Let’s start again. Hey. My name is Will.” He reached across the table and offered a hand. A reluctant smile reached her face. Finally! She reached across to shake it. And as soon as their skin touched, Will wanted to yank her across the table into his lap.
“Katie,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”
Will cocked an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked in disbelief.
Katie chuckled. “If this is the first time we’ve ever met, it’s only polite to say. Now, if we’ve already met and I was aware my neighbor knew about the most mortifying night of my life, my response would be much, much different.”
He reluctantly let go of her hand and grinned at her. “Point taken. All right. I’ll start. I have four pain-in-the-ass sisters. I can be a momma’s boy, but I can also change the engine on a car. I like to read. I hate to write.”
“I’m a writer.”
Crap, Will thought. Way to go, buddy. He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised a finger to stop him.
“And I love to read, have no siblings and haven’t been a momma’s girl since I left home at the age of seventeen.”
“I like pets,” Will said. “I own a T-shirt company. I don’t like long walks on the beach. I like to mow my lawn. I like coffee and conversation. And…” He reached over to toy with an errant strand of Katie’s hair. “I like blondes. A lot.”
He saw her cheeks flush and she looked away from him. After a moment, she looked back at him and her blue eyes held a devilish sparkle. “Well then, good thing I’m not a natural blonde.”
Katie laughed out loud at the look on his face. “I kid.” She chortled. “I claim it all. I sometimes make my hair color very proud.”
Thank God she was really a blonde, he thought. Otherwise his radar was way off. “Now that we know each other a little bit better, are you feeling more relaxed?” At Katie’s nod, he continued. “I’m sorry for bringing up the police radar.”
“No you aren’t,” Katie muttered.
“You’re right. I’m not. It was dirty pool, but you’re sitting here in front of me now, aren’t you?”
She bowed her head and toyed with her fork. The waiter came over just then, poured two glasses and set the bottle in ice. Katie reached over, grabbed her wine glass and took a long swallow. Will watched her throat work, his lower half tightening in response to her swan neck and the look of bliss on her face as she swallowed.
“Better?”
Katie nodded. Will reached over and topped her wine glass. “I know we got off to the wrong start. I’m sorry about that. If I ever see you struggling to carry all your groceries in your house again, I will, as much as it pains me, turn off the mower and help you.”
Katie laughed. “That sounds like a huge sacrifice coming from you. And I, as much as it pains me, will pluck out an errant weed if it ever shows up in your garden.”
Will gasped and clutched his heart. “Never, ever, will that happen, although I appreciate the offer.”
Twenty minutes into small talk, Will could tell Katie was beginning to relax around him. The more she talked, the more he felt himself falling. She was witty, intelligent and beautiful. Not to mention funny. She possessed a self-deprecating sense of humor about herself and the world that he found delightful.
He had to restrain himself from leaning over and kissing her.
Once their food was delivered, the small talk dwindled as they both focused on their meals. He watched as Katie dug into her first set of tapas. He liked a woman who could eat. With her mouth full of food, she lifted her face and caught him watching. Redness colored her cheeks again, and Will laughed as he picked up his fork.
After a few moments of silence in mutual appreciation of the food, Will tried to broach the sensitive subject of Leo again. Katie’s gaze shuttered at the mention of his name. She threw down her napkin and glared at him. He couldn’t win if the game was rigged.
“Why are you so fascinated with him?”
Will shrugged, acting casual, even though he was b
ursting with curiosity. “Human nature, I suppose. Wouldn’t you be curious if your neighbor happened to carry an unconscious naked man inside their home and then allowed him to stay there?”
He could tell Katie wasn’t buying what he was selling. “Maybe I would be curious, but I possess a very rare superpower. It’s called minding my own business.”
Ouch. Point to Katie. “Let me try a different approach to this. Me: caveman. You: damsel. Leo: strange naked man. My innate caveman protector senses are screaming out to warn you of the dangers of inviting someone like that into your home.”
Katie crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair to study him. “Me: Twenty-five-year-old self-sufficient woman. You: nosy, meddling neighbor. Leo: subject closed.”
Stubborn woman, more like it. His brain worked furiously as he tried to come up with a less lame excuse to pump her for info about Leo. He came up with nothing. It was time to cut his losses about it and come up with another plan.
“Fine. You win.”
Katie made no move to pick her fork back up and continue eating. Instead, she picked up her purse, pulled out her wallet and threw a few bills on the table. “Thanks for lunch, but I need to be going.”
Will sighed. “Katie, listen—”
She stood and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, Will. For some reason you and I are like oil and water. And we haven’t even known each other that long. Starting over would have been nice, but it seems like the only thing you’re concerned with is Leo. Do you want me to set the two of you up?” Katie held her hand out for her keys. Will pushed the money back before fishing around in his pocket for her keychain.
She refused to accept the money, and as soon as he placed the keys in her hand she turned and walked out of the restaurant without waiting to see if he was behind her. With a muffled curse, he opened his wallet, threw down a few twenties, scooped her money into his pocket and hurried out after her.
Katie was already sitting in her vehicle warming her hands next to the heater vents when he climbed inside. Her face was stony. “I’m surprised you didn’t leave me,” he said as he buckled in.