Suddenly Sexy(6)

She watched him through lowered lashes. Was he really interested or was he just being polite? Usually she ruined dates way before the meal arrived if she mentioned her job. One or two men had struggled through a second date and taken the conversation further, but their yawns weren't always successfully stifled. So far, Sam hadn't yawned. But it was still early.

"Maddie's developing the ultimate s-e-x aid, aren't you, Mad?" Linda's smirk said gotcha.

Pete dropped his fork and stared bug-eyed at his sister-in-law. Sam's brows merged with his hairline and Maddie's face burned. She was definitely going to commit fratricide before the night was over.

"It's an l-o-v-e potion," she said, resisting the urge to poke her tongue out at her sister.

"Love isn't a dirty word, Maddie," said Linda.

Emily and David giggled.

"You wouldn't say that if you'd dated half the guys I have." Maddie tucked a stray hair behind her ear and turned away from her sister who was definitely going to pay for this later.

"Tell me about it," Sam said.

"You want to hear about my bad dates?"

He laughed. "No, I want to hear about the love potion."

Maddie wanted to climb under the table and stay there. "Subliminal odors or pheromones," she said, keeping the conversation safely scientific to decrease her chances of foot-in-mouth, "influence an animal's choice of a mate and help develop bonding. There's a theory that humans also respond to pheromones. In other words, subconsciously we're attracted to people whose pheromones are compatible with ours."

"So, you're creating a fake pheromone?"

She nodded. "BioDerma's been commissioned by a perfume company to develop a synthetic pheromone that will have maximum impact for a large proportion of the population."

"So those who wouldn't usually find the wearer attractive, will."

Maddie stabbed a potato with her fork, concentrating hard on not looking up. She didn't need to. She could feel everyone staring at her.

"Sounds interesting," said Pete. "Who's going to test it out on the unsuspecting public?"

"Fred and Wilma."

"The Flintstones?"

"Lab mice. We'll also conduct a trial using human volunteers."

"Lucky them," Pete muttered. Linda glared at him and he shrugged. "What?"

Sam rubbed a jaw peppered with vacation stubble. Or maybe that was his everyday stubble. Maddie had no idea how Sydney-siders groomed. The cowboy look might be in.

"Sounds dangerous," he said.

"Are you kidding?" Pete waved his fork in the air. "Imagine having women fall all over you when you walk down the street. I'd volunteer for the trial in a second."

Linda flicked a spoonful of Ronan's pumpkin mush at him. It landed on his cheek with a plop and slid onto the table. David and Emily found it more amusing than their father.

"If I were a single guy, that is. Which I'm not." He patted Linda's knee. "And I love you."

She humphed.

"A love potion like that is completely unethical," Sam said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

Maddie blinked at him. Was he for real? She studied his finely-honed face. He had the most sensual lips on a man she'd ever seen—other than Antonio Banderas —and eyes that expressed more than he probably would like judging by the stiff set of his jaw. He looked serious. He also looked like he'd just stepped straight out of a Diet Coke commercial. Men who looked like that weren’t supposed to care about the ethics behind scientific testing. They were supposed to think about hair care products and tanning lotions.

Maybe he meant environmental ethics. "It's non-toxic and non-allergenic," she said.

"I'm talking about manipulation. If this stuff actually works, then the implications are enormous. Imagine if people start having..." he glanced at Emily who blinked big brown eyes back at him, "...s-e-x with people they're not really attracted to. Imagine if people start thinking they're in love when in fact it's just a false hormonal response. It could ruin lives."

Great. Not only did the unattainable hottie have a conscience, he also had a brain. The Gods must have been having a party when they made him.

"I don't see how love can be a bad thing," she said, stacking Linda's empty plate on her own with a deliberate clatter. Most people found the idea of a love potion amusing, interesting. No one had ever questioned the ethics of it. Certainly no one at BioDerma whose jobs depended on fulfilling the contract.

"It can be if it's directed at the wrong person. And if the subjects believe they're in love."

She scraped David's uneaten broccoli onto her plate. "Since when do CEOs of multi-national corporations concern themselves with ethics?" The ice in her tone froze the room. "Or are you going to tell me the paint sold by National Paints is completely harmless to fish if I tip it into the ocean?"