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She inhaled deeply. “You can smell the rain.”
“Smells good, doesn’t it?”
“Sounds wonderful, too.”
“Um-huh.”
The rain didn’t cool the air much, but it had a definite effect on the atmosphere. It became closer, denser. He was aware of it. And so was Maris. She probably couldn’t characterize this sudden change any better than he could, but it was distinctly felt.
Her eyes moved away from watching the rain through the open door and found his. They stared at each other through the deepening gloom. Oddly, it wasn’t an uncomfortable exchange. If he’d been forced to use an applicable adverb to describe the way in which they were looking at one another, he would choose “expectantly,” a modifier that combined curiosity with caution, wonderment with undertones of wariness.
He felt her gaze like a tug on his chest drawing him closer, and he was looking at her with the same level of intensity. Given the electricity arcing between them, he was curious to know what she would say.
She played it safe by commenting on Envy. “That was a rotten trick that Todd played on Roark.”
“Rigging it so he missed his appointment with Hadley.”
“You set me up perfectly. I didn’t see it coming.”
“That’s good.”
“Now what is Roark going to do about it?”
“What do you think he should do?”
“Beat the hell out of Todd.”
He whistled at her vehemence.
“Well, isn’t that what a guy would do?”
“Probably,” he replied. “Fury would be his initial reaction, and he would seek a physical outlet. But let’s talk about it. Remember, Todd was only paying Roark back for the toothbrush stunt.”
“But that was a prank,” she exclaimed. “Gross and disgusting, granted. But college boys do stuff like that to each other, don’t they?”
“Did you know college boys who did stuff like that?”
“I attended a girls’ school.”
“Right, right, I read that,” he said, as though just reminded of that part of her bio, which he knew as well as if he’d written it himself. “So it’s safe to assume that you have no experience of college boys and how they act.”
“No, it’s safe to assume that my experience is limited to how they act on dates with girls, which is different from how they interact with each other.”
“Is that how you met your husband? On a date during college?”
“Much later than that.”
“How much later?”
“When he came to work at Matherly Press.”
“Smart move on his part. He married the boss’s daughter.”
That irked her. So much so that Parker knew he wasn’t the first to connect those two dots. It had crossed her mind, too. Perhaps too often for comfort. Her expression turned professional and peeved.
“Can we get back to your book, please?”
“Sure. Sorry for the digression.”
