Love on the Air (21 page)

"What does it mean?" Rick rested his knuckles on top of the desk and leaned toward her. "It means I
think you're as wonderful as they come. You're beautiful, you're funny, and I love to talk to you. I can't
think straight for the first ten minutes I'm around you,
and after that, I can't imagine being without you. It
means I want us to be together." He held her pinned
with that naked gray stare, and his voice went on. Not
the disc jockey's voice. This was the voice she'd heard
in the studio, hours ago, just before the explosion that
had made the earthquake seem small. "And since you
haven't run out of the room yet, I'm hoping you feel
the same way." He searched her face for a response.

This was it. This was the never-to-be-repeated,
once-in-a-lifetime offer, the one she thought she'd already lost. She'd better make up her mind, fast. Take
it. This is real. There were other jobs, she told herself,
and the pang of leaving this one behind couldn't be
anything compared to the heartache she'd been feeling
all day. She said slowly, "I never thought I'd give this
up-

"I'm not asking you to do that."

Her fragile, slowly building hope crashed just as it
was getting off the ground. Was he telling her to leave
after all? Christie stared as Rick pulled open a drawer
of his desk. She'd long had the feeling that his desk
didn't have drawers. Everything just sloshed on top.
But now, from the nearly-jammed drawer, he fished
out a letter. "Miss Becker, I'm offering you a job."

He passed her the unfolded sheet of paper, gingerly,
as if it were made of glass. She thought she felt the
paper rattle in his hand as she took it.

At first Christie stared at it without comprehension. It was on unfamiliar letterhead, from a radio station in
Oregon. She couldn't seem to make sense out of what
she was reading. It didn't help that she could still feel
Rick's eyes, fixed on her, watching for her reaction.
"... received your air check... hire you as our morning team ..."

She glanced back at the beginning of the letter. It
was addressed to both of them.

Christie looked up at Rick, bewildered. He said, "I
sent out over thirty tapes."

"Tapes? Of what?"

"Of us. From that week we were on the air together,
when you were filling in on news."

"You taped our breaks? Then?" She frowned. "That
was before-" she hesitated lamely "-before the
Christmas party."

"I know. I wasn't sure why. I just had a feeling we
had something special."

"Something clicked," she murmured.

He nodded.

At last comprehension took hold. "You found us a
job together."

He nodded again.

She rose to her feet. "You've been looking for how
long?"

"Since the beginning of January."

She didn't know whether to hug him or hit him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried to last night. Before I was so memorably
interrupted." His grin was a little crooked.

"But before that-"

"Before that, I had nothing. Even last night, I had nothing. I just got that letter at my apartment today."
He was leaning far over the desk by this time. "Before
that, I couldn't promise you a thing. No assurance I
could get us a gig. You've got three months in radio.
I've got fourteen years, but still, it was a tough sell.
If it hadn't panned out, I would have just been stringing you along. I never wanted to do that. So I didn't
say anything." He reached across the desk to brush his
fingertips over her cheek. "Before you came along, I
was pretty good at hiding things. It's not so easy any
more, and I'm really looking forward to giving it up.
What I'd like to hear now," he said in that unfamiliar
husky voice, "is how you feel."

"How I feel?" The question surprised her. "Well,
let's see." Christie tilted her head back and gazed up
at the ceiling, trying to get hold of her whirling
thoughts. "You kiss me, then you treat me like everything's business as usual. You make me a wreck with
mixed signals. You attack me with a drawer full of
balloons. And then you go and find us a job behind
my back." She met his eyes again, surprised to see the
uncertainty there. "Are you serious? I love you."

Rick reached over and took her hand. The pressure
of his fingers was warm and firm around hers. "So is
it a deal? You know what it's going to be like. More
ridiculous hours. More coffee. Probably even more
Top Ramen."

"Mr. Fox," she said, "are you trying to talk me out
of this job?"

"Oh, I gave up on that a long time ago." He smiled,
and Christie couldn't believe she'd ever imagined going anywhere without him. "But we've still got one thing left to discuss. Our names. Is it Fox and Becker?
Or Fox and Fox?" His tone was light, but his eyes
were fixed on hers.

"Fox and Fox?"

Rick nodded. "Personally, I think we'd play better
as a husband and wife team."

A smile spread over her face. "Is that a job requirement?"

"No," he said, "but if you want to, I could make it
one."

"All right," she said. "Anything to help the ratings."

"Well, since I need to clear my desk anyway-" In
one sweeping gesture, Rick leaned down and shoved
the mounds of paper from the top of his desk, sending
them to land in a heap on the floor. Then he reached
for Christie and pulled her across the desktop, meeting
her in the middle.

"What's this?" she asked as his arms folded around
her. "Right here in front of God and everybody?"

"I told you to close the door," he said.

And their lips met, in a kiss they didn't have to hide
from anyone.