us.”
“There is no us.”
“Aw, snookums, don’t talk like that. There will always be an us. Ever since I first laid eyes on you at Bubba’s Shrimp Shack, I knew you were my one and only.”
“Bubba’s Shrimp Shack?”
“I thought it gave the story some color. What do you think?”
“I think color is less important than credibility.” She frowned, trying to think how she could possibly have met a guy like Chase. “Maybe you came in as a volunteer test subject for my last experiment.”
“Kinky. I like it.”
“There is nothing kinky about my work.” She scowled at a red light. “How long have we been together? Not too long. We don’t want them to think we’re too serious. Maybe three or four weeks?”
“Have we had sex yet?”
Mia’s face went up like a torch—a series of wholly delicious images flashing very inappropriately through her brain. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”
“I should know, in case your father gives me the evil eye, should I look guilty or virtuous?”
“Virtuous. Very, very virtuous. But he won’t give you the evil eye. He’ll be too busy hiding in his den. And even if you meet him, they aren’t puritanical like that. My family…” Mia sighed. “Picture the exact opposite of me in every way. Loud, overbearing, fun.”
“Hey, you’re fun. And funny too.”
“No, I’m not. Every last one of them is the life of the party, except me. If I didn’t look so much like my dad, I’d be convinced I was switched at birth.” She rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “I’m the second of five kids. Three girls, two boys. My parents are both from big families—my mom has four sisters and my dad has three brothers and two sisters. All of them married. All of them with a pack of kids of their own. And every single one of them will be there today. I’ll try to help you navigate who’s who, but it’s pretty much hopeless the first time, unless we can get everyone to wear nametags like we did at my cousin Mario’s wedding. Except my other cousins made a game out of switching their nametags every fifteen minutes, so even that system wasn’t perfect.”
“Sounds like an adventure.”
“It is what it is. I love my family, but there are days when I secretly wish I’d been born an only child to a pair of yuppy WASPs.” She forced herself to take a breath. “What about you? What’s your family like?”
For a fraction of a second, Mia saw Chase go still out of the corner of her eye. Then his bright easy smile flashed out and she decided she must have imagined his momentary tension. “Not much to tell. Typical yuppy WASPs. When did your family come over from Italy?”
“Late eighteen hundreds. My great-great-grandfather was called Gianni Correa, but at Ellis Island they got his name mixed up and we’ve all been Corregiannis ever since.” Mia didn’t miss the fact that Chase had dodged her question. He really didn’t like to talk about himself. Who was this man with the slippery charm? “What should I know about you, Chase Hunter?”
“I love to surf.”
“Um, okay.” Not exactly what she’d been driving at. Clearly a faulty question. Imprecise. “How long have you been a psychic finder?”
“I could always do it, but I’ve only been doing it for cash for the last five years.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t mention that part. Just in case my family gets suspicious.” She mentally tracked through the standard get-to-know-you small talk she’d always thought was such a waste of time. “Have you always lived around here?”
“More or less. You?”
“Except for college. Cal Tech. Did you—?” Mia broke off. Was it rude to ask if he’d gone to college? Or worse to assume he hadn’t?
“Penn,” Chase said, anticipating the question.
She blinked. “Wow. That’s a good school.”
“I dropped out.”
He said it without a trace of defensiveness or resentment. Just stating a fact, so comfortable with himself it didn’t even faze him, but Mia felt her
“There is no us.”
“Aw, snookums, don’t talk like that. There will always be an us. Ever since I first laid eyes on you at Bubba’s Shrimp Shack, I knew you were my one and only.”
“Bubba’s Shrimp Shack?”
“I thought it gave the story some color. What do you think?”
“I think color is less important than credibility.” She frowned, trying to think how she could possibly have met a guy like Chase. “Maybe you came in as a volunteer test subject for my last experiment.”
“Kinky. I like it.”
“There is nothing kinky about my work.” She scowled at a red light. “How long have we been together? Not too long. We don’t want them to think we’re too serious. Maybe three or four weeks?”
“Have we had sex yet?”
Mia’s face went up like a torch—a series of wholly delicious images flashing very inappropriately through her brain. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”
“I should know, in case your father gives me the evil eye, should I look guilty or virtuous?”
“Virtuous. Very, very virtuous. But he won’t give you the evil eye. He’ll be too busy hiding in his den. And even if you meet him, they aren’t puritanical like that. My family…” Mia sighed. “Picture the exact opposite of me in every way. Loud, overbearing, fun.”
“Hey, you’re fun. And funny too.”
“No, I’m not. Every last one of them is the life of the party, except me. If I didn’t look so much like my dad, I’d be convinced I was switched at birth.” She rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “I’m the second of five kids. Three girls, two boys. My parents are both from big families—my mom has four sisters and my dad has three brothers and two sisters. All of them married. All of them with a pack of kids of their own. And every single one of them will be there today. I’ll try to help you navigate who’s who, but it’s pretty much hopeless the first time, unless we can get everyone to wear nametags like we did at my cousin Mario’s wedding. Except my other cousins made a game out of switching their nametags every fifteen minutes, so even that system wasn’t perfect.”
“Sounds like an adventure.”
“It is what it is. I love my family, but there are days when I secretly wish I’d been born an only child to a pair of yuppy WASPs.” She forced herself to take a breath. “What about you? What’s your family like?”
For a fraction of a second, Mia saw Chase go still out of the corner of her eye. Then his bright easy smile flashed out and she decided she must have imagined his momentary tension. “Not much to tell. Typical yuppy WASPs. When did your family come over from Italy?”
“Late eighteen hundreds. My great-great-grandfather was called Gianni Correa, but at Ellis Island they got his name mixed up and we’ve all been Corregiannis ever since.” Mia didn’t miss the fact that Chase had dodged her question. He really didn’t like to talk about himself. Who was this man with the slippery charm? “What should I know about you, Chase Hunter?”
“I love to surf.”
“Um, okay.” Not exactly what she’d been driving at. Clearly a faulty question. Imprecise. “How long have you been a psychic finder?”
“I could always do it, but I’ve only been doing it for cash for the last five years.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t mention that part. Just in case my family gets suspicious.” She mentally tracked through the standard get-to-know-you small talk she’d always thought was such a waste of time. “Have you always lived around here?”
“More or less. You?”
“Except for college. Cal Tech. Did you—?” Mia broke off. Was it rude to ask if he’d gone to college? Or worse to assume he hadn’t?
“Penn,” Chase said, anticipating the question.
She blinked. “Wow. That’s a good school.”
“I dropped out.”
He said it without a trace of defensiveness or resentment. Just stating a fact, so comfortable with himself it didn’t even faze him, but Mia felt her
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