have some time off and I’ve never been to Tahoe. I’d sightsee when I was off. But you mentioned twenty-four hour on-call. All the time?”
"We could work something out. Like I said, he might not get sick." She was going! Or, at least he knew she was whether she did yet or not.
“How do you plan to become friends with him?" She sounded skeptical.
“We make up a cover story about who we are and why we’re there. It has to hold up. This guy’s no dummy or he wouldn’t have been able to embezzle all that money.”
“Rule #1, we are not pretending to be married.” Her jaw set. Damn, she was cute .
“No problem. I don’t think many people would buy that a married couple had adjoining rooms, do you?”
“You’re right. About those rooms. Is it really necessary?” She was clearly doubtful.
“You’re the one who said those attacks could come on in minutes.” Bailey put all his sincerity into the words. “We could pose as brother and sister. How about that?”
“What sort of brother and sister go on vacations together and share a room?”
“It’s not sharing a room, more like a door. Believe me, nobody’s going to notice. They’re too busy spending...or losing money.” He couldn’t afford to scare her away now.
They finished lunch and left the café. Bailey figured it was time to fish or cut bait. “Look, Contessa, I’m not trying to rush you into anything you don’t want to do, but I’ve got to know so I can book the plane reservations and set up our cover story. You don’t create phony I.D.s overnight.” He looked at Tess as she walked beside him, her head barely topping his shoulder. As they headed down the sidewalk, her curls danced in the slight morning breeze. I wonder if her hair feels as soft as it looks?
“Can I let you know later today? I promise I'll make a decision.” She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and put her hand on his arm.
There was no way he could say no when she was looking at him with that soft gaze. Funny how her eyes could be so warm that he wanted to dive into them one minute and the next, he could feel his veins freezing from the ice cold fury in them. He wasn’t freezing, now.
“Fine. Do you want me to come over?” Maybe he could get her to share that big chair with him again. Knock it off. You’ve got to keep your mind on business until you get Lucius. Then...
“Hey, you’re a million miles away. I asked when you’d want to leave if I decide to take the job.” A few steps ahead, Tess had started walking again and he hadn’t even noticed.
“Sorry, I was just thinking about that. Could you be ready in two days? It will take me that long to get everything ready.” Damn, now he didn’t know if she’d said he could come to her house.
“I'll let you know.” She turned and left him still wondering whether he’d convinced her to go with him.
* * *
Tess spent much of the afternoon walking in the park across from the post office. The problem was not that she wanted to go to Tahoe. Rather, it was how much she wanted to go with him . The strength of her desire was startling, and not a little frightening. The smartest thing to do was to say no and run as fast as she could away from his devastating magnetism.
However, she’d never felt this alive before, not even when she’d been in love with the high school sweetheart she’d married. That experience alone had taught her that chemistry wasn’t a guarantee to happiness. That relationship had ended after five years. They’d grown apart. She’d stayed away from commitment until the next man she’d fallen for broke her heart. Her track record did not look good on paper.
The answering machine was blinking when she returned home. She pressed play.
“Contessa, something came up and I have to leave for the day. You won’t be able to get in touch with me this evening. I'll talk to you when I get back.”
It was just as well. “I wonder what you’re up to?” Probably getting more
"We could work something out. Like I said, he might not get sick." She was going! Or, at least he knew she was whether she did yet or not.
“How do you plan to become friends with him?" She sounded skeptical.
“We make up a cover story about who we are and why we’re there. It has to hold up. This guy’s no dummy or he wouldn’t have been able to embezzle all that money.”
“Rule #1, we are not pretending to be married.” Her jaw set. Damn, she was cute .
“No problem. I don’t think many people would buy that a married couple had adjoining rooms, do you?”
“You’re right. About those rooms. Is it really necessary?” She was clearly doubtful.
“You’re the one who said those attacks could come on in minutes.” Bailey put all his sincerity into the words. “We could pose as brother and sister. How about that?”
“What sort of brother and sister go on vacations together and share a room?”
“It’s not sharing a room, more like a door. Believe me, nobody’s going to notice. They’re too busy spending...or losing money.” He couldn’t afford to scare her away now.
They finished lunch and left the café. Bailey figured it was time to fish or cut bait. “Look, Contessa, I’m not trying to rush you into anything you don’t want to do, but I’ve got to know so I can book the plane reservations and set up our cover story. You don’t create phony I.D.s overnight.” He looked at Tess as she walked beside him, her head barely topping his shoulder. As they headed down the sidewalk, her curls danced in the slight morning breeze. I wonder if her hair feels as soft as it looks?
“Can I let you know later today? I promise I'll make a decision.” She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and put her hand on his arm.
There was no way he could say no when she was looking at him with that soft gaze. Funny how her eyes could be so warm that he wanted to dive into them one minute and the next, he could feel his veins freezing from the ice cold fury in them. He wasn’t freezing, now.
“Fine. Do you want me to come over?” Maybe he could get her to share that big chair with him again. Knock it off. You’ve got to keep your mind on business until you get Lucius. Then...
“Hey, you’re a million miles away. I asked when you’d want to leave if I decide to take the job.” A few steps ahead, Tess had started walking again and he hadn’t even noticed.
“Sorry, I was just thinking about that. Could you be ready in two days? It will take me that long to get everything ready.” Damn, now he didn’t know if she’d said he could come to her house.
“I'll let you know.” She turned and left him still wondering whether he’d convinced her to go with him.
* * *
Tess spent much of the afternoon walking in the park across from the post office. The problem was not that she wanted to go to Tahoe. Rather, it was how much she wanted to go with him . The strength of her desire was startling, and not a little frightening. The smartest thing to do was to say no and run as fast as she could away from his devastating magnetism.
However, she’d never felt this alive before, not even when she’d been in love with the high school sweetheart she’d married. That experience alone had taught her that chemistry wasn’t a guarantee to happiness. That relationship had ended after five years. They’d grown apart. She’d stayed away from commitment until the next man she’d fallen for broke her heart. Her track record did not look good on paper.
The answering machine was blinking when she returned home. She pressed play.
“Contessa, something came up and I have to leave for the day. You won’t be able to get in touch with me this evening. I'll talk to you when I get back.”
It was just as well. “I wonder what you’re up to?” Probably getting more
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