said as he bagged her groceries. “I’ve got two fifty-yard-line tickets to the game Saturday afternoon. How about it?”
“Roger—I was playing football with the kids on the block before you were born. Try asking a girl your own age.”
“Girls my own age don’t interest me.”
“How many times have I told you that I make it a habit not to date a boy young enough to be my little brother? Have a good evening.”
She paid for her groceries and left, all the while conscious that Max had heard every word of their conversation. At least now he knew she was a regular customer at this store and couldn’t accuse her of following him.
“You were pretty rough on Roger, weren’t you?” came the distinctive sound of his voice directly behind her. “Boys his age have fragile egos.”
Lacey swung around in the middle of the crowded parking lot. “His is about as fragile as concrete. He may look innocent, but he picks up desperate older women on a regular basis.”
“That’s because he’s terrified of girls his own age. Think about that and let him down a little more gently next time. Whoever hurt you did a fairly thorough job of it. You’ve left a couple of bleeding victims in your wake and the night’s not even over yet.”
A couple of bleeding victims, she grumbled silently as she wheeled away from him and found her car. A man who refused to be honest about his marital status wasn’t capable of being a victim and definitely didn’t deserve the time she spent thinking about him....
CHAPTER THREE
“COME on. It’s late and I’ve a full day’s work tomorrow. Let’s go.”
Lacey bundled George in a quilt like a baby and headed home from the park across the street from the condo. She tossed the sack which had contained his dinner into the garbage can on the way.
After having watched him eat greens, the thought of a steak dinner with Max Jarvis sounded more and more enticing. But he’d probably never call her now.
It had been a couple of hours since she’d walked away from him in the supermarket parking lot. If by some miracle he did try to phone her, she would ask him politely if he were married. No sense wondering about the hotshot from California with the hot blue eyes if he belonged to someone else, if not in spirit and body, on paper. No more Perrys in her life. Not ever!
Once again exhausted, Lacey put George to bed in his basket, then slid beneath the covers of her own bed as soon as they returned to the condo. She didn’t know anything else till the phone rang the next day around ten. George had been playing with his hoop at the side of her bed and handed her the receiver.
She patted his head and said hello.
“Hi, Lacey. It’s Lorraine.”
“Hi! How are you? What does the doctor say?”
“That’s why I’m calling. He’s given me a new medication he hopes will work. He doesn’t think I’m allergic to George after all. But he does think the shampoo I’ve been using may be the culprit. Can you believe it? It’s the same shampoo I use to bathe George.” She named the brand.
“That’s what I use,” Lacey murmured, “but it hasn’t made me break out in a rash or hives or anything.”
“Well, it’s only a theory, but I hope he’s right. Listen. I’m going to come over right now and get George, keep him for the weekend. You haven’t bathed him yet, have you?”
“No. Sometimes I let him play in the plastic tub you brought over. But I haven’t let him use the shampoo. The only soap he has touched is that liquid stuff. What do you think?”
“Good. The doctor wanted to be sure he hadn’t been near my shampoo for at least a week.”
“You’re taking him for the whole weekend?”
“What’s the matter? Do I detect a note of relief in your voice?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Lorraine. He’s wonderful and perfectly behaved, but I’m beginning to understand why new mothers always look so harried and exhausted.”
Lorraine chuckled. “It’s a huge responsibility. I take it you’ve decided not to volunteer as a foster parent to another monkey.”
“I don’t think so. He needs a home with lots of room and a backyard where he can play. Every time I get down to work on someone’s accounts, he wants to help. I end up playing with him and accomplish nothing.
“But I wouldn’t have missed the experience for the world. Someone other-abled will adore him because he’s so loving and good. I had no idea how much he craves companionship.”
“He’s just like the rest of us. Lacey—you’re a friend in a million. I’m confident that I’ll have George home with me permanently a week from Tuesday. When’s Valerie due back?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe a month. Maybe less.”
“I’ll help you find a new place when the time comes to move. Has George missed me?”
“I’ll say. But I think he’s had a pretty good time with me.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. You’ve spoiled him rotten, I just know it. I can’t wait to see him. Which reminds me. You know that guy on the radio you can’t stand? Max Jarvis?”
“Yes?”
“I think he called my house by mistake a few minutes ago.”
Lacey sat up in bed, instantly alert. “He called?”
“Yes. He said, ‘Hi, Lorraine. This is Max.’ And I said, ‘Max who?’ and he said, ‘Max Jarvis. How many other men do you know named Max?’ And I said I didn’t know any. That’s when he got a little testy and asked me if my phone number was the same number he read out loud, and I said yes.
“So he started over and said he was trying to reach someone named Lorraine but he didn’t know her last name. I told him my name was Lorraine Walker. He said I was the wrong Lorraine because my voice wasn’t husky enough. Then he hung up. He was really riled. Don’t you think that’s funny? Max Jarvis of all people?”
Lacey closed her eyes. “That’s really funny, Lorraine.” How could she have been so stupid? When the producer at the radio station asked for her name and phone number, she gave him Lorraine’s. But she’d forgotten to tell Lorraine.
“Lacey? Are you there?”
“Yes. It’s a long story. Come on over and I’ll explain everything, but for heaven’s sake, if Max Jarvis should call again, tell him the Lorraine he is looking for can be reached at my number.”
The news that he had tried to get in touch gave Lacey a brand new reason to greet the day. She sailed through her chores and had George ready to go when Lorraine arrived.
After hearing the story, Lorraine agreed that Lacey needed to determine Max’s marital status before any more time went by. Perry had done
