And tonight, she was his.
She swiped the access card once more and held open another door. “After you,” she murmured.
He scanned the exhibit and started reading a plaque. “Three and a half million cases of smallpox in the eighties and only about twenty-two now,” he said, summarizing the writing on the wall. He glanced at Ivy. “That’s pretty amazing.”
She nodded. “And we’re close to eradicating so many others. Take the Guinea worm, for example.”
He homed in on her words, listening carefully as she spoke faster and faster. He’d listened to his previous girlfriends describe the nuances of celebrity relationships with the same excitement. Even if he didn’t give a damn about the who’s who of Hollywood, he understood the language. But every other word out of Ivy’s mouth sounded foreign.
“You know all that off the top of your head?” he asked when she took a break.
A slight flush rose in her cheeks. “I keep up with the latest medical journals. And I’ve seen this exhibit before.”
“Ivy, I could spend a week studying this stretch of the museum and not know a quarter of what you just told me,” he said.
“This is what I do, Carter.” She turned and gestured to the wall. “Anyway, these are just a few of the diseases former president Jimmy Carter’s foundation has focused on. The work of researchers and scientists is saving countless lives. What you’re doing, the projects you’re funding, has the potential to save millions. Please don’t limit yourself to one illness. You can do so much more if you’re willing to take the risk.”
He turned away from his beautiful and brilliant date. He’d come a long way from the kid in Brooklyn who thought joining the military was his only hope to make his mom proud and send home money. But if he hadn’t taken that first chance, he wouldn’t be where he was today. He wouldn’t have been able to afford the apartment with the view of Central Park that he’d bought his mother. He knew taking calculated risks paid off, damn it. When had he become so cautious?
When I realized it wasn’t my money—or future—at risk, he thought.
“I wanted you to see what happens when science works, when it has a real impact on people’s lives. Forget profits for a moment.”
“I can’t—”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door.
“Ernie,” a deep, muffled voice said, and the sound of radio feedback echoed through the hall. “I hear something in the gallery next to the Northwest Indians. I’m going to check it out.”
Ivy’s eyes widened.
“Oh, no,” she whispered.
“We need to get out of here,” Carter murmured.
He placed a hand on Ivy’s back. His fingers brushed bare skin. And his pulse pounded.
The thrill of adventure.
The chance they would be caught.
The beautiful, fierce woman who wanted him to save the world…
It doesn’t get much better than this, he thought. And he could take this risk. He could afford one wild night, one crazy adventure in a museum with a woman who made him feel like there was more to life than spreadsheets and success.
The footsteps grew closer.
Unless we get caught.
“Which way?” he demanded.
“This door leads to the Grand Gallery,” Ivy whispered. “There’s a way out to the street from there.”
“Let’s move.” He guided her toward the far exit.
She swiped the magical access card again. He pushed open the door and followed her into the dimly lit exhibit. On the far side, he spotted the exit marked WEST 77TH STRE