by Gina Wilkins
Celia agreed and hurried toward her rooms. Maybe Damien was calling to tell her that he’d be rejoining her this evening, she thought hopefully. She envisioned an evening of dinner and dancing, strolling on the beach—all the things she’d looked forward to when she’d accepted his invitation.
“Celia?” Damien’s whiskey-smooth voice flowed through the lines between them. “I hope I haven’t called at a bad time.”
“No,” she assured him. Since she didn’t want him to ask for details about what she’d been doing to entertain herself in his absence, she asked, “Are you still in the islands?”
“I’m afraid so. And it looks like I’m going to be held up here for another forty-eight hours. The storm has all but devastated the resort, and I have to make sure all the repairs are underway before I can leave. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about this, darling. If there was anything at all I could do to be there with you now, I would certainly do it.”
Though she was disappointed, Celia tried hard to be gracious about it. “I understand, Damien. You certainly had no control over the weather. I’m only sorry so much damage was done to your resort. Was anyone hurt?”
“My manager was trapped beneath a fallen tree and suffered multiple fractures of his right leg. His injuries were the most serious anyone suffered, but he’s expected to make a full recovery. Fortunately, there was enough warning to evacuate the resort before the storm hit. Only a few staff members remained behind—by their own choice.”
“And the buildings?”
“Major damage,” Damien answered with a sigh. “It will be at least a couple of months before we’re able to reopen.”
“This sounds like a terrible time for you to be away from your business, Damien. Maybe it would be better if I go back to Percy. We can try this another time.”
“Celia, you’ve already taken two weeks vacation from your job. I’ll be there Monday morning, at the very latest. That will still give us a week to spend together. You have full run of the resort in the meantime. Please, take advantage of it. Enjoy yourself. Unless you aren’t pleased with the facilities?”
Celia hastily assured him that the resort was beautiful. Everything anyone could want. She couldn’t possibly tell him that she’d been bored out of her mind. He would never understand. She wasn’t sure she understood.
“Then you’ll stay?” He sounded very anxious for her to agree.
She swallowed a sigh, and tried again to sound gracious. “I’ll stay.”
“You won’t be sorry. I’m going to show you a great time, I promise.”
Though she knew he couldn’t see her, she forced a smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The problem was, she wasn’t at all sure she was looking forward to it. The more time she spent alone here, with Damien so far away, the more she was beginning to doubt the wisdom of accepting his invitation in the first place. Though she wouldn’t go so far as to say that the tropical storm had been an omen directed solely at her, it still felt oddly like a sign. She didn’t fit in here, wasn’t comfortable in Damien’s world.
Of course, she hadn’t been particularly comfortable in her own world lately, either.
She hung up the phone with a dejected sigh.
This vacation definitely wasn’t turning out the way she’d hoped it would.
Reed turned another page of what surely had to be the most boring history ever written of any battle ever fought. He glanced over the top of the book toward the building into which Celia had disappeared over half an hour earlier. She spent a lot of time in there by herself. On the phone, perhaps? Taking care of Alexander’s illicit side business while Alexander dealt with the crisis at his island resort? She certainly didn’t act like a young woman on a vacation.
He was confident that she hadn’t seen him following her during her leisurely stroll down the beach. Nor could she have known that he’d settled into this chair behind his book less than ten minutes before she’d returned.
Celia hadn’t talked to anyone during her stroll, hadn’t done anything except walk and look pensively out over the Gulf. She hadn’t looked particularly happy. Trouble in paradise? And, if so, was it business or personal? Was she pining for Alexander?
Reed scowled, wondering why he hated the idea so much. If Celia Carson was involved in what he suspected, she certainly didn’t deserve his sympathy. And if she wasn’t—if her only involvement with Alexander was a personal one—then she was still off-limits, as far as he was concerned. Reed had no interest in picking up the pieces of one of Alexander’s shattered conquests. No matter how beautiful that conquest might be. No matter how appealing her sweetly dimpled smile.
His scowl deepened and he turned his attention doggedly back to the book. He would do well to keep his distance from Celia Carson during the rest of this assignment. He’d never gotten personally involved in a case during his entire federal law enforcement career. He had no intention of doing so this time.
The paperback hit the wall of Celia’s sitting room with a resounding splat. She shoved herself off the dainty little sofa and pushed a hand through her hair. “This,” she said aloud to the empty room, “is ridiculous.”
It was just before noon. She’d been sitting alone for over half an hour, trying to concentrate on a glitzy saga that was just too overblown and pretentious to stomach.
She had just turned twenty-four and she’d been acting twice her age. No, scratch that. Granny Fran was over seventy and she wouldn’t have wasted time sitting in her room with a bad book when she had a tropical paradise right outside! Granny Fran probably would have spent the past three days sightseeing or beachcombing—or sailboarding or parasailing, knowing her adventurous grandmother.
And what had Celia been doing? Moping. She snorted in self-disgust and headed determinedly for the door. She was on vacation, darn it. Her first one in ages. She was going to have fun if it killed her.
Reed Hollander was still sitting by the pool, carefully shaded from the “dangerous” sun, his nose buried in the thick book. Celia stopped and stared at him. Pathetic, she thought with a shake of her head. He was a young man, nice looking, seemed pleasant enough. Yet he was wasting this beautiful day reading a book that looked boring even from where she stood.
Without giving herself time to think about it, Celia walked up to him, reached out, plucked the book from his hands and closed it without bothering to save his place. Later she would wonder at her actions—she never did things like this!—but for now, it seemed the right thing to do.
He blinked owlishly at her through his horn-rimmed glasses. “Er…?”
“How old are you, Reed Hollander?” she demanded, staring aggressively down at him.
Looking thoroughly bewildered, he cleared his throat. “I’m thirty-three. As of yesterday, actually.”
“Congratulations. And I’ve recently turned twenty-four. So what the hell are we doing?”
“I’m not sure I—”
“Look around us!” she said, warming to her subject, swinging an arm to direct his attention outward. “There must be a gazillion things to do around here. Everyone else seems to be having a great time. So why aren’t we?”
“Well, I—”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready for a rocking chair and a shawl. I want to have fun while I’m young enough to enjoy it. And you are going to have fun, too, Reed Hollander.”
His eyebrows rose. “I am?”
“Yes. Your parents can thank me later. Now, come on, get up out of that chair. We’re going to play.”
“But—”
She lifted an admonishing finger. “No arguments,” she warned. “You’re going to have fun, even if I have to drag you screaming and kicking.”
His firm mouth quirked into what might have been the beginnings of a smile. “That should be an interesting sight.”
“Want to bet that I won’t try it?”
“No,” he said hastily, his smile deepening. “I’m sure you would. But it won’t be necessary.
I accept your graciously extended invitation. I was only going to point out that I don’t have a car.”
She dug into her pocket and dangled a key ring in front of him. “I do.” Damien had taken care of that, of course. “So what are we waiting for?”
“Not a thing.” He took the book from her hands and laid it on the table. “Lead the way.”
“Don’t you want to put your book away first?”
He shook his head. “Anyone who would go to the trouble of stealing it will get exactly what he deserves.”
She chuckled. “Then let’s go.”
He made an old-fashioned “after you” gesture, then followed closely behind her when she moved toward the garage where Damien kept his cars.
She didn’t allow herself to dwell on a nagging suspicion that she had just done something very foolish.
Celia was a bit startled to learn that the vehicle Damien had left for her use was a sleek, glossy black Mercedes convertible. She gulped at the thought of being responsible for a car that cost more than she’d make at the bank in three or four years, but she managed to hide her trepidation from Reed.
They were setting out to have an adventure, she reminded herself firmly. Might as well do so in style.
“Nice car” was all Reed said as he climbed carefully into the passenger’s seat, folding his long legs in front of him.
“It’s Damien’s,” Celia admitted.
“I thought it might be. He won’t mind if you and I…”
“Of course not,” Celia cut in airily. She started the engine, flinched at the resulting powerful roar, then shoved the gear-shift into Reverse.
She nearly gave herself and her passenger whiplash.
“You…er…always drive like this?” Reed asked mildly as they sped away from the resort. He held one hand to the back of his neck, as though checking to make sure her jolting takeoff hadn’t done any permanent damage.
Celia gave him a rather sheepish look of apology. “Sorry. I’m not used to this car. I have a sports car back home, but it’s just a little four-cylinder. I think this one must be a six.”
“Eight,” he corrected her, wincing as she narrowly missed a palm tree that leaned toward the road. “Quite powerful, actually. It would be rather easy to lose control.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Celia assured him, spitting a lock of whipping dark hair out of her mouth. “I’m a great driver.”
A spray of sand, gravel and crushed shells showered upward when the two right tires left the pavement and hit the shoulder. Celia overcorrected, swerved, cursed beneath her breath and brought the car firmly back under control on the right side of the road. She didn’t look at Reed, though she saw that his hands were clenched on his knees, the knuckles conspicuously white.
Reed released his knees to reach for his seat belt. He fastened it with a loud snap. “Yes,” he said, just loudly enough for her to hear. “I can see that my life is in good hands.”
Feeling a bit guilty that her restlessness had made her reckless, Celia eased up on the accelerator. “Sorry. I’ll slow down.”
He murmured something that might have been a thank-you. He didn’t say anything else until Celia guided the car onto the Queen Isabella Causeway, the curving, two-and-a-half-mile bridge that spanned Laguna Madre Bay to provide access between South Padre Island and Port Isabel on the mainland.
“Do you have any particular destination in mind?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder as they left the resort behind.
“You like history, right?”
“Yes.”
“According to the tourist pamphlets I’ve been looking over during the past couple of days, this area’s crawling with it. The Port Isabel lighthouse. Fort Brown. A bunch of battlefields from the Mexican War and the Civil War. Lots of museums and stuff. Any of that sound interesting to you?”
“Yes,” he admitted with a smile. “But what about you? Are you interested in history? Military history?”
“Not particularly,” she answered candidly. “But anything’s better than sitting in my room with a dumb book. I might as well broaden my mind, since I have nothing better to do.”
Reed chuckled.
Realizing how ungracious she’d sounded, Celia groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead. She placed it back on the wheel quickly, to Reed’s obvious relief. Both of them were aware that the long, busy bridge was no place to start swerving again.
“I’m sorry, Reed. I didn’t really mean that I’ve kidnapped you for the afternoon for lack of anything better to do. I just thought since we’re both here on our own, and both having trouble finding anything to do at the resort, maybe we could keep each other company for a while. I suppose I should have given you a chance to say something.”
“I’m glad you’ve kidnapped me,” Reed assured her. “I’d like to see the local sights with you. As I said, I’m not very good at this vacation business.”
Celia slanted him a smile. “Neither am I.”
He smiled back at her, and she thought again that he was a very attractive man. She liked his smile and his nice hazel eyes. She wondered if he had anyone waiting for him back home in Cleveland. And if he did, what was he doing here alone?
Their gazes held for a moment. And then Reed cleared his throat, tapped the dash and recalled her attention to her driving. “I think we’ll enjoy ourselves more if we arrive in one piece,” he suggested teasingly.
Celia laughed and turned her full concentration to her driving. “I’m sure you’re right. Hang on, friend. We’re off to have fun—even if it kills us.”
“What a pleasant thought,” Reed remarked wryly, but he seemed to relax when she did.
Maybe this would be fun, after all, Celia mused with a faint smile.
It was always nice to make a new friend.
Chapter Three
Reed proved to be a very pleasant companion for an afternoon. Polite—almost excessively so, at first—considerate, interesting when he finally relaxed enough to carry on a conversation.
He hadn’t been kidding about his interest in history, Celia thought at one point during the afternoon. It seemed to fascinate him. Just show him a historical marker or a battered old weapon or a scrap of hundred-year-old paper covered with faded, indecipherable writing, and those nice hazel eyes of his lighted up like beacons behind his sensible glasses.
She had rather expected to be bored. She was almost surprised to find out that she wasn’t. Using a map they picked up at a visitor information booth, they scouted out several local tourist attractions. Reed seemed almost comically worried that Celia wasn’t having a good time; she assured him repeatedly, and quite sincerely, that she was having a lovely day.
“Celia,” Reed said as she drove away from the final museum late that afternoon. “We’ve been exploring sites of interest to me all afternoon. Surely there’s something you’d like to do before we go back to the resort.”
Glancing at the many tourist attractions around them, Celia nodded. “Actually, there is.”
“What is it?” he asked encouragingly.
She spun the wheel of the Mercedes, swinging into a parking lot. “I want food,” she said with a grin. “And not that elegant cuisine served in the Alexander’s restaurant. I want something greasy and fattening and totally non-nutritious. A cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate milk shake.”
She parked in front of a building decorated with the universally recognized golden arches. “Perfect,” she pronounced.
She looked at Reed, who was looking back at her with a solemn expression. She frowned. “Fast food doesn’t appeal to you?” Don’t tell me he’s a strict vegetarian or a health-food nut. She groaned inwardly.
“Well, there is one change I’d like to suggest to your menu,” he said diffidently.
Probably wanted to add a salad to appease his conscience, Celia thought wryly. “What change would you like to make, Reed?” she asked patiently.
“Could we make those double cheeseburgers? Preferably with bacon? And I really
prefer strawberry milk shakes to chocolate.”
Celia laughed. That made several times during the afternoon that he’d surprised her with a dry sense of humor. “Double cheeseburgers with bacon,” she agreed, reaching for her door handle. “And you may have a strawberry milk shake if you like—but I’m having chocolate!”
After they’d placed their orders at the counter, Celia insisted she pay for the meal. “After all,” she reminded him, “I kidnapped you this afternoon. So, it’s my treat.”
He nodded. “Thank you,” he said politely.
She liked it that he didn’t argue with her. A lot of guys felt threatened when a woman bought their dinner. Celia sensed that Reed was a man who was completely comfortable with his own worth, his own masculinity. He didn’t appear to be trying to prove anything, or to impress her. He was just being himself. And she liked him all the better for it.
They found a booth at the back of the room, as far as possible from the corner in which a small child’s birthday party was in noisy progress. Celia bit into her burger with a sigh of delight. “Mmm,” she murmured. “That’s exactly what I needed.”
She looked up to find that Reed was watching her. He hadn’t even unwrapped his own burger, yet. “Reed?” she prompted. “Aren’t you hungry?”
He blinked. “Oh. Yeah.” He picked up his burger and fussed with the paper covering, seeming to avoid her eyes for a moment.
Celia thought in some amusement that he looked embarrassed. Why? Was he worried about table etiquette or something silly like that? At a place where two kids were climbing the light fixtures and another was eating french fries that had fallen on the floor?
He really was a very sweet man. A bit staid, but sweet.
Remember the job, damn it, Reed told himself angrily as he bit off a corner of his dripping burger. Remember the job.
He didn’t know what strange quirk of fate had made Celia choose him to entertain her during the afternoon; he certainly hadn’t been trying to compete with her dashing boyfriend or any of the wealthy guests currently in residence at the resort. But now that she had, instead of taking advantage of the chance to subtly find out more about her dealings with Alexander, he found himself sitting in a fast-food restaurant booth fantasizing about having her wrap her lips around him with the same frankly sensual enthusiasm she’d displayed for her hamburger!
