“Ah, but you didn’t tell them about the best part.”
Now she was going to kill him.
“Gosh, Zac, there were so many best parts,” she said, shooting him a dark look. “I’m not sure which best part you mean.”
“I mean the part where we…” He paused. “…were surrounded by our fan club.”
Ooh cute, Zac… real cute.
“Your fan club, you mean,” she said, heaving an inner sigh of relief.
Dammit, she should’ve known he wouldn’t go back on his word. She’d already admitted he had integrity and morals and…
Shut-up, Cassie. No need to go on about it. You did the autopsy when you woke up in his arms yesterday morning. Now enjoy what you’ve got.
He appeared relaxed but just then his expression changed in some indefinable way. “No, I mean our fan club. We’re a team now, don’t you know? Once two people sign autographs together, there’s a special bond between them.”
“Yeah right.”
A smile lurked around his mouth. “So you didn’t get the least bit excited sitting next to me, putting your fingers on my er… pen, and signing your name alongside mine?”
“Was I supposed to?”
“There’s no shame in admitting you were squirming in your seat.”
She gave a strangled laugh. “I didn’t squirm.”
“Oh, but you should squirm occasionally, Cassie. You need some fun in your life.” A sudden look of determination entered his eyes. “Or someone who can help you have fun.”
Her heart gave an odd little skip. “And you’re volunteering for the position, I suppose?”
“Yes. In fact, I think you and I should engage in a little foreign exchange program,” he said with an evil grin, copying her words from when they’d made love. “I’ll teach you how to have some fun if you help me polish up on my American accent.”
She gave an audible groan. “Oh no. Anything but that.”
“Well, I do have another idea or two you can help me with instead,” he suggested, his tone clear as to what those ideas were.
“I shudder to think.”
“Squirm, Cassie. Don’t shudder.”
She rolled her eyes. “Zac, I don’t know why you’d want to speak like an American anyway. You sound fine as you are.”
And he did.
Perfect.
He made a face. “I hate not being good at something. It’s a matter of pride.”
“But your Aussie accent is wonderful. Just ask all our listeners out there in radioland. You’re really turning people on out there. It’s amazing.”
“But am I turning you on?”
“I said it was amazing, not a miracle.”
He laughed at that but surprisingly didn’t make any comment. Then he said, “Speaking of turning people on… what is it about two people that attract them to each other, do you think?”
Excellent. That was a smooth changeover in subject.
She thought for a moment. “Hmm. I’d say looks. They’re important to people.”
“Definitely.”
She thought some more. “But I think it goes deeper than that. I mean, our listeners haven’t even seen you, but I’ll bet my last dollar all the women are attracted to you.”
He grunted. “That’s because you’ve made me out to be some sort of pin-up guy. Believe me, gang,” he said into the mike. “That ain’t half right.”
“I’m close,” she had to refute.
He threw up his hands in mock exaggeration. “There you go again! A man’s going to find it hard to live up to the image you’ve given everyone of me.”
“Your fans weren’t disappointed the other night at dinner.”
He put on a little boy lost look. “They were being kind.”
She laughed. “Sure. That’s why one of the women wanted to give you her telephone number.” She still found it hard to believe he’d rejected the woman’s advances.
Yet he had.
“Someone must have paid her.”
She tutted. “Poor Zac. What am I going to do with you?”
He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “I’ve got plenty of suggestions.”
“All of which involve some sort of sexual activity, no doubt.”
“Are you offering?”
“No,” she said with a short laugh. “The only thing you get out of me was the dinner. Oh, and a free baseball cap supplied by one of our sponsors.”
“What? No steak knives?”
“Sorry, no. We don’t give sharp objects to children.” She ignored his amusement as she put them back on track. “Okay, so we’ve decided that looks aren’t necessarily the basis of an attraction. And if that’s the case, it must be your voice that’s attracting everyone to you. Seems to me your accent’s worth its weight in gold.”
He pretended to consider her words. “Hmm. So you’re saying keep the accent, get the chicks.” He nodded. “Okay, you’ve convinced me.”
“See. That’s another thing that’s attractive in a man. A sense of humor.”
“Now that I’ve got.”
She had to agree. “Make a woman laugh and she’ll do anything for you.”
“Does that include anything to do with whips?”
“Only if you’ve been a bad, bad boy.”
“Oh, I’ve been bad all right,” he said, his eyes telling her he was enjoying himself immensely. “But I’m saying here and now that the use of whips is not my style. It was just a joke, folks, so don’t bother phoning in if you have any suggestions for using them.”
She chuckled. Then, “What else attracts people to each other, do you think?”
“Intelligence is very attractive in a woman.”
His words warmed her. She already knew he thought her attractive, so that meant he thought her intelligent as well.
“And I’ve found the older I get,” he continued, “the more I want something more substantial than salad sex.”
She frowned. “Salad sex?”
“Sex that looks filling but isn’t. Not even with the right dressing.”
“I love the way you explain things.” She loved everything about this guy. Well, not love exactly… “Okay. What else attracts people to each other?”
“Integrity.”
“Yes.”
“Compassion.”
“Yes.”
“Good hygiene.”
She laughed. “I’ve got to agree with that one. There’s nothing more off-putting to a woman than a man with bad breath or body odor.”
He showed mock horror. “I hope you’re not trying to tell me something, Cassie?”
Never! This guy was as clean as they come. “I didn’t mean you, Zac. I was just talking generally.”
“Phew! I was getting ready to jump off the Sydney Harbour Bridge.” One corner of his mouth curved slightly. “Well, maybe not that high. What floor are we on here?”
“Ground.” “Just as well I changed my mind then.”
She smiled, then sobered. “Actually, I think a person can still be attracted to someone without being sexually attracted to them.”
One of his eyebrows lifted. “You sure about that?”
“Absolutely. What about all those women out there with another woman as her best friend?”
“Lesbians.”
She should’ve known he’d come up with that. “What is it with men and lesbians anyway? No, don’t answer that,” she said just as quickly. “Maybe we can save that question for another show.”
He grinned. “Spoilsport.”
She ignored that with a wry smile. “I’m just saying any relationship can have the qualities we mentioned but without the sexual attraction.”
All at once, his eyes shone with an admiring light that unsettled her even as it made her feel good. “You’re one smart cookie, aren’t you?”
She could feel a blush coming on, but she shrugged it aside. “I always agree with a man when he’s right.”
“And when he’s wrong?”
“
Whoa! You’re admitting a man can be wrong?”
“Hey, I didn’t say we’re perfect.”
“No, you just think you are,” she said before she could stop herself.
He looked taken aback for a moment. “Are we talking me, or men in general?”
“Men in general, of course,” she quipped. “And on that note I think we’ll take a break. Here’s a word from our sponsor.”
The off-air light came on.
He looked puzzled. “That was kinda snappy, wasn’t it?”
She felt horrible.
Terrible.
“It was supposed to be a joke,” she said weakly, but it hadn’t sounded like one. Not to her. Not to him. And probably not to their audience. She grimaced. “I’m sorry, Zac. That was really rude of me. I shouldn’t have said it like that.”
He looked a little confused. “Then why say it?”
“I don’t know.” She’d said worse things to him on-air yet this had touched a nerve.
He considered her until she began to feel uncomfortable. “I reckon it was payback,” he finally said.
Her forehead creased. “Payback? For what?”
“Getting too close.”
She had the suspicion he’d hit the nail on the head. She had let him get too close and now she was lashing out at him in a way she knew how. With words.
“You could be right,” she admitted, then didn’t give him a chance to take it further. “Look, let me make it up to you.” She still felt bad. “Come back to my place for dinner after the show. I’ve got a tuna casserole in the refrigerator that’ll take me a week to eat by myself.”
He stared for a moment more, before the serious note in his eyes veered into a look of satisfaction. “That sounds like an olive branch to me.”
“Call it a ceasefire.”
One brow rose. “Temporary or permanent?”
She pretended to think. “Let’s wait and see.”
* * *
Zac stopped eating his tuna casserole and glanced down at the dog sniffing his shoes. Mitzy had run to greet them when they came in the door and Cassie had stepped in and quickly scooped her up, but he had to admit he hadn’t felt quite as threatened by the animal as the other times.
Then he looked at Cassie and realized he may be starting to understand dogs, but he still didn’t understand women at times. A certain woman in particular. One minute this woman put herself between him and the dog, then she blew cold as an Antarctic wind, the next she was as hot as a tropical breeze. Back at the radio station tonight, she’d laughed with him, then insulted him, then invited him back to her apartment for a bite to eat after the show.
Nope, he just didn’t understand her, he thought as she lifted the fork to her mouth and took a bite of the homemade tuna casserole she’d heated in the microwave. Just the way she ate, the way she chewed every little morsel, turned him onto her, not only physically but deep inside him.
“Hey, lady, remember when I said I know all I need to know about you?”
“Yes.”
“I lied.”
She laughed as she reached for her glass of wine.
He laughed too for a few seconds, then his smile vanished. “I’m serious. I know you have an ex-husband, but I don’t know if you have other family. I know you came from somewhere in Ohio, but are you an only child? Do you have brothers and sisters? Are your parents still alive? What about you? What were you like as a kid? What were your hopes and dreams? What are your hopes and dreams now?”
She placed her wine glass on the table. “Whoa! That’s a big order.”
“Sweetheart, just start talking about yourself and don’t stop.”
She laughed, then took a few seconds to think. “Okay, let’s see. I come from Cincinnati, but I’m not an only child. I have one sister five years younger than me. Both my parents are alive. My father runs a hardware store and my mother’s a medical receptionist.”
“And you?”
“You don’t ask for much, do you?” she joked, then bit her lip in a thinking manner. “Hmm. What was I like as a kid? Average, I suppose, and on the shy side.”
“I can see that.” For all her confidence, he’d glimpsed that part of her when she didn’t think anyone was watching.
“It’s a real handicap.” She placed her fork on the side of the plate. “But you know, somewhere along the line I figured out a lot of people are shy, so I forced myself to overcome it. Deep down I didn’t want to be the person who sat back and let the world pass me by just because I was too scared to open my mouth and make a fool of myself.” A shadow passed over her face. “I guess it’s because my sister, Tina, was quite sick as a child and spent a lot of time in hospital. Believe me, visiting a hospital on a regular basis makes a person take stock of themselves.”
Compassion filled him. “How sick?”
“She had problems with her kidneys. She’s okay now though, thank God.”
He understood now. “I’m sorry you had such a rough time of it.”
Her lips parted in surprise. “Thank you.”
His forehead creased. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s just that Steve didn’t care less. Actually I think that was part of the reason he wanted me away from my family.”
Zac’s mouth tightened. “He sounds like a prize jerk.”
“He is.” She gave a self-derisive smile. “But here I am going on about Steve and I’m no great shakes myself. I’m ashamed to say this, but after I married him I slowly reverted back to being shy again.” One slim shoulder rose and dropped. “Perhaps that’s why he started having affairs.”
Zac shot her a look of disdain. For her ex. Not her. “Don’t kid yourself. That bloke would fool around on you even if he was married to the most beautiful woman in the world.” He smiled. “Not that you aren’t the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said and meant it, his eyes sweeping over her face. “To me you are, anyway.”
“Oh Zac,” she said softly.
He stilled, allowing himself the moment before pushing himself to ask more, instead of getting up and pulling her into his arms. “It sounds like your marriage was worse than I thought.”
She hesitated, then began twirling the wine glass in her fingers. “I guess it was. Steve and I moved here just after we got married. It was tough at first, knowing no one. Steve works as an investment broker and had no problem adjusting, but I’d given up my job to follow him. He didn’t want me to work, you see. He just wanted me as a showpiece to bring out whenever he needed a wife.”
“It must have been lonely for you.”
“It was, but I managed to keep busy. Then he started coming home late. That’s when I began to suspect he was fooling around, though I could never get an honest answer out of him. One night he came home with the obligatory lipstick on his collar.” She grimaced. “I withdrew into myself bit by bit after that. Leon said he didn’t recognize me when he ran into me in the street a few months after Steve left me.”
He shot her a startled look. “Steve left you?”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Zac, but I think I would’ve still been putting up with all his crap if he hadn’t taken the initiative.”
“You don’t disappoint me, sweetheart. The guy did a number on you. That’s nothing to be ashamed about.”
She sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
“Come on. You only guess?”
She gave a weak smile. “Okay, I know you’re right.”
“That’s my girl.” He waited a moment. “You never thought about going back to Cincinnati? It sounds like you’re close to your family.”
“I am. I miss them terribly at times, but I think I was still in shock after Steve first walked out. I managed to pick myself up and get a job but I hated it. I was on the verge of going home when I ran into Leon. He wouldn’t let me leave.” Her eyes lit with a touch of warmth. “He had this job he needed to fill, you see. At a radio station. As a talkshow host.”
“I see.” Zac took the opportunity to giv
e her a break and lighten things up. He pretended to put a microphone in front of her mouth. “So tell me, Cassie King. Did you always want to host a radio talk show?”
She stifled her laughter as she spoke. “No, I wanted to be a ballerina.”
He nodded. “I can see that.”
She smiled her thanks. “And you? What did you want to be when you grew up, Zac?”
“A policeman, though a fireman would’ve done just as well.” He paused. “But it wasn’t to be. I started helping my dad and uncle with the family business and somehow ended up getting myself qualified as an electrician. My dad was as proud as punch.”
“You wanted to please your father?”
“I think most children want their parents’ approval, don’t you? My dad’s a good bloke though.” He grinned. “But he would’ve been just as happy if I’d been a rocket scientist.”
“Or a gravedigger?” she teased.
“Or a gravedigger,” he agreed, chuckling.
They laughed together for a moment.
He looked down at his glass, then up. “What about your future, Cassie? Any plans?”
She hesitated, a hint of uncertainty flashing in her eyes. “Well, I’ve got a bachelor degree in psychology, so eventually I think I might like to use that to help people in hospital. Perhaps I can help the kids cope with being sick, or maybe help families cope with it all.”
Wow! Having a degree surprised him about her… yet it didn’t. He always believed that people could be whatever they wanted to be, and do whatever they wanted to do. “You already help a great deal when you visit those sick kids.”
“I suppose I do.”
“You could even get a job right now, I’m sure.”
“Perhaps. I guess I’m not quite over my divorce. I don’t feel I could give my best right now, you know.”
He nodded. “The time will be right eventually.”
“Yes.” Her gaze rested further on him. “What do you want for the future, Zac?”
He settled back further in his chair and shrugged. “I’m enjoying helping to run the family business. It’s a challenge. The office work keeps me plenty busy.” He slanted her a smile. “And I’ve enjoyed my fifteen minutes of fame here in Chicago. Thanks to you.” He lifted his glass and toasted her.
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