Read Online Absolutely, Positively by Jayne Ann Krentz - Free Book Online
Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
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utterly ruthless. You said he shredded the work of innocent inventors as if it were so much raw meat. You said that hiring him to help you vet grant proposals had been the equivalent of hiring Tyrannosaurus Rex to baby-sit small, furry mammals.”
Molly thought about Harry's mouth on hers. She could still feel the heat he had generated. It was more intense than any of the thirteen different varieties of chile peppers she stocked.
“Let's just say I was definitely wrong about one thing,” Molly said. “He's not cold-blooded.”
“I don't believe it.” Tessa shook her head. “The guy talked you into a date?”
“Sort of.”
“Aren't you worried that you'll die of boredom?”
“I don't think boredom will be a problem,” Molly mused. “And that's another distinction that must be made between T-Rex and Harry Trevelyan. From all accounts, dinosaurs had tiny little two-watt brains. The same cannot be said of Dr. Harry Trevelyan. He's what they call a polymath these days.”
“What's a polymath?”
“The modern term for a Renaissance man. Well-versed in a wide variety of subjects.”
“Oh.” Tessa looked dubious. “Brainpower does not necessarily make a man an interesting dinner companion.”
“Harry is plenty interesting, believe me.” Molly inhaled the scents of fine teas and fragrant spices. She glanced around the shop with proprietary pride. Automatically, she checked to see that all was in readiness for the day.
The ritual was a familiar one. She had been going through it faithfully since the first morning she had come to work. That had been when she was twenty years old, the year her mother had died. Molly had been forced to drop out of college to support herself, her sister, and her father.
The Abberwick fortunes, never stable, had taken another serious downturn that year. Jasper had borrowed twenty thousand dollars to finance the development of a new invention, and the bank wanted its money back. The loan officer had been under the impression that Jasper had intended to use the cash to make household improvements. He did not take kindly to the discovery that the money had been poured into a failed design for robotic control systems.
Jasper had been educated as an engineer, but he was constitutionally incapable of holding down a regular job. The compulsion to design and invent always got in the way of even the most liberal corporate routine. Jasper had chafed under any sort of restriction. He had to be free to pursue his dreams.
Molly's mother, Samantha, had loved her husband with patience and understanding. She had also been practical. It was Samantha's steady paycheck that had kept the family afloat during lean times.
Things changed with Samantha Abberwick's death in a car accident. Kelsey had been only nine at the time. The family had been devastated, both emotionally and financially.
Molly had missed her mother desperately, but there was scant time to grieve. Too many things had to be done. Kelsey was Molly's top priority. And then there was the family's fragile financial situation. Without the income from Samantha's job to rely upon, disaster loomed.
Jasper Abberwick was the epitome of the absentminded inventor. In the days following his wife's death, he could not deal with the realities of the family's cash flow problems. He took refuge in his basement workshop, leaving Molly to confront the crisis.
Molly had assessed the situation, and then she had done what had to be done. She had left college for the working world.
The shop she now owned had not been named Abberwick Tea & Spice in those days. It had been called Pipewell Tea in honor of its owner, Zinnia Pipewell.
It had been located in a dingy hole-in-the-wall near the Pike Place Market. Business had not been what anyone would have called brisk. Seattle was a city addicted to coffee, not fine tea. Zinnia could barely afford an assistant.
Molly had suspected from the start that the older woman had felt sorry
Molly thought about Harry's mouth on hers. She could still feel the heat he had generated. It was more intense than any of the thirteen different varieties of chile peppers she stocked.
“Let's just say I was definitely wrong about one thing,” Molly said. “He's not cold-blooded.”
“I don't believe it.” Tessa shook her head. “The guy talked you into a date?”
“Sort of.”
“Aren't you worried that you'll die of boredom?”
“I don't think boredom will be a problem,” Molly mused. “And that's another distinction that must be made between T-Rex and Harry Trevelyan. From all accounts, dinosaurs had tiny little two-watt brains. The same cannot be said of Dr. Harry Trevelyan. He's what they call a polymath these days.”
“What's a polymath?”
“The modern term for a Renaissance man. Well-versed in a wide variety of subjects.”
“Oh.” Tessa looked dubious. “Brainpower does not necessarily make a man an interesting dinner companion.”
“Harry is plenty interesting, believe me.” Molly inhaled the scents of fine teas and fragrant spices. She glanced around the shop with proprietary pride. Automatically, she checked to see that all was in readiness for the day.
The ritual was a familiar one. She had been going through it faithfully since the first morning she had come to work. That had been when she was twenty years old, the year her mother had died. Molly had been forced to drop out of college to support herself, her sister, and her father.
The Abberwick fortunes, never stable, had taken another serious downturn that year. Jasper had borrowed twenty thousand dollars to finance the development of a new invention, and the bank wanted its money back. The loan officer had been under the impression that Jasper had intended to use the cash to make household improvements. He did not take kindly to the discovery that the money had been poured into a failed design for robotic control systems.
Jasper had been educated as an engineer, but he was constitutionally incapable of holding down a regular job. The compulsion to design and invent always got in the way of even the most liberal corporate routine. Jasper had chafed under any sort of restriction. He had to be free to pursue his dreams.
Molly's mother, Samantha, had loved her husband with patience and understanding. She had also been practical. It was Samantha's steady paycheck that had kept the family afloat during lean times.
Things changed with Samantha Abberwick's death in a car accident. Kelsey had been only nine at the time. The family had been devastated, both emotionally and financially.
Molly had missed her mother desperately, but there was scant time to grieve. Too many things had to be done. Kelsey was Molly's top priority. And then there was the family's fragile financial situation. Without the income from Samantha's job to rely upon, disaster loomed.
Jasper Abberwick was the epitome of the absentminded inventor. In the days following his wife's death, he could not deal with the realities of the family's cash flow problems. He took refuge in his basement workshop, leaving Molly to confront the crisis.
Molly had assessed the situation, and then she had done what had to be done. She had left college for the working world.
The shop she now owned had not been named Abberwick Tea & Spice in those days. It had been called Pipewell Tea in honor of its owner, Zinnia Pipewell.
It had been located in a dingy hole-in-the-wall near the Pike Place Market. Business had not been what anyone would have called brisk. Seattle was a city addicted to coffee, not fine tea. Zinnia could barely afford an assistant.
Molly had suspected from the start that the older woman had felt sorry
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