Second Chance Girl. Susan Mallery

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СКАЧАТЬ requirements are more about general appeal.”

      “If she’s slutty, you’re in?” She cleared her throat. “So to speak?”

      “You wound me. There’s a process.”

      “Not a very good one. You really need to shower before you go to bed tonight or your sheets are going to reek.”

      “Excellent advice. Thank you.”

      “My neighbor, the man whore.”

      She made the statement without a whole lot of energy—mostly because there was no point. Almost nothing ruffled him. Despite what he did for a living, he was the opposite of a brooding artist. Except for his questionable taste in sexual partners, there was little not to like about Mathias and she had to admit that in her heart of hearts, she was a fan.

      “Have you considered that nearly all the derogatory terms about a person being promiscuous are directed at women?” He glanced at her. “Slut, whore. We have to modify them to make them apply to a man.”

      “What about a player or a sugar daddy?”

      “No guy minds being called a player and I’m not sure any human has used the term ‘sugar daddy’ since 1979.”

      She chuckled. “That’s not true. People say it all the time.”

      He looked at her, but didn’t speak.

      “Okay, maybe not all the time, but lots.”

      “Carol, Carol, Carol, you are such an innocent.”

      “That must be refreshing after a night with one of your women.”

      “It is, although I have to say, I don’t understand your dislike of bridesmaids.”

      “I don’t dislike them. I simply don’t understand what you see in them. Or what they see in you.”

      The last was a lie. Mathias was funny enough to be charming and sexy enough to be irresistible. She would admit that even she had had the odd fantasy or two about him. Not that she would ever bother to act—she knew her place in the world. She was the plain peahen, while Mathias was the classic peacock. There was no reason for him to notice her and even if he somehow did, he only did one-night stands and that had never been her thing. She was much more a fall in love first kind of girl.

      “What I see in them is that they’ll be gone in the morning,” he said as he stood. “As for what they see in me, isn’t that obvious?”

      He held out his hand. She reached for it and he pulled her to her feet. As soon as she found her balance, he released her, then reached down and grabbed her jacket. He put it around her shoulders.

      “Come on, my little animal warden friend. We need to get you into bed. Morning comes early and cows expect to be fed.”

      “I should slug you really hard in the stomach,” she grumbled as they walked to her Jeep.

      “Such violence. You’re not embracing the cow mantra of being one with nature.”

      “If you say cow one more time, I swear I’m going to—”

      He held open the driver’s door and she slid onto the seat. They were nearly at eye level.

      “You’re going to what?” he asked.

      The dome light illuminated his features. His eyes were dark and his smile nearly blinded her with its brightness. He had broad shoulders and the honed body of a man who used muscles every day in his work.

      As happened every now and then around him, she remembered that she was a healthy woman in her twenties who hadn’t been with someone in way too long. Mathias had to know what he was doing—he certainly had enough practice.

      Not that he would be interested in her. Not only didn’t she fit his “You must be leaving town” criteria, she wasn’t, you know, special. Or at least not special enough to tempt the likes of him.

      “I’m going to start training the zebras to poop in your yard. Have you smelled zebra poo? It’s going to make that perfume seem like nothing.”

      He flashed her a smile. “Time to say good-night, Carol.”

      “Good night, Carol.”

      He closed the door and walked to his sedan. She started down the road, the Mercedes following closely. A couple of miles later, she pulled into her driveway. Mathias flashed his lights, then kept going. For a second, his car disappeared as he rounded a small hill, then she saw him as he came out the other side. The lights turned as he drove onto his property, flashed twice again before disappearing into his garage.

      She continued to stand in the darkness until more lights appeared, this time in his massive house on the edge of the animal preserve. There was humor in the fact that her twelve-hundred-square-foot bungalow could fit comfortably in his five-car garage with room to spare, yet he was her closest neighbor. There she was—living on the edge of the world of the “haves” and more than happy to stay on her side.

      Carol unlocked her front door and went inside. She toed off her boots, then went directly to her bedroom and barely pulled off her jeans before sinking onto the mattress and sighing.

      Morning would come way too early, thanks to Bronwen. Unlike some people who lived in big mansions with views, she had to get up with the sun. Her herd didn’t like to wait for breakfast.

      Carol quickly fell asleep only to find herself tangled in a strange dream of flying cows and Mathias begging her to kiss him. She woke to the insistent sound of her alarm and the knowledge that of the two scenarios, flying cows were by far the more likely to happen.

      * * *

      MATHIAS WALKED BAREFOOT across his patio. It was still early and a light mist clung to the ground—no doubt the result of early-morning watering, but he preferred a more romantic explanation. It was the artist in him.

      He took his favorite chair, set his coffee and sketch pad on the table beside him, then prepared to wait.

      He wasn’t sure how long ago the ritual had started. Shortly after Millie had arrived, maybe. He didn’t know why she got to him more than the others. She was just a giraffe. Shouldn’t he find beauty in the swift-footed gazelles or majesty in the water buffalo?

      While he’d been aware of the animals when he’d purchased the house, he hadn’t really noticed them for the first few months. He supposed they’d crept into his consciousness after he’d met Carol.

      Most towns hid their dumps behind gates or far away from any suburban sprawl. Happily Inc had planned differently, putting it just southwest of the population center, carefully downwind.

      In addition to running a recycling and reclamation program that was one of the best in the nation, the two men who owned and ran the dump had also purchased hundreds of acres around the landfill. Grasses and trees had been brought in. Once they’d taken root, the animals had appeared. The gazelles had been first, then the zebras. There were a few wading birds, the water buffalo and lastly, Millie.

      Mathias knew the basics—the two men who had created a unique African savanna СКАЧАТЬ