Satellite of Love. Christa Maurice

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      Bear squeezed Maureen’s hand and studied the artistically arranged bones. Definitely a dinosaur. He had to take them at their word that it came from China. That she’d wanted to go to a museum still warped his mind a little. A museum. He hadn’t been in one since he got out of school. More proof Maureen wasn’t your average, ordinary, everyday girl.

      Then again, maybe she was and he’d just been steeped in wacko, weird girls for too long. To flat out announce she wasn’t having sex with him couldn’t be what regular girls did. He hadn’t even thought that far ahead.

      That was a lie. He’d been thinking about it since the moment he’d glanced over his shoulder and seen her leaning against the Satellite, her dress accenting her trim little waist and the swell of her breasts. A lotta dreams last night had his greasy handprints all over that dress. And her creamy flesh.

      Yeah, that would be the woman holding his hand in a natural history museum, wearing jeans and a turtleneck, who had announced on the way here she wasn’t having sex with him. He studied her profile as she read the plaque. No way he was getting any of that unless he played the fame card. Which might only get him a slap in the face. That would suck.

      No matter what he did, this experiment was going to be a failure. Sure, he had a couple of days when he got to pretend to be a guy with a girl, but he wasn’t going to get the girl in any way. He got to enjoy the illusion without anything else.

      “The kids’ll love this.” Maureen sighed. “They are going to go bonkers.”

      Bear admired the glow to her face. She was already excited for the kids. Once upon a time, he’d had that glow about his shows. When he knew how excited the fans would be to see them and he’d been excited for them in advance. Someday, he hoped to get that back.

      “So, do you want to see the rest of the exhibits?” Maureen asked. “There’s a really cool fish.”

      “Well, if there’s a really cool fish.” Bear draped his arm around her shoulders. “Are you wearing perfume?”

      “No.”

      “What is that sweet scent?”

      “Probably shampoo. What does it smell like?”

      “Lemons.”

      “That’s the body wash.” She guided him out of the special exhibit and past the planetarium.

      “Lemon scented body wash?” Why was it perfect that Maureen would use lemon scented body wash? He brushed his nose across her velvet cheek. Yep, lemons.

      “I have one or two indulgences.”

      “Really?” Really? Beater car, cheap lunch, tiny house. What could she be indulging in? Better question. What did she consider an indulgence? And how difficult would it be to fulfill those indulgences? “Like what?”

      “Why?” She stopped in the middle of a display of volcanoes and looked at him. Her eyes sparkled. “Do you plan on bribing me for some reason?”

      Busted. “Maybe I’m just trying to learn what makes women tick.”

      “I don’t know that I’m the best one to study for that.”

      “Why?”

      She quirked one corner of her lips. “Don’t you think I’m special?”

      “Of course.”

      “Then why are you using me to figure out what women in general are like?”

      “Got me. Maybe I am trying to bribe you.”

      “Now I have to wonder what for.”

      He hooked his finger under her chin. “Life is better with mystery.”

      “Is it?”

      Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something glittering. “What’s in there?”

      “That’s the gem room.”

      “Let’s look.” He towed her into the gem room. Hundreds of stones sparkled under pinpoint spotlights. Several cases held semiprecious stones the size and shape of eggs. Bear leaned over a case full of different colored diamonds. This was more his element. “This is pretty cool.”

      “They’re neat.” Maureen stood beside him with her head cocked.

      “Which one would you want?”

      “I’m not much of a jewelry person.”

      “You’re not?” His eyes went out of focus for a second. A woman who didn’t like jewelry? When he could see straight again, he turned to her and realized that, other than a watch, she wasn’t wearing a single link, stone, or bead. “You don’t wear jewelry at all?”

      “I used to, but when I was student teaching I leaned over a kid to help her with something and my necklace got caught in her hair. After that I stopped.”

      “But nothing at all? I can’t imagine a woman who doesn’t love jewelry.”

      Maureen shrugged. “Has nothing to do with loving or not loving, it’s just not practical. Necklaces and bracelets catch, rings scratch, earrings get lost, but I have a lot of barrettes.” She reached back and touched her hair, which she hadn’t pulled back today.

      “So barrettes are one of your indulgences?” The gems lost interest for him. The woman in front of his was too much of a gem for them to compete.

      “No, I get most of them from the kids. Early in my career I was warned that if I didn’t plant an idea for Christmas presents, I was doomed to get half a dozen coffee cups every year. Instead I get a half dozen barrettes every year.”

      Damn, jewelry was his best girlfriend gift. He knew how to shop for it, how to give it and how it would be appreciated.

      Of course, it was meant for a girlfriend. Maureen wasn’t a girlfriend. She didn’t know who he was and was willing СКАЧАТЬ