The Perfect Solution

by Day Leclaire

  “They said something to that effect.”

  “My parents died when I was five. I was so afraid and so alone. But they—” She tried to relate years of care and love and devotion with a quick sweep of her hand. “They rebuilt my world when it had fallen apart.”

  “It’s obvious they care for you.”

  “Yes, they do. When I was little, my uncles educated me at home and hired tutors for the subjects they couldn’t cover. They wanted to ensure I had the best education possible. They even made arrangements through the University of Washington for me to receive college credits. Eventually I attended the university and received my degree, but I commuted from here instead of living on-campus.”

  “Sounds like a lonely existence.”

  He had no idea. “A lonely existence compounded by my preoccupation with science. Maybe if I’d been more outgoing it wouldn’t have been so bad.”

  “I gather nothing’s changed since then?”

  “The loneliness?” For a brief instant an intense yearning took hold. “No. Nothing’s changed.”

  “Why?” So soft. So tender. So compassionate.

  “Because work is my life,” she said simply. “And because this current experiment is the most important work I’ve done to date. Next year I’ll be thirty.”

  Even his amusement was gentle. “And?”

  Didn’t he understand? What did she have to show for her years of work? Years of failure. Her uncles had been so sweet and understanding—not to mention indulgent. Their attitude had been a balm when she’d been a child of five. At twenty-nine it had grown infuriating.

  “And I have to prove myself as a bona fide chemist in order to justify my uncles’ efforts. To justify my own efforts, for that matter.”

  She had to. And in order to succeed she had to remain focused on work. She slanted Flynn a quick look. It was time to ignore all distractions and get her priorities straight. Right now her priorities didn’t include a six-foot-one security expert with a tumble of raven-dark hair, killer gold eyes and a charming smile she found far too appealing.

  Today her goal had been to gather as much information about him as possible. After a few days, once she’d gotten a general feel for him as a person, she’d move on to the secondary part of her experiment and wear the perfumes whenever they were together in order to see if they affected his behavior in any way. A shame. She’d begun to like Flynn, as a person. But if she allowed their relationship to develop any further, she’d have a far more difficult time distinguishing between his reaction to her as a person and a reaction induced by her perfumes.

  “It’s admirable that you want to justify your uncles’ faith in you, that you want to prove yourself in their eyes,” Flynn said. “But, honey, you can’t live your life for someone else.”

  “I’m not. I’m living it for myself. It’s my success in the lab that will justify my uncles’ faith.” She donned her most professional mask. “Look at how the time’s flown. I suppose this would be a good time to show you around.”

  Other than a swift mocking glance, he accepted her lead. “Good idea.” He waited until she’d circled the desk and started out the door of her office before catching her arm and tugging her close. She inhaled sharply, drawing his unique scent deep into her lungs. “One last point before we move on.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “Let’s be honest, shall we? You’re lonely because you choose to be. Because it’s safer than dealing with real life.”

  She refused to look at him. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Honey, I’ve made a living reading people. When I was a kid, it saved my ass more times than I can count. As an adult... Let’s just say it became an occupational necessity. You’re running scared, though I don’t know why.” He slid a finger along the curve of her cheek until he captured her chin. Turning her face to his, he leaned closer. “But I will. Count on it.”

  He was going to kiss her. She read it in his strangely somber gaze, in the tautening of the lines bracketing his mouth, in the heat that slipped from his body to hers, encasing her in warmth.

  “Hey, Morgan! Where the hell are you, you son of a—” A short, stocky man came into view. He took one look at the two of them practically entwined in each other’s arms and ripped off a San Francisco Giants baseball cap, flinging it to the ground. A bristle of salt-and-pepper hair stood at military attention as he glared at them. “That tears it. Now I’m really pissed.”

  Jane tore free of Flynn’s arms while Flynn closed his eyes and swore beneath his breath. “Jane, I don’t believe you’ve met my partner Paulie Richardson. He’s here to help install your security system.”

  “Heard you were in trouble,” Paulie announced, his scowl landing squarely on his partner. He flexed his fist. “I’d say you were in more trouble than you realized.”

  Flynn smiled. A charming, endearingly familiar smile that Jane now knew came underscored with bittersweet sadness. “So what else is new?”

  * * *

  “MR. PAULIE, YOU DON’T understand,” Jane tried again.

  “It’s just Paulie. And I understand fine. You don’t want nobody messin’ with your precious lab. I got that. But how am I supposed to make it secure without messin’ with it a bit?”

  “That’s not my problem. I have work that can’t be interrupted. I don’t particularly care what you do with the rest of the complex, so long as you leave my lab alone. And so long as you don’t put in any cameras or other electronic contraptions. Just stick more locks on the doors and that should be fine.”

  Paulie’s cap bit the dust again. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Jane whipped a pair of glasses out of her lab coat pocket and thrust them on her nose. “No, I’m not kidding. It’s my lab.” She turned to face Flynn. “Explain it to him.”

  “Yeah, Morgan.” Paulie folded his arms across his chest. “’Splain it so I understand.”

  Flynn sighed. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. Jane, you and I are going out for a while.”

  “I can’t leave now!”

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to. Since Paulie will have the power turned off while he works on other sections of the complex, I don’t think you’ll be able to get much work done in the dark.”

  “You can’t turn off the power!”

  “That’s it,” Paulie announced. “I give up. Most people come into our office begging for our help. We have enough contracts to keep us busy for years. But do we work on those? Do we help out the clients who say, ‘Anything you want, you can have’? Or... ‘Spare no expense, just put in the latest gadgets’? No! We’re stuck with a crazy scientist who’s ripe to be robbed blind and doesn’t give a—”

  “I hate gadgets.” She glared at him. “I also have temperature-sensitive solutions in my lab. And just so you know, there are solvents in there that will sterilize you from stem to stern. But, hey. Anything you want, feel free to poke your nose into.”

  “Lady, I have a good mind to walk out of here.”

  “If you had a good mind, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!”

  “That’s enough, both of you.” Flynn took charge again. He turned first to Jane. “The power won’t be off for long. Pack any temperature-sensitive solutions in ice or stick them in your uncles’ refrigerator.”

  “My uncles’ refrigerator? Why—”

  “That way you’ll have a built-in baby-sitter and won’t have to worry about anyone waltzing into a house you refuse to lock and helping themselves to whatever potion you’re brewing.”

  His logic annoyed the heck out of her. “What am I supposed to do while Paulie’s interfering with my work?”

  “What normal people do when they’re not working.”

  She stared blankly. “What’s that?”

  Flynn shook his head. “Why aren’t I surprised you’re asking?” He caught her hand in his. “Paulie? You have three hours. Make the most of them. If you have any questions about building schematics or w
hat goes where, the uncles have the blueprints of the building along with the schematics I’ve drawn up. You know my priorities.”

  “I can’t be gone for three whole hours,” Jane protested. Her brows drew together. “And what schematics are you talking about?”

  He opened the door to the laboratory complex and ushered her through it. “The ones I discussed with your uncles.”

  “You went behind my back?”

  “Don’t act so outraged.” She dug in her heels, not that her stubbornness stopped Flynn. He simply resorted to towing her along. “According to your uncles, they own a good chunk of that building of yours, and they want their investment protected. Since they hired me, I do what my employers request.”

  “Fine, do whatever they want, but not in my lab. And no cameras.”

  “You have a real problem with cameras.” He slanted her a curious look. “Mind telling me why?”

  “Yes, I do mind.” Time for a change of subject. “Where are we going, anyway?”

  “I thought we’d head into town and catch a movie.”

  A movie? “That sounds like fun. I can’t remember the last time I went to the movies.”

  “Then it’s past time. Come on. My car’s parked around front.”

  It was a perfect northwestern afternoon. The sun had begun a gradual descent toward the Pacific Ocean, though it would be well past nine before it fully sank behind the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula. A rainstorm had swept through a few hours before, leaving the air rich with the clean fragrance of recently mowed grass and a dozen different floral scents. The mingling of odors reminded her of her experiment and she glanced at Flynn, first from the corner of her eye, and then more openly since she’d never been one for subtlety.

  “What?” he asked, without looking at her.

  “I was just checking you out.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m analyzing your reactions to our...to our business association.” It wasn’t far from the truth. Could she help it if that analysis had become almost as personal as professional?

  “Intriguing. Don’t think I’ve ever been analyzed for a chemistry experiment before.” He returned her examination with one of his own. “So, what’s the verdict?”

  She forced herself to focus on business. “You appear relaxed. A bit curious, perhaps, but not worried or nervous.”

  That seemed to amuse him. “Should I be?”

  “I can tell you haven’t visited our illustrious town or you wouldn’t ask me that question.” Her mouth twisted. “You’d already know.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Everyone’s nervous around me,” she stated matter-of-factly. “They’re afraid I’m going to try some new experiment on them.”

  “And are you?”

  She shrugged. “More often than not.” Her brow furrowed as she recalled her run-in with the Henderson boys. “They think I treat them like my own personal lab rats. Though I’ve been pretty well-behaved since I turned sixteen.”

  His eyebrows shot up at that. “Sounds like I need to make a visit to town and have a talk with some of my fellow rodents.”

  “Thanks all the same, but I’d be just as happy if you’d avoid any outside contact for the time being.”

  “Now you sound like a scientist.”

  “I am a scientist.” They’d reached his rental car and he opened the door for her. “To be honest, I’d rather take a woman to the movies, than a scientist.”

  “There’s no difference,” she retorted.

  As she brushed past him, he lowered his head, his mouth hovering close to her ear. “There should be a difference,” he murmured, the warmth of his breath eliciting an uncontrollable shiver. “The woman should come first. Always. Maybe one of these days you’ll discover that for yourself.”

  She wanted to argue, to explain that she’d tried that once with disastrous results. Instead, she settled on the seat and arranged her skirt carefully around her legs before focusing her attention out of the front windshield. He took the hint. Closing the door, he circled the car. Without another word, he climbed in and started the engine.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, Flynn. Seven dollars to get into a movie theater is outrageous. It’s not like this is a big city.”

  “Obviously you don’t get out much. Wait until you see the price of the popcorn and soda.”

  Jane folded her arms across her chest, making him realize that she still wore her lab coat. He’d have to remember to strip it off her next time they went out. And there would be a next time—many next times—if he had a hope in hell of getting the security system installed in her lab. “Then we simply won’t have any.”

  Flynn shook his head and released a gusty sigh. “But that’s where they’ve got you, honey. Because it’s downright un-American to watch a movie without a bag of butter-soaked popcorn and an eight-ounce supersize soda.”

  “Eight—” A gurgle of laughter escaped. “Eight ounces is considered supersize?”

  “You wait and see.”

  To his amusement, the buttery popcorn passed her inspection. Apparently, being a chemist didn’t rouse any concerns about calories or cholesterol. But the soda drew a triumphant laugh. “Twelve point seven,” she announced.

  “Come again?”

  “Usually I deal in metric volumes, so I’m having to convert liters and deciliters. But I’d guess the supersize drink is twelve point seven ounces.” She handed him the cup. “That’s less the ice, of course.”

  He grinned. “Of course. My mistake.”

  “That’s all right,” she offered generously. “You’re not used to dealing with weights and measures. Why, I’ll bet when it comes to locks and bolts and spy cameras, you’re an absolute font of information.”

  “A font. That’s me.” He dropped the bag of popcorn into her hands, wrapped an arm around her waist and urged her into the auditorium. Plucking her glasses off the tip of her nose, he slipped them into the pocket of her lab coat. “Front row or back?”

  “As I recall, I always sat in the middle.”

  “Front row it is.” He caught her hand and tugged her down to the middle seats in the first row. “Just in time, too,” he whispered close to her ear as a pack of preteens charged for the front of the theater.

  Within seconds they were surrounded by noisy boys. A flurry of popcorn pelted back and forth over their heads before the group settled down. Flynn slanted a glance at Jane to see how she handled their exuberance. She’d fixed her gaze on the screen, but her mouth curved into a smile.

  “Feeling right at home, aren’t you?” she teased.

  “Yup.”

  She spared him a quick glance. “Did you sit in the front row when you were their age and throw popcorn at the other boys from the ranch?”

  “Not quite.” He leaned closer, dropping his arm along the back of her seat. “I threw the popcorn at the cute little Lightning Creek girls.”

  “No surprise there.” She lifted an eyebrow. “And what did the cute little Lightning Creek girls do when you threw popcorn at them?”

  His brow crinkled in thought. “Let’s see.... Mary Louise screamed. Tracey got mad because she ended up with butter splotches on her dress. But Dana Ann Kenny—” Flynn broke off, a wide grin spreading across his face. He’d intrigued his lady chemist with that smile, he could tell.

  “What did she do?” Jane demanded.

  “Nothing right then.” He shifted closer, lowering his voice. “That came later, once the theater got dark.”

  “Like it’s doing now?”

  “Yeah. Just like this.”

  “And then?”

  “Then I slipped over to where she was sitting and—”

  Jane turned to look at him, a smile trembling on her lips. “And...what?”

  “I did this....”

  He leaned into her and did what he’d promised himself he wouldn’t. He captured the sweetest smile on the sweetest lips he’d ever had the pleasure to explore. Her mouth was so
ft and wide and lush, parting ever so slightly beneath the subtle pressure of his. He could taste the butter on her and the hunger. He would have taken it further if the boys around them hadn’t caught on to what they were doing.

  Laughs and catcalls broke out all around them and they were instantly pelted with popcorn. He released her with a laugh. “I kissed her and Dana Ann kissed me right back. That was my first ever.” His laughter died. “And my last for a while.”

  “Did you get caught?” A preview flashed across the screen, momentarily casting a soft glow across her face. Although her voice sounded normal enough, her expression revealed that his kiss had found a way past the scientist, straight through to the woman. “Did you get in trouble?”

  “I was sent back to the ranch in disgrace.” He gave a careless shrug. “Not for the first time, you understand. And sure as hell not for the last.”

  “Was it worth it?” People around them shushed her, not that she seemed to notice. “Was it?”

  “Yeah. It was worth it. I’m not sure Dana Ann agreed, though. I heard she got grounded for a month for messin’ with one of those ranch boys.” She was going to ask another question, a question he didn’t want to answer. One that would force him to consider feelings he’d buried long ago. Catching her chin in his palm, he tilted it toward the screen. “Watch the movie.”

  She fumbled absentmindedly for her glasses. He lent her a hand, plucking them from her pocket and perching them on the tip of her nose. She murmured her thanks before directing her full attention to the story unraveling across the screen. A few minutes into the movie, she turned to him again. “I don’t understand.”

  “What don’t you understand?” he whispered.

  “This guy, Dantus, is the villain, right?”

  “Yup.”

  “And he wants to take over the world?”

  “You got it.”

  “Why?”

  A man seated behind them leaned forward. “Would you mind not talking?”

  Jane swiveled in her seat. “I’m sorry. I just don’t understand why Dantus wants to take over the world. Don’t you think that’s far too much trouble? I mean... Does he have any idea of the magnitude of the task he’s proposing?”