Hot Spot (28 page)

AMY CAME OUT OF THE BACK ROOM WHEN THEY walked in, took one look at Danny, and said, "Wow."

"Amy, Danny, Danny, Amy. How did everything go?" Stella asked, feeling a surge of jealousy she'd rather not feel.

"Good. Good." Amy was looking directly at Danny. "I mean, sales were good," she added, glancing at Stella. She grinned. "I'm a little high. You like comics?" she asked, staring at Danny again.

"Sure do. Stella's got a great store here. It's the best." And putting his arm around Stella, he pulled her close. "And you're the best," he murmured, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

It shouldn't have mattered that he'd been so sweet, but she felt about ten feet tall, like she'd summited Everest and found the Holy Grail at the same time. Funny thing about infatuation. It consumed you and turned your world upside down and made you consider things like drug dealers and impossibly expensive Ferraris irrelevant to wanting what you wanted.

"It was nice meeting you, Amy," Danny said, drawing Stella toward the stairs.

"Thanks, Amy. I'll pay you tomorrow."

"I'll pay her," Danny said, stopping. "What do you need?" He shoved his hand into his shorts pocket and pulled out a wad of bills two inches thick.

"Ninety-six bucks."

Peeling off two hundreds from his pile of money, he handed them to Amy. "Thanks for giving Stella a break. Keep the change."

Amy grinned. "Anytime."

He may not have had a 9mm in his shorts pocket, but that bankroll in hundreds was going to take a minute or two to rationalize away.

"Okay, babe, where were we?" Bending low so his mouth was next to her ear, he whispered, "I'll bet I can make you cry uncle with that pink rabbit."

Ohmygod.
Oh. My. God
. Then again, she was a master at rationalizing. She'd had years of practice. "You're on," she whispered back.

Hadn't someone once said about difficult choices, "There's always tomorrow"?

WHEN MORNING CAME AND HER ALARM RANG, Stella groaned. "Do you want me to open the store?"

Had she heard some miraculous voice from on high? She opened her eyes to find Danny dressed—in different clothes— holding a latte from the downtown diner in his hand and smiling like some bright, cheery person who actually liked to get up early in the morning. She groaned again, not capable of forming a coherent sentence after less than three hours of sleep.

"Go back to sleep. I can take care of things until you get up. I know comics."

He knew a ton of other really great things, too, but that sequence of thoughts would have to wait for a time when her brain cells were functioning above submarginal levels.

He gave her that finger-gun salute and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Stella was sleeping again before he'd reached the ground floor.

The next time she came awake, the clock was chiming in the living room. You know how your brain automatically counts even if you don't want it to, how it keeps time with the carillon bells on Sunday? When her subconscious got to twelve, she sat bolt-upright in bed, glanced at the clock on her
dresser—noon—
and shrieked.

Right before she threw the covers aside and bolted from the bed.

Jesus Christ, the store!

And Ryan Kath and a dozen other kids who didn't have anywhere else to go when they woke up!

Not to mention the delivery guy from Bread Loafers, who had to be paid for the morning buns!

She jammed her legs into her jeans, pulled a T-shirt over her head, combed her hair with her fingers, and ran barefoot down the stairs.

"Feel like some lunch?" Danny asked, looking up from the table in the front room, as did several kids who were apparently eating lunch with him. A very wholesome, nutritious lunch comprised of whole-grain bread ham sandwiches, grapes and peaches piled in a bowl, yogurt smoothies, and best of all, chocolate cake.

"Hey." Ryan waved. "Danny said you swam too much yesterday out on the river and needed your rest. Some people just don't have stamina, right?" he teased, tossing a friendly smile at Danny that had taken her months to first see.

"Danny's telling us how to win at
Tribes
. He knows everything," Matt Cordell said. "Dontcha?" Another smile for the hero of the moment.

"I helped Danny figure out the cash register," Amy said. "He's a quick learner."

Now Ryan and Matt, not to mention the other three kids, were early risers. So seeing them here wasn't a stretch. But Amy didn't like to get up till afternoon. No way, no how.

That little green monster narrowed Stella's gaze. But Danny patted his knee just then, said, "Come on, sit down," and her jealousy evaporated.

"Thanks for minding the store," she said, taking him up on his offer. The feel of his arms closing around her as she settled onto his lap was pretty damned nice. Like a prize.

"Ummm, you're still warm," he whispered into her ear. "Did you sleep well?" he said in a normal tone of voice. "The kids and I have been trying to figure out if more people read
Spiderman
or
X-Men
?

"In this store it's
X-Men
."

Danny tipped his head. "You win, Ryan."

"Told ya." Ryan was beaming. "So do I get a ride now?"

Stella had forgotten about his car. Aaagh. There it was. The old demon of suspicion rearing its ugly head.

"You said whoever won. You said as soon as Stella got up."

"That I did. I'll be right back," Danny said, giving Stella a brushing kiss on the cheek.

"Eiuww," everyone at the table under fourteen breathed.

Danny grinned. "Don't knock it guys. Stella's special."

Wow. Was this what it felt like to win an Oscar? Or the Noble Prize? Or was she just so shallow that a compliment from someone like Danny Rees could spin her head around like the girl in the
Exorcist
? She was speechless. And that hadn't happened more than twice in her life; both times she'd had her mouth full of something chocolate.

Unlike today, when being speechless was a product of sheer, unadulterated, raving-mad intoxication.

"Hey, babe, I'll be right back." Danny seemed not to notice her paralysis and, lifting her from his lap, eased her back onto his chair with a smile. Putting his arm around Ryan as they walked from the store, Danny said, "Now if you were old enough, I'd let you drive."

"I'm jealous," Amy murmured. "Lucky you."

Stella didn't know how to answer with several junior high kids staring at her. "He's really into comics," she said, hoping that would play to the crowd.

"You said it," Chris agreed. "And he's met the artist for
Superman
and for
Batman
, and he even knows Stan Lee."

"I don't believe Stan Lee," another young boy said. "He's way too big."

"He probably met him at a comic book convention," Stella noted. "I saw Stan Lee at one once."

"Saw him and know him are two different things," Matt pointedly contended.

"He knows everything." Chris's expression was awe-struck.

If only they knew
, Stella reflected, Danny's expertise in several other areas was outstanding. Gold medal, first class. She might be inclined to say on occasion even better than chocolate—an encomium of the highest order.

"He must be rich if he owns a Ferrari," one of the boys said. "They cost mega-bucks."

Not an issue Stella cared to contemplate at the moment, when she was still feeling all warm and fuzzy and cared for. She didn't want to deal with the unsettling question of how Danny could afford a Ferrari.

"He creates video games," Amy explained. "They make money."

"Did he say which ones?" Stella asked.

"Uh-uh. Ryan asked him about his car and they started talking about engines."

Or maybe Danny changed the subject, Stella thought. She'd never gotten a straight answer from him when it came to the name of his game, either.

"I'm going to put him in my book," Amy said. "He's way cool. Do you know where he lives?"

For a moment Stella thought of playing dumb. But that might imply she cared when she'd be real stupid to do any such thing. "He lives over by the river," she said. "Off County Road M."

"That's not too far."

What exactly did Amy mean? But again, she chose not to consider herself a girlfriend. Danny Rees and the word
girlfriend
were mutually exclusive.
Keep everything in perspective
, she warned herself.
Keep your grip on reality
. "Pass the cake, will you?" When in doubt, reach for chocolate. It was her mantra and guiding light. It was her salvation.

SHE'D EATEN TWO pieces and was feeling much more secure by the time Danny and Ryan returned. She could even watch the delight on Amy's face without feeling more than a twinge. The euphoria occasioned by chocolate was really amazing.

Maybe instead of nuclear weapons, the defense department should consider wholesale exportation of chocolate bars. The world would be a better place. People would smile more. Americans might even forget that the interest on the deficit was costing taxpayers two billion dollars a day.

On the other hand, maybe chocolate couldn't do
everything
. Two billion dollars was a lot of money.