Christian waved a salute and left the building. He hadn’t been completely lying when he said he was excited about the St. Cat’s block party. Lasher Down had been the headliner at St. Cat’s traditional rock festival for the past eight years. Christian did it mostly as a favor to Father Gregory and the people of the parish, but St. Cat’s was also a respectable venue, attracting popular bands and an audience from across the country. At least he wasn’t dreading performing some of Lasher Down’s old stuff now that he felt like such stimulating prospects were opening up for the future.
One of those stimulating prospects stepped out onto the St. Cat’s steps a few minutes later, listening earnestly to one of her students. Christian hid a smirk at the eagerness in the little boy’s face as he stared up at Megan. He’d always been amazed when his male friends talked about crushes on elementary school teachers. The only image that came to his mind was that of Sister Elizabeth’s hulking body and ever present scowl.
Of course, if he’d had a schoolteacher as pretty as Megan, that would have been entirely different.
He smiled when she suddenly looked directly over at him and gave a small wave. Yep, it was definitely a good thing that he wasn’t in little Romeo’s Nikes. Christian wasn’t a personal fan of unconsummated, hopeless love affairs. Even if he and Megan hadn’t consummated anything at least things were far from hopeless.
But Christian began to have his doubts about even that when he took in Megan’s expression when he went up the stairs. Memories of Hilary’s anger flashed across his brain. Damn it, Megan’s self-righteous, bitchy big sister could malign Christian as much as the sleazy tabloids did but Megan didn’t have to believe it, did she?
Megan must have realized that her new wariness showed when she saw Christian’s face darken. “Hi,” she said softly. “Just give me a second, okay?”
Christian nodded as he watched her say a few last words to her student and then send him on his way. He noticed the little boy’s look of dark suspicion when he saw Christian standing there but he didn’t find it half as humorous as he would have a minute ago.
Megan raised her eyes to shield them from an intense early summer sun. The brightness had the effect of bleaching the color out of the city pavements and the buildings, making things look a little surreal. Christian, on the other hand, looked entirely real and vibrant as he stood on St. Cat’s steps with his arms crossed over his chest, a question waiting in his blue eyes.
“Do you want to come into the classroom? It’s much cooler,” she asked him once Tommy Delvano walked down the steps. Christian was perfectly dressed for the weather in low-riding cargo shorts and a white T-shirt with a logo that merely read Heaven’s Gate. She really did need to ask him about his proclivity for enigmatic logos on his T-shirts.
Megan admired his legs as he went in front of her to open the door for her. They were covered with just enough dark brown hair to look appealingly masculine without hiding tanned skin and well developed, lean muscle. She wore an unintentional grin as they entered her classroom and she idly picked up a chalkboard eraser.
“What’s so funny?” Christian asked distractedly as he reached for the two-foot-high artist’s model that sat on her desk.
“I was thinking how lucky you are. You get to dress like that for work. My work clothes are so much more constraining on a day like today.”
Christian twisted the model’s wooden leg into a humanly impossible position before he switched his attention to her. His gaze drifted over her short-sleeved linen blouse, matching pale blue skirt, and low-heeled pumps. He smiled. “I like your teacher-look. Turns me on as much as your sculpting outfit did. Speaking of sculpting, I think I owe you an apology.”
“What for?” she asked. She hoped he wasn’t going to apologize for Hilary’s bad behavior last night—
“I was so rapped up in my own issues yesterday that I didn’t congratulate you enough on your news about getting a showing at the gallery.”
“That’s nothing to apologize for,” Megan muttered, embarrassed.
“Yes, it is. It’s great news, Megan. I want to make up for it. Tonight. I’m personally going to prepare you a celebratory dinner.”
A shadow fell across his countenance when he noticed her hesitation.
“I really shouldn’t, Christian. You wouldn’t believe how much work I have to do to prepare for the showing. I was about to head over to Earth right now, after I straightened up the classroom.”
“It’s only three o’clock. You have to eat sometime.”
“But it might be late before I—”
“Megan, is there something you want to ask me? Something you need to tell me? Because it’s probably best just to get it out in the open.”
They stared at each other. Megan heard the muffled sound of the front door of St. Cat’s school slamming shut and her heart beating loudly in her own ears.
“No.”
“Fine,” Christian said quietly. “Then how about eight o’clock? Won’t that give you enough time?”
When she nodded, he told her that he would let Jeff know to let her go straight up on his elevator whenever she arrived.
Megan didn’t know that her expressive face easily revealed the depth of her longing and confusion. She only knew that she’d never wanted Christian to hold her so much, to feel protected and safe within the circle of his arms. Her disappointment was palpable when he just muttered a brief goodbye and left the classroom.
“Why don’t you just tell him, Megan?”
It was a few hours later and Tina was sprawled in the only chair Megan’s studio possessed. The Chinese-American woman’s short hair was heavily gelled into black spikes that surrounded her angelic face like a demon’s halo.
Megan flipped irritably through her photos for potential sculptures. She’d been dissatisfied with almost every idea that came into her head since she’d started working.