Page 7 (1/2)

Fro for Todd in any way You have nothing to worry about

Five

Todd drove slowly through the traffic around UCLA, then pulled over to the curb He scanned the crowd of students, then saw Marina talking to a young wo

The toraceful dance he couldn’t decipher Marina nodded, then glanced over her shoulder She saw hi to her friend The friend nodded, they hugged, then Marina started toward hi-sleeved T-shirt, she fit in with the other students around her He let his gaze linger on her swaying hips, then olden hair fluttered She looked like a coet a girl like this

She opened the passenger side door and slid inside "Hey," she said "Going to let o to your head"

"So typical," she muttered as she fastened her seat belt "Why do ive the poor females too much responsibility or power They won’t be able to handle it"

"Women control the majority of wealth in this country"

"A fact that makes me s becauseI’hed and he joined in Their lasthad been at the tux shop, where she’d kissed the hell out of hito do about that wanting For noas enough to simply enjoy Marina’s company

As he pulled back into the traffic, he tried to remember the last ti out and talk and tease without counting the et her into bed

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sleep with Marina--he did But he also liked her

When was the last tiotten how that felt Not that he trusted her He trusted no wo with her today ever since the last tiuage?" he asked

She glanced at him "I’irlfriends had a hunky older brother as deaf I was about fourteen at the ti and I knew that inside he was really deep and fascinating and that he would fall madly in love with uage class and really enjoyed it, so I kept going"

"What happened with the guy?"

"He turned out to be a total jerk who just happened to be deaf Still, I’rateful he put reat part-tilanced at her watch "I’m sorry I have to split up our day"

"No proble flexible"

"Far be it from me to stand in the way of someone’s education"

"Spoken like a trueover to a different caterer to sa up later at his place to interview a florist

"Now that Ryan and Julie have picked their colors, we can make some firm decisions," he said "I let the florist knohat the colors were and she’ll bring appropriate saives us lots of rooirl stuff pink"

"Then everyone’s happy"

"Exactly" She sht and s at each other he said, "That was some kiss the other day"

Instantly her eyes widened and color stained her cheeks She jerked her gaze away from him and stared out the windshield "Yes, well, you said you needed protecting"

He’d wondered what she’d thought about their kiss Had it been as powerfully erotic for her as it had been for him? Now he knew the answer to that was yes He also knew she was a little eht you really needed protecting," she said, still not looking at him "You can handle wo when I’h the intersection "I wasn’t expecting the passion"

"Just because I’m smart and into science doesn’t meant I’m not like other people"

"You’re not like other people, but that’s a good thing I’, Marina I like who you are"

"Oh Good Not that your opinion lanced at hiht need to be rescued later"

"I don’t think so You can save yourself without help from me"

"That’s kind of cold"

"Live with it"

He chuckled and she s about what Julie had said about the place settings Buttopic Na Marina into his bed

He wanted her That wasn’t the question He knew they would be great together He’d learned that the first real kiss told a hell of a lot about chemistry and compatibility and desire He and Marina had it all tient

For one thing, they would be connected to each other for the rest of their lives Between his aunt byhis cousin, they were in each other’s worlds Having sex would only , she wasn’t his usual type She didn’t play when it ca serious when it cas si about it had kept hihts and that hadn’t happened to him…ever

Marina stared down at the small plate of pasta in front of her While she appreciated the artful presentation, she was starting to get a little paranoid

She leaned closer to Todd and whispered, "Is it just me, or has every dish been covered with some kind of cream sauce?"

"It’s not you," he whispered back "The salad dressing, that creamy soup, the chicken, the crab cakes"

"Now this pasta," she murmured "If we picked this place, we’d have to have white as our accent color"

She raked her fork through the perfectly cooked fettuccini She couldn’t complain about the food itself The shrietables crisp, the sauce a decadent blend of cream and cheese and whatever spices went into it, but still

"We can leave," he told her