by Joanna Scott
She completed her work at Lattimer headquarters before noon on Saturday and went to relieve Midge at the shop. She really didn't know how she would manage if she intended to keep on with her decorating after Midge left. She certainly couldn't be in two places at once. In fact, she thought with a smile, the way she was feeling these days she could hardly manage to be in one place at once.
Chapter 5
Midge's wedding was just two weeks away and she had lots of last minute things to do, so she left as soon as Laura had arrived. Saturday was a slow day at the shop because not many people were in the business district on the weekend, so Laura finished caring for the plants and closed the shop at three o'clock. Her cold was still bothering her and the vitamin C didn't seem to be helping. In desperation, she took one of the antihistamines Janine had given her. After all, she thought, she had no further plans for the day, so what difference would it make if she fell asleep?
As she shut the door, she felt a gentle hand touch her arm. She turned around and looked up into David's searching eyes. The spicy scent of his cologne set her head spinning and she had to stop herself from falling into his arms.
"David, what are you doing here?"
"I've been waiting for you to close the store; I didn't want you to accuse me of interfering with your livelihood. Now, I'd like to invite you to join me for dinner. There's nothing I hate more than eating alone."
"I can't go out to dinner dressed like this," Laura said, looking down at her faded blue jeans and snug T-shirt.
"You look just fine to me. We'll go to an informal place where no one will even notice what you're wearing. I promise. Come on, I've been sitting out here long enough to know that you haven't even had lunch, so you must be hungry. Please join me; I really need some company tonight."
He looked at Laura in such an imploring manner that she couldn't refuse him, and she sat down in the green sports car when he held the door open for her. The fog was just beginning to drift in along the shoreline when they climbed the ramp of the Golden Gate Bridge. Laura looked out the window and watched it creep inland, veiling the lovely greenery of the Presidio, an old army base that looked more like a park than a military installation. When her view became completely obscured by the bridge cables and the fog, Laura sat back in her seat and turned to David.
"Where are we going?"
"Just sit back and relax, let me surprise you. Did you have a busy week? I looked for you out at the Lodge this morning, but you never showed up. I see that they've started working on the reflecting pool and sprinkler lines, though."
"Yes," Laura said, "I was out there several times during the week and I've been fighting off a cold, so I decided to take a break today. Besides, Midge is so busy with her wedding plans that I had to stay in the flower shop all day. How has your week been?"
"Hectic, as always. That's why I was so disappointed when you didn't show up at the house today. I miss you if you're not around."
Yes, thought Laura, you miss me the way a child misses a new toy that's holding his interest for a while, and you'll discard me the same way the child discards the toy when he's had his fill of it. But I don't want to wind up like a broken toy, so I'm going to avoid you as much as I can, although I love being with you more than anything in the world.
David addressed Laura's silence. "Aren't you going to say that you've missed me too?"
"No, not really. I've been too busy to miss you or anyone else," she lied.
"What about Roger?" David asked, "I haven't seen him around lately. Is it all over between you two?"
"Not at all," Laura said. "Roger is out of town on a very important audit. I'm sure he'll call me as soon as he gets back."
"Don't bother with Roger. He's not your type."
"And just what is my type?"
"Why, I am, of course; I told you, we were meant for each other."
"And I told you, I'm not your type of girl."
"Why, what type is that, pray tell?"
"Oh, the sophisticated type. More like Amanda Tate."
"Aha, so you took the trouble to find out who she was. Could it be that you're just a wee bit jealous?"
"I'm nothing of the sort. I ran into her at the Furniture Design Center and Janine introduced us."
David wrinkled his brow, grasping the steering wheel so tightly that his fingers paled, accenting the deep gold of the strange coiled ring he always wore. "What did the lovely Miss Tate have to say about me?"
"About you!? No one has anything to say about you at all. You're Mr. Lattimer's invisible helper. Talk about keeping a low profile, you're practically underground. All Amanda could talk about was Jonathan Lattimer and how eager she was to marry him. Do you think he's going to marry her?"
"It's hard to say. Jonathan wasn't the marrying kind until very recently. But now, he just might be thinking about it."
The fog disappeared as they traveled further inland. The hazy afternoon sun was creeping behind the hills and dusk was beginning to fall. Laura looked at a road sign and noticed that they were in Sonoma County.
"Where are we going, David? I told you, I have a cold, and now I'm beginning to feel tired and hungry to boot."
"We're almost there," David said, as he turned off the main highway onto a narrow country lane. "I had to find a place where you'd feel comfortable without changing your clothes, and I think I've come up with the perfect solution."
Laura looked up as they joined a long line of cars waiting for admission to a huge field which was being used as a parking lot. A large handpainted sign stated that this was the entrance to the Sonoma County Wine Festival and Barbecue. David parked the car and reached behind him. He handed Laura a heavy woolen parka and slipped a Shetland sweater over his head.
"Put that on. It can get pretty raw around here when the sun goes down, and I don't want your cold to get any worse."
"Where did you get this?" Laura asked, as she slipped her hands into the snug fitting sleeves.
"I bought it for you. It's a peace offering, to apologize for upsetting you last week."
"I'll wear it tonight, because I'd freeze without it, but then you'll have to take it back. I can't accept such an expensive gift from you."
"Laura Canaday, your lack of good manners amazes me. Haven't you ever been taught how to accept a gift graciously?" Then he came around and helped her out of the car. The appetizing aroma of roasting meat and barbecued baked beans attacked Laura's nostrils as soon as she left the car.
"It smells good, doesn't it?" David asked. "And you can eat as much as you want."
Laura waited while David paid the admission fee, then they walked to the end of the line that was slowly moving along the buffet table. After their plates were heaped with barbecued ribs, baked beans and salad, they walked to one of the many long picnic tables set out in the open field. Each table had several large pitchers of rich burgundy wine and everyone at the table filled his plastic glass with the robust beverage.
Laura covered her glass when David started to pour some wine into it. "You know I can't drink wine."
"Why not? You're not working now. This is purely a pleasure outing. I see no reason why you can't have at least one glass."
David was speaking loudly enough for the other people at the table to hear what he was saying and they all began to agree with him. Laura was so embarrassed at the scene she seemed to be causing, she allowed David to fill her glass. Everyone at the table began talking to everyone else and Laura soon forgot her misgivings about the wine and began enjoying it as much as they were.
When they had finished their food, David and Laura went to throw their trash into a huge oil drum in the middle of the field. Laura's feet buckled under her and she had to lean on him for support. His arms swiftly encircled her as he clasped her to his granite chest and placed an arm under her, lifting her wobbly feet off the ground. As Laura rested her head wearily against his shoulder, her arms went around his neck and she pulled his head toward hers, meeting his lips in a fiery kiss. She vag
uely remembered the antihistamine she had taken just before meeting David. It must have combined with the wine to make her head spin so that she couldn't control the wild emotions unleashed by her demanding heart. She no longer cared that the sentiment David felt for her was passionate desire and not true love. Nothing mattered to her except the sweet touch of his lips joining hers. She felt suddenly giddy and devil-may-care, the real Laura hidden somewhere inside.
David responded savagely to her kiss, pressing his lips against hers while his arms tensed around her body. Laura couldn't tell if it was the wine or David's touch that was sending the flames surging through her veins; she only knew that she was powerless to quench them.
She was reveling in the glory of his kiss when David suddenly pulled his lips away from hers and, still carrying her, strode rapidly to the car. His face wore a deep scowl and his mood was one of inexplicably raging anger. Laura could feel the tension tightening the muscles in his body as he drew his eyes away from her and stared straight ahead. She was hurt and bewildered by his actions. When she spoke her voice was confused and drowsy.
"What's wrong, don't you like me anymore? Why won't you kiss me?"
David didn't even look at her, but Laura could feel the chill emanating from him as he opened the car door and flung her onto the seat. Then he rested his head in his arms, leaning against the roof of the car, while he studied Laura's beckoning eyes. He sighed deeply, closed her car door and walked around to the driver's side. Her head was reeling with confusion when he opened his door and got behind the wheel. Slamming the door, he placed the key in the ignition, racing the motor as he started up the engine.
"Where are we going?" Laura asked, completely unnerved by his sudden emotional swing.
"You'll see," he said, and the hostility in his voice frightened Laura.
He left the parking lot, driving so fast that Laura was frozen with fright. What had she done to upset him so? She was too tired and confused to try to understand him, but she knew she had to calm him down and protect herself from his turbulent anger.
"Please, I'm sorry if I did something to upset you. Just take me home and I won't ever bother you again."
The car swerved as David turned to look at her, his dark eyes glistening with anger. "You'll never stop bothering me. Now just be quiet and don't make promises you can't keep. I'll take care of everything."
"Just tell me where we're going. I only want to get home. I didn't know you could get so angry."
"There's a lot you don't know about me; but I know all about you. Just what do you think you were trying to pull back there? Do you think you can start kissing a man like that and then just turn him off again by saying you're not that kind of girl. You can get into big trouble doing things like that, and it's about time you knew it. Now be quiet and let me think things out. You've upset my life enough already."
The tone of his voice was so angry and demanding that Laura sensed she'd best obey. She sat back in the seat and silently watched him drive, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly and the scowl deepening on his face. By now the antihistamine and the wine had begun to take complete hold of Laura and her woozy head rested heavily against David's shoulder as she drifted in and out of reality. She felt herself dozing and was only partially aware that David was driving through unfamiliar streets. Suddenly, the car stopped and she heard him turn off the motor, open his door and walk around to her side of the car. When her door opened, she smiled hazily up at him then closed her eyes again. She felt as if she were floating on air, happier than she had ever been.
David's arms came under her legs and lifted her from the seat while she rested her head contentedly against his chest. She laughed gaily as he led her indoors, leaning against him for support as once again her legs threatened to buckle under her. He placed his arm under hers and drew her to him, bracing her tottering body as she lightly traced her finger across his firmly set jaw.
The bright lights of the room they had entered made her feel more alive and even more in love than ever. She snuggled closer to David, wrapping her arms around his neck and sighing pleasurably as he introduced her to the distinguished man who seemed to have been waiting for them.
Her spirits were much too buoyant for her to pay much attention to what was going on, but she managed to keep a bright look on her face and tried to appear alert and interested when the august stranger began speaking to her.
She felt as if she were an actress appearing in a play and she did her best to put on a convincing performance. Apparently she had achieved her goal, because in a short while David and the man were shaking hands and patting each other on the back. She flashed a smile of which any ingénue could have been proud and began giggling breathlessly to show them that she was enjoying herself just as much as they were.
Suddenly, just as she felt herself about to black out, David's arms lifted her rubbery legs off the ground and carried her back to the car. She sank back into the seat contentedly and immediately drifted off into a deep sleep. The rest of the evening was a total blank to her, although she was dimly aware of finally being placed in a bed and relaxing happily against the softest pillows she had ever known.
The next morning, Laura awoke with a splitting headache. She opened her eyes slowly, placing her hand over them to shield them from the blazing ray of sunlight streaming through a narrow slit in the heavy silk draperies. Then she turned her eyes away from the offensive glare, burrowing them into the silky softness of her pillow. As she did so, her nostrils were stung with the all too familiar spicy scent of David's cologne. Her eyes drifted lazily to the indented pillow beside her and she sat bolt upright in bed. She leaned back slowly, her head aching and reeling from the effect of the sudden movement. After pulling the sheets up to shield her naked body, she studied the room around her. It was a large room, furnished with dark Scandinavian furniture. The sheets on the bed were heavy, cream colored silk and the carpet on the floor was a thick shag in a deep shade of brown.
Laura ran her fingers through her tangled hair as she tried to sort out the events of the past evening. But try as she would, she could remember nothing more than attending a barbecue with David and getting dizzy because she had consumed two glasses of wine after having taken one of Janine's antihistamines. Then she recalled that David had asked her to participate in a play. She couldn't quite remember what it had been about, but she had enjoyed herself very much, and the director had been a friendly, gray-haired gentleman who had seemed very pleased with her acting ability.
After that, everything was a complete muddle except for having had some sort of argument with David. As she looked dejectedly at her surroundings and considered her present state of dress, she became all too aware of what the argument must have been about. It was also quite obvious to her who had won the argument. Why had she ever trusted David? He had warned her that he desired her and would attempt to get her into his home, and now it was quite apparent that he had attained his goal.
Tears welled in Laura's eyes as she lamented her own stupidity for ever having trusted David. Her only thought now was to get out of his house as soon as possible. She hoped he would have the decency to stay out of sight and not gloat over his victory. But, she thought ruefully, it was quite obvious that decency was not one of David's virtues.
She wrapped the pale silk sheet around her body and swung her feet down to the plush brown carpeting. As she did so, the sole of her foot touched a small, hard, metallic object. She bent down and, combing her fingers through the thick carpet, picked up a large gold ring. She immediately recognized it as the strange ring David always wore. He must have dropped it and forgotten it in his rush to leave. It was very old and worn, with an intricate pattern which Laura studied carefully while she tried to decipher it. The design seemed to be a serpent whose coils formed the ring. Its narrow, slanted eyes were made of emeralds and a small ruby tongue darted from its mouth. Slender strands of onyx had been embedded in its many coils giving it the appearance of striped reptile skin. Severa
l strips of shredded tissue paper had been wound around the inside of the ring, almost as if someone had tried to make the ring smaller or soothe some skin that it might have been rubbing. Laura stared at the ring, hoping it might help fill in some of the missing gaps, but that, she soon realized, was hopeless.
The current state of the room and her lack of clothing left no doubt in her mind as to what must have taken place last evening. She placed the ring on the nighttable and walked over to the window. Pulling an opening at the side of the drape, she saw that the window overlooked the blue-gray waters of San Francisco Bay. Judging by the traffic on the road between the house and the bay, she decided that she must still be in the city. Pacific Heights, she thought, I must be in Pacific Heights. Well, at least that meant she could get home without too much difficulty. Picking her clothing off the brown leather easy chair, she walked into the bathroom to get dressed.
The room was tiled from floor to ceiling in shiny brown and beige; the long counter top was covered with dark brown marble and the tub and sinks were deep chocolate brown porcelain. Several bottles of cologne and after shave lotion stood along the counter top, highlighting the entirely masculine nature of the room. Laura longed to take a shower and remove the spicy scent that clung to her body, but she decided that the most important thing was to get dressed and leave as quickly as possible.
As soon as she was dressed, she looked around for her purse. She found it on the night table, next to the ring she had picked off the floor. On top of the purse was a note.
Laura,
Was called away unexpectedly on very important business. Will phone as soon as possible. Stay put until your head clears up. Servants are off duty today, so you won't be disturbed. Use this money to buy anything you want if you feel up to indulging in some shopping. Will see you as soon as I can get away.
