Dating the Rebel Tycoon - By Ally Blake Page 0,22
your teenage IQ?’
His eyes narrowed. ‘I’m not entirely sure that was in the slightest bit complimentary to any of us.’
She looked him dead in the eye and said, ‘Well, colour me surprised. You’re not as slow as you seem.’
His cheek slid into the kind of smile that would melt the icy crust of the moon Europa. No wonder she couldn’t stop moving. He was always so switched on, he made her feel like there were ants in her shoes.
‘So, how did a smart mouth like you end up in such a dry field as astrophysics?’ he asked, lifting his foot to lean it against a log on the edge of the garden beside them.
Rosie clasped her hands together behind her back. ‘I used to wish upon every star I saw. When I didn’t get a trip to Disneyland for my eighth birthday, I gave up on them.’
‘Stars?’
‘Wishes. Stars I couldn’t let go of quite so easily. So, while you hunkered down in your seat shaking like a little girl at the animated wormholes on your planetarium visit, I paid attention. I learnt about Venus, about how she always appeared alone, separate from all the other planets, and only at the most beautiful times of day, sunset and sunrise. That afternoon, I sat in the kitchen window of our apartment block and there she was—bright, constant and unblinking. A free show, for anyone in the world to see. That was the beginning of a beautiful love affair that has lasted til this day.’
Rosie came back to earth to find Cameron standing very still, his eyes dark, intense, with the kind of absolute focus she was certainly not used to being on the receiving end of. She’d been balancing on her toes. She bounced back to her heels with a thud. It didn’t help. Those deep, blue eyes looked just as hot from a lower angle.
She started walking again; no dawdling any more. Assuming he’d follow, she said, ‘Did you know Venus is the only planet in the solar system named after a woman?’
‘I think I’d heard that.’ His voice told her he was close.
‘And, with a few exceptions, all surface features take their names from successful women.’
‘That I did not know.’
‘And that, if you weighed one-hundred kilos on Earth, you would weigh about ninety on Venus?’
‘I feel like you’re trying to sell me an interplanetary timeshare.’
She glanced back and wished she hadn’t. When she looked into his eyes she forgot herself. Forgot that their time together was one of the universe’s crazier anomalies. And she found herself wishing again. Just for the briefest moment, but each and every time.
He asked, ‘So are any other planets allowed a look in, or is this an exclusive relationship?’
She looked up, and the tightness in her chest ebbed away. ‘I’m a one-planet woman. Earth and Venus are the most similar in size of the planets in our solar system. They came into being around the same time with nearly the same radius, mass, density and chemical composition. But she has clouds laced with sulphuric acid, a surface hot enough to melt steel, and her surface pressure is equivalent to being a kilometre under the sea.’
‘She’s one feisty broad.’
‘Isn’t she?’ Having built up a safer distance, she spun to face him, and, walking backwards, said, ‘Sorry you asked?’
‘Not in the least. So, how long have you been working at the planetarium?’
She fell into step beside him, figuring it best to keep her eyes on the path ahead. ‘I don’t. I’ve known the manager there—Adele, who you met yesterday—since uni, and she lets me camp out in the observatory whenever I like. I travelled a lot after school, and now, being back, having the observatory on hand means I can mix things up.’
‘And it’s a living?’
She shot him a sideways glance. ‘As Australia’s pre-eminent Venus specialist, I’ve given talks at international conferences, guest lectured at universities, and even talked on TV about her. And I’ve worked freelance for NASA for yonks. So, yeah, I do just fine.’
‘You’re a humble little thing, aren’t you?’
‘The humblest.’
He moved alongside her, close enough she could feel the whisper of air from his swinging arm brushing her jacket against hers. Their footsteps found a rhythm; her heart on the other hand felt like it was skittering all over the place. It was a feeling she’d never experienced before, comfortable and sexy all at once. She wondered if he felt that way all the time, if being with him she would too.
Rosie slid