scowled, shoving the candy bar into her mouth. “That explains what?”
“Shelly, you get cranky when you don’t eat,” Raj said. “We could hear you and Lightning arguing in the hall from in here.”
Shelly rolled her eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment. She’d come to the conclusion on her own that she’d handled the situation with Commander Ripley badly from the start.
It had been an impulse that led her to ask Colonel Murphy if they could move Lieutenant Chambers up from the Beta team to the Alpha team to pilot Draco.
Dustin Chambers was the lead astronaut on Draco’s backup team. If anything happened to the crew on the Alpha team—the one led by Ripley—then the Beta team would take over.
Chambers had been gung ho about the mission from the start. He had shown up for all of the briefings and demonstrations and had exhibited particular interest in Shelly’s innovative designs.
He was the kind of astronaut she wanted to fly Draco.
When she’d asked Colonel Murphy the question, she’d only been half serious, knowing full well that Ripley’s fame and reputation would make it difficult to push him aside.
What she hadn’t counted on was Colonel Murphy telling Ripley that she’d made the casual, almost joking, inquiry. When he’d come to confront her, she couldn’t allow herself to back down.
But the hallway incident had been another story. Nothing had been more embarrassing than having Colonel Murphy sit them down like two high school delinquents.
This day had gotten completely out of control. Maybe the guys were right, she thought, turning to face her engineering team. Maybe she just needed to eat.
“Don’t worry, guys,” she told them. “I’m leaving to go rummage up some dinner right now. I promise I’ll show up well-fed Monday morning.”
Raj nodded. “You should stop at Moe’s. They have the best barbecue in Texas.”
“He’s not kidding. The sign actually says that. ‘Best Barbecue in Texas.’” Quincy laughed. “I took it upon myself to investigate that claim, and I haven’t found any better.”
“Damn,” Jason chimed in. “I wish my wife hadn’t already made dinner plans. Now I’m craving Moe’s.”
Shelly felt her tummy rumbling, and her salivary glands had gone into overdrive the minute they’d started talking about food.
“You all don’t have to say another word. I’m sold. Barbecue it is,” she declared.
When Shelly pulled into the parking lot of Moe’s Barbecue, it was a quarter to eight—prime time for the Friday-night-date and family-dinner crowd. The absolute worst time to show up at a restaurant alone.
Making up her mind to do carryout, Shelly marched into the restaurant and paused awkwardly in the foyer. With a name like Moe’s Barbecue, she was expecting red-checkered tablecloths and kitschy Western props adorning the walls. Although there was a folksy Western charm to the hardwood floors and the heavy wood and leather booths, the tables were covered in white linen and set with votive candles.
Finally, she spotted the bar in the back, and near the cash register, there was a long line of customers, which was discouraging. Before Shelly could make a break for it, a hostess appeared. “May I help you?”
Shelly bit her lip. “Actually, I was hoping to do carryout.”
The blond teenager smiled at her. “Carryout is in the back, but there’s already a bit of a backup. If you want faster service, you can sit at the bar.”
Shelly clutched her rumbling stomach. It had heard there was a chance for immediate food, and it wasn’t going to let her forget it.
“Thanks. I think I’ll do that,” she said, taking a menu from the hostess and making her way to the bar.
Luckily, Shelly spotted an empty seat and slipped into it just before an older man in a suit and cowboy boots could get to it.
She looked over her shoulder and smiled, and the man nodded in concession. Shelly ordered a full rack of Texas whiskey ribs and a dark beer, which she’d only recently acquired a taste for.
Despite the long carryout line, the hostess was true to her word, and Shelly’s food came quickly. She ended up having a nice conversation with the shoe salesman sitting beside her. Pleasantly surprised, she discovered that dining alone on a Friday night wasn’t the end of the world.
Of course, her button-down white blouse had been sacrificed to the gods of whiskey barbecue sauce, but her full belly assured her it had been worth it.
Shelly was in the middle of paying her check when she heard a voice that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
“It can’t be,” she whispered to herself. Holding her breath, she darted a look over her shoulder. A few feet away, Lincoln Ripley was being seated with his tall, leggy date.
Quickly turning her head, Shelly thrust her credit card at the bartender. They hadn’t seen her, and if she was quick, she might escape before they did.
Scribbling her name illegibly, Shelly took her receipt and headed for the door, trying to give Linc’s table the widest berth possible. She kept her eyes forward, playing the “if I can’t see you, you can’t see me” game.
She’d only taken a couple of steps before she heard Ripley say, “Is that my favorite coworker?” It stopped her dead in her tracks.
Chapter 2
Linc couldn’t believe he was seeing Shelly again so soon. If she were a ghost, she’d be haunting him.
He could have let her sneak out without mention, but when he saw her tense posture and averted gaze, he forgot all plans to charm her. Something about her absolute disdain for him made him want to push her buttons.
Colonel Murphy had made them promise to be professional, but this was after hours.
He could see Shelly’s shoulders stiffen as she spun around to face him. With a fake smile plastered on her face, she dragged her feet over to the table where he and his date were sitting.
“Commander Ripley, what a surprise.” Her tone was barely civil.
“Come on, Shelly. Now that we’re going to be such good friends, there’s no need to be so formal. Call me Linc or Lightning. And this is my date, Anisa Tyler. Anisa, this is Shelly.”
Shelly studied Anisa. “Weren’t you on the last season of Make Me a Supermodel? That’s one of my favorite shows.”
It was odd to see Shelly smile at Anisa. Her smile was like the sun breaking through the clouds. Since she’d only given him stormy days, he hadn’t known she was capable of producing sunshine. He was amazed at how much it softened her face, but the fact that she’d been withholding that softness from him set his temper off again.
While Anisa and Shelly exchanged pleasantries, Linc couldn’t take his eyes off the broad reddish stain on Shelly’s blouse.
