9½ Days. Mia Zachary

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СКАЧАТЬ him a night neither of you will ever forget.

      For her this to work, Jordan would have to be sensual, naughty and fun—everything the guidebook recommended. Well, at least she could fake it. When she’d found the high-school drama class, she’d found herself. As long as she put on an act, as long as she’d played a role, she’d become confident and outgoing and even somewhat popular. It hadn’t taken long to figure out that the way she wanted people to see her was just another stage personality.

      Her grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary was a little over a week away. She needed David by her side. She needed him to perpetuate her lie. Otherwise, she could already hear her cousin’s snide taunts if she had to show up alone and admit that her engagement was a fraud.

      She could do this. She had to do this. It would give her the chance to discover her wild side. And it would save her a week of awkward questions and embarrassment. If she could act in high school and all through college and at the office, she could do it in the bedroom.

      Jordan grabbed a notepad and began making a list of things she would need to make the Strangers fantasy a reality.

      4

      DANNY FOLLOWED the scent of fresh garlic bread to the large kitchen at the fire station. Mondays meant Italian food and Italian food meant Tony would be making dinner. Danny greeted the half-dozen firefighters already at the table and helped himself to the steaming hot lasagna.

      Mike looked up from his plate in surprise. “Hey, L.T., you got off at six. What are you still doing here?”

      “I can’t resist Cappelluti’s cooking.”

      He moved toward the end of the table and took the empty seat next to Tony, who shot him a proud grin. “It’s my grandmother’s secret recipe.”

      Mike spoke around a mouthful of pasta. “I figured you had a date tonight since you’re on day shift.”

      “It got canceled.” Danny kept his attention on his food as he answered and braced himself for the gibes.

      “I can’t believe it!” Barb laughed. “The Lady Target got stood up?”

      “Yeah, well, Lisa took it badly when I told her things were going too fast.”

      “Eighth date already?”

      Danny looked at Andrea in confusion. “Huh?”

      “None of the women you go out with seem to last past the eighth date.”

      “That’s not true.” He scoured his memory for an example of a long-term relationship, but after a moment, he came up blank.

      “Told you.”

      Danny shrugged impatiently. “Lisa started dropping hints every time we passed a jewelry store, so I called it quits a couple of days ago.”

      “You did the same thing with Kelly, Sheryl…” Barb ticked off on the fingers of both hands as she quoted names.

      Danny wiped a smear of sauce from his mouth. “Are you keeping tabs on me or something?”

      One of the paramedics walked in and grabbed the chair beside Andrea. Frank looked around at everyone. “So, what are you guys talking about?”

      “L.T.’s single again,” Tony replied.

      Frank nodded sagely. “Hit the eighth date with Lisa, huh?”

      “Actually, it was only our seventh.” Danny pushed his plate away, feeling defensive. “But who’s counting?”

      From the other end of the table, Jen smirked. “It’s not a hard pattern to figure out, L.T. You dated two of my friends, remember?”

      “You also went out with my cousin, Vicki,” Frank chimed in.

      “And both of them said everything was great, then you suddenly broke it off and stopped calling.”

      “Now wait a minute. It’s not always me who breaks up—”

      “She’s right, L.T.” Mike gestured with his fork. “About the time your girlfriends start thinking about a future, you start thinking of reasons to back away. No matter who ends it, you’re still the one with commitment issues.”

      Danny glared down the table at his supposed friend. “Thanks very much for that psychoanalysis, Dr. Stonewall.”

      “Men can’t commit.” Barb set down her glass and addressed the other two women at the table. “Evolution programmed them to procreate and continue the species. That’s why they’re compelled to initiate sex with any attractive female who comes along.”

      Andrea and Jen murmured agreement.

      Tony scoffed. “You’re way off base there. L.T.’s problem is intimacy. Since he can’t open up and express his true feelings, he shuts himself off from emotional involvement.”

      Danny sputtered indignantly. “What the hell are you babbling about?”

      “I saw it on a talk show one day.”

      “Oh, please. You watch that stuff?” Jen tapped her index finger twice on the tabletop. “It’s all about man’s need to explore. Once a guy has established his territory, he starts looking around for new worlds to conquer.”

      Danny raised his hand. “Can I say something here?”

      His request was ignored as Mike talked over the other voices. “I think the real issue is lack of trust—”

      Just then the alarm blared through the station house, saving Danny from further analysis of his love life.

      The dispatcher’s voice sounded over the loudspeaker. Fire in progress on the two hundred block of Paca Street near Lexington Market. Everyone scrambled away from the table, running to get into their coats and boots as the drivers revved the engines on the fire trucks.

      Danny felt the rush of adrenaline that always accompanied the call to duty. Part of him was tempted to grab his gear, but he’d already put in ten hours. So, instead, he chose to stay and have another piece of lasagna rather than go home to an empty apartment. As he ate, he considered the things his colleagues had said.

      He loved the thrill of the chase, the excitement of the new. He loved dating and prided himself on treating women well during the time they were together. But when his girlfriends seemed to be getting too serious, he drew the line. He wasn’t about to get trapped in a bitter and disappointed marriage like his parents’.

      Sirens blared on the ladder and rescue trucks as they roared out of Station 24. In the quiet that followed their departure came the thoughts Danny had been avoiding all day. The combination of guilt and lust churning him up inside could be traced to the same source.

      His fascination with Jordan.

      She appeared to be the single-minded, career-oriented type he usually favored. Who would have guessed that beneath her perfectly made-up, professionally groomed persona, Jordan was an explosive sensualist? He hadn’t stopped thinking about the contradictions in her personality for СКАЧАТЬ