Experiments in Love

Chapter 12

Murphy’s Laws of Romance #7

“Avoidance behaviors are most common leading up to a romance, and then when it’s over.”

Crystal leaned up against the doorframe of Toni’s office and said, “It’s Dr. Starling on Line 3 for you.”

Toni eyed her assistant like she was an IRS auditor. “You could’ve told me that over the intercom.”

“Well, he first called on Monday. It’s now Friday and four calls later, you still haven’t talked to him. I thought face-to-face communication was needed.”

With a sigh, Toni said, “Tell him I can’t talk right now, but I’ll call him back before the end of the day.”

“You’d better, or I may end up his secretary. You’ve become a hermit. I’ve talked to him more this week than you.” Toni caught the worried glance thrown her way before Crystal left. Crystal knew how important Starling was to the company and her career. Her assistant hoped to follow Toni to the fortieth floor. Putting off things wasn’t Toni’s M.O. at all. She hated procrastination in all its forms and habitually returned all calls the same day—until now.

The phone was staring at her, so she turned her gaze to the computer keyboard, thinking how to avoid the call a little longer. She decided to do what she should have done months ago: research Starling. Human Resources and Rena had been a complete bust. They didn’t even have the names of his parents or the middle school he attended before graduating to M.I.T. However, she frowned over stray file entries questioning his sanity. One university person suggested he suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome.

Researching it, Asperger’s seemed to be a form of autism but from what she’d read, BJ’s continual changes and eye-contact appeared uncharacteristic of the condition. Not particularly enlightening.

She typed out different search parameters on the computer. Starling’s name, MIT, Stanford, and anything related. After an hour, all she had was an impressive list of science articles, news of his parents’ deaths, a doctoral thesis he published, his name listed with his degrees and honors, and articles involving noteworthy events he attended. There were photos of him looking so out of place, the only participant without a tux or a drink in his hand. However, there was no question why he’d been hired. Rayaneta had hired Rembrandt to paint houses.

There were blogs about the recent World Congress with his name mentioned in glowing terms, but no comments from him and nothing personal anywhere. Did the guy have a personal history? She thought for a moment. Who had taken him to a restaurant? Professor Kaplan, that was it. She typed in ‘Baynard Starling, MIT, Professor Kaplan.’

Several hits came up, and one was a winner. A news article about Dr. Joseph Kaplan discovering a child science prodigy and his admission to M.I.T. There was a grainy newspaper photo. The parents, Aaron Jackson, and Matilda Baynard Starling, stood in the background looking smart and disinterested, but Toni could see the resemblance. Both were tall, one with a square jaw and the other a straight nose, shared genetics at its best. They were quoted in one brief sentence. They were “happy for him.”

In the foreground was Professor Kaplan, smiling, sporting a university tweed jacket and bowtie with his arm around a tall, awkward looking boy with a familiar neutral expression, buttoned-down collar, and unkempt hair.

Kaplan was quoted in the article as saying ‘This is an amazing young man with a bright future. The faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will have to work hard to keep up with his voracious mind. I am going to see to it that his transition is as successful as possible.’

The article was fourteen years old. Toni checked Starling’s birthday. He wasn’t 13, he was barely 12 when he entered MIT. What was that all about? He wasn’t 28 or 27. He was 26. She googled further and it soon became clear that while Starling had skipped grades like some kids skipped classes, Kaplan had lied about Starling’s age.

Kaplan had bent the rules to get Starling admitted. Wait. The color photo in Starling’s office next to Einstein and Madame Curie was Dr. Kaplan. Of course, he was a father figure to Starling. She googled him to find out more.

Kaplan was a brilliant chemist and respected professor. Single, no family, and he died three months before Starling left MIT, taking the fellowship at Stanford. Kaplan had left his estate to Starling, another source of Starling’s wealth. How had Kaplan’s death affected BJ?

She grabbed a cup of coffee, wondering about the timing. With a start, she realized Starling had been at Stanford during her senior year. They couldn’t have seen each other. The Chem and Bio buildings were off Roth Way on the opposite sides of the Stanford campus from the law school. And of course, Starling probably never left the labs.

Sitting down again, Toni gazed at the picture of a twelve-year-old Starling and realized that Kaplan had probably isolated him from the other students to protect him, fed his mind, but never gave him what Kaplan clearly didn’t possess himself: a social life. Tall, Starling could have been mistaken for an older student, another reason for protection. It was all sad but helped explain the na?ve man and his heartbreaking comment about never missing what he never had. For Toni, it made him comprehensible. She slumped back in the chair, staring at the computer screen. Well, a little more anyway.

She wondered how much pain Starling hid behind that blank expression while growing up, and still hid, considering his absent parents, being brilliant among his grade school classmates and then a child outsider among high-powered college students.

She gazed at her monitor and the 12-year-old Starling as she sipped her coffee. It was hard to admit, but she had to work up the nerve to see him. The stomach flutters were worse than pre-game jitters at Stanford or before a court hearing.

She closed out the search page, turned off the computer for the weekend, and frowned at the blank screen. Apprehensive as she was about his formulas, she remained troubled by his guileless, but too accurate observations, and was now apprehensive over what more he might reveal about his love life, or by comparison, hers. The truth was, she continued to underestimate him, unwittingly enjoying his company, mistakenly believing she had him safely circumscribed and completely understood.

She rubbed her forehead. Picking up the phone, she stared at it. She liked men and certainly wasn’t afraid of them—until Starling—and he was the least threatening man she knew. Taking a deep breath, she called it like it was. No matter how curious she was about Starling, Toni Crenshaw was a coward where he was concerned, a man she couldn’t categorize, out-think, or seduce . She put the phone down. Hitting the intercom, Toni said, “Crystal, would you please ring Dr. Starling and ask him when it would be convenient for me to see him?”

~ ~ ~

It proved convenient the next day, Saturday. Toni stood at Starling’s front door taking several deep breaths before ringing. She could hear the buzz of chainsaws in the woods off to the left of Starling’s palatial digs, which didn’t help her relax. She’d spent an inordinate amount of time Saturday morning deciding what to wear. Finally, she said the hell with it, and threw on a striped tee, slacks, tied her hair in a ponytail, and left without makeup. But along with her coat, she did grab her briefcase to stay in ‘professional’ mode.

Even though she’d steeled herself for the unexpected, having Bonnie meet her at the door still startled her. Bonnie gave a sunny, “Hi, howarya?” and ushered Toni in.

“Uh, hi. I thought you and Joan were down the coast in California.”

“Oh, we were, but Joan found she had to fly home from San Diego.” Bonnie followed with a guilty smile. “I couldn’t resist coming back to see Sam after two months—and BJ again.” She grinned with happy secrets. Barefoot, in shorts and a T-shirt, Bonnie led Toni out to the pool. Starling wasn’t there, but workmen were gardening in various places, deep in the manicured landscape. The whine of a chainsaw could be heard off to the side of the house in the adjoining conifer woods, the grating sound putting her on edge for another meeting with Starling.

The morning drizzle had stopped. The sky still rolled cold and gray above the brooding waters of the lake. Bonnie grabbed a large towel out of a pool-side cabinet and led Toni around the back, and into the surrounding pines.

More than thirty yards away, two workmen were laboring over what remained of a downed tree, one cutting it up, and the other carrying off the sections. They were almost finished. Bonnie stopped, apparently content to watch them from a distance. Toni frowned at her, but she held up a hand, displaying a merry grin alight with anticipation, saying, “Wait for it.” Toni suspected that one of the men was Starling.

Both men appeared broad shouldered, well-muscled, and tall from a distance, easily lifting the cut logs, and stacking them. With their backs to her, Toni couldn’t see their faces, but could tell both were wearing safety glasses and dust masks.

Finally, the last of the trunk was cut up and the chain saw turned off. The taller man, back muscles undulating under his white T-shirt, pulled off the glasses and mask, handing them to the other man, who picked up the saw. They traded comments, which elicited a deep laugh from the taller man. Then the shorter workman carried off the saw and gear into the woods.

Any impatience Toni felt evaporated when the remaining man pulled off his T-shirt and used it to towel off his face. Starling?? Lord, the man was cut. Impressive wings of muscle spread up his back from a narrow waist to sculpted shoulders. Still wiping his face, the hunk turned around, revealing a six-pack, and a chest to die for. With the woods as a backdrop, poised in just boots and jeans, he was a twelve-month calendar all by himself.

Bonnie nudged Toni, wiggling her eyebrows.

The man finished drying his hair with the shirt and raised his head. Seeing Bonnie and Toni, he smiled, teeth white against the frame of whiskey-colored beard. The smile’s heady power pulled one from Toni that felt more like a silly grin.

Of course it was Starling .

He advanced on the two women with the loose gait of an athlete, muscles rippling as he swung his arms. The old Starling had disappeared. Combined with his stimulating smile, Toni felt her body hum a welcome.

He said, “Hello,” to Toni in a deep timbre she hadn’t heard before, and then grabbed Bonnie by the waist and pulled her to him. He touched his forehead to hers and said, “Hi, beautiful.” She giggled, laying a hand on his bare chest. BJ’s thick, short beard didn’t stop either from kissing for an embarrassingly long time. Jealousy flashed hot, startling her with its intensity. Where the hell did that come from? Toni worked to control her breathing, wondering what it would be like to kiss him.

When the two pulled apart, Bonnie staggered a bit when he set her down. Starling steadied her as the two shared a laugh. Then BJ turned to Toni. “Thank you for coming. I’m running late, but I was having fun,” he said, thumbing in the direction of the woods. “The guys let me use their chainsaw.” He walked past her to the pool patio, saying over his shoulder, “I’ll just be a few minutes.” Close up his bare arms seemed as thick as the tree trunk he’d cut up.

Toni sucked in air, unable to shake the impact of his ‘thank you for coming.’ The words spoken in that dark, velvet voice had poured over her, so erotic that her stomach continued to do a little lambada in anticipation. Dazed, she turned and followed Bonnie and Starling to the pool. There he sat on a chair and took off his boots, socks, and then his jeans. Standing in his boxers, he dove into the pool. As he did laps Bonnie sidled up to Toni.

“Gorgeous, isn’t he?” Bonnie said as they watched BJ’s powerful strokes cutting through the water. “His voice has actually lowered since I last saw him. I’ve kissed men with beards before, but BJ has never shaved, so his hair is really soft.” She rubbed her nose. “It does tickle though.”

“How?” Toni wasn’t up to full sentences yet.

Bonnie chuckled. “Sam.”

When Toni raised an eyebrow at the obvious lack of information, Bonnie grinned. “My brother majored in nutrition and sports at Texas A&M. He was close to getting a degree when Mom got sick, and he had to quit to care for her and the family business.” She crossed her arms as though holding in unpleasant memories. “When Mom passed away, he used all our inheritance to keep me and Abby, my sister, in college. There wasn’t any left for him, but we didn’t know that until too late. He got a job as security at Texas A&M, but then was offered a better gig with Rayaneta and moved out here.”

“Okay, so protein shakes, and exercise turned BJ into Mr. Universe?”

“Pretty much, with Sam’s program. Plus a lot of hard work.” With an amused glance at Toni, Bonnie became enthusiastic. “Why Sam didn’t tell me the first time I was here, I don’t know. Maybe to surprise me. Anyway, BJ, the sweetheart, contacted the University of Washington two years ago, and got Sam into a doctoral program. That’s where Sam is today, with his doctoral committee.

“That was Sam and BJ’s deal for this year. BJ would pay for my brother’s doctorate and be the guinea pig for his thesis, and in return Sam would help BJ with, well. everything.” She turned to Toni with wide eyes. “Did you know that BJ had never been in a swimming pool till five months ago? He didn’t know how to swim.”

Toni shook her head. She was beginning to really dislike BJ’s parents. It doesn’t seem he had anything close to a normal childhood.

“Anyway, Sam developed some innovative ideas on bodybuilding and health that are now the basis for his doctoral thesis, and BJ is the result.”

“BJ built that kind of muscle in just two months?”

Bonnie frowned at Toni. “No, no, six months . . . well, nearly seven now. But that’s Sam’s new program. It isn’t all that fast. Actors have programs to build muscle in a few months for a movie.” She grinned. “Then again when have you ever seen BJ with his shirt off?”

“Point taken.” Toni crossed her arms. “Why are we watching him swim?”

Bonnie laughed. “Sam has a regimen all lined out for him. BJ exercises four hours a day. He’s almost done with his twenty laps.”

He came to the side of the pool and pushed himself up, seeming to leap out of the water to a standing position in one fluid motion. His wet shorts clung to him, making Toni quickly look at his face, though she’d seen enough to be affected in the most disquieting way.

Bonnie handed him the towel she’d been holding all this time. He energetically dried off without any evidence of being self-conscious or with any intention of showing off for the two women. Regardless, Bonnie smiled as she unabashedly followed his movements as though she imagined being the towel.

Finished, he collected his clothes and walked into the house, saying “I’ll be back in a moment. Why don’t we talk in the dining room?”

Bonnie went into the kitchen, asking Toni if she wanted something to drink. “Uh, no, not really.”

Sitting at the dining room table with the views of the lake all around, Toni tried to calm herself. Damn! Starling was disturbing not only because he kept changing every time she saw him, but because of what he was changing into. She could feel her body still thrumming, excited to depths she hadn’t felt since Nicky, her first, but this was different. Way different.

Bonnie came in and set a steaming mug of tea down in front of her. “This might help. It’s helped me,” she said with a wink.

“What has Starling told you about me?” Damn it. She hadn’t been able to hide the worry in her voice. If he’d blabbed about what she’d confided about her first time, she would . . .

Bonnie frowned over the question, but then offered a half-smile. “Not much. BJ doesn’t gossip about people, except in the most glowing terms.” She made a face. “He even makes my brother sound like a paragon of virtue and wit.”

Toni shot her a glance, but Bonnie disappeared into the kitchen again before she could ask what she meant. She looked at the tea, remembering that Starling had given her water, saying it would help. Had Starling used his sex scent on her and Bonnie?

She was determinedly sipping tea when Starling walked in and sat down across from her. He was wearing slacks and a dark blue dress shirt with white plaid striping, but his size made the entire room seem to darken around his sapphire blue eyes. She frowned, seeing the shirt material stretched tight across his shoulders and chest.

Starling must have noticed because he flexed a little, and said, “Yes, I seem to be growing out of all my new clothes.”

That flexing was enough to set her blood racing again. It was warm in the house after being outside, too warm. Toni started to remove her coat and then realized her bra and T-shirt were too thin and she was too . . . She threw her coat back over her shoulders, trying to look nonchalant about it. Shit!

Unsettled by her reactions to the man, hell, Bonnie’s reactions too, Toni eyed him like he was a coiled cobra while he calmly sat across from her, hands clasped on the table in front of him. Jerking her head toward the kitchen, Toni said in a tight whisper, “Are you wearing your new sex concoction?

“No.”

“Did you use it on Bonnie?”

Starling glanced toward the kitchen where Toni could hear Bonnie doing something with dishes. “I would never do that to Bonnie without her permission. I haven’t seriously tested the formula yet. That’s why I need you.”

Toni stood. “No way, chief, I didn’t volunteer to be your friggin’ guinea pig,” and collected her briefcase.

“Sit down.” His brows crashed down over eyes that flashed like blue sparks jumping a gap. He spoke so forcefully, so utterly dominant that before she realized what she’d done, Toni plopped back in her seat. His expression scared the hell out of her, which in turn goaded her temper.

She glared back at him.

“You continue to think the worst of me. Why?” He spoke in a softer tone, but still exuded sharp indignation.

His outburst must have caught Bonnie’s attention because she came and leaned on the counter dividing the kitchen and dining room. With a wry frown, she said, “Are you two playing nice?”

Starling studied Toni with an acerbic intensity. “I don’t know. Are we?”

Toni held on to the table edge to keep her hands from shaking and leaned forward. eye to eye. In her best lawyer voice, she said, “Asks the man creating a scent to seduce women.” When Starling shook his head in denial, she sat back. “I’ve experienced your formulas, Doctor, so don’t pretend you’re just whipping up a snappier version of Old Spice.”

He glowered at her. She wasn’t going to give him a chance to intimidate her further. She forcefully pushed back the chair, stood, and stalked out of the room fleeing to a poolside lounge chair. She sat holding herself while she called the man every name she could think of.

“Wow, there are words I haven’t heard before.” Bonnie sauntered out the sliding glass door. “I’m impressed.”

Not seeing Starling, Toni said with a one-shouldered shrug, “Don’t be. Any New Yorker can do the same.”

Bonnie laughed. “No, I meant the astonishing ‘first’ in the dining room.”

“The first what?”

“I’ve never seen BJ angry.”

“Yeah, well, that’s something else New Yorkers can incite without raising a sweat.”

Bonnie grinned. From the wall cabinet she grabbed a towel and dried off the lounge chair. Stretching out on it, she said, “Maybe, but I don’t think that’s it.” After a moment, she said, “I told you it wouldn’t be long before the man would be dangerous—and oh, baby, is he.” She giggled. “He does keep the surprises coming.”

“Where is Dr. Oh Baby?”

“He went upstairs to change his too small shirt. Or I should say, stormed upstairs.”

Toni eyed the woman across from her. Bonnie had a cute look with strong features rather than classic beauty. A Jennifer Anniston rather than a Jennifer Lopez or Lawrence. She appeared totally at ease.

“So, are you going to stay with the continually surprising BJ?”

Bonnie gave a sad shake of her head. “No, I leave in a couple of days.”

“It sure doesn’t look like it.”

Bonnie smiled. “No, and it doesn’t feel like it either.” She rolled over on her side facing Toni. “School starts in two weeks. I need to get back. I’m a TA and I really need to finish my master’s and pass my certification.”

“So you two aren’t serious?”

“Noooo,” she said softly. “BJ is an experience I wouldn’t have missed for the world, but I knew it couldn’t last.”

Bonnie wasn’t making any more sense than Chris. “Why not?” Toni threw up her hands. “I don’t understand Starling. I don’t get your attitude—at all.”

The pool beckoned, promising to help ease the tension. Toni kicked off her shoes and rolled up her pant legs. Walking over to the pool, she sat on the edge and stuck her feet in. It was heated. It felt wonderful in the cool air. Bonnie came over and sat next to her. In her shorts, she dunked her legs higher than mid-calf.

After thinking about it, Toni said, “You make BJ out to be an exotic trip to Bali. Wonderful place to visit, but no one can live there.”

Bonnie laughed. “That’s an interesting simile, and sort of accurate. Great sex with a caring friend, but no promise of a deep, committed love.” Bonnie kicked the water thoughtfully with her feet. “It’s funny. I feel I can tell BJ anything, but he doesn’t know what to tell me, and never learned to want to. He doesn’t confide much at all though he’ll answer any question without reservation. He absolutely accepts and cares about me, for who I am. Pretty rare in any relationship.” She heaved a big sigh with a little smile. “He’s a thoughtful lover.”

Bonnie looked at Toni out of the corner of her eye. “The best. He has nothing to prove, and his developing male ego never gets in the way. No games, no attempts to impress, or lie, or take without giving. He just is.”

She took a deep breath and sighed again. “On top of that, the man radiates a sexual energy the way a blast furnace gives off heat. A woman’s fantasy.” Bonnie glanced at Toni. “I’m sure you’ve noticed it.” Bonnie watched the water drip off one raised foot.

“Are you aware of what he’s trying to create in his lab?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t think all that radiant heat is his new sex scent?”

“I know it isn’t.” When she saw Toni’s skeptical look, Bonnie smiled. “When he described what it would do, I was so curious I asked if I could test it. He wasn’t all that keen on the idea, but he finally gave in, and we tested it in private.” She kicked at the water, an odd expression on her face, but she didn’t say anything.

“Well, what happened?”

“It wasn’t what I expected. I was already attracted to BJ. I mean, he’s hot, so what more could his formula do?” Bonnie ran her fingers through the water. “I never realized how smell affects us, it’s so unconscious.” She laughed. “Frankly, I’ve never been so turned on in my life. I thought I wanted him before, but Oh. My. God. And it all happened without my being aware of the transition. One minute we were talking in his bedroom and the next I am all over him, working desperately to entice a man I’d already slept with. It wasn’t that I felt sexier, it was that I needed to be sexy because he was so much more than attractive, he was The Supreme Male. Poor BJ couldn’t move fast enough I was that impatient.

“It was a bit scary afterward, realizing what had happened.” She leaned over, palmed water to splash on her face. Toweling off, she gave Toni a pensive smile. “The funny thing is the sex before and after that little experiment has been far better. No, maybe that’s not it.” She gave a self-deprecating smile. “I remember more of what happened those other times.” She balled up the towel. “I don’t know. It certainly was powerful. BJ says that the scent stimulates so many hormones and neurotransmitters that, while the feelings are unbelievable, shuts down the brain.”

“What, a lust-overload?”

Bonnie laughed. “Yeah, that’s how it felt, my passion switches being flipped all at once, rather than one at a time. It really sneaks up on you. It’s . . . It’s . . .”

“Insidious.”

“Ooh, good word. Yes, insidious.”

“Has he used the formula on you or anyone else since then?”

“No.” When Toni gave her a doubtful look, Bonnie said, “After that night? I would know if he had, and he never suggested it.” She gave a lopsided grin. “BJ said he didn’t like the formula’s results all that much. Besides, Sam certainly would know if he was spreading it around.” She then leaned closer to Toni and in a quiet voice said, “If Sam merely suspected BJ had used it on me, well, remember that Sam owns guns. It would be high noon in Sammamish.”

Toni smiled at the image of BJ facing Sam with six-shooters strapped around his lab coat. “I’m not surprised. It sounds like very dangerous stuff.”

Bonnie caught Toni’s gaze. “You’re the only other person to experience his formulas. What was it like, being under the influence of his 'cozy’ scent?”

“It was like coming home.” Toni shook her head at the impulsive description. “That is, I found myself instantly liking his house, the feel of it. BJ seemed to be the warmest, most approachable person I’d ever met, and he didn’t really do anything other than smile and say hi. I wanted to be in the house, around him. It felt good. I was talking and touching him like he was a close friend. I didn’t realize what I was doing.”

Toni shrugged. “As soon as he realized what was happening, he got me out of the house.” Toni stared into space for a moment, reliving the sensations. “It was frightening being influenced like that, without being aware of it.”

“Yes, and I asked for it. I don’t blame you for being concerned about him experimenting on other women. As careful as he is, I’m worried too.” Fluttering her feet in the water, Bonnie took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to him.”

Toni gave Bonnie an appreciative smile. “Thanks.” After a moment, she said, “So, help me understand why hot hunk BJ isn’t someone girls want to stay with? You aren’t the only one I know who has given him a triple-A rating as a lover and human being but decided to walk away.”

Bonnie nodded thoughtfully but stared at the water a while before answering. “There is this awareness on my part at least, that he and I can’t be permanent, that caring, sex, and committed love are separate experiences, which is for me unique in and of itself. He hasn’t said anything to suggest we couldn’t be permanent, and he doesn’t make me feel rejected or unappreciated. I just know.”

She ran her hands through her blonde hair, absently pulling it back and letting it go. It fell around her shoulders, theatre curtains closing as she searched for words. “It’s like, well, it’s like there’s this twelve-lane bridge to BJ completely open with no cross traffic, or stop signs, or hidden speed traps going deep into BJ territory. I gotta tell you, it’s something unprecedented in my relationships with men.”

Toni nodded, thinking unprecedented was a good word for BJ.

Bonnie pursed her lips. “But the bridge ends—bam! —before you get to the whole BJ. It is so strange, so maddeningly perverse after his complete transparency. You want to see what’s on the other side, but can’t.” She laughed with a hint of sadness. “It’s the very thing to drive any woman crazy, and certainly a promising psychologist.” She shrugged off whatever she was feeling and thought for a moment.

“Maybe the problem is that BJ is still growing up in odd ways, and the whole bridge hasn’t been built yet. He’s learning basics, or defenses we’ve known since adolescence.” She waved away the conclusions with one hand. “Or he has unique defenses. I don’t know, but he’s a fast learner so tomorrow that bridge may be complete. In many other ways he’s an old soul. He’d make a fascinating study.” Bonnie kicked her feet for a moment, sending water everywhere.

Laughing, Toni threatened to palm water in Bonnie’s lap. Throwing up her hands in surrender, Bonnie raised her eyebrows and thoughtfully gazed at Toni. “But I’ve never seen him angry, not in the most frustrating situations. In the three years Sam’s known him he hasn’t either, so it’s another piece of the BJ puzzle.” When Toni gave her a questioning look, Bonnie waved a hand. “Hey, I’m a psych major and he’s my brother, so I ask him questions—that’s what I do.”

“So, Bonnie the inquiring psychologist, I have to work with the guy. How do you suggest I proceed and still retain my sanity?”

Bonnie grinned but then grew serious. “Obviously, I don’t have him close to figured out yet.” She scanned the view of the lake and then said, “So, I’m not sure what I could suggest.” She glanced at Toni and then pensively watched the water drip off her upraised foot. “I don’t know why you don’t like or trust him.” Turning to face Toni, Bonnie said, “I know that he respects you and your opinions.”

Toni raised an eyebrow. “And you know this how?”

Bonnie grinned, studying her. “Really? You have no idea?” Without waiting for an answer she got up, grabbed another towel, and sat down on a chair to dry her legs. “From what I understand, you’re the one who gave him the idea for this whole sabbatical and the personal experiments, for the nonverbal lessons, and coach, which, I might add, he has mastered and internalized disturbingly fast.” She tossed the towel to Toni and offered a crooked smile. “He’s become a freakin’ mind reader, which isn’t so bad in bed.”

She stood and said, “You’re the one who suggested he talk to Chris, which he found to be a ‘revelation,’ I might add.”

“I just—”

“Hey, it doesn’t matter why you said it. He takes your advice and runs with it. So far, your suggestions have all been home runs.” Bonnie waved a hand at Toni. “I’m assuming that’s the reason he wants your help—you give good counsel, counselor.” She grinned and gave Toni a devilish look. “Maybe you should ask him,” she said, laughing at the irony.

Toni stuck her tongue out at Bonnie, got up, and then toweled off too. Rolling down her pant legs, she said, “I have asked him. He sees me as a known quantity, an honest representative of Rayaneta.” She slipped on her deck shoes and followed Bonnie into the house, muttering to herself, “That and my vast dating experience.”

BJ wasn’t in the dining room or kitchen. “He stormed upstairs.” Bonnie started to pull things from the refrigerator. “I’m going to make dinner. Do you think you’ll be staying?”

“I don’t know yet.” Toni looked down the hall to the lab. “I guess I’ll tell you after I beard the bear in his chemical den.”

“Okay, oh mighty huntress, but use your words. I don’t know what’ll happen if you get him angry twice in one day.”

Toni nodded, frowning. “Good safety tip. By the way, thanks for the insights.”

“Any time, Toni.”

She looked up the stairs and bit her lip. Did she want to go up there? Tossing her ponytail back over her shoulder, she straightened her back, squaring her shoulders before climbing to the second floor.

He sat out on the terrace with his feet on a table, staring at nothing. His profile wasn’t a blank or puppy look. It was the expression of a man, a troubled man. He’d put on a thick maroon sweater, and had his arms crossed tightly against his chest. He looked cold and tense. Did she dare approach him?

Toni watched him for a while, trying to tally what she knew of the clueless geek six months ago with the muscular BJ reclining before her and Bonnie’s perplexing observations. Toni felt the more she learned about him, the less she understood. A moving target. Toni cleared her throat, so she didn’t surprise him. She called out softly, “BJ?”

He didn’t start or move quickly. He took a deep breath and planted his feet on the floor. He turned in the chair to face her, composed, but silent, waiting.