How to Romance a Stranger

by Kirk, Cindy

  The sermon was all about being still so you could hear God speak to you. Jack listened with only half an ear. Today his story and picture would hit the Internet. By tomorrow, he’d probably know who he was and be headed back to his home.

  “I’m going to add an extra prayer request this morning,” the minister said, his expression suddenly grave. “As you may have heard, there was an attempted terrorist attack on a water treatment plant this morning in Michigan.”

  A sinking feeling swept over Jack. He shifted his gaze to Lexi. When he saw the sadness on her face, he reached over and took her hand, offering a comforting squeeze.

  “There will undoubtedly be more information on this throughout the day,” the minister said. “For now let us give thanks to God and rejoice that the scheme was thwarted. Please bow your heads in prayer.”

  Jack held Lexi’s hand through the rest of the service, only releasing it when they stood for the final hymn.

  After the service he and Lexi stopped to speak with David and his wife July. Jack was admiring their baby son, Adam, when Mary Karen strolled up. Along with David and July, Mary Karen invited them to join her for lunch at a downtown café. Jack found himself wishing there was time to get better acquainted with Lexi’s friends. But Lexi had to make both lunch and dinner today at the B and B so staying longer wasn’t an option.

  They pried Addie away from her church friends and headed back to Wildwoods. Addie chattered happily the entire way. The child’s day continued to go well when they walked into the B and B and ran into Sarah and her parents.

  “We’re taking Sarah out for lunch and to see a movie,” her mother said. “We’d love to have Addie come with us. Our treat, of course.”

  “Please, Mommy. Can I? Please.”

  Jack watched her gyrations and smiled. He wondered if jumping around was a little-girl kind of thing. Kind of like twirling.

  Lexi’s gaze lifted from her daughter to settle on Sarah’s mother. “If you don’t mind her joining you—”

  “Yippee.” Addie grabbed Sarah’s hands and the two girls twirled around.

  Jack couldn’t help but smile again. He was touched when Addie not only hugged her mother but hugged him, as well, before skipping off happily with her friend.

  “So what do you have planned for today?” Lexi asked. “Watch the news?”

  Jack shrugged. “Not much of anything else to do.”

  They’d listened to the radio for a little bit on the way home, enough to be reassured that the perpetrators were in custody. But when Addie started to become anxious, they’d shut it off and changed the subject.

  The rest of the day loomed before him. It felt weird to be at such loose ends. He had the feeling this wide-open schedule had rarely happened in his other life.

  “I have to make lunch today,” Lexi said, her smile tentative. “But I’ll have a couple hours free this afternoon if you’d like to do something.”

  Jack felt his spirits rise. “What do you have in mind?”

  Lexi held up two fingers. “Snowshoes.” She folded one finger down. “Questions.”

  “Snowshoeing I understand,” he said, though it really didn’t matter to him what they did. “But questions?”

  “While we’re communing with the great outdoors, I thought we could go over some of those getting-to-know-you questions from the cards I told you about the other day.” Lexi shrugged. “Or we can just sit and listen to the news and be depressed.”

  “I’m up for the snowshoes and the questions.” Jack slanted her a sideways glance. “But only if you answer the questions, as well.”

  “Me?” The word came out on a high-pitched squeak.

  “Of course.” Though he wanted to get to know himself, he also wanted to get better acquainted with Lexi. But he knew she wouldn’t see that as relevant. “Hearing your answers might stimulate some of my memories.”

  Lexi took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “If you’re sure…”

  Jack smiled. He was sure, all right. Sure that the day, which had been looking bleak, was going to be a whole lot of fun.

  * * *

  Jack took to the snowshoes as if he’d been walking on them for years. Lexi had thought she might have to explain how to pick the proper size or at least how to put them on and then maneuver with them. But like he had with dancing, he’d taken to them like a pro.

  They stopped at her cabin and he’d waited while she ran inside to get the cards. Lexi had planned on firing questions at him immediately, but instead they’d spent the past fifteen minutes trudging through the snow talking about the B and B and her job at the hospital.

  Until it hit her that she’d been doing all the talking. While she enjoyed talking about herself and she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had shown such interest in her or her day-to-day life, that wasn’t the purpose of this walk. This time was to help Jack get back his memory.

  “Okay,” she said. “Enough about me. I’m asking the questions and you’re answering them.”

  Jack stuck his trekking pole in the ground and stepped over a fallen tree, then waited, eyeing Lexi as if wanting to make sure she didn’t need any help.

  She stuck her pole into the snow-covered ground for balance and stepped over the log with ease. “Now, where were we?”

  Jack smiled. “Question number one.”

  “These are in no particular order.” Lexi had just pulled the cards from her ski-jacket pocket when she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. “Very slowly,” she said in a barely audible whisper, “look to your right.”

  A brief look of alarm flashed in his eyes but her calm demeanor must have reassured him. He slowly turned his head.

  The animal sat on an out-cropping piece of rock about twenty feet away, its gaze firmly fixed on them.

  Jack’s brows pulled together. “What is it?”

  “A yellow-bellied marmot.” Like his, Lexi’s tone was barely audible. “Some people call them rock chucks. They’re related to the ground squirrel and prairie dog. I think he’s beautiful.”

  Jack chuckled. “I especially like his bucky teeth.”

  With an indignant twitch of his tail and a penetrating glare, the marmot scurried back into the woods.

  “That’s the first one I’ve seen this year,” Lexi said. “They come out from deep hibernation around this time. But I bet the little guy wishes he’d slept longer.”

  “If he had, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see him,” Jack said.

  “That’s one of the best things about snowshoeing.” Lexi thought about all the wildlife she’d seen on previous treks. “It lets you get up close and personal with nature.”

  His gaze scanned her face. “You really like it here.”

  “I do.” Lexi smiled, remembering how shocked her friends in Ohio had been when she’d told them she was moving to Wyoming. “I came here for the job. But I fell in love with the way of life. And this dovetails nicely into our first question. ‘Are you a beach, country or city person?’”

  “City,” he said immediately then paused. “I think.”

  “No, that was good,” Lexi said. “You said the first thing that came to your mind.”

  “How about you?” he asked as they began crossing an open expanse of white.

  “Country,” she said. “Or rather small town. Definitely.”

  “But there’s less to do in a small town.”

  “Such as?”

  “Theater events. Restaurants. Entertainment.”

  Lexi hid a smile. He was answering automatically. She needed to keep him talking. “I’ll concede the theater and restaurants.” She kept her tone light. “But in terms of entertainment, there’s a lot to do here.”

  He grinned. “Like dancing?”

  “And snowshoeing. And skiing. And—”

  “Point made,” he said with a grin. “What other questions do you have for me?”

  Lexi pulled out the next card. “Would you ever buy bootleg merchandise?”

&n
bsp; “No,” he said immediately. “That would be illegal.”

  “People do it,” she said, playing devil’s advocate.

  “Not me.”

  Lexi made a mental note of his commitment to the law. “Favorite wine?”

  “Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis 2006,” he rattled off. “But the ’04’s not bad either.”

  Obviously mistaking her startled look for confusion, he clarified. “It’s a Pinot Noir from Burgundy, France.”

  “It’s also expensive.”

  “It is?”

  “About three hundred dollars a bottle.” Lexi smiled. “I was looking for a nice bottle of wine to give July and David when they got married. The clerk mentioned that one. It was only about two hundred and fifty over my budget.”

  “I don’t even remember what it tastes like,” he said.

  “Supposedly really good…if you like burgundy, that is, which I do.”

  “You should get a bottle.”

  “Maybe someday. Certainly not in the foreseeable future.” Lexi glanced down. “These cards are great. Let’s try another one. ‘If you could change something about yourself, what would it be and why?’”

  “I would trust my own gut,” he said emphatically. “Instead of telling myself that something is good when it’s not.”

  Lexi cast him a sideways glance as they maneuvered their way down a hill. “Can you elaborate?”

  Confusion mixed with frustration crossed his face. “It made sense when I answered.”

  “That’s okay,” Lexi said, feeling his tension. She’d memorized the next question and moved on to it. “If you could—?”

  “Hey, aren’t you forgetting something?” He slowed his pace to a stop in front of a grove of trees.

  “Such as?”

  “You’re supposed to be answering these questions, too.” He swung his pole in the air and pointed it at her. “If you could change something about yourself what would it be and why?”

  There were a thousand answers she could have given him. Answers that would make her look good but say very little. But he’d been honest with her. He deserved the same consideration.

  “I would be more trusting of men,” she admitted. “In my heart I know it’s not fair for me to judge the male species because of one bad experience. Still, that’s what I find myself doing.”

  He tapped her pole with his. “I’m sorry he hurt you.”

  “Well, I got Addie out of the deal,” Lexi said. “So I’m the lucky one.”

  “Still,” he said. “You deserved better.”

  “I did,” Lexi said. “But I’m happy with my life. Were you happy?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Considering the fact that no one seems to have missed me, I’m guessing there may have been problems. But that’s pure speculation. I could have been insanely happy. I honestly don’t know.”

  “I hope you were.”

  “Someone once said all we really are guaranteed is the here and now,” Jack stopped and met her gaze. “Right here, right now, I’m very happy.”

  * * *

  Lexi thought about Jack’s response later that evening while she was cleaning up. Addie had returned from her afternoon tired but filled with tales of soda spilled and pizza with lots and lots of cheese. After getting caught up on all her daughter’s news, it was time to make dinner.

  Afterwards, as was their custom, Addie read to her while Lexi loaded the dishwasher and wiped the counters. Though Addie did a good job with the story, tonight Lexi’s attention wandered.

  She kept trying to make sense of Jack’s responses. He had a strong sense of right and wrong. He was a city guy who liked expensive wine and didn’t always trust his own gut.

  The wedding. The roses.

  Had he not trusted his gut and married a woman who didn’t care enough about him to make sure he liked the flowers at their wedding?

  A chill traveled up Lexi’s spine. She shivered despite the warmth from the kitchen stove. Jack being married was a very real possibility.

  “Mommy, am I going to sleep in my own bed tonight?”

  Addie’s sweet voice broke through her thoughts.

  “The walkway to the cabin was cleared this afternoon,” Lexi said. “How about we gather up our things from Coraline’s then head home?”

  To her surprise, Addie hesitated. “Is it okay if I say goodbye to Sarah while you get our bags? She’ll worry if she doesn’t see me around the lodge.”

  Lexi hid a smile, knowing it was Addie who was already missing her friend. Her smile faded. She wished she could give her daughter a home with a yard and neighborhood friends to play with. But there was no way she could afford it on a social worker’s salary.

  “You go find Sarah and say goodbye,” Lexi said. “I’ll retrieve the bags and meet you by the clock in the lobby at eight.”

  When Lexi reached Coraline’s suite, she knocked, feeling a little awkward after the events yesterday morning.

  The door swung open.

  “Hi, Lexi.” Coraline looked out into the hall. “Where’s Addie?”

  “Telling Sarah we’re moving back to the cabin.” Lexi shifted from one foot to the other. “I came to get our bags.”

  “Come on in,” Coraline opened the door wider and motioned her inside. “Do you have time for tea?”

  “I wish I could stay.” Lexi stepped inside and felt herself begin to relax under Coraline’s smile and welcoming manner. “But Addie’s got school tomorrow and I’ve got work. We’re heading straight for bed.”

  “How’s Jack doing?”

  “As far as I know, fine.” Lexi tried not to read too much into Coraline’s comments. “We went snowshoeing this afternoon but I haven’t seen him since.”

  Lexi hoped her disappointment didn’t show. After all, they hadn’t made any plans for the evening. Still, she’d found herself hoping he’d stop by the kitchen.

  “You realize it’s not going to be long.”

  Lexi grabbed the two overnight bags she’d packed that morning and straightened. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

  “He’ll soon be gone, back to wherever he came from.” Concern filled Coraline’s eyes.

  “Well, while he’s here, he needs a friend.”

  Coraline rested a hand on Lexi’s arm. “I worry about you.”

  “I understand and appreciate your concern,” Lexi said. “But I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

  As she walked out the door, Lexi hoped she could not only take care of herself, but her heart, as well.

  Chapter Seven

  The Dallas offices of Delacorte and Delacorte law firm took up the entire tenth floor of Campbell Centre’s north tower. During the day the firm—specializing in family law and international child custody cases—buzzed with activity. Between the attorneys, junior associates, countless paralegals and support staff, the phones were constantly ringing.

  Attorney Ellen Kloss preferred the quiet of the evening and often stayed late. She supposed she could go home but her nights were way too long already, now that Nick was God-knows-where “finding himself.”

  A light tap sounded on the glass door of her office. She looked up and smiled, motioning fellow attorney Steve Laughlin inside.

  Though dressed in a hand-tailored suit and looking every inch the up-and-coming executive, the tall Texan still had the body of a linebacker. Most of the women in the firm thought he was dreamy. Ellen simply considered the former University of Texas standout to be a good friend.

  “What are you doing working so late?” He stopped just inside the door, his tie loosened and his suit jacket slung over his shoulder.

  Ellen leaned back in her chair. Steve had been out of town on a case and until now she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed their daily conversations.

  “I’ve been reading through some depositions.” She gestured to the stack of papers on her desk.

  Steve shook his head. A familiar twinkle filled his eyes. “Don’t you know that all work and no p
lay makes Ellen a dull girl?”

  “I know,” she said with a sigh. “But with Nick out of town I don’t have anyone to play with.”

  The minute the words left her lips, Ellen realized how they could be construed. But it was too late to call them back.

  Steve chuckled. He raised his hands. “I’m not touching that one.”

  Ellen laughed out loud. For the first time since Nick had taken off to decide the fate of their relationship, her spirits rose.

  “Have you heard from Nick?” Steve asked, his expression nonchalant.

  “Not a peep.” Ellen did her best to hide her irritation. She hadn’t understood why Nick had to leave in the first place. Shouldn’t a decision about their future be made together?

  She frowned. “He didn’t tell me where he was going and he’s not answering his cell. I spoke with his father in the London office yesterday about a case. He hadn’t heard from him either, but wasn’t concerned. Apparently Nick told him he might be gone for as long as a month. I don’t understand how you can even think about being away from someone you supposedly love for a whole month without calling them.”

  Ellen stopped to catch a breath and realized with sudden horror that she’d been babbling. Thankfully, if Steve noticed, he was too kind to mention it.

  “I don’t understand how he could leave you,” Steve said gallantly. “If it were me, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight a day, much less a month.”

  Ellen looked up to find Steve right there. The cologne wafting off him was one of her favorites. She’d gotten Nick a bottle of it for Christmas but as far as she knew he hadn’t opened it. “You smell delicious.”

  His blue eyes darkened for a second. Then he smiled. “Want to grab a burger?”

  She’d eaten a whole grain bar and apple. It should have been enough, but suddenly it no longer held appeal. Ellen glanced at her watch. “Do you think Frank’s will still be open?”

  Frank and Irma’s was a small mom-and-pop diner known for their burgers, waffle fries and shakes. Last summer when she and Steve had been working together on a difficult case there had been many late nights. And the diner, just around the corner from the office, had been one of their favorite haunts.