“About mating for life? Is it possible?”
“Of course. Zoologists have studied penguin colonies and-”
“I meant for humans. Is it the natural order of things to spend your life with just one person?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Look at the divorce rate nowadays. All those couples went into marriage thinking it was forever. And then it wasn’t. Relationships are hard. I think two people have to be temperamentally suited for each other. And then they have to work at it, every day, forever.”
“Have you ever thought about getting married?”
“No one has ever asked me,” Angela admitted. “But I do believe in the penguins. I think there’s one person out there for each of us and we spend our life trying to find that person. Sometimes, we think we’ve found them, and then we realize we were wrong. But when we actually do, it’s…perfect.” She forced a smile. “And what do you think? Are you a believer in the penguin theory of love or do you side with my parents?”
“Your parents don’t believe in romance?” he asked.
“They think I need to choose someone to marry for practical purposes, not because of some overwhelming passion. I was the oddball in our family. My parents and sisters were the scientists, always looking at life with a purely objective, rational eye. I spent my whole childhood lost in silly romantic fantasies. I loved fairy tales. My mother thought they were horrible stories that sent young girls all the wrong messages. She banned certain books from my reading list and I’d just sneak them out of the library with my best friend’s library card. She wouldn’t allow me to read Wuthering Heights because Cathy commits suicide over her love for Heathcliff.”
“Do your parents have a happy marriage?”
“No,” Angela said. “Maybe. I don’t see any passion there. I know they respect each other, but I was never really sure if they loved each other. What about yours? Are they happy?”
Max nodded. “Yeah, I know they are. They have their disagreements, but they love spending time together. They golf and play tennis. And I’m pretty sure they still have sex, so that’s a good thing, right?”
“I think so,” she said. “I hope that when I’m older, my husband still wants me.”
“You want to get married, then?” Max asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose if the right man comes along.”
“And the perfect guy. He would be…”
Angela laughed. “You want a list? I don’t know. He’d be honest and kind. Funny. I think humor is important.”
“Rich?”
Angela shook her head. “No. I’d want him to be passionate about his work, but money isn’t a deal breaker. I guess that’s it. Honest, kind and funny. And maybe spontaneous and romantic, too.” She frowned. “It doesn’t seem like much. I really should have found a guy by now, don’t you think?”
“Maybe you’re like that penguin right there,”
Max said, pointing to the tank. “Maybe you’re still searching.”
She slipped her arm around his. And maybe she’d found him already and was just too stubborn to ac knowledge it, Angela mused. “Let’s go get some lunch. And then I have to get back to the office. I’ve been taking too much time off work and leaving everything to Ceci. It’s really not fair.”
“Do you ever take a vacation?” Max asked.
Angela shook her head. “Not really.”
“Then why don’t we go somewhere this weekend, just the two of us.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe next weekend?”
If they were both out of town next weekend, then neither one of them could attend the barbecue. “I’d have more time then.”
He shook his head. “That doesn’t work. I’ve got plans. My parents are throwing a barbecue.” He paused. “You wouldn’t want to come with me, would you?”
“No!” Angela quickly replied. “I mean if I’m in town, I should probably get some work done.”
“It’s probably for the better,” Max said. “There’s this woman they want me to meet. The daughter of one of my mother’s friends. I’ll just go and say hello.”
Angela’s breath caught in her throat. This was where her real life intersected with the life they’d created for themselves. She risked a sideways glance, trying to read his expression. Was it possible that his mother hadn’t mentioned the name of this woman? “So you have a blind date?” she asked. “What’s her name?”
This was it. The truth was about to come out, right here in front of the penguin tank. Angela was glad. She hated all of the secrets between them. She’d make her explanations and if he couldn’t except them, then it would be over.
He paused, then shrugged. “I don’t know. She went to high school with me, but I don’t remember her.”
Relief washed over her. He didn’t know it was her.
Though the urge to tell him was still there, Angela decided to take more time to consider her approach.
She loved the penguin tank and didn’t want one of her favorites spot ruined by a bad memory.
“She can’t possibly be as beautiful as you,” he said.
Angela felt guilt snake through her. Did he know?
Had Max already figured everything out? This was her fault for hiding things from him in the first place.
She should have walked into the bar and admitted her reasons for being there. If she had, she certainly wouldn’t be stuck in this mess now. No, considering his hatred of the press, he probably would have tossed her out on her ear.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Angela said. She’d tell him at lunch. She’d confess everything and then let the chips fall. If he was still in her life at the end of the day, then they might actually have a future together.
“DATE NUMBER THREE,” he said. “Let me see. Penguins at the aquarium, a long swim, take-out pasta for dinner, and early to bed. I think I deserve top scores, don’t you?”
Angela nuzzled her face into his shoulder, her naked body pressed against his. “You’re getting awfully confident. You expect top scores for take-out pasta?”
“It was from a great restaurant. Face it. You like me. You think I’m hot. I’m irresistible. I managed to talk you out of going back to work, didn’t I?”
“You’re not that irresistible,” she said.
She’d been awfully quiet since they’d left the aquarium. Max knew what was on her mind. She was trying to work up the courage to admit that she’d known him all along. His first impulse was to attach some ulterior motive to their meeting at the bar that night. But after he thought about it for a while, Max realized that there might be another reason she didn’t want to admit their common past. She’d been one of those girls that nobody noticed in high school, the girls who watched from the sidelines. The girls that a guy like Max wouldn’t have bothered to talk to.
Max ran his hand along her body, cupping her backside and pulling her up to lie on top of him. All that had changed. And not because she was beautiful, but because he had finally found a reason to see beyond mere physical beauty.
This stolen summer had changed him. He’d grown up, become an adult. And he was finally beginning to realize what life was all about. It wasn’t about money or fame. It was about this-the small, perfect moments that he shared with Angela. The quiet conversations and long silences. The simple kisses and the passion that followed.
“I am irresistible,” Max said, searching for her mouth. His lips brushed against hers and he moved above her, his shaft growing harder between them. “Admit it.”
“No,” she said. “I can resist. Just watch me.”
Her wicked smile was an outright challenge to him. And though they were only teasing, Max suddenly needed her to acknowledge what was happening between them, the power that their attraction generated. Did she want him as much as he wanted her? How deep did her feelings run?
Their conversation at the penguin exhibit had given him a few clues. She wanted a relationship, something that would last, even though she hadn’t come right out and said it. And wasn’t that what was going on here? A relationship?
With all the other women in his life, he saw their time together in finite terms, with a beginning and an end. But he wasn’t able to contemplate ending things with Angela. Though she hadn’t been completely honest with him, her actions certainly weren’t enough to drive him away. In truth, he felt even more attracted to her knowing how
