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Leo snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Calista. Earth to Calista.”
“Sorry,” she said. “My lack of a job is driving me insane.”
His lips twitched. “Then spend more time volunteering.”
She took a sip of wine and thought for a long moment. “Hmm.”
He lifted his eyebrows in enquiry.
“The dog shelter—” She broke off. “That’s it. I’ll spend more time at the dog shelter. Thank you for the suggestion.”
He swallowed a chuckle. “Glad I could help.”
Two days later, she brought home a dog of indeterminate breeding. He could have been part bulldog and retriever or part Lab and cocker. The good news was that he was neutered. The bad news was that he was a puppy and liked to dig. She named him Pooh.
“Pooh?” Leo echoed in dismay, staring at the ugliest dog he’d ever seen. “But he’s a dog.”
“I didn’t know what else to call him, so I decided to name him after my favorite Winnie-the-Pooh animal,” she said, rubbing the puppy.
“But Pooh is a bear,” he said.
“It’s actually a compliment. Pooh is an animal with a big heart and big courage,” she said earnestly.
“That’s still weird as hell,” he said, feeling a strange tug toward the animal. An overwhelming sense of longing twisted through him. He’d never had a pet when he’d lived with Clyde and Lilah, but he had a strange feeling that he’d had pets before. It was odd as hell.
“Does he have his shots? Does he have a leash?”
She lifted the leash and smiled. “I would have sworn you wouldn’t be the least bit concerned about a dog.”
“I wonder if he can catch a Frisbee.”
She snickered. “Agility trials, here we come.”
He met her gaze. “I have to help him overcome his name.”
That night, they taught Pooh to catch a tennis ball in his mouth. Or Pooh just knew how to catch a tennis ball in his mouth.
Calista laughed in exhilaration beside him. “He’s so fun.”
“Yeah,” Leo said and tossed another ball into the air in the game room.
Pooh chased it, catching it in his mouth. The dog had feel-sorry-for-me brown eyes combined with a panting doggy smile and ears that swung from side to side.
“We need to take him to the lake,” he said.
“Or a dog park,” she said.
He wrinkled his nose. “We can go to my estate just out of town.”
“It will be a hassle for you to drive into town,” she said.
“Not with the helicopter,” he said.
She looked at him and smiled, her eyes sexy and challenging. “That’s an awful lot of trouble just for a dog.”
He gave a heavy put-upon sigh. “Since you’ve already committed us, we have to do the right thing.”
She clutched his collar and pulled him against her. “You’re a sucker,” she whispered.
“Only when I want to be,” he warned her.
“I like that about you,” she said and pressed her mouth against his.
A week later, Rob called her. “I have info.”“What kind of info?” she asked.
“Important info. You gotta buy me a drink for this,” he said. “You gotta buy me a lot of drinks. Meet me at The Mark,” he said.
“No way,” she said. “The last time I was there, the police raided the place, there was a fire and my car was impounded. Pick somewhere else.”
“Man, you’ve gotten snooty since you married a gajillionaire,” he said.
“Be reasonable,” she said.
“Okay, you want snooty. How about the top of the Liberty Hotel?” he asked.
She bit her lip. “You don’t know the meaning of the word discreet, do you?”
“You didn’t want The Mark. This one’s on you. Meet me tonight at six,” he said and hung up.
Calista stared at her cell phone and scowled. How could she explain her absence from dinner? How could she explain her need to be away at that particular time? She sighed, but was determined to get answers. She would tell Leo’s assistant that she wouldn’t meet him for dinner tonight because she was shopping.
She went to the bar and waited. Ordering water, she waited and waited. She dialed Rob’s number, but there was no answer. She waited for another hour then left.
Calista drove home because she didn’t want George to know where she’d been. She swept inside the house and Pooh raced toward her, jumping up on her. The dog was a salve to her guilt. She rubbed Pooh’s face.
“How was your shopping?” Leo asked, strolling toward her.
“Good,” she said. “Good. How was your day?” she asked deflecting his question.
“Busy, as usual. Where are your dresses?” he asked.
She panicked for a few seconds. “They need to be altered.”
He gave a slow nod. “Okay.”
“Yes.” She rubbed behind Pooh’s ears. “How much trouble has he caused?”
“No more than you,” he said.
She made a face at him. “I turned down three more invitations to dinner and sent regrets for more charity events. I unblocked your assistant, and he sent me a text message today that since we’re not giving interviews we should make an appearance at something. Do you have a preference?”
“Something where we can leave early,” he said.
She laughed at his dry tone. “Okay, I think my women’s society club is holding a summer soiree scavenger party soon. I initially sent regrets, but the organizer keeps calling.”
“Scavenger party?” he asked.
“It’s creative,” she said defensively.
He paused a half beat. “Can’t deny that. Call your friend and confirm.”
“There’s also a Saturday Expand-my-brain volunteer workshop for people of all ages in a few weeks. They want people with all kinds of skills,” she said.
“I have no idea how I could help in that situation,” he said.
She smiled. “You underestimate yourself.”
That night, he made love to her with more passion than he had before. He consumed her from head to toe, making her sated, but still hungry. When he finally sank inside her, she quivered around him, milking him with her wet, feminine secrets until he shot to the top.For all the times he’d taken her, he still didn’t feel married to her. He felt an incredible connection to her, yet, at the same time still separate. Being with her conjured up feelings he didn’t understand, feelings he wasn’t sure he wanted. She panted the same way he did. Her breath mingled with his.
“That was pretty amazing,” she said, sliding her hands down his arms and searching his face. “What—”
“You,” he said, “inspire me.”
Her mouth curved into a smile. “Who? Me?”
“Yeah,” he said, sliding off of her and pulling her against him. “You.”
Within minutes, he drifted off to sleep. Visions drifted through his mind. He saw a dog with a wagging tail, little boys with dark hair and dark eyes. A woman scolded him. A man laughed, his joy evident.
He and the other boys ran to the dinner table. He beat one of the older ones and sat down to a plate of lasagna. The aroma of beef and sausage made his stomach growl. He took a bite. It was the richest, most delicious pasta dish he’d ever tasted.
“Leo, slow down. You’ll make yourself sick,” the woman said.
The man laughed again. “Don’t worry. The boy has an appetite. Hunger is a good thing.”
Leo woke up in a cold sweat. He sat straight up, panting, trying to make sense of his dream. The images tumbled through him again. He felt a hand on his arm. Calista’s.
“What is it?” she asked in a groggy voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said. “A strange dream.”
“Hmm,” she said. “A nightmare?”
“No,” he said. “Just a dream.” But he wondered because it had seemed so real, so very real. He slowly laid back down and took several deep breaths. Forcing his eyes closed, he saw the images he’d glimpsed earlier. He wondered if they were real or if they were wishes. Or if they held clues to his life before Clyde and Lilah.
Family? A father and mother? Brothers? Was it possible?
On Saturday, Calista dressed in jeans and a blouse to attend the expand-my-brain volunteer workshop. She found Leo, who had risen hours earlier, in his home office. For just a second she watched him, allowing her mind to play with the idea that he was her husband. If there’d been no ugly past between them, she wondered what would have happened between them, what could have happened. Her stomach twisted and she shook off her thoughts. She couldn’t undo the past. “Are you ready to expand some brains?”He flashed her a doubtful look. “I’m not sure I’m the best man for this job.”
“Of course you are,” she said. “You’re smart. You’re successful. What’s not to like?”
“You weren’t completely clear about what we’ll be doing,” he said.
“It could be anything from reading a book with a young child to helping with math. It won’t be brain surgery,” she said, although Calista was certain Leo was intelligent enough that he could have been a brain surgeon if that was what he’d wanted.
“I may not be the best example for young children,” he said in a stilted voice.
“Why?” she asked, even though she knew he’d tricked dozens of people and made money off of it. “It’s not as if you’re a crook,” she said.
His eyes barely flickered. “No, but there’s always my misspent youth.”
“Hmm,” she said, feeling her anger shoot out of nowhere. So that was how he described it. His misspent youth. She took a quick breath and counted to ten to keep from saying what she really thought. “Nobody’s perfect. You have a lot to offer.”
