Make Your Move - By Samantha Hunter Page 0,14

down to sexual frustration and being caught off guard. Though if he’d caused that kind of seismic reaction in her body from a kiss and a simple touch, what would he be able to do if they—

No.

It had clearly been her fault, and she had to make it right.

Jumping out of bed, she showered and got dressed. She was meeting him later for dinner, but maybe she could find him at the lab where she could explain about the cookies and apologize. Then they could catch a movie and get back on their old footing.

Relieved at having a workable plan, she headed out to find him, certain that she could fix this and move on.

It only took a few minutes by train before she was at the university, finding her way deep into the belly of the science building where Dan’s office and attached lab were located, but she couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Hey, Sherry, is Dan around?” she asked the secretary down the hall who oversaw the suite of labs and offices.

“He took off early today,” Sherry said with a smile. “I think he has a hot date or something. He might stop back, but I don’t know for sure.”

Jodie bit back a groan. Great. She didn’t want to do this over the phone or at dinner.

“Do you mind if I leave him a note in the lab, just in case?”

“Nah, you’re fine, help yourself.”

Jodie smiled and scooted back to the lab where she formulated a note in her mind and searched for some blank paper on Dan’s desk.

Though she wasn’t snooping, her eye caught sight of her name, strangely, and she looked closer, curious.

Pushing other papers aside, she skipped over the array of formulas and symbols that made no sense to her and saw what seemed to be notes dated the day before—about her.

Unabashedly picking up the entire notebook, her eyes devoured the pages, her heart hammering as she skipped over the parts she didn’t understand to absorb the parts she understood all too well.

Dan had used her. She’d been an experiment as he tested the formulations of a new cologne, as far as she could see, that worked similar to how the extract in her cookie frosting worked, only for men.

She remembered commenting on the cologne, and how the minute she’d laid eyes on him, she couldn’t think straight. When he’d come closer, he’d become downright irresistible.

He hadn’t told her, hadn’t warned her, and her cheeks flamed anew as she read the notes written about her response—in rather graphic detail.

Anger and betrayal coursed through her. Her first instinct was to take the notes, burn them or stuff them down his throat and tell him, like Jason, never to darken her door again.

Then the hurt set in, and her eyes blurred with tears as she looked up at the clock. She rushed to the door of the lab, closing it as sobs choked her.

This was Dan. There must be an explanation, but she couldn’t think of one—it had been pretty obvious. He came to the shop wearing something meant to stimulate women’s sexual attraction to him, and he’d let her make a fool of herself without stopping her or warning her. According to the notes, it had all been on purpose. An experiment to see if the cologne worked.

Still, their friendship demanded she give him a chance to explain. Which she would—after she taught him a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget. Hopefully their friendship could survive this, but maybe not.

No one duped her like this. No man took advantage of her that way without paying for it ten times over. Every memory of every time her father had enjoyed making her look stupid or foolish in front of others played through her mind, and she shoved the memories away. She was different now.

Leaving the lab, she made her way to the bakery and grabbed a stash of Passionate Hearts cookies, taking most of the tray as Ginger watched with interest, but Jodie didn’t feel like talking about it.

She’d have to run an extra mile every day for a week to burn off the calories, but she was a woman with a plan, and extra calories were a sacrifice she’d have to make.

DAN WASN’T NERVOUS when he stood outside Jodie’s apartment door, but he was anticipating what was going to happen. After the kiss in the bakery, it was difficult, impossible really, to treat this evening like any other. This was a big deal. This was Jodie.

He knocked, hoping the