An Appetite for Passion by Cynthia MacGregor

to do something about that damn key.
    Leaving the computer in the shop was not an acceptable option. Without the computer, Max would be out of reach. She suspected, anyway, that this was something Steve could fix for her...which would cost a hell of a lot less than the shop would charge her, too. Steve would work on it for free. She’d only have to pay for any parts or supplies.
    She reached Steve at the campaign office. “Do you have any plans for tonight?” she asked. “I’m having a little computer problem—my ‘E’ key is sticking, and I don’t know what to do about it. Of course, Lylah’s coming over for dinner at 7:00. You could come with her...I could stop at the store and pick up some more food, and you could join us...or you could even run over beforehand if you didn’t want to eat with us.”
    Kari didn’t really want him to join them. She was looking forward to laughing and being silly with Lylah, who was never as much fun when Steve was around. But she couldn’t be ungracious.
    “I’ve got plans for dinner,” Steve said, and Kari brightened, but only momentarily. “So I couldn’t come over tonight. And I’m kind of busy tomorrow, too. If you can’t get anyone else to look at it, I’ll try to run by on Wednesday night. By the way, you might want to call Lylah.”
    This last sentence was tossed off oh-so-casually, so much so that Kari’s antennae went up. “Oh?” she asked, her voice rising.
    Steve didn’t take the bait. “You can probably catch her at work now,” was all he added, leaving Kari to wonder what was up.
    What was up was that Lylah wasn’t feeling “very peppy,” as she put it, “or very hungry these days...and it would be a shame to waste a perfectly good dinner. Besides, Ginny has a load of baby clothes...hand-me-downs...that she said she could bring by this evening for me to look at. Since I couldn’t see any point to eating when my stomach feels so blah, I said, ‘Sure.’ I meant to call you earlier. I’m glad Steve said something.”
    Kari remembered her conversation with Jeff, whose areas of expertise included computers. Maybe he could rescue her from her current predicament. The one with the computer, that is, not Lylah’s no-show. Though, as much fun as Jeff was, he might even develop into a good friend as well as an emergency computer repairman.
    Digging through her purse, Kari located Jeff’s phone number. His machine answered. “Politicians aren’t supposed to accept bribes,” she said to the machine, “but since you’re not a politician, I hope you’re susceptible to bribery. This is Kari Crandall. Would the promise of a delicious dinner tempt you into coming by my house to fix my computer this evening? Stuck ‘E’ key. Don’t know what to do about it. And you’re a Mac person, so you should know your way around my keyboard.
    “I have the fixings for a yummy dinner, and no guest coming. A friend cancelled. Her loss can be your gain. Am I tempting you? And if you can’t come for dinner, can you at least fix the machine?” she pleaded. “I called my other Mac guru, but he gave me the cold shoulder. Help!” Then, she left her home and office phone numbers.
    At a little after 1:00, Jeff called her at work. “I checked my voicemail at lunchtime and found you on it. I don’t know,” he tormented her. “Is the dinner going to be worth it? I need to know the menu before I’ll commit.”
    “You rat!”
    “What time do you want me there?”
    “Give me a chance to go home and cook.” And read Max’s latest letter in private. “I’ll see you around 7:00?”
    “Seven it is. Give me your address and directions to your house.”
    Rushing frantically, Kari got home by 6:00. By 6:15 the dinner was cooking. By 6:30 she was in good shape to take a “Max break.” She logged on and found his letter.
     
    My dear,
     
    Just home from work. I wish you were here to greet me. Now, that would perk me up after a long, tiring day. Nothing is amiss; just