twenty-something, clueless face, muscled shoulders, tousled hair. The only non-surfer thing about him was his shopping bag with a pink confetti-printed box sticking out of the top. Both the box and the guy looked vaguely familiar, but Trudy couldnât place either one.
He grinned at her. âHey, Miss Maxwell, youâre lookinâ good.â
Trudy looked closer but still didnât recognize him.
âYou donât remember me.â His grin widened with forgiveness, and he added, âI sure remember you,â and Trudy thought, What a shame heâs too young for me. I could seduce him in front of Nolan.
He stepped closer. âIâm Reese Daniels, your fatherâs research assistant last year. You helped me find that book on the Ming Dynasty your father wanted. You know, in the library.â
âGood place to find books,â Nolan said, his voice considerably cooler than it had been when heâd talked to her.
âRight. Reese. Got it,â Trudy said, placing him now as the guy her father had called the most inept RA of his career.
Reese smiled at her. âI sure have missed your dad since he went to London.â
âOh, we all have,â Trudy lied, and stuck out her hand. âCall me Trudy.â She looked at Nolan. âYou can call me Miss Maxwell,â she said to him. âNo, wait, youâre not going to call me at all. Werenât you leaving?â Reese still held on to her hand, so she took it back.
He nodded to Nolan. âSo you and Professor Mitchell found a MacGuffin?â
âProfessor Mitchell and I are not together.â Trudy picked up her shopping bag and moved around both of them. âAnd I havenât found a MacGuffin yet. But I will.â
Reese followed her around to the next row and the other side of the empty MacGuffin shelf. âWell, Iâm not sorry youâre not with Professor Mitchell, Trudy,â he said when theyâd rounded the corner. âI never got the chance to get to know you better. Your dad worked me pretty hard. But the best part about being his RA was always seeing you.â
âThank you.â Okay, for some reason this infant was trying to pick her up. Whatever. She had problems, so later for him.
Trudy zeroed in on the boxes that backed up against the MacGuffin shelf. Dolls this time, with big heads and miniskirts and too much eye makeup. Too bad Leroy wasnât a girl; she could have loaded him up with pop-tarts. But no, he had to have a violent, antisocial âGuffin.
âMen.â She put her shopping bag down again and began to take the dolls off the shelf. Over the tops she could see Nolan restocking Fantastic Fours. He shook his head at her, probably disgusted she was flirting with an infant like Reese, and she turned away to see the infant looking at her, confused.
âMen?â he said. âDid I say something wrong?â
âWhat?â Trudy said, stacking doll boxes on the floor. âOh, not you. My nephew, Leroy. Heâs five and he wants a Major MacGuffin doll, and of course, I canât find one.â
âYeah, you had to shop early for those,â Reese said, sounding sympathetic. âSo I guess you havenât seen one here?â
âI would have shopped early if Iâd known his father wasnât going to get him one,â Trudy said, exasperated. âBut since his father told me he was going to, I didnât.â
âSo what are you doing over here?â Reese frowned, looking at the dolls she was taking down.
âIâm looking for a misplaced MacGuffin. This place is pretty sloppy, and Iâm hoping thereâs one stuck at the back of a shelf someplace because if there isnât, Iâm screwed.â She took the last box down and faced another empty shelf.
On the other side, Nolan looked serious as he put back the last of the Fantastic Four boxes. He couldnât possibly care that she was talking to Reese.
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