Notorious

His jaw was clenched so tight his teeth seemed welded together. “We are not going to need them.”

“Maybe not. But that’s the thing about condoms. The packages are small and they store well. And there could be a time when you will thank me for planning ahead. Now give me my stuff. It’s time to check out.” She took her items from him and sashayed down the aisle with her lotion, her deodorant, her toothbrush and two kinds of extra-large condoms.

She obviously expected him to be wearing them before the weekend was over. It was a classic case of damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

3

KEELY HAD JUST LAID her purchases on the checkout counter when her cell phone rang from deep inside her shoulder purse. Damn. She’d forgotten about it.

She wheeled away from the counter, startling the young male clerk. “Forgot something!” she called over her shoulder to Noah, who, fortunately, was trailing her by a few paces. She figured he was embarrassed for the clerk to notice that she was buying condoms so he’d hung back from approaching the counter. Good thing. Maybe he hadn’t heard her cell phone.

It rang again as she made a mad dash for the aisle labeled Feminine Products. If Noah had been schizy about the condom display, he surely wouldn’t follow her there. Once she was safely surrounded by rows of tampon and sanitary-napkin boxes, she dug in her purse and took out the phone.

When she put it to her ear she heard the familiar voice of her editor. “Keely, sweetheart. Good news.”

“Hi, Carolyn,” she murmured softly. Trust her editor to call at the exact wrong moment.

“Why are you whispering? Are you in a movie theater or something?”

“No, but I can’t talk loud. Or long.”

“That’s okay. This will be quick. Remember you mentioned expanding this article by interviewing some dancers in Reno, but I wasn’t sure we should bother?”

“I remember, but can I call you back on this?” She glanced nervously behind her to make sure Noah wasn’t there. “I—”

“I’ll only be a sec. The publisher loves the Reno angle. I’ve lined up a couple of interview subjects for you there. You have a seven-forty flight out of Vegas on Monday morning. Got a pen? I’ll give you the confirmation number.”

“Carolyn, I—”

“Ready? Here it is.” Carolyn rattled off the number.

Keely grabbed her notebook out of her purse and wrote down the number, but all the while she was thinking that this cell phone could blow her cover in no time this weekend. Carolyn expected her to keep the phone turned on while she was on assignment.

“Got it?” Carolyn asked.

“Got it, but Carolyn, you’re fading out.” Keely pressed the disconnect button a couple of times. “Carolyn? I think the phone’s going on the blink. It’s—” She broke off and ran the phone up and down the edge of a box several times, hoping the noise sounded like static. Then she put it back to her ear to gauge Carolyn’s reaction.

“Keely? What’s going on? Keely, can you hear me?”

“Barely,” Keely whispered. “I think it’s—” She dragged the phone around on the boxes some more before turning it off. Maybe she’d convinced Carolyn that the phone was dead. Keely buried it in the bottom of her purse again before heading back toward the checkout counter.

Looking extremely uneasy, Noah stood by the counter next to her items, which had been set aside while the clerk rang up another customer’s purchases.

Keely smiled sweetly as she walked up to Noah. “Those prices weren’t as reasonable, so I decided not to bother.”

His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What was that funny sawing noise?”

During her wild teen years, fast thinking had saved her more times than she could count. “I had an itch in the middle of my back. I used the corner of a box to scratch it.” She gave a little wriggle. “All better.”

He gulped. “Oh.” His voice was strained as he attempted to sound casual. “That explains it.”

Somehow she kept from laughing. One wriggle and he was gulping for air. She didn’t remember him being so suggestible years ago. Apparently she had the advantage this time…so long as she kept her heart out of the equation.

“I can ring you up now, miss.” The clerk, who couldn’t have been more than eighteen, regarded her with adoration.

“Fabulous.” She winked and sent him a high-wattage grin. “You have a very nice store here…” She paused to glance at his red plastic name tag. “Chad.”

Chad grew as red as his name tag. “Thank you very much,” he mumbled, and then he concentrated on punching the right numbers into the register. He had to clear his throat before he could tell her the amount. His gaze kept drifting to her chest and then he’d pull his eyes back with an obvious effort.

She opened her wallet and removed the money as quickly as she could. Her press pass was in there along with a gold card, but Noah would have had to be paying close attention to see either of them.

Chad took the money and handed over her change. “Do you, uh, live near here?” he asked eagerly. “I mean, would you like to be on our mailing list for…um…future sales?”

“Thanks, but I’m currently between addresses.”

“Oh.” Chad glanced over at Noah, then back at her, as if trying to decide if they were a couple. “Well, uh, feel free to stop in anytime. We always have specials.”

“Thanks. I’ll remember that.” Picking up the plastic bag containing her purchases, she looked at Noah. “Ready?”

He gave a curt nod.

“Bye!” Chad called. “Come back anytime!”

She turned and smiled at him. “Bye.”

Noah held the door for her as they left the store. Judging from the set of his jaw, she didn’t think he was very happy. From all signs, he was a wee bit jealous—of a boy barely old enough to shave. Amazing.

Once upon a time she’d turned herself inside out trying to arouse Noah’s jealousy, to no avail. Now it seemed that she’d done it with one hand tied behind her back. She decided to test the waters. “He was a nice kid,” she said as they walked along the street.

“The way he was drooling I thought he might flood the store.” Noah sounded quite irritated. “I think with a little more encouragement he would have asked you out, even though you’re old enough to be his—”

“Big sister? He wasn’t that much younger.”

“Hell, he probably got his driver’s license yesterday.”

“He looked more like eighteen or nineteen to me. And by the way, men date women who are ten years younger than they are and nobody says boo.”

He stared at her. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in him?”

She wasn’t, not even slightly, but a jealous Noah was something she’d waited years to experience. She wanted to savor the feeling a little longer. “Well, he was very sweet, and he had the cutest dimple in his chin.”

“You’re putting me on.”

“Okay, maybe I am. But, for the record, I don’t think it would be the end of civilization if I happened to be interested in him. Some of my friends have deliberately taken younger lovers.”

“Probably so they can lead them around by the nose.”

Oh, this man had some things to learn, and she was just the gal to educate him. “I don’t think that’s the part of their anatomy they care about. A younger guy is usually so eager to please, and he generally has more…staying power.”