A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery) (3 page)

BOOK: A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery)
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Kylie whirled around
and nearly jumped out of her skin.  "What are you doing there?"  She exclaimed.

"Having a beer, watching the sun go down
, and like I said, waiting for you."

Max got up
from the sofa and cast her, an amused look.  He couldn't help himself. She was as jumpy as they come, and he knew it was him that was making her nervous.  Once she got to know him a little, he was sure she would relax.

"I really didn't
mean to scare you, I'm sorry."  He said gently.

"It's okay.
" Kylie answered but was still hesitant.

"I made Italian.
Is that okay?"

Max walked
over to the table and poured her a glass of wine.  His shirt was opened and the top button of his jeans was undone. Kylie tried not to stare.

"That's fine.
" She said then paused. "Oh no, I mean, I planned on going out for dinner."

"Well now you won't have to."
  Max handed her the glass.

He was standing
so close to her now that she could smell him; fresh shower and light cologne.  She knew she should leave, but was too busy noticing how tanned he was, how his eyes sparkled green, and how truly handsome he was when he smiled.  This is not good she thought to herself and accepted the wine graciously.

Max was hoping on gaining a smile
, but Kylie leaned up against the back of the sofa putting some distance between them.  Then she gave him a suspicious look.

"I've forgotten my manners.
" She apologized. "I should thank you."  She lifted her glass to his.

"You ca
n thank me after the meals over.  Actually, I’m really not a very good cook, I lied." He confessed, and Kylie was forced to smile a little of her nervousness away.

 

Kylie and Max made small talk over dinner. She was getting used to him, and his teasing, and realized she hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time.  He really was, too charming for words. But then again, that was his kind, and she wouldn’t let herself forget it.

“The food wasn’t so bad.”
She teased. “Where did you learn to cook?”

“My dad taught me.”

“Oh.” She scrunched up her brows. “So
he
’s the chef.”

“No,
he’s just a regular dad.”

“What
about your mom, did she cook, or was she working?”

“She died when I was nine.
My dad took over the cooking and eventually got pretty good. My brother Ray and I had no choice but to help out around the kitchen, so we learned.”

“I’m sorry.
” Kylie shifted in her seat. “Where’s your brother now?”

“Somewhere in Japan contracting for a company called Evron, they’re a satellite company.
He’s doing R & D work.”

“Impressive.
Does he have a family?”

“No, he’s on his own, but never lonely.”
He smiled.

Kylie looked Max over and bet that was true, if his brother had Max’s genes
, he probably had his hands full.

“So what about your dad, where’s he?”

“He had a house on the lake but he moved back to town last year.”

“On this lake?”
Kylie was surprised and curious.

“Y
eah, that’s right, on the north side where the road forks.”

“So, you must know this area pretty well.”

“No, not really, I didn’t come up very often. He was only here for about a year before he moved back to the city.  But when I did come up, I loved it.” He nodded his head thoughtfully. “So when I got the job at the center, I came to the lake to see if there was anything available. That’s when I found this place.”

“Why did your dad leave?”

“I think he found it lonely.” He lifted his glass and took her in.   “It’s no fun living alone.”

“There’s no chance of that now is there.”
Kylie had to laugh, the wine loosening her tongue.

She told him all about he
r parents, their vacation condo in Florida, and their four dogs.  She had just finished telling him how she thought they were happy that she had finally moved out, when he smiled.

"You've never lived alone?
"

"No never.
" Kylie replied.

“Why is that?”

“I guess I…I’ve been very busy.” She stammered.

"Have you ever been in a relationship?"  He smiled again.

"That’s a very personal question.  What are you implying?"

"Why not just answer the question?"  Max laughed smoothly.

"Because I’m not exactly sure why you’re asking," she admitted.


I was just wondering if you’ve ever dated, that’s all.”

“Of course I’ve dated!”
Kylie’s eyes widened. She knew he was going to ask something stupid like that.

Max relaxed back in his seat and
stretched his legs.  They brushed gently by her naked ankles and she felt a shiver run up her spine.  It was just an automatic response, she told herself.

"Well
, you've answered my question then."  Max grinned.

"What question?"  S
he raised her brows.

"The
one that was too personnel to answer," he laughed again.

She narrowed her eyes
. "I do believe you’re baiting me."  She said wistfully, while stirring in her seat.


Maybe I am.” Max smiled.

“Well I don’t bite.”  Kylie watched him intently.  Did she imagine it
, or were his eyes now telling her how lovely he found her. She took him in for a moment, imagining each brush stroke and color she would use to paint his portrait. His face was masculine, but soft. His jaw was cut just right, and his hair was always tousled. His eyes sparkled like emeralds and his lips were almost too beautiful to belong to a man.

"So
, do you have a girlfriend?"  She blurted out, and then felt like an idiot schoolgirl.  Oh Lord, too much wine! She almost shook her head.

Max looked unfazed.  "No."  H
e said quickly.  Then he suddenly got up from the table and took her hand. Kylie caught her breath when he pulled her gently to her feet, while slowly stroking her palm with his thumb.

“Let's go look at the stars," he whispered
, and led her towards the stairs.

Kylie felt light
headed.  She had definitely drunk too much, and couldn't quite think of how to react.  So she followed him upstairs.  When his fingers entwined in hers, she felt her face flush, and thanked God that he couldn't see her.

Once
they reached the terrace, Kylie was astonished to see a blanket on the ground and a telescope, all set up and waiting for them.

"Here I'll show you what to do."  Max let go of her hand and sat down on the blanket.  He moved in close to the telescope
, adjusting it to eye level.  "Sit down," he coaxed.

Kylie thought it was great.  She always loved to look at the stars and never had the chance to lo
ok through a telescope before.  Besides, it was a hot balmy night and it felt great to be outdoors. They sat close together while he gave her coordinates on which stars to find, then he explained their names and where they were located. She saw him looking at her as she scanned the night sky, his eyes lingered on her each time. When he moved over to adjust the telescope, he brushed up against her and her body responded. Her breath quickened, and she felt that lovely tingle of intimacy.  The realization that she was enjoying it so much was almost disconcerting.

"You see
, there's the Andromeda Galaxy, it's the closest galaxy to our own. It contains approximately a billion stars."

"That's amazing!"  Kylie said in awe
, as she peered through the lens.

“H
ere,” he adjusted the telescope.  “If you look over there you’ll see Jupiter.”              

"What's that red spot?"

"There's huge swirling tornados and dust storms raging on that planet. They show up as red spots sometimes.  "Max answered.

“Wow
, that’s so cool!”

“You know what’s cool?
Jupiter has seventeen moons.”

“No way!’ Kylie looked over at him quickly.
“Can we see any of them?”

“Only four of them are visible
, but sometimes they get lost in Jupiter’s glare. I’d have to bring you to work so you could take a look through Stella.”

Kylie laughed.
“I hope she’s a telescope.”

Max leaned back and smiled
.

Kylie pushed the telescope away from her and leaned back too. "Wow,” she said softly.

“Wait.  In a couple of months we’ll be able to see Saturn. Now that’s something. The first time I saw it, boom!  Love at first sight.”

Kylie couldn’t help but smile.
“Is it that beautiful?”

“Oh y
eah.”  Max looked serious. “The first time you see it you’ll understand. This small pale orb, encircled with these delicate rings, just floating there, nearly a billion miles away. It’s stunning.”

“It sounds like it.”
She tilted her head, and allowed his love for the cosmos to flow though her. It was suddenly amazing how relaxed she felt.

“I know
that’s the Milky Way up there.” She pointed to the star clustered milky trail in the sky.

“Y
eah, but that’s only part of it.”

“What do you mean, part of it?”

“Well, that’s the Sagittarius arm that you see. Beyond that is the galaxy’s center which is 27,000 light years away. We’re down here in the Orion Spur.”

“Pardon me?”
She said quizzically.

“O
ur sun is in the Milky Way galaxy. You know that right?”

“Ok
ay.”  Kylie concentrated.

“Have you ever seen an artists rendering of it?”

“No.”

“W
ell it’s like this.” He put his hand down on the blanket. “Think of an octopus lying there with its legs straight out. Then you take the body only, and you turn it, slightly to the right. The legs start to spiral. Well that’s what our galaxy looks like, but each spiraled leg is actually a billion stars, following each other on what we call arms that come out from a bar at the center. That starlit trail you see at night, like a river of stars stretched across the sky is only one arm.”

“And the billions of stars
, are they all suns?”

“Some are.”

“And do they have planets circling them?”

“Aside from our sun, there’
s been over 300 stars that have been found with one or more planets circling them. Astrophysicists are working to find more everyday.”

“Wow.”
Kylie sighed. “All of a sudden I feel so small."  She said softly, looking up into the heavens.

Max moved over
, and let his shoulder touch hers.  "You are and you're not.”  He said.  "Remember that you’re part of all this.  I had the same feeling the first time I spent hours star gazing.  Then each time I came out, and opened myself up to the universe, I felt as though I began to evolve, too change."  He admitted. “Not to take anything for granted anymore.  It’s amazing to think about how much energy is out there and you’ve been given a fraction of that energy to affect the universe in some way.”

Ky
lie smiled at him. "That's true."  She hummed sincerely.

"It is.
Just don’t over analyze it because you’ll give yourself a headache."  They laughed together.

The moon was coming up behind the mountain
s, which made the lake glitter like diamonds.  Kylie got up, moved to the edge of the terrace, and Max followed her.  Each house around the lake was in darkness.

"It's so beautiful here.
" Kylie purred, looking up at Max who was staring at her instead of the view.  He rumbled a low "ah uh," in a very sexy, husky voice.  He was beautiful in the moonlight too, she thought.  Her tongue brushed lightly over her lips. But when she realized what she was doing, she turned away.

A light went on across the l
ake, then off again, then on again.

"They
can't make up their minds." Kylie grinned at Max then shivered noticeably.

"What's wrong?  A
re you cold?"  Max asked.

"No, I'm sorry I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About these crazy mu
rders."  She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around herself.  "Are the doors locked downstairs?"  She asked.

"Y
eah, I think so.  Do you want me to go and check?"

Kylie felt foolish
, but she had the spooks and needed to put her mind at ease.  "If you don't mind?"

BOOK: A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery)
12.29Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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