Meg Cabot - Insatiable

The strange thing was that she didn’t mind.

It was too bad that Jack Bauer did. Or at least she thought he did, judging from the way he carried on, tugging at his leash and growling.

“Sorry,” she said, embarrassed by her dog.

“It’s all right,” he said, smiling. He pushed the Down button. “He seems a bit high-strung.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” she said. “That’s why we call him Jack Bauer.”

“Jack Bauer,” he said, gazing down at the dog, who continued to growl up at him. “Oh, I see. After the character on the television program.”

“Right,” Meena said, pleased that he finally got an American popular culture reference. “You’ve seen it?”

“Enough of it,” he said. There was a world of condemnation in his tone. He did not like the show. “I don’t tend to watch programs with torture in them.”

“Oh,” Meena said. She felt mortified. His tone implied he had personal reasons to dislike these kinds of story lines. Had he himself been tortured while serving in the military or something?

It was entirely possible. Meena knew next to nothing about the history of Romania, much less its military.

But she thought she remembered something about…oh, something awful. Why hadn’t she Googled Romania really fast when she was in the apartment? Then at least she could have been informed.

“Well,” she said uncomfortably. “I can understand that. I don’t like to watch things where people die.” That touched a little too close to home for comfort. “But, anyway, Jack Bauer only tortures bad guys.”

“But can you be as certain as Jack Bauer is, Meena,” Lucien asked as the elevator doors slid open and he smiled down at her while politely holding them, “that you always know the good guys from the bad guys?”

This caused Meena to hesitate before stepping into the car. Jack Bauer, on the end of his leash, was backing away, growling, reluctant to leave the hallway. For some reason, Jon’s remark about dark doorways slipped into her mind, as did her flippant reply.

Did she know the difference between good guys and bad guys? Leisha insisted that David, whom Meena had always thought was a good guy, had been a bad guy…although Meena had never really been able to agree with her. In the end, hadn’t he just been following his own heart?

And truthfully, Meena was much better off without him. If she’d stayed with David, she’d now be a housewife in New Jersey, where David had moved to start his new practice, with his new wife and his new house. And his baby on the way.

Meena loved her job and her life in New York City, even if they weren’t perfect.

Given all of that, things with her and David had turned out all right in the end, hadn’t they?

And here was Lucien, who had saved her life. That made him a good guy, didn’t it? He was definitely a good guy.

All right, Jack Bauer might not have liked him.

But Jack Bauer had never liked Mary Lou or Emil, either…not since the day Meena had brought him home from the animal shelter.

And they’d always been lovely-except for making incredibly boring conversation on the elevator. But look at all the money they’d raised for charity.

Smiling back up at Lucien, Meena stepped carefully over the gap between the elevator car and the hallway floor, conscious of her high heels.

“I think you’re a good guy,” she said deliberately as Lucien joined her in the car. “And Jack Bauer does, too. He just may need a little more convincing than I do, because his brain is the size of a walnut.”

Unfortunately, the dog illustrated this fact by not quite making it all the way into the car before the elevator doors started to close. Meena had to turn and give his leash a tug. The dog let out a startled yelp and careened into Meena’s legs, which sent her lurching forward, right into Lucien’s arms.

“Oh,” Meena said, mortified. “Excuse me.”

“No need to apologize,” Lucien said. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Meena said, suddenly unable to tear her gaze from his.

Neither of them, it seemed, was able to let the other go.

Instead, they stood looking into each other’s eyes for a good five seconds. Meena’s breathing felt a little shallow. She wondered if he felt the electrical charge that seemed to be pulsing between them…or if it was just her overactive imagination again. Her heartbeat was definitely quicker than usual and a little unsteady. The only sound, besides Jack Bauer’s panting, was that of the elevator dinging off the floors as they descended.

She didn’t want to break the silence between them, because it was the type of silence during which anything might happen.

He might, she felt, even tilt his head down and kiss her…if she kept her mouth shut long enough to let this happen.

But she couldn’t, of course.

“What happened to you that you can’t watch things where characters get tortured?” she asked in a voice that had gone a little hoarse.

She watched his face carefully to gauge his reaction.

But there was no discernible reaction in his features. Instead, he countered her question with one of his own.

“What happened to you,” he asked, “that you can’t watch things where characters die?”

She dropped her arms from his at once and turned toward the elevator door just as the letter L lit up and the door slid open to reveal the lobby.

“Oh,” she said with an airy laugh as she dragged a badly misbehaving Jack Bauer out into the lobby. “I just love happy endings. That’s all.”

“So do I,” Lucien said, following her with a smile. “Tomorrow I’m going to start watching this television show of yours.”

“Oh,” Meena said, delighted. “That’ll be a good episode. Cheryl is making out again with Father Juan Carlos, and the town gossip sees them, and all hell breaks loose. Definitely not to be missed.”

Lucien laughed. “Then I’ll be glued to the screen.”

They breezed past Pradip, who waved to them cheerfully with a “Good evening, Miss Harper!”

Then they strolled out into the evening air, which had a briskness to it now that night had fallen. Meena, feeling happier than she could remember being in ages, started in the direction she and Jack Bauer usually walked.

But Lucien took her by the arm and gently steered her in another direction.

“This way,” he said. “I have something I want to show you.” Surprised, she smiled. “Really?”

Then she realized he was walking her away from two men who appeared to be having something of an argument in front of 912 Park…and also in the opposite direction from St. George’s Cathedral.

And her heart swelled. He was protecting her!

It had been ages since a man (aside from her doormen, who didn’t count, because she gave them generous tips at Christmas) had cared anything about her physical protection. Jon seemed to think she could more than adequately take care of herself (and besides, he didn’t count either; he was her brother). Her father had pretty much given up speaking to her about more than perfunctory matters once she’d developed her ability to envision people’s future deaths (including his own). Both her parents seemed to view her as some sort of biological freak. Whenever she visited them in Florida now, Meena overheard them arguing in hushed whispers over which side of the family she’d inherited her ability from (there’d been more than a hint that Great-Aunt Wilhelmina might be responsible).

And while it was true that she could take care of herself-the odd bat attack aside-it was terribly gallant of Lucien to try to protect her. It made her feel warm and feminine.

Who said chivalry was dead?

“What sort of surprise?” Meena asked, containing her glee with effort.