California Dream (3 page)

Impulsively, the way Roddy did nearly everything, he decided to awaken the blonde. Why not invite her to the party with the band? Eddie brought girls just about everywhere he went and nobody thought a thing of it. That it would be a first for Roddy shouldn’t matter a bit.

Chapter three

“Don’t worry about it. I have kicked visitors out in the middle of the night,” he said with a smile. “But only when they bore me.”

“But a library clerk is interesting to you.”

“Get your clothes on, librarian,” he said on a laugh, tossing her jeans at her.

She sat up, for the moment oblivious to her naked flesh, and dangled her long legs over the side of the bed. She slipped her jeans on, and then stood to regard him with raised brows.

“Have you seen my shirt?” she wondered.

He smiled appreciatively at her. “Did you have one earlier?”

She primly crossed her arms over her chest and reached over to snatch her jacket off the floor and put it on while she hunted down her elusive tee-shirt. She finally found it in a crumpled ball under a chair, but her bra seemed to be a lost cause.

“We can look for the rest of your stuff later,” Roddy told her as she pulled her shirt over her head.

She gave herself a cursory glance in the mirror, ran a hand through her hair, and followed him out the door.

She took the time to give Roddy a full perusal while they walked down the hall. He had his hair secured pirate-style under a bandanna, and his thighs bulged under a pair of tight, faded jeans, which were in turn stuffed unceremoniously into a pair of snakeskin boots. He had an unbuttoned shirt thrown carelessly over the ensemble. The whole picture was very sexy, and Lee knew she would have to make an effort not to stare at him with her tongue hanging out all night.

They went just a few doors down the hall, and Roddy was about to knock when the door was suddenly flung open. Eddie Brandon stood on the other side with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth and a shapely blonde under his arm.

To Lee’s pleasant surprise, Eddie didn’t seem to remember her from earlier in the night. He was a friendly, gracious host who offered her a place to sit and a cold beer, and she tried to relax and act like she partied with rock stars every day.

Lee decided not to further an acquaintance with Cindy, but the other girl didn’t seem to care. Lee wasn’t a rock star, and was thus beneath her notice.

Roddy made sure to introduce her to the other members of the band. Lee met David, the bassist, and Mike, who played rhythm guitar. David and Mike also had vacuous dates, and had it not been for Roddy’s attentive behavior, she would have felt decidedly out of place.

Lee was amused that the other women there seemed impressed by her career as a library clerk.

“A librarian! Geez!” Cindy exclaimed. “I can’t remember the last time I even read a book! Probably when I was in high school.”

“Can’t have been all that long ago,” Lee murmured under her breath, and Roddy heard her and gave her a sideways smile. She turned to him and whispered, “I’m starting to see why you think I’m interesting. I’m not the oldest, but I’m probably the only woman in the room with a diploma.”

“That’s not very nice,” Roddy chastised with an evil grin. “But I think that’s why I like you. I’m usually not very nice either. This is why I usually get rid of my pick-ups early in the night.”

He still looked uncomfortable at the direction the conversation was taking. “I hope you don’t mind if we change the subject,” he said with a scowl.

The look she gave him was impish. “Whatever makes you happy.”

He smiled suddenly and leaned over to kiss her. His lips were soft and seductive, and in that moment Lee completely ignored her surroundings. He had a way of making her forget they weren’t alone every time he touched her. It would have been easy to simply let go and cling to him, but she brought herself back to earth just in time.



Roddy had the sinking feeling it had been a mistake to bring his blonde to the party that night, though for different reasons than usual. Just looking at her had him coming unglued. Since the moment he laid eyes on her, he stopped following his carefully-crafted pick-up etiquette. He was supposed to use her once, get rid of her, and there was no way he should have introduced her to the band. He certainly shouldn’t be standing around in front of them all kissing her like some goggle-eyed teenage kid.

He knew he could blame it all on her. She just didn’t play her role the way he was used to seeing it played. She was supposed to idolize him and act like he was the love of her life. Instead, she treated him like he was an average guy. She was also supposed to pull out all the stops to impress him and try to make herself memorable, but the blonde practically came out and told him she knew she was a nameless, faceless nobody, even refusing to part with her name. Though he had it now, that itself was enough to make her unforgettable.

Roddy found it uncomfortable playing his usual game with someone who anticipated his every move and undermined him at every turn. She was friendly, but distant, with the band. Even Eddie didn’t faze her. She truly seemed to have eyes only for Roddy. Usually, pick-ups adored the whole band, and were easily interchangeable. It made it easier for everyone if the original set-up wasn’t working. Looking around the room, Roddy knew he couldn’t muster the slightest bit of interest for any of the other women there.

“Do you do this every night while you’re on tour?” His blonde cut into his thoughts with her question.

“Pretty much, unless we’re just sick of each other,” he told her. “We just got back from a break, though, so we’re all getting along tonight. Getting away from each other every now and again helps us work together better.”

“It sounds like another family.”

“Another?” Eddie scoffed, breaking into their conversation. “Try only. My old man hates me and I know my mom threw a party when I moved out.”

“I guess you get the last laugh now,” the blonde told him, skipping the phony sympathy Eddie’s family remarks usually garnered. “You’re a star, and they’re not.”

Eddie looked at her strangely. “Sounds like you know a little something about family issues.”

She shrugged. “My mother ran off when I was ten, and it’s generous to say that my father and I have never been close.”

There was some respect in Eddie’s gaze after that, but Roddy felt troubled. He was very close to his mother, and couldn’t fathom having a family like hers or Eddie’s.

“You should trade with me, Roddy,” Eddie suggested. “She and I would have lots to talk about.”

Roddy very nearly hit him, and Eddie’s date uttered an outraged gasp, but the blonde laughed and reached a hand out to stroke Roddy’s arm.



Roddy was surprised at how exhausted he felt when his call jangled him awake the next morning. He was still lying there trying to clear his head when the blonde wordlessly slid out of bed and started collecting her clothes. He stared at her all the while, thinking he might actually miss her when he left. He wasn’t all that anxious to say good-bye.

He frowned deeply. “I don’t mean it as an insult. I really like you. I should at least take you out for breakfast or buy you something pretty or something.”

Chapter four

The following weekend, while Lee and Debbie sat on her couch watching a movie, the phone rang. She reached over absently to pick it up, and stiffened immediately when she heard a male voice on the other end.

“Hi, Lee.” It was Paul West, a guy she had dated a couple of times recently.

Lee liked Paul. He was a sweet guy who worked as a paralegal at a law firm in downtown Minneapolis. He was cute and nice, and she had completely forgotten he even existed from the moment she laid eyes on Roddy O’Neill.

“Oh, hi, Paul.” Debbie glanced over when she heard the name and Lee wished she was alone. “How’ve you been?” She vaguely recalled him telling her something a couple of weeks ago about going to Mexico on vacation and felt a little guilty for not being able to remember the details.

“I’m great! I just got back to town last night and wanted to know if you’d like to go out again,” he said with warmth.

Lee’s reaction surprised her. She had thought after her night out of time with Roddy O’Neill that she would file the memory away and get back to real life, but now that it had come calling, she was no longer interested. While two weeks ago Paul hadn’t exactly made her heart race, she still liked him enough to go out on a couple of dates. Now, the thought made her squirm.

At this, Debbie looked at her sharply, but Lee strove to ignore her friend. After Paul mumbled something to end their conversation, Lee hung up and tried to turn her attention back to the TV, but Debbie would have none of it.

Lee attempted to brush it off. “You’re imagining things. We were attracted to each other and I slept with him, but he’s a rock star, Debbie. He does stuff like that every night. I knew what it was all about. I didn’t even tell him my name.”

Debbie just stared at Lee, obviously wondering what had gotten into her. It wasn’t surprising that Lee had spent the night with Roddy O’Neill after the way they took off together. She was just no doubt shocked over Lee’s casual attitude about it. Lee supposed her friend thought she should be planning their next date or something, but she knew the real score.

“You haven’t told me very many of the details,” Debbie said gently. “And I could tell you weren’t really ready to talk about it, so I didn’t pry.”

Lee gave her a long and level look. She was sure Debbie was dying to ask a thousand questions about Roddy O’Neill, and for that reason she had deliberately blown her off for the last few days, except to leave a quick voicemail to say she was all right. Lee was glad Debbie knew her well enough not to press for details she wasn’t ready to talk about yet, but also knew Debbie’s patience wouldn’t last forever. Debbie was her best friend, and if for no other reason, she owed her an explanation.

“There really isn’t much to tell,” Lee said simply. “He took me to a party in Eddie’s room some time in the night. The rest of the band seemed really nice. Mostly, I just hung out with Roddy.”



Somebody remembered Lee the following Monday. As she and Debbie dragged themselves back to the Research & Cataloging Department after lunch, they were immediately set upon by Mr. Eggers.

“I’ll have you know that a number of library patrons have allergies, Miss Miller,” was his greeting. His face was tight and he seemed to bite each word as he spit it out.

“I’m not wearing any perfume today,” Lee told the little, balding man in the most pleasant tone she could muster.

Mr. Eggers puffed up like a rooster. “I’m not talking about
perfume,
” he huffed, dragging out the word as if perfume was an evil substance responsible for the world’s decay. “I’m talking about those.”

His bony hand shot out to point accusingly at her desk. It was done with such ferocity, Lee half expected lightning to spark from his fingertips.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight on her desk, though.

“That’s got to be the biggest bouquet of red roses I’ve ever seen!” Debbie cried out in awe, completely forgetting to use her library voice. “There must be at least three dozen there!”

Lee and Debbie looked at each other and shrugged. There was only one man Lee could think of who might have sent her flowers, and that was Paul. The gesture seemed a little extravagant for what she knew of him, and he and Lee hadn’t dated very long, but there hadn’t been anyone else recently. Except Roddy O’Neill, of course, and she knew that was just impossible.

Her brows together, she reached around the outsized bouquet for her phone, then punched out Paul’s number. It would be nothing less than awkward to call him, but she had to know where the flowers had come from.

“Hi, Paul, it’s Lee,” she told him when he came on the line. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I just got a strange delivery, and I wondered if it was from you?”

Lee felt like a heel for even making the call, and she couldn’t get Paul off the phone fast enough. Once she did, she turned to her boss again.

“Mr. Eggers,” she said with a quaver in her tone, “are you sure these flowers are for me and not Debbie?”

He fixed her with the expected glare and raised his nose a notch. He hated to be doubted, particularly by his underlings. “Of course I’m sure.”

Lee turned to helplessly regard the flowers again. She could forget about doing anything productive that afternoon. Even after moving the outsized bouquet so it no longer took up the entire top of her desk, wondering about its origins occupied her mind.

“If Paul didn’t send them, who did?” Debbie asked several times that day.

Lee asked herself the same question. She was outgoing and social, but she did not have a string of admirers. Aside from a one-night stand with Roddy O’Neill, there hadn’t been any other man in her life in months.

Lee emphatically shook her head. “Impossible. He doesn’t even know my name. Besides, I’m sure he’s forgotten me by now.” Too bad she would never forget him.

It had occurred to her, of course, that he might have sent the flowers, but she dismissed the idea almost as quickly as it came to mind. Much as their night together meant to Lee, she knew Roddy did not feel the same. He had short little flings in strange cities all the time, so there was no reason to think there was anything special or particularly memorable about her.

The whole dilemma was giving her a headache, and Lee turned away from the flowers, determined not to think about them anymore. Her resolve lasted less than a minute.



Over the next two months, Lee returned from lunch one day every week to find a huge bouquet of flowers towering over her desk. The day of the week always varied, as did the type of flowers, though they were always red. There was never a card indicating who sent them.

Mr. Eggers had given up harassing her about it weeks ago, and instead just tightened his lips and gave the flowers his patented disapproving stare. He no doubt wondered about young people in the modern world, and who would be crazy enough to send truckloads of flowers to a lowly library clerk.

Lee was becoming a bundle of anxiety. She had no idea who kept sending the extravagant bouquets every week, and it was starting to drive her crazy.

There was one thing she knew for certain: they weren’t from Roddy. There was no way a man like him would think to send her flowers every week, even if he had bothered to figure out who she was. If it had happened only once, she might have allowed herself to entertain a small hope. Since it kept happening every week for two months, she was certain it must be someone else, like the pizza delivery guy. Roddy O’Neill certainly had better things to do than moon over her.

Lee found herself scrutinizing the strange men in her midst. Her admirer could be anyone, even some guy who rode her bus. None of them seemed to take any unusual interest, though. They just kept their noses buried in their newspapers as usual.

Lee broke down a little one afternoon in June when she found a regular forest of bleeding hearts decorating her desk when she and Debbie returned from lunch.

She stopped in her tracks and moaned. “I can’t take this anymore.”

“I wouldn’t complain,” Debbie said on a pout. “Nobody ever sends me flowers.”

“There are enough here for six people! You’d think if someone was spending this much on flowers, he could at least spring for a card. You’d think he’d want me to know who he is!”

It was the last time she received flowers. The following week, Monday through Friday, her desk was empty every day when she returned from lunch. When there still had been no delivery by four o’clock Friday, Lee realized none would be forthcoming.

“I think he finally gave up on me,” she murmured to Debbie, her feelings a mixture of disappointment and relief.

The words had no sooner left her mouth when Mr. Eggers loomed in the doorway.

“Miss Miller,” he sniffed. “There is a gentleman out front who has asked specifically for your assistance.” His tone suggested Mr. Eggers considered her visitor no gentleman.

Lee shrugged at Debbie, ordered herself to remain calm, then slid slowly away from her desk and followed Mr. Eggers out of the research department to meet the mysterious man who had asked specifically for her.