Midnight Special Coming on Strong - By Tawny Weber Page 0,3

guys like that,” Sammi assured her. “The hottie that’s in here right now? He’s all of that and more. I mean, not too many guys can look gorgeous after almost being blown to pieces. But this guy is hot, and not just because his hair was singed.”

“Hair straightener gone wrong?” Marni joked with watchful eyes.

“Building gone boom.”

Bingo.

“So what’s his name?”

A name would tell her if he was really with the FBI. Marni’s pulse raced. A name might, with the right research, even tell her what the case was that’d resulted in an exploding building.

“I nicknamed him tall, dark and sexy.” Sammi shrugged. “But really, I just know him as ‘ruptured inner ear and broken rib.’”

Tall, dark and sexy? What good did that do her?

Well, Marni considered, it might do her good if she was open to getting naked and wild with a guy. But hot sex was on page two of her goal list, something she could get to later. After she’d reached her career goals.

“How can you stand it?” She tilted her head toward the computer. “You claim the sexiest guy you’ve ever seen was in here, you have his vital statistics, home address, heck, even where he works all there in the computer. You’re telling me you don’t peek?”

How had she cornered all of the nosiness in her entire family?

“Peeking wouldn’t be ethical,” Sammi said, her lips a prim bow.

“What fun is your job if you can’t peek?”

“Oh, and your job is better? Why don’t you get to bring home all those fashions you’re always writing about?”

Because the magazine had a strict policy against their reporters accepting products, figuring any gifts would result in a story bias.

Okay, fine. Ethics were a good thing.

But they weren’t going to help her get that name.

“There’s tons of intrigue and excitement in Style to make up for the lack of perks. You should see how crazy it is during fashion week.” Marni didn’t add that most of the craziness stemmed from her chafing over always being stuck covering fluff stories. She’d been thrilled to get on with a magazine like Optimum. An award-winning periodical with national distribution, covering everything from politics to human interest to entertainment with a little crime and world news thrown in, too. It was a dream job. Originally hired for her gift with human-interest pieces, Marni had quickly realized that wasn’t going to get her any big attention. So she’d taken the only senior editorial spot and became the head of Style. But now nobody took her seriously. She was the pretty little blonde with an eye for spotting the next hot trend and a gift for schmoozing with the hoitiest of the toity. But not a real journalist.

This story was it, she vowed. The one that’d make them see her as more than a curvy Kewpie doll with a trivial byline. But first she had to get that name.

“I guess you’re right, though.” Marni put a heavy pout into her tone, adding a sigh for good measure. “The magazine really is a lousy place to meet single, heterosexual guys. So maybe you can help me out. Tell me more about the one with the singed hair. He sounds dreamy. Maybe I could meet him.”

Marni wanted to cringe, to yell, Hey, doesn’t anyone know me well enough to realize that’s total B.S.? But she knew better. It didn’t matter how often she claimed her career was her life, twenty-six was old-maid status in her family.

“Really?” Sammi did a little dance in place, jiggling with enough excitement to dislodge the pencil from behind her ear. “You want to meet tall, dark and sexy? He’s in exam room five, and has to walk right past us when he leaves. You can check him out yourself.”

Was it the FBI agent? Was he working the same case? Grilling her cousin and trying to sneak out a name was one thing. But actually seeing the guy herself, being able to follow him, maybe even meet him? Holy cow. Marni almost did a little dance herself right there on the faded linoleum. It took all her control not to rush down the hall, trying to find the fifth exam room.

“Nurse Clare-Warren?”

The women both turned, Sammi coming to subtle attention for the approaching doctor. “Hang back,” she muttered to her cousin with a subtle shooing motion of her fingers.

Using patience she only expended on the job, Marni gave a cheerful nod and stepped aside. All the while pretending she didn’t see the doctor trying to