My choice.
Final offer.
You have until five o’clock Friday night to decide.
—Lance
Her belly defied gravity.
Flying for a date would’ve been an easy no. She could easily accuse him of getting the better end of the bargain on both of those, though she knew full well she’d be lying.
But the catapult.
Ooh, the man played dirty.
She lifted a rose and rubbed the petals over her lips. The floral scent invaded her senses, the silk tickling her skin.
She liked dirty.
She had healthy respect for dirty.
And she wanted to know just how dirty he could get.
Kaci was usuallyin bed before Tara got home from her evening shifts at Jimmy Beans, but tonight, she was too wound up for sleep.
She’d tucked Miss Higgs in on her bed, and now she was sitting cross-legged onher couch, making notes for her speech and trying not to listen for the sound of a C-130 overhead.
She could’ve gone back to campus. Her lab was nearly soundproof.
But Tara wouldn’t be there.
The door clicked open just after ten thirty. “Oh, hey,” Tara said. Her keys clinked on the kitchen counter, and athumpsuggested she’d dumped her bag on the floor. “We had leftover brownies tonight. Want one?”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” Kaci set her notes aside and patted the couch. “How was class?”
“Boring as usual, but hey, in another six months or so, I might be able to apply for real jobs again.” She plopped onto the couch. “I got some writing done though. Bubba’s having trouble accepting that he’s just met his soul mate. She’s way too hoity-toity for him. Super fun.”
“You got a hero named Bubba?”
“Romance novels are all trends and cycles. I need to be ready for when redneck comes back in style. Then I’m gonna make a million dollars and retire to Destin. If I can ever finish one of these and get it out, anyway.”
“Haven’t ever known a Bubba I’d date, but then, I’m done with men. Period. But I’ll still read your books when they come out, sugar.”
Tara passed over a brownie. “Ol’ Grandpappy?”
Kaci’s nose wrinkled. He’d emailed her a bullet-pointed list of all the reasons she should join his team. And all of his reasons meant that, as lead researcher, Ron would get credit for anything she did.
Still, she’d emailed her own dean about setting up a meeting to discuss expanding her own project to include consultation from the chemistry department.
“Oh, no. Kaci. Are youspeechless?”
“Near about.”
Tara pulled her legs to her chest and released her hair tie. Her dark curls tumbled free. “You didn’t go launching more pumpkins without me, did you? Did you hit his house? Or were you facing the wrong way again?”
“No, I…I got another problem.”
“You found out one of those sexist bastards on the tenure committee is actually a cross-dresser, and you’re not sure if you should expose her or not?”
