On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

that he was in love with her. She couldn't go down that road again. That fantasy was part of another life.
    After they finished eating, Aiden went to take a shower, and Sara busied herself with the dishes. He'd offered to do them later, but she'd brushed off the suggestion. It wasn't that big of a deal, and she needed a distraction from thinking about Aiden's beautifully rugged body under a spray of hot water.
    She wondered what he'd do if she joined him in the shower. He'd probably welcome her at first and then push her away when he came to his senses. That seemed to be the pattern with most of their encounters.
    Frowning, she started the dishwasher and headed into the living room. She flipped through several channels on the huge television. For a man who liked nature so much, Aiden obviously spent some time on the well-worn recliner in front of the TV.
    She paused on a game show. She loved intellectual games. In college, she'd been part of a super bowl academic team that had won a national competition with entries from every major university in the country. It had been one of her proudest moments.
    As the contestant selected a category, the announcer asked, "This number, one of the first twenty, uses only one vowel four times."
    "Seventeen," she guessed, beating the contestant by a split second.
    "Seventeen," the announcer confirmed.
    She smiled happily, waiting for the next question.
    "To marry Elizabeth, Prince Philip had to renounce claims to this southern European country's crown."
    She thought for a moment, then said aloud, "Greece."
    The contestant guessed Italy. The announcer said, "You're wrong. The correct answer was Greece."
    "I told you," she said smugly.
    "Are you talking to the TV?" Aiden asked.
    She hadn't realized he was out of the shower. "Bad habit. I usually play this game alone at home."
    "It sounds like you win a lot," he said as he finished buttoning up his shirt.
    For a moment her gaze lingered on his chest. Ruthlessly, she dragged it away, refusing to acknowledge that he smelled really good now, having obviously thrown on a splash of aftershave.
    "Around 1542," the announcer continued, "Explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered this island off Los Angeles, and it's believed he's buried there, too."
    "Catalina," she said, her answer coming in harmony with both Aiden and the contestant.
    "Catalina is correct," the announcer said.
    "Hey, I might be able to keep up with you," Aiden said, sitting down on the couch.
    "That was an easy one."
    "Ouch," he said with a smile.
    "Hey, there was only one thing I ever did better than you, so I'm claiming game show questions as my strength."
    He laughed. "All right. You can have game shows."
    "Thank you."
    "But I suspect there are a lot of things you do better than me, Sara."
    "I doubt that. I had a ringside seat for a good portion of your life. And it seemed like you got award after award."
    "You're thinking of Burke."
    "Well, he had a lot, too, but you had your share, and you were more genuinely popular than Burke. He was someone the kids looked up to, but you were the one they really liked." She paused. "By the way, do you know that your television is obscenely large?"
    He laughed. "Kyle bought that television when we first moved in together. After he kicked me out and moved Vicky in, I got to keep the TV as compensation for losing my roommate."
    "Now, that makes sense, because I can't really picture you as a couch potato. Although, you have a lot of books in this apartment, so you must spend some time reading. And your favorite topic seems to be astronomy."
    He tipped is head. "The night sky has always interested me. When I'm up in the mountains, far from civilization, there are a million stars in the sky. I figured I should know what I was looking at. So I got a few books."
    "A few?" she echoed raising an eyebrow.
    "I went slightly overboard on the online ordering. Then someone in the family found out I liked astronomy, and every Christmas or birthday another book shows up."
    "I've never thought much about the stars or seen a night sky like the one you described. In New York, all I can see are the city lights, and San Francisco was the same. My parents didn't like to camp, so we never went anywhere that was far from a city, not that we really went anywhere at all. My dad liked to work. He did not like to vacation."
    "It sounds like you're taking after him in that regard."
    "You're right," she said. "I do not want to turn into my dad. I'm going to have