Chaos Theory (Nerds of Paradise #2)(81)

Will had caught both the exchange between Sandy and Jogi and Melody’s look of surprise. “I’ll tell you later,” he whispered, leaning close.

“Is there something to tell?” Melody whispered back.

“Uh, yeah.” Will’s grin turned wry.

“Comedy, tragedy, or romance?”

“A little bit of each,” Will said. “Although Jogi would probably tell you it was horror.”

Melody giggled, clapping a hand over her mouth. She glanced past Will and down the row. Jogi was still bright pinkish-brown and couldn’t take his eyes off Sandy. Sandy—dressed in elegant high fashion as usual—seemed unaware. She crossed her long legs and leaned over to whisper something to Rita. Rita giggled.

“I don’t know what to watch,” Melody whispered on to Will. “The National Parks video or Jogi and Sandy.”

“I think you’ll have plenty of time to watch the latter this summer.”

“So did something happen between those two when we were all out in the forest?”

Will shrugged. “It must have.”

Melody hummed. “Very interesting. Especially since they won the photography competition.”

“Have you seen their photo?” Laura asked as she plopped into the empty seat beside Melody.

It was a sign of how fascinating the budding…whatever it was between Jogi and Sandy was that Melody didn’t even notice Laura’s arrival. “No,” she answered. “Well, I must have, but I can’t remember which of those finalist photos was the one Howie and the Shoshone National Forest guys picked.”

“It was the one of Sandy looking out over that view of the lake and the mountains,” Laura said.

“Oh yeah.” Melody sighed. “She looked gorgeous in that.”

“Almost as good as the landscape,” Laura agreed. “And you know what they say about the camera loving its subject.”

Melody blinked. “You don’t think Jogi….” She checked over her shoulder with Will, who just shrugged.

“But enough about them.” Laura changed the subject with a wave of her hand. “I want to see this rock I’ve been hearing so much about.”

Melody shot instantly up to Cloud Nine and raised her left hand. A perfect emerald flashed in an exotic setting along with two dark amethysts. “My favorite colors.” She giggled.

“Way to go, Will,” Laura said.

Will just smiled wider. “It seemed appropriate.”

“I’ll say.” Laura sat back in her seat with a sigh. “I wish some wonderful guy would buy me a gorgeous engagement ring like that. All I’ve got is dirt and dinosaur bones.”

“Yeah, what is all this about finding fossils out at the Flint ranch?” Melody sat a little straighter, brow knit in curiosity.

Laura laughed, irony thick in her voice. “You thought your friend Casey was stubborn about Scott building his house on that ranch? Well, you should see the way Ted is carrying on about me digging up fossils.”

Melody frowned. “He’d not in favor of scientific research?”

Laura arched a brow, her lips pulling into a lopsided smirk. “Other way around. He keeps wanting to buy me dinner.”

Melody blinked. “What’s the problem with that.”

Laura suddenly squirmed in her seat. “I don’t know if dinner would be a good idea.”

“Why not?”

The lights flashed, indicating the movie was about to start, or rather, that Howie was about to give his speech. There was way too little time to figure out what was going on with Laura and Ted Flint.

“I’m just not sure I’m the dating type,” Laura said, eyes locked forward.

Melody sputtered. “Everyone is the dating type.”

As the lights began to fade, Laura’s cheeks burned scarlet. “Not me.”

“And do you think Ted likes you?”

Laura didn’t answer. Howie saved her at the last second. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the premier of the Shoshone National Forest’s newest promotional video.”

The audience applauded. Melody went along, but her mind was in a million other places. On one side, she had the mysterious blushing Jogi and whatever had happened between him and Sandy during the orienteering competition. On the other, she had Laura, who had inexplicably turned down a date with one of Haskell’s most eligible bachelors. And right next to her was her handsome, virile, and steady-as-a-rock fiancé, the love of her life.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered as Howie boomed on through his speech. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to the bottom of everyone’s love lives later.”

She could hear the teasing in his voice, even though his face was shrouded in shadows. She elbowed him hard, her heart soaring when he chuckled. That prompted her to loop her arm through his and snuggle closer. “I love it when you use the word ‘we’.”

He turned his head to kiss her cheek. “Good. Because you’d better get used to it. I intend to use that word for a long time to come.”



I sure hope you enjoyed adventuring in the wilderness with Will and Melody! I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of orienteering, and I’d love to give it a try myself one day, although I’m sure I’d end up calling for a helicopter to rescue me. Maybe not if I had an awesome nerd like Will with me!