Chaos Theory (Nerds of Paradise #2)(3)

“Although from what I understand, we’ll get a little more than a compass and a map,” Will added. He was equally as enthusiastic about the whole thing, but wasn’t about to show it for all the world to see.

“And since this is Howie we’re talking about,” Melody went on, “I’m sure there’s bound to be some kind of weird twist to the whole thing.”

Will’s chest constricted. Weird twists? He hadn’t thought of that. He wasn’t prepared for weird twists. Survival in the wilderness was twist enough.

“That’ll be nineteen-fifty,” Bernie told Will.

He was spared having to stress over Howie’s brand of the unknown as he took out his wallet and paid. He could handle the unknown, he told himself as he passed a twenty over to Bernie. His military tenure had prepared him for that much. He’d spent much of his time deployed in Germany, which wasn’t exactly a war-zone. But with Putin’s moves over the last few years, he’d had plenty of practice dealing with high-stakes unknown, no matter how his dad looked at it. Just because he hadn’t been in the desert, surrounded by IEDs, didn’t make him less of a soldier, the same way that working for PSF instead of working for NASA and striving to be an astronaut didn’t make him less of a—

He shook his head, clearing away the thoughts that had sprung up out of the blue to kick him. His dad was miles away and had nothing to do with this.

“So are you ready?” Melody asked, her voice strangely soft.

Will blinked himself back to full attention, wondering how long he’d been standing there, lost in thought. “I just have to run these up to my apartment.”

“Cool.” Melody started for the door. “Where’s your apartment.”

“Next door.” Will followed her out, striding ahead to hold the door open for her. They crossed out into the spring sunshine and stepped down to the street. “I’ll just be a second.”

“I’ll come with you,” Melody said, following him, swinging her own bag as she went.

The prospect of having Melody Clutterbuck in his apartment, with all of her bright colors, open smiles, and curly hair sent shivers down Will’s spine. And just when he had stopped feeling like he would embarrass himself from the waist down. “It’s not a problem. I’ll just run upstairs.”

“I’ve been wanting to see what they’ve done to these apartments since I started hearing about them,” Melody went on, either not hearing or ignoring him. They reached the front door, and since he had no intention of being rude, Will opened it and let Melody inside. “Rita says that they put all sorts of eco-friendly appliances and renewable energy sources into these babies.”

They started up the stairs. In the closed quarters, Will swore he could smell flowers.

“They are efficient apartments,” he told her. He kept his eyes forward as he climbed to the third floor, doing a quick mental inventory to make sure nothing embarrassing was out on display.

“I would imagine they must be if they’re packed with the latest technology. Sometimes I think that Howie and his family are out of their minds to spend so much money on the town and its facilities, but everything seems to work out for them in the end.”

“Hmm.” It was the only thing Will could think to say as he reached his apartment door. Did all women talk this much or was it just Melody?

“Then again, the Haskell family fortune is so vast that they have to go looking for ways to spend it,” she went on. “I mean, I’m sure they could buy their own private island or a fleet of jets or something, but no, they’ve always been more civic-minded, and the residents of Haskell have—whoa!”

Will pushed open the door and stepped into his apartment. Melody’s reaction baffled him. She pressed her free hand to her chest—drawing Will’s eyes to her perfect breasts—and looked around as if observing a palace.

Then she blinked. “Where’s the rest of your stuff?”

Will took a few steps to the side and tossed his shopping bag on the table. “What do you mean? This is all my stuff.”

“Really?” Her smile widened. “But where’s the art? Where’s the color?”

An itching feeling raced down Will’s back as he looked around, trying to see things the way she did. “I don’t really need art.”

She dropped her hand and stared at him like he’d said he didn’t need air. “I’m not sure if I should feel sad or offended by that statement.”

Will shrugged. “I don’t spend that much time here, and when I do, I’m usually asleep.”

“Can I see your bedroom?” Her lips twitched into a grin.

“No,” Will answered emphatically. His face flushed hot. “I mean, we need to get over to the PSF building. It’s—” He checked his watch, and then the clock on the wall. “—11:52. That’s just enough time to walk over there. We might even be late if we don’t hurry.”

Melody made a snorting noise that somehow managed to be sexy and feminine. “We’ve got loads of time. Howie never starts anything on time anyhow.”

She was right. Many had been the times Will had debated sending Howie an email asking if he needed help scheduling his day so that meetings and presentations didn’t start late. He started back toward the door, gesturing for Melody to precede him into the stairwell. She was slow to move, so that by the time he came level with her, all she had to do was look over her shoulder, flashing those big, blue eyes of hers to send his pulse soaring.