Operation Babe-Magnet: Operation Babe-Magnet / Operation Beauty

THREE DAYS LATER, Dexter sat in a Cleveland shopping mall at a table piled high with copies of How To Jump-Start Your Love Life. So far he hadn’t sold a single book, although he had given several people directions to the rest room.

Kylie had spent most of the last three days on her cell phone, although she had brought him a chocolate ice cream cone a few minutes ago to relieve his boredom. Dexter licked the top layer of the cone, wishing he could apply the frozen treat to his eyes instead of his mouth. They were dry and itchy, despite the fact that he’d added the lubricating drops the optometrist had given him when he’d purchased the contact lenses.

He glanced at his watch, suppressing a groan when he realized he still had over an hour to go before this interminable book signing came to an end. And twenty-one more days to go until his mission was over. This last week, spending every day with Kylie and dreaming about her every night had been sheer torture.

By the time Kylie reappeared at his table, he’d finished the ice cream cone and had counted all the holes in the ceiling tiles above him.

“How’s it going?” she asked, looking expectantly around the mall.

“I think the people in Cleveland are satisfied with their love life,” Dexter replied. “Is there any way we can ditch this thing early?”

Kylie shook her head. “I have a reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer coming down to do a story. She should be here any minute.”

“I’m afraid the story is going to be that the book is a bomb.”

Kylie sat down in the chair next to him. “Actually, I’ve got a different story in mind.”