and yesterday’s torrid proposal both working against him, Cal was about ten seconds away from spiriting Madeline out of the store and cashing in on her offer to fire up the sheets.
What else could a guy do besides cut his losses and run? Maybe Maddy would be forced to make more conservative choices with his sister in tow. Although Cal had the feeling that even Maddy in white cotton would have him sinking to his knees singing a hallelujah chorus. He edged closer to the door. “I, uh, parked at the main entrance, Allison, just come on out when you ladies finish up here.”
“But—” Madeline took a step toward him.
“See you soon, Maddy,” he rushed on, flashing her a forced grin and a wave as he backed out the door.
He pretended to not hear when his sister called to him.
He waited alone in his car for a good half hour before his breathing returned to normal. When Allison finally appeared at the car door, he had no interest in hearing what the two women might have discussed. He flicked on the radio to avoid a conversation that might induce further torturous thoughts.
As he started the car and headed home, Cal was plagued by images of Madeline holding the black panties between her delicate fingertips. The worst part was that Cal knew she wasn’t buying that scrap of lace for him.
Apparently, Maddy’s plan to gain some mating rituals experience would now target another guy. The lingerie that Cal had spied would be used to seduce someone else. Cal would never have the pleasure of seeing Madeline unbutton her bulky men’s shirt to reveal the skinny black straps of a lace bra. That satisfaction would be given to another man. The thought caused his gut to twist.
After his hellish experience today, Cal now had one more reason to hate shopping malls. From now on, Allison would have to find another way home from her favorite haunt, because Cal wasn’t venturing anywhere near the sight of black satin for a long time.
3
THE TRANSITION from wallflower to bombshell wasn’t going to be easy, but Madeline thought if her eyelashes could only support a few more coats of mascara, she might have a fighting chance.
At very least, her red dress fit the bombshell mode. What would Cal say if he could see her now decked in the sexiest thing she’d ever owned? Would he be so quick to refuse her?
She’d hoped to get his opinion on the dress at the mall, but he’d been too busy running from her to look at it.
Madeline stepped back from the full-length mirror in the women’s locker room. The university gym was deserted on Friday nights, making it a perfect place for her transformation. Because she hadn’t really wanted to prance around her neighborhood in the raw silk sheath, she’d decided to get ready for her evening out at work. She’d brought her new outfit and a shopping bag full of makeup to school this morning, and she’d spent the past hour attempting to follow all the instructions the woman at the cosmetic counter had given her.
She stared at her image critically, trying to decide if her eyeliner made her eyes look lopsided, when the door to the locker room squeaked.
Thank goodness. Help had arrived.
The cavalry appeared in the form of Dr. Rose Marie Blakely. The six-foot-tall, imposing sociology department chair met Madeline’s gaze in the mirror’s reflection.
“Holy Toledo, Maddy, what happened to you?” Rose Marie yanked Madeline around to look at her firsthand. “I can’t decide if you’re going for Oscar Night glamour or the Whore of Babylon look.”
Although Rose Marie was twenty years older than Madeline and as uninhibited as Madeline was guarded, the women had formed a solid friendship in Madeline’s years at U of L. They frequently ate lunch together and stayed late at the university talking about work.
“The dress is killer,” Rose Marie observed, flipping her long blond hair over her shoulder as she nodded approval at the short sheath with tiny rhinestone buckles at the waist. She walked in a precise circle around Madeline, her uncommon height and girth giving her the look of a fabled Amazon warrior. “But despite the makeup, you look like you haven’t slept in days.”
Hmm. Madeline had rather hoped she looked a step above insomniac. After Cal Turner had turned her down flat, she’d decided she wouldn’t waste any more years stuck inside her haphazard dress and hiding behind her glasses. She’d been living in the ivory tower too long, sheltered by the academic world she’d called home since her childhood with her single father the professor. Maybe if her mom had stuck around she might have cultivated more in the feminine wiles department.
Maddy frowned. “Not quite. I called you here because I obviously need some help.”
She might not be able to coerce Cal into helping her cultivate a more worldly reputation, but with a little effort, she felt sure she could attract another man’s notice.
Although she was finding it difficult to work up much enthusiasm for the project now that her target had to be someone other than Cal. Maybe she should forget about experiencing the mating dance and just observe….
No. She would not chicken out just because Cal rejected her. She would prove to him, and herself, that she could do this.
With her dissertation project all but swinging in the gallows, she had to act fast. She couldn’t wait around for Cal to gain guardianship of his sister—if that was even his real reason for not going out with her.
If she didn’t start changing her reputation in a hurry, the dissertation committee would nix her mating rituals study for good. Then she’d turn into a crusty old academic, researching something boring like literary sociology because she was an uptight prude with the social skills of a robot.
This dissertation was important to her—a departure from her usual staid research projects. For once, she would have the courage to conduct an investigative study that truly interested her.
Dr. Rose stepped closer and ran her fingers beneath Madeline’s eye. She peered down at the black goo left on her fingers. “Good Lord, the dark circles are makeup?”
Madeline shrugged, pointing to the bench with her bagful of cosmetic loot. “The saleswoman suggested one of everything, since I didn’t have anything to start with.”
Rose Marie raised her finely arched eyebrows. “Oh, did she now?” She stepped over to the bench and peered inside the bag. “Vitamin C serum. Revitalizing concealer cream. Eyebrow gel?” Rose Marie pawed through the contents, shaking her head and sending long hair dancing across her floral blazer. “What exactly did you use?”
“A little of everything.”
“Everything?”
“I wouldn’t have lugged it all around campus, Rose, if I didn’t think I had to use it all.”
Rose Marie puffed out a martyred sigh and pointed a manicured nail toward the bathroom. “Okay, Maddy. Dig out your oxidizing facial scrub and wash all that stuff off.”
Madeline scooped up her cotton robe and a towel and did as she was bid. One didn’t question the wisdom of Dr. Rose.
“And remind me to get you a subscription to Cosmo for your birthday,” Rose Marie shouted. “I can’t believe you’ve never
