Page 5 of Butterflies and Hazel Eyes
I gave him a flick of my shoulder. “I didn’t grow up in an environment reeking of positivity or brightness, so I made a pact to always keep those as my top two motivators.” Silence stretched between us at my awkward admittance. I needed to change the subject. “Where do you live, Gulliver?”
He tipped his head with indecision. “Why, Miss Puck, my place of residence is a private matter,” he said in a terrible Scarlett O’Hara voice.
I took a drink just as he said it, and root beer went up my nose and back out it again. I coughed and choked, accepting the napkin Gulliver handed me to clean myself up. When I could speak again, I gave him a dirty look. “You’re a real card, Mr. Winsome,” I said, wiping my shirt of root beer splatter. “I get it. Keep your nose out of my business, Charity Puck. You’re here to do a job and nothing else,” I said on a laugh.
He grinned, his mug near his lips. “Nah, I was messing with you. Everyone in town knows where I live. It’s not a secret. I have quarters off the reception area at Butterfly Junction.”
The door to the left of Honey’s desk ran through my mind. “I wouldn’t have guessed. Not a bad idea, though. I suppose that makes the commute easy and relaxing.”
He pointed at me with his fork. “You’re not kidding, especially with those things,” he said, hooking a thumb at the crutches. “I have a one-bedroom apartment, which is all I need. I’m in the research lab late most nights anyway, so it’s handy to be able to fall into bed after a short trot up the stairs.”
I tsked. “You know what they say,” I said, drawing out the last word. When he didn’t respond, I filled in the blank. “All work and no play makes Gulliver a very boring boy.”
Charity!I scolded myself. Stop flirting with him! You never mix business with pleasure, yet here you are, batting your eyelashes and making googly eyes at this guy. Next thing you know you’ll be flipping your hair around like you are Marilyn Monroe.
I had to bite back a chuckle.Great comparison there. You’re only a foot shorter and far less gorgeous than Marilyn but keep trying.
“Trust me, if there were more people in this town like you, I wouldn’t be bored, but when you live in a place where not a lot happens, you’re bound to spend much of your time working.”
I finished my pizza and leaned on the table. “Why do you live here then? Can’t you do this kind of work anywhere?”
Gulliver shook his head as he swallowed. “Not anywhere, no. We need access to farm fields to test our products. Being so close to the lake means we have the added benefit of testing for runoff in the waterways.”
“I would say that makes sense, but I’m still not clear on your background, Gulliver. How did you get into this line of work?”
“I’m an entomologist with a sub-degree as a lepidopterist.” He squirmed slightly in his seat as though he had a hard time admitting the truth.
I raised my brows in tandem. “A what now?”
His laughter was rich and deep, and when it settled, you felt oddly comforted yet longed to hear it again. “Believe me when I say you aren’t the first one to wonder what I’m talking about, which is why I don’t mention it often. It applies to the job you’re going to do, so I’ll explain. An entomologist studies bugs, and a lepidopterist studies butterflies and moths, otherwise known as lepidopterans.”
“Butterfly Junction,” I said slowly, hitting my forehead lightly with the palm of my hand. “It all makes sense now.” I paused with my hand on my head. “Wait, no, it doesn’t, other than the name.”
When Debbie returned to the table, Gulliver handed her some cash and asked her to box up the rest of the pizza. “There are several aspects to the business, but the most important is research and development. My business partner, Mathias Jørgensen, and I are working to develop pesticides to protect the lepidopterans while being effective against other pests that harm crops. If we don’t find -cides—and ‘cide’ means ‘to kill’—that are safe for bees and butterflies as well as other pollinating insects, our food supplies will dwindle until there’s nothing.”
“Because all the pollinating insects will be dead,” I said in a low whisper.
He pointed at me with a grim smile on his lips. “Bingo. We’re also trying to protect the waterways. Herbicides and fertilizers ruin many of our lakes in the farm belt. The runoff causes algae blooms and fish kills. It’s a real problem we need to solve, or we won’t have water to drink either. Without food and water—”
“We don’t exist.”
He threw his hands up in the air and did some hushed cheering. “And she wins the gold.”
“I have to give you credit, Gulliver. I’ve learned more than one new thing today. Terrifying but new. I assume there are plenty of scientists like you out there trying to fix a problem most of us don’t even know exists?”
He bowed slightly in acceptance of the compliment. “It’s a burden to carry, but we do it for the greater good of keeping our food supply healthy and prevalent. There’s also hope we can find a way for farmers in developing countries around the world to produce the product. If we can do that, they’ll be able to protect their water supply at the same time.”
“Wow,” I said, my voice tinged with impressed surprise. “Right now, I’m thrilled I took this job. I’m completely taken aback by all of this, but I’m fascinated at the same time. Thank you for explaining it to me. I have to admit I’m feeling a bit intimidated, but I’m sure I’ll get over it in time.”
When he smiled, the gold flecks swirled through those bronzed globes of goodness like a kaleidoscope. They reminded me of the reflections off the lake at sunrise, and I forced myself not to sigh like a schoolgirl. Then I noticed the edges of his eyes crinkled in the most adorable way and the sigh escaped. The laugh lines gave him the look of a distinguished older gentleman while wearing that boy-next-door grin. Everything about Gulliver Winsome was open and inviting, and you wanted to make him laugh just to see that smile again.
“You’re welcome,” he said, which drew my wandering mind back to the conversation, “but don’t feel intimidated, please. I’m not about my degree. I believe we all have important skills to offer the world. We’re all here doing what we do for a reason. For instance, I’m so desperate to have my computer server checked for security leaks that I begged a woman to drive across the country to take this job. Maybe I can develop eco-friendly pesticides, but I can’t write a line of code, much less hack a server.”
I offered him a shy smile. “Thank you for saying so. You would think I’d be over the terrifying fear of inferiority after all these years, but the human psyche is an interesting thing.”
Gulliver finished his pop and set it down on the table. “And you’re an interesting woman,” he said, tipping his head toward me in a bow. “I can’t wait to get to know you better.”
The look in his eye while his brow was crooked upward told me he was serious about that too. Too bad I wouldn’t be staying in Plentiful long enough for that to happen. I could do much worse than hanging out with Gulliver Winsome on a summer evening around a campfire. Sure, he might be two feet taller than I am, but that’s not unusual. As a little person, everyone is two feet taller than I am. It made me wonder, though. If I laid my head on his belly, would it be soft under my cheek or would there be a six-pack hiding under that sweater of grasshoppers. Not too many guys could pull off a sweater like that and not look ridiculous. Gulliver could. There was just something about the way he looked at me that drew a shiver of anticipation up my spine.
