Finder's Keeper by Vivi Andrews Page B

inner intellectual snob deflate at the admission. “I see.”
    “I can lie about it if you don’t want your parents to think you’re slumming.”
    A blush seared her cheekbones. “No. Of course not. I would never ask you to… Lots of people don’t finish college.” Just no one she would ever consider dating. She swallowed around a sudden clog in her throat, inexplicably nervous. Awkwardness filled the car’s interior like sulfuric gas—noxious and cloying. Icebreaker. She needed an icebreaker. Didn’t people tell jokes to break the ice? “Do you want to hear my favorite joke?”
    Chase gave a short coughing laugh at her abrupt question. “Sure. That’d be great.”
    “It’s not a very good joke.”
    He laughed again. “Then why is it your favorite?”
    “Well, I think it’s funny, but no one else ever does. It’s a science joke.”
    “I didn’t even know there were science jokes. Now I’m dying of curiosity. Lay it on me.”
    “I just didn’t want you to have unrealistic expectations. I’m not a good joke teller and—”
    “Mia.”
    “Yes?”
    “Just tell the damn joke already.”
    “Right.” Mia pressed each of her fingers in turn against the steering wheel, concentrating intently on getting the words in the right order. Jokes were a serious business. “An atom walks into a bar—”
    Chase snorted.
    “That isn’t the funny part!” she protested.
    “I’m sorry. I’ll try to only laugh at the funny parts. Carry on.”
    She shot him a quick quelling glare and began again. “An atom walks into a bar. He’s visibly depressed. He slumps up onto a stool and the bartender says to him, ‘You look terrible. Are you all right?’”
    A soft wheezing, panting sound came from the passenger’s side. Mia snuck a look at Chase and found him biting his lower lip to keep from laughing.
    “Chase!”
    A bark of laughter exploded from his mouth. “I’m sorry. See? It’s a great joke. I can’t even keep a straight face.”
    “We aren’t to the funny part yet!”
    “Quite right. A depressed molecule is talking to a bartender.”
    “Atom.”
    “Sorry. A depressed atom. Go on.”
    “So the atom says…”
    Chase snorted.
    “Do you want to hear this joke or not?”
    “The atom says, ‘Do you want to hear this joke or not?’”
    “Of course not! God, you are so infuriating. Just shut up and let me finish.” She cleared her throat. “The atom says, ‘The most horrible thing happened today. I lost an electron.’ And the bartender says, ‘Oh no! Are you sure?’ And the atom sighs and says, ‘Yes.’” She smiled to herself, gearing up for the punchline. “‘I’m positive .’” Mia giggled. “Get it? Positive ?”
    She laughed again until she realized the car was eerily quiet. Crap. He didn’t think it was funny at all. She pulled into the church parking lot and threw the car into park. “You hate it,” she grumbled.
    Then she looked at him and her heart developed a worrying arrhythmia. He was smiling. More than smiling. His eyes were twinkling, shoulders shaking, dimples flashing. He laughed silently, his grin broad and easy. “Mia,” he shook his head, wiping away a tear from the corner of one eye, “I think that might have been the best joke I’ve ever heard.”
    She frowned. “You’re making fun of me.”
    “No . ” His blue eyes flashed. “No, I’m not. That joke was perfect because it’s so perfectly you .”
    “It’s nerdy. I told you I wasn’t funny. You were laughing at me the whole time.”
    “I wasn’t laughing at you. Christ, Mia, do you have any idea how adorable you are when you tell that joke?” He reached up, gently brushing the pads of his calloused fingers along her jaw.
    “Adorable?” People didn’t call her that. She wasn’t cute. She wasn’t sexy. She was all cutting, androgynous intellect.
    “It’s a fabulous joke,” Chase murmured. His face was suddenly oh-so-close. His tan made his eyes jump out like sapphires, but it was his lips