Page 23 of And I Love Her

“Fatalwhat?” She laughed as his expression darkened. “Kidding. My mom is a huge fan, so I know about theFatal Glorymovies from her.”

“But you haven’t seen them?”

“No, sorry. But don’t take it personally. I don’t watch movies.”

“Then we need to change that.” He reached out as if he were about to touch her—even to put his hand on her knee, and Callie’s breath shortened with anticipation—but then he stopped halfway. “If you don’t keep me busy, I’ll end up at Sugar Joy stuffing myself full of cookies and cupcakes all day.”

A mental image of Jake licking frosting from a cupcake popped into Callie’s head. Warmth pooled in her belly.

Swiveling her chair to hide her flush, she tried to keep her voice even. “All right. I guess I can make the time for a movie.”

“Yes!”He fist-punched the air in triumph. With both hands.

She couldn’t prevent a smile. “Under one condition.”

“Name it.”

“You don’t wear the wig.”

Hesitation flashed over his expression. “Why not?”

So I can admire your sun-kissed hair, of course.

Clearing her throat, she gave a nonchalant shrug. “Now that I know who you are, the disguise is weird. If you want to go out asoldacquaintances, you have to be Jake Ryan.”

“Uh, not a good idea. I can’t risk being recognized.”

“Ican’t risk being seen with a poor imitation of Clark Kent.” She arched an eyebrow. “If I’m going to be me, you need to be you.”

He let out his breath. “Okay. For you, no disguise. The wig is itchy as hell, anyway. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Great!” Another brilliant smile broke over his face.

Callie’s breath shortened. “You know, for an international heartthrob, you’re unusually excited about going to the movies with a Classics professor.”

“I’ve never dated an academic.” He stepped closer, lowering his head to look her in the eye. The scent of him drifted to her nose—fresh air, autumn leaves, wood smoke. An outdoor adventure.

“And I’m not going to the movies with a Classics professor.” His voice deepened an octave, sending a shiver through her. “I’m going to the movies with a nice-girl acquaintance from high school who used to grab my attention every time she walked past and who was destined to change the world with the force of her intelligence.”

Despite the fact that her heart was pounding against her ribs and her skin was hot, Callie managed to slant him a cool look. “Good one. You should put that in a screenplay.”

A shutter came down over his eyes. He pushed away from her and stood. Tension threaded the air for half an instant, so quick that she wasn’t even sure it was there at all, much less where it had come from. Had she said something wrong?

Then he smiled again. “Can I pick you up, or do you want to meet at the theater?”

Though her blood fired up at the thought of being confined in a car with him, feeling his warmth, Callie said, “Meet. We can just meet.”

“Okay. I saw that the Vitaphone theater is still open. Do they still start movies at seven-thirty sharp?”

“As far as I know.” She flipped open her daily planner. “I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw a movie.”

“All right, Dr. Prescott.” Jake stepped back toward the door. “I’ll see you there at seven. Wear a plaid skirt.”

Her heart jumped again. She watched him leave, the purely female part of her appreciating the breadth of his back and his perfect ass.

The click of the door closing brought her sharply back to reality. What was she doing? She didn’t have time for movies orhanging out. She had papers to grade and a book to write…

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