Read Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice for Free Online Page B

known. Well, I stand by what I said." She watched to see how he would take this teasing.
       "I don't disagree with you. I think I managed to get a good education there, but no doubt some things are taught better in a small college, although without the same range of courses available."
       So he wanted a debate. "As an undergraduate, it's not so much what you learn as how you learn it."
       "I guess some people must teach themselves how to learn on their own, then, since the universities have turned out a few successful graduates over the years."
       She looked at him closely, sizing up his ability as an adversary, when one of the researchers from a lab down the hall appeared at the door. "Hey, beautiful! Is that marinara I smell?"
       "It is indeed." The distraction was a relief from the growing tension between her and Calder. "Do you want to see who's around and hungry?"
       "Will do!" He disappeared once more.
       "Perhaps I should go."
       She glanced at him, sensing discomfort. No doubt he wanted to avoid being recognized, especially in company like hers. For that matter, she wasn't eager to have to explain his presence. She would never hear the end of having spent an evening alone with Calder Westing in her lab. "Whatever you like." The urge to tease got the better of her, however. "You're welcome to stay, assuming you can stand watching people eat laboratory specimens off paper plates."
       His eyes traveled down her face. "How can I refuse such a unique opportunity?"
       Her lips tingled. If he were another man, she would have sworn he was thinking about kissing her, but that was ridiculous. She crossed her arms and looked at him in amused challenge. "Have you ever eaten squid?"
       He startled her again with an unexpected smile. "Only when it's called calamari. I spent a semester of the time I was wasting at a university studying in Italy."
       She didn't understand her response when he turned that mocking look on her. Uncomfortable, she busied herself pouring out the spaghetti and digging out paper plates from a cabinet underneath the lab bench.
       Over the next few minutes, several men drifted in, most carrying some addition to dinner—a bag of cookies, a six-pack of dark beer, and some pints of ice cream the bearer stowed away in Cassie's lab freezer. Cassie greeted them each warmly, trying to decide how to handle Calder's presence.
       "This is… Stephen." Her eyes glinted with amusement as she looked at him. "He's a friend of a friend, visiting the cape. Stephen, this is John and Simon, who do research in neurophysiology, using some of those squid axons I mentioned; Arlen, who's with us from the University of Stuttgart, looking into the effects of invasive species on the local ecosystem; and Jim, who studies the ecology of Georges Bank and the effects of overfishing there. Jim was my thesis advisor in grad school, and I spent a couple of summers working in his lab here when I was a grad student."
       "And survived the experience, amazingly enough." Jim was clearly assessing Calder.
       No one stood on ceremony, helping themselves to spaghetti. Cassie realized Calder was holding back and wondered if he had lost his nerve. She made no attempt to hide her amusement when she turned to him. "It's devil take the hindmost around here, Cal… Stephen. Dig in."
       He sauntered over to the food and served himself a healthy helping of spaghetti. He turned to look at her before ladling on an extra portion of marinara sauce, the rings of squid easily visible within it.
       They ate quickly, perched on lab stools, the conversation revolving primarily around the research they were doing. Calder was silent, but not inattentive. Every time she glanced over at him, his dark eyes were on her.
       He made a point of taking a bite of squid when he caught her eye. "Tasty."
       With a mischievous look, she said sweetly, "I'm so glad you like it."
       Simon finished and