noticed several other things in the last twenty-four hours.”
“Yeah?” She covered her eyes again, wondering if she should cover her ears, too, but then asked, “Like what?”
“Besides having a very nervous crew, you have an ex-husband poking around where he’s not wanted, a healer who wants to have an exorcism to get rid of evil spirits, a father who is willing to bend over backward to keep his funding so he can continue working here with you, and a javelina who likes to cross dress.”
A javelina what?
She lowered her hands. Rover sat on the floor between them. The strap of the pink bra that she’d kicked under the cot was wrapped around his neck.
“Rover, come here.” She reached for him, her cheeks warming, but he dodged her hands and hid behind Quint’s feet.
Quint reached down and untangled the bra from around Rover’s neck. He stared down at it in his hands for one dreadfully long wince on her part. Then he dangled it between them, slamming her with a stare that was hotter than any temple she'd been in today. “I imagine this looks better on you than your javelina.”
Her tongue felt thicker than normal, like she’d traded it for a dry sponge. “Well,” she tried to think of something witty to toss back, or something that would pinch out this flame flickering between them before it spread any further. “I am a little less hairy than Rover.”
Oh, jeez! Really? That was the best she could come up with? Maybe Quint would take pity on her and leave after she opened her desk drawer and shut her head in it a few times.
His brow wrinkled. “Only just a little?”
“Angélica!” The sound of Jared’s voice made her jerk in surprise. She looked toward the mesh flap. Her ex-husband’s face was pressed against it. “We need to discuss this curse situation.”
No, they didn’t. “I’m busy right now.” If only she had a door to slam in his face.
Jared’s gaze moved to Quint and then to the bra that still dangled from his finger. “What’s going on in here?”
Chapter Six
Chachac: Traditional rain ceremony.
A long, long time ago in a kingdom far, far away, Angélica had married a man she had thought was Prince Charming. It turned out she’d been played a fool, hornswoggled by a handsome face whispering empty promises of securing her a teaching position with tenure at the same university where her father had taught for well over a decade.
So maybe the fault wasn’t all Jared’s.
Maybe her ambition had made her gullible when he’d painted the fairytale life they’d lead, working dig sites side by side like her parents had all of her life.
And maybe her attraction to the distinguished, well-renowned Dr. Steel had more to do with skipping a few rungs on her career ladder than actually enjoying his companionship.
And truth be known, she’d been so caught up in the fantasy of being as revered as her parents had been at the time—prior to her mom’s downfall—that she’d overlooked his inability to meet her cravings both in and out of the sack. She’d even gone so far as to convince herself that there was more to marriage than love and good sex … or even okay sex. After all, she’d been around the block a few times by then. She knew how to take care of her own needs, which had become necessary in her marriage way too soon.
But that woman, the one who’d been driven at all costs to have everything her parents had shared, all of the professional accolades they’d received, had long ago awakened from that fairytale. Her carriage had turned back into a pumpkin and rotted; that sparkly glass slipper had given her blisters long before the ball was over.
As for Prince Charming, he’d granted her the divorce she’d wanted but at a cost to her career back in the States. She’d figured that relocating south of the border for much of the year, far from his reign, would save her from dealing with him, allowing her to live happily forever after in the jungle.
It turned out she’d
“Yeah?” She covered her eyes again, wondering if she should cover her ears, too, but then asked, “Like what?”
“Besides having a very nervous crew, you have an ex-husband poking around where he’s not wanted, a healer who wants to have an exorcism to get rid of evil spirits, a father who is willing to bend over backward to keep his funding so he can continue working here with you, and a javelina who likes to cross dress.”
A javelina what?
She lowered her hands. Rover sat on the floor between them. The strap of the pink bra that she’d kicked under the cot was wrapped around his neck.
“Rover, come here.” She reached for him, her cheeks warming, but he dodged her hands and hid behind Quint’s feet.
Quint reached down and untangled the bra from around Rover’s neck. He stared down at it in his hands for one dreadfully long wince on her part. Then he dangled it between them, slamming her with a stare that was hotter than any temple she'd been in today. “I imagine this looks better on you than your javelina.”
Her tongue felt thicker than normal, like she’d traded it for a dry sponge. “Well,” she tried to think of something witty to toss back, or something that would pinch out this flame flickering between them before it spread any further. “I am a little less hairy than Rover.”
Oh, jeez! Really? That was the best she could come up with? Maybe Quint would take pity on her and leave after she opened her desk drawer and shut her head in it a few times.
His brow wrinkled. “Only just a little?”
“Angélica!” The sound of Jared’s voice made her jerk in surprise. She looked toward the mesh flap. Her ex-husband’s face was pressed against it. “We need to discuss this curse situation.”
No, they didn’t. “I’m busy right now.” If only she had a door to slam in his face.
Jared’s gaze moved to Quint and then to the bra that still dangled from his finger. “What’s going on in here?”
Chapter Six
Chachac: Traditional rain ceremony.
A long, long time ago in a kingdom far, far away, Angélica had married a man she had thought was Prince Charming. It turned out she’d been played a fool, hornswoggled by a handsome face whispering empty promises of securing her a teaching position with tenure at the same university where her father had taught for well over a decade.
So maybe the fault wasn’t all Jared’s.
Maybe her ambition had made her gullible when he’d painted the fairytale life they’d lead, working dig sites side by side like her parents had all of her life.
And maybe her attraction to the distinguished, well-renowned Dr. Steel had more to do with skipping a few rungs on her career ladder than actually enjoying his companionship.
And truth be known, she’d been so caught up in the fantasy of being as revered as her parents had been at the time—prior to her mom’s downfall—that she’d overlooked his inability to meet her cravings both in and out of the sack. She’d even gone so far as to convince herself that there was more to marriage than love and good sex … or even okay sex. After all, she’d been around the block a few times by then. She knew how to take care of her own needs, which had become necessary in her marriage way too soon.
But that woman, the one who’d been driven at all costs to have everything her parents had shared, all of the professional accolades they’d received, had long ago awakened from that fairytale. Her carriage had turned back into a pumpkin and rotted; that sparkly glass slipper had given her blisters long before the ball was over.
As for Prince Charming, he’d granted her the divorce she’d wanted but at a cost to her career back in the States. She’d figured that relocating south of the border for much of the year, far from his reign, would save her from dealing with him, allowing her to live happily forever after in the jungle.
It turned out she’d
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