Secret Indiscretions (Sue Thomas FBEye)

Chapter Four

After spending the afternoon in buildings with barely effective air-conditioning, Tara was ready to crawl into an icebox and hibernate. But she had that dinner with Myles. She sighed. She wasn't hungry, and she didn't have any answer for him, only more questions. Not quite true, she amended. She did obtain some answers but they only added to the confusion. Right about now, it even made her appreciate her lone and boring life.

She opted for a long cool shower, before facing her next dilemma. Staring at her wardrobe, she was starting to sweat again. Her landlord was supposed to fix her air-conditioning unit today. When she realised he didn't show up she gave him a piece of her mind and withheld her rent. He promised to be there bright and early tomorrow morning. She had grumbled another insult before taking her leave. Like she wanted to have a noisy handyman in her apartment on a Saturday morning, she thought, shaking her head. Now, if only an outfit could jump from the closet and land in her hands.

She was still sporting only her underwear when she heard the doorbell.

"Darn," she exclaimed, looking at the clock. Why did Myles have to be so punctual? "Coming," she yelled, doubting he could hear. She grabbed the closest skirt and top, a pink and purple cotton skirt with a fuchsia tank top. "I hope you have sunglasses, Myles," she murmured as she gave one look at her image before dashing for the door, certain he would be gone. And if he wasn't, she would probably scare him away.

"You need to water those poor..." Tearing his eyes from the dying flowers in the basket hanging under her porch light, he gaped when he saw her.

That would definitely be her shortest date ever, she thought, as she read his stunned expression, not that they were going on a date to begin with, she corrected herself.

"You look... you look..." he mumbled, swallowing hard, his eyes darting up, down and around the curves accentuated by the formfitting ensemble.

She sighed, dejected, not quite understanding why she felt that little twitch in her stomach.

"You look... amazing, Tara," he said finally able to articulate once he forced his gaze away from her fine attributes.

She looked at him in astonishment. Did he say amazing?

"Tara? Something wrong?"

She shook her head, unable to formulate an intelligent sentence.

"Shall we go?"

He offered his arms then guided her to his car, opening the passenger door for her. After sitting he turned towards her.

"You will have to tell me where we're going," he teased, hoping to help her relax, "unless you want raw meat?" It seemed to do the trick if the smile that curled up her lips was any indication. "Or do I have to guess?"

"I... I haven't even given it a thought," she apologized.

"What would you like to eat?"

"Ice cre..." She clapped her mouth shut with embarrassment at what she'd been about to suggest. She was with Myles Leland the Third, not Sue and Lucy.

"Ice cream?" His blue-grey eyes twinkled amusingly. "You are definitely living a much more adventurous life than mine," he observed, laughter piercing through his words. "Tara, would you trust me with the choice of venue?"

She nodded, throwing herself at his mercy, surprised Myles still wanted to take her out.

***

"You know, Forrester, I can appreciate you're the silent type, but how about sharing some info here?" Jack suggested. He had been sitting in the passenger seat of Forrester's car for the past two hours, and was starting to question his judgement.