“No, and thank you,” Dar replied, leaning back in her chair. “I just got out of a really annoying meeting.”
Kerry settled on the edge of the desk and opened the bag, spreading out a napkin, then setting out a container of Chinese food. “They have a limited selection around there, and I didn’t think you’d appreciate Taco Bell.”
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Dar peeked inside the container and grinned. “Good choice.” She sniffed the sweet and spicy chicken appreciatively. “I was in the mood for this today.
How’d you guess?”
“I think I just got lucky.” Kerry chuckled and handed her a pair of chopsticks. “Oh, and, um…” She overturned her cupped hand and poured a trickle of silver-wrapped Hershey’s kisses on the desk. “Dessert.”
“Heh.” Dar immediately abandoned the chicken and pounced on the chocolate. “Listen, be careful in that meeting you’ve got with Eleanor this afternoon. I just offended her pretty badly.” She happily munched a kiss. “On top of it, I have to be nice to her at a cocktail party tonight.”
Kerry grimaced. “Thanks for warning me. Tonight’s my skating night with Colleen. I’ll be ready to let out some frustration by the time I get done with them, I bet.” She paused, seeming to want to go on, but fell silent.
“We still on for tomorrow night?” Dar asked, watching her face. “If you want, we can go back to my place afterward. Maybe take a swim in the pool?”
Sea green eyes warmed. “I’d like that.”
Dar silently unwrapped one of the kisses and handed it to her, eyes twinkling.
The opening door surprised both of them and they jumped a little. Maria entered, giving them a glance, then smiling. “Ah, Kerrisita, I have mail for you.”
She bustled forward and handed Kerry several pieces of mail. “Dar, I got your tickets, but Dios mío, it is expensive.” She handed the executive an itinerary.
“And remember, you have your follow-up visit to your doctor tomorrow.”
Dar nodded, taking the sheet and examining it. “Great. Thanks, Maria.”
She thought a minute. “It probably won’t take long tomorrow, I’m his first visit. He just wants to repeat the bloodwork he did last time.” She glanced at her watch. “Let me swallow this, and I gotta get going.”
“Me too.” Kerry nodded. “Wish me luck.”
The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes. “Good luck. And remember, she’s probably in a foul mood.” Dar thought a minute. “Especially since she probably missed lunch.” She grinned evilly and bit a piece of chicken in half.
Kerry groaned. “All right. See you all later.” She got off the desk and left the office, leaving Maria shuffling papers and Dar chewing.
The door closed. “Ay, she is such a nice person, Dar.” Maria sighed. “So sweet.”
“Mmm, yeah. It was nice of her to bring me back some lunch. She’s a good kid,” Dar replied offhandedly. “Glad I found her.”
“Si, is good,” Maria agreed. “And how is your headaches?”
Dar took a breath to answer, then stopped. She blinked. “I…I haven’t had one since I went home that day,” she murmured, a little disconcerted. “Now how do you like that?”
“Is good! Maybe seeing Mickey Mouse helped,” Maria suggested.
“Maybe.” Dar took another bite of chicken and smiled in return.
“Or maybe it is Kerrisita being so nice to you, yes?” Maria asked with an impish expression.
Dar paused in mid-chew and looked at her.
“I will go make copies now. Enjoy your lunch, Jefa.” Her admin bustled out, closing the door softly behind her and leaving Dar in wide-eyed silence.
280 Melissa Good KERRY STRAPPED ON the Rollerblades, looking up as a knock came at the door. “C’mon in, Col,” she called out cheerfully, then grinned as the door popped open and Colleen came rolling in, waving her hands for balance.
“Hey, watch it!”
The redhead plopped down on the couch, sticking her wheeled feet out in front of her. “Hey, Ker, what’s up?” Her eyes twinkled mischievously at her friend. “Was that Dar’s Lexus out there last night?”
Was it only last night? Jesus. “Um…yeah,” Kerry knew she was blushing,
“it was. She came over for dinner.”
Colleen chuckled in triumph. “I knew it. We think you two are soooooo cute together.”
Kerry’s head came up so fast it made her dizzy. “What? Who is we?”
The redhead noted that her friend didn’t dispute the statement. “Ray and Susan and me. We hung around talking about you Saturday night.” She grinned unrepentantly at Kerry’s shocked look. “Okay, okay, so she passed the grilling. She’s not a gorgon.”
“C’mon, Colleen, it was just dinner.” Kerry tried a weak laugh. “You’re acting like we’re a couple or something.” After a slight silence, Kerry looked up and saw her friend gazing at her, a knowing look on her face. They stared at each other for a long, tense moment before Kerry sighed and dropped her gaze, looking down at a pair of knotted hands between her knees.
Colleen got up and rolled over, crouching down next to her and putting a hand on her knee. “Kerry, if it makes you happy, it’s all right.”
“It’s not all right.” Kerry looked up. “She’s my boss, Colleen. It’s against company rules, and we could both get in a lot of trouble.” She couldn’t keep the tiny smile from stretching her lips. “We’re trying to keep it a secret. I think we’re doing a miserable job of it, though, if you guys came to that conclusion after just having dinner with us.”
“Well…”
“Before we’d even so much as kissed each other,” Kerry finished, resting her chin on one fist. “Am I wearing a sign or something?”
Colleen sat down on the floor and crossed her legs, careful not to boot her friend in the shins with the Rollerblades. “Listen, hon, let me ’splain something to you about something we call chemistry.” She put a fingertip on Kerry’s knee. “Do you know what I’m talking about?”
Kerry exhaled. “Not really, unless you’re referring to periodic tables or something bizarre like that.”
“Okay. Well, chemistry is when something clicks between two people.
You can see it on the TV screen sometimes, but not always because those are people who are playing characters, you know?”
Kerry’s brow creased. “Not exactly.”
Colleen thought. “Okay, have you ever seen a Richard Burton and Liz Taylor movie?”
“Um, sure, that Roman thing. Yeah, okay.” Kerry nodded. “They’re really good together, I thought. I really believed they were in love with each other.”
“Well, they were,” Colleen smiled at her, “in real life. And that showed when they were on the screen together, too. When they looked at each other, or just how they acted…you could tell.” She exhaled. “That’s chemistry. And a Tropical Storm 281
lot of times you’ll hear someone say ‘those two had chemistry’ when they’re talking about people on TV, or in the movies, or even just two people they see.” She paused. “You understand?”
“Not exactly,” Kerry admitted. “I mean, yes. I know what you mean about characters. I usually notice when people are supposed to be in love on the screen, and it’s obvious that they can’t stand each other in real life, so, yeah.”
Colleen rubbed her temples. “I was trying to put this gently, but I can see it’s a wasted effort.” She laughed softly. “Kerry, when you look at her, your whole face lights up.” She glanced up at the startled woman. “And when she looks at you, there’s an electricity that I can almost feel.” She searched Kerry’s face for a reaction. “You two have chemistry going, big time, and it doesn’t take a PhD to pick up on it.”