No Wife Required!. Rebecca Winters

Not that they need improvement or anything.”

      Max Jarvis’s all-encompassing gaze did a swift inventory of her legs, which suddenly felt as shaky as rubber. This time her face went hot.

      “Thank you very much. If it works those purported miracles, I’ll call in with my own testimonial, but don’t hold your breath.”

      She turned to Max. “Thank you, Mr. Jarvis. I didn’t expect to enjoy this evening so much.”

      A mysterious gleam entered his eyes. “The surprise was all mine, Lorraine. Good night.”

      Shaken by their meeting, Lacey hurried out to the car and sped all the way to the supermarket located a few blocks from the condo. Every time she thought of Max Jarvis, which was pretty constantly, a spurt of adrenaline shot through her system.

      She’d given him a chance to tell her the truth, but he hadn’t taken it. No man that attractive was still single. He had to be married, or living with a woman, she groaned inwardly. To waste her time fantasizing about him would be absurd. The only way to get over him was to stop listening to the radio during his show.

      Later, when she stood in line at the counter, a voice she’d know anywhere murmured, “I’m glad I found out you’re a vegetarian. I was going to ask you out for a steak dinner next week.”

      Shocked, Lacey turned around and discovered Max Jarvis standing behind her, staring at her groceries; lettuce, sunflower seeds, greens, and yogurt. Her heart was being given the greatest workout of its life.

      Her fear that he might have a wife at home prompted her to put an end to this right now. “Did you follow me here?”

      His features hardened perceptibly. “I hate to disappoint you, but the answer is no. This is where I shop.”

      That was funny. She always bought her groceries here, but this was the first time she’d ever seen him on the premises.

      “Interestingly enough,” he drawled, “the thought did occur to me that you had followed me. Have you changed your mind about going out for a drink?”

      “No!” she defended hotly, then had to force herself to calm down. “I shop here, too. I—I’m sorry if I jumped to conclusions.”

      Embarrassed and out of sorts, she avoided his narrowed gaze and waited nervously in line to pay for her groceries.

      “Hello.” The cashier grinned at her. “You’re looking mighty fine tonight.” The college freshman had been trying to get a date with her for the last year.

      “How are you, Roger?”

      “Better now that you’ve shown up,” he said as he bagged her groceries. “I’ve got two fifty-yard-line tickets to the game Saturday afternoon. How about it?”

      “Roger—I was playing football with the kids on the block before you were born. Try asking a girl your own age.”

      “Girls my own age don’t interest me.”

      “How many times have I told you that I make it a habit not to date a boy young enough to be my little brother? Have a good evening.”

      She paid for her groceries and left, all the while conscious that Max had heard every word of their conversation. At least now he knew she was a regular customer at this store and couldn’t accuse her of following him.

      “You were pretty rough on Roger, weren’t you?” came the distinctive sound of his voice directly behind her. “Boys his age have fragile egos.”

      Lacey swung around in the middle of the crowded parking lot. “His is about as fragile as concrete. He may look innocent, but he picks up desperate older women on a regular basis.”

      “That’s because he’s terrified of girls his own age. Think about that and let him down a little more gently next time. Whoever hurt you did a fairly thorough job of it. You’ve left a couple of bleeding victims in your wake and the night’s not even over yet.”

      A couple of bleeding victims, she grumbled silently as she wheeled away from him and found her car. A man who refused to be honest about his marital status wasn’t capable of being a victim and definitely didn’t deserve the time she spent thinking about him....

      CHAPTER THREE

      “COME on. It’s late and I’ve a full day’s work tomorrow. Let’s go.”

      Lacey bundled George in a quilt like a baby and headed home from the park across the street from the condo. She tossed the sack which had contained his dinner into the garbage can on the way.

      After having watched him eat greens, the thought of a steak dinner with Max Jarvis sounded more and more enticing. But he’d probably never call her now.

      It had been a couple of hours since she’d walked away from him in the supermarket parking lot. If by some miracle he did try to phone her, she would ask him politely if he were married. No sense wondering about the hotshot from California with the hot blue eyes if he belonged to someone else, if not in spirit and body, on paper. No more Perrys in her life. Not ever!

      Once again exhausted, Lacey put George to bed in his basket, then slid beneath the covers of her own bed as soon as they returned to the condo. She didn’t know anything else till the phone rang the next day around ten. George had been playing with his hoop at the side of her bed and handed her the receiver.

      She patted his head and said hello.

      “Hi, Lacey. It’s Lorraine.”

      “Hi! How are you? What does the doctor say?”

      “That’s why I’m calling. He’s given me a new medication he hopes will work. He doesn’t think I’m allergic to George after all. But he does think the shampoo I’ve been using may be the culprit. Can you believe it? It’s the same shampoo I use to bathe George.” She named the brand.

      “That’s what I use,” Lacey murmured, “but it hasn’t made me break out in a rash or hives or anything.”

      “Well, it’s only a theory, but I hope he’s right. Listen. I’m going to come over right now and get George, keep him for the weekend. You haven’t bathed him yet, have you?”

      “No. Sometimes I let him play in the plastic tub you brought over. But I haven’t let him use the shampoo. The only soap he has touched is that liquid stuff. What do you think?”

      “Good. The doctor wanted to be sure he hadn’t been near my shampoo for at least a week.”

      “You’re taking him for the whole weekend?”

      “What’s the matter? Do I detect a note of relief in your voice?”

      “Don’t get me wrong, Lorraine. He’s wonderful and perfectly behaved, but I’m beginning to understand why new mothers always look so harried and exhausted.”

      Lorraine chuckled. “It’s a huge responsibility. I take it you’ve decided not to volunteer as a foster parent to another monkey.”

      “I don’t think so. He needs a home with lots of room and a backyard where he can play. Every time I get down to work on someone’s accounts, he wants to help. I end up playing with him and accomplish nothing.

      “But I wouldn’t have missed the experience for the world. Someone other-abled will adore him because he’s so loving and good. I had no idea how much he craves companionship.”

      “He’s just like the rest of us. Lacey—you’re a friend in a million. I’m confident that I’ll have George home with me permanently a week from Tuesday. When’s Valerie due back?”

      “I’m not sure. Maybe a month. Maybe less.”

      “I’ll help you find a new place when the time comes to move. Has George missed me?”

      “I’ll say. But I think he’s had a pretty good time with me.”