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Authors: Nora Roberts
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Jody.”
“Great strip this morning. I can’t believe Emily decking herself out in a trench coat and fedora and tailing Mr. Mysterious all over Soho. Where does she get this stuff?”
“She’s a creature of impulse and drama.” Cybil broke off a piece of a muffin. It was usual for them to discuss Emily and the other characters as separate people. “And she’s nosy. She just has to know.”
“What about you? Did you find out anything yet about our Mr. Mysterious?”
“Yeah.” Cybil said it on a sigh. “His name’s McQuinn.”
“I heard that.” Instantly alert, Jody jabbed out a finger. “You sighed.”
“No, I was just breathing.”
“Uh-uh, you sighed. What gives?”
“Well, actually …” She was dying to talk about it. “We sort of went out last night.”
“Went out? Like a date?” Quickly, Jody pulled over a chair, sat, leaned close. “Where, how, when? Details, Cyb.”
“Okay. So.” Cybil swiveled so they were face to face. “You know how Mrs. Wolinsky’s always trying to fix me up with her nephew?”
“Not again?” Jody rolled her dark eyes. “Why can’t she see you two are totally wrong for each other?”
Vast affection prevented Cybil from mentioning that it might be the same selective blindness that prevented Jody from seeing the flaws in the Cybil-Frank match.
“She just loves him. But anyway, she’d cooked up another date for me for last night, and I just couldn’t face it. You have to swear you won’t tell her—or anyone.”
“Except Chuck.”
“Husbands are excluded from the vow of silence in this case. I told her I already had a date—with McQuinn.”
“You had a date with 3B?”
“No, I just told her I did because I was flustered. You know how I start babbling when I lie.”
“You should practice.” Nodding, Jody bit into a muffin. “You’d get better at it.”
“Maybe. So after I tell her, I realize she’s going to be looking for us to leave together, and I have to cut some kind of deal with McQuinn to go along with it. I gave him a hundred and bought him dinner.”
“You paid him.” Jody’s eyes widened, then narrowed in speculation. “That’s brilliant. The whole time I was dating—especially during that drought period I told you about my sophomore year in college?—I never thought about just offering a guy some money to have dinner with me. How’d you settle on the hundred? Do you think that’s, like, the going rate?”
“It seemed right. He’s not working regularly, you know. And I figured he could use the money and a hot meal. We had a good time,” she added with a new smile. “Really good. Just spaghetti and conversation. Well, mostly one-sided conversation, as McQuinn doesn’t say a lot.”
“McQuinn.” Jody let the name roll over her tongue. “Still sounds mysterious. You don’t know his first name.”
“It never came up. Anyway, it gets better. We’re walking back. I think I loosened him up, Jody. He really seemed relaxed, almost friendly. Then I see Johnny Wolinsky’s car, and I panicked. I’m figuring she’s not going to stop trying to shove him at me unless she thinks I’ve got a guy. So I cut another deal with McQuinn and offered him fifty bucks to kiss me.”
Jody pursed her lips, then sipped coffee. “I think you should’ve said that was included in the hundred.”
“No, we’d already defined terms, and there wasn’t time to renegotiate. She was looking out the window. So he did, right there on the sidewalk.”
“Wow.” Jody grabbed the rest of her muffin. “What move did he use?”
“He just sort of
yanked
me against him.”
“Oh, man. The yank. I really like the yank.”
“Then I was plastered there, up on my toes because he’s tall.”
“Yeah.” Jody chewed, licked crumbs off her lips. “He’s tall. And built.”
“Really built, Jody. I mean the man is like a rock.”
“Oh, God.” On the moan, Jody rubbed her stomach. “Wow. Okay, so you’re plastered up there, on your
“Great strip this morning. I can’t believe Emily decking herself out in a trench coat and fedora and tailing Mr. Mysterious all over Soho. Where does she get this stuff?”
“She’s a creature of impulse and drama.” Cybil broke off a piece of a muffin. It was usual for them to discuss Emily and the other characters as separate people. “And she’s nosy. She just has to know.”
“What about you? Did you find out anything yet about our Mr. Mysterious?”
“Yeah.” Cybil said it on a sigh. “His name’s McQuinn.”
“I heard that.” Instantly alert, Jody jabbed out a finger. “You sighed.”
“No, I was just breathing.”
“Uh-uh, you sighed. What gives?”
“Well, actually …” She was dying to talk about it. “We sort of went out last night.”
“Went out? Like a date?” Quickly, Jody pulled over a chair, sat, leaned close. “Where, how, when? Details, Cyb.”
“Okay. So.” Cybil swiveled so they were face to face. “You know how Mrs. Wolinsky’s always trying to fix me up with her nephew?”
“Not again?” Jody rolled her dark eyes. “Why can’t she see you two are totally wrong for each other?”
Vast affection prevented Cybil from mentioning that it might be the same selective blindness that prevented Jody from seeing the flaws in the Cybil-Frank match.
“She just loves him. But anyway, she’d cooked up another date for me for last night, and I just couldn’t face it. You have to swear you won’t tell her—or anyone.”
“Except Chuck.”
“Husbands are excluded from the vow of silence in this case. I told her I already had a date—with McQuinn.”
“You had a date with 3B?”
“No, I just told her I did because I was flustered. You know how I start babbling when I lie.”
“You should practice.” Nodding, Jody bit into a muffin. “You’d get better at it.”
“Maybe. So after I tell her, I realize she’s going to be looking for us to leave together, and I have to cut some kind of deal with McQuinn to go along with it. I gave him a hundred and bought him dinner.”
“You paid him.” Jody’s eyes widened, then narrowed in speculation. “That’s brilliant. The whole time I was dating—especially during that drought period I told you about my sophomore year in college?—I never thought about just offering a guy some money to have dinner with me. How’d you settle on the hundred? Do you think that’s, like, the going rate?”
“It seemed right. He’s not working regularly, you know. And I figured he could use the money and a hot meal. We had a good time,” she added with a new smile. “Really good. Just spaghetti and conversation. Well, mostly one-sided conversation, as McQuinn doesn’t say a lot.”
“McQuinn.” Jody let the name roll over her tongue. “Still sounds mysterious. You don’t know his first name.”
“It never came up. Anyway, it gets better. We’re walking back. I think I loosened him up, Jody. He really seemed relaxed, almost friendly. Then I see Johnny Wolinsky’s car, and I panicked. I’m figuring she’s not going to stop trying to shove him at me unless she thinks I’ve got a guy. So I cut another deal with McQuinn and offered him fifty bucks to kiss me.”
Jody pursed her lips, then sipped coffee. “I think you should’ve said that was included in the hundred.”
“No, we’d already defined terms, and there wasn’t time to renegotiate. She was looking out the window. So he did, right there on the sidewalk.”
“Wow.” Jody grabbed the rest of her muffin. “What move did he use?”
“He just sort of
yanked
me against him.”
“Oh, man. The yank. I really like the yank.”
“Then I was plastered there, up on my toes because he’s tall.”
“Yeah.” Jody chewed, licked crumbs off her lips. “He’s tall. And built.”
“Really built, Jody. I mean the man is like a rock.”
“Oh, God.” On the moan, Jody rubbed her stomach. “Wow. Okay, so you’re plastered up there, on your
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