Judy Christenberry - Honeymoon Hunt

“No, I—”

Nick waved the waiter away. “Quit protesting. Their crème brûlée is even better than the tortilla soup.”

She sat there stiffly, promising herself she wouldn’t touch the crème brûlée no matter how good it was.

A few minutes later, the waiter returned with a crème brûlée topped with raspberry sauce. Her mouth watered as she stared at it.

“Come on, Julia,” he said with a saccharine voice, his eyes nearly twinkling as he turned on the charm, “eat the dessert. It will make you sweet.”

“It will do no such thing!”

“Eat it anyway. I can’t send it back.”

Julia debated the wisdom of giving in, but she finally picked up her spoon and tasted it.

“I told you it was good,” Nick said with a smile.

Julia put down her spoon. It was very good. But she was irritated with herself for having given him a reason to think he’d beaten her.

When she didn’t take another bite, Nick frowned. “Come on, Julia, I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. Besides, I’ll feel bad if I eat a big meal and you don’t eat anything else. Really.”

“All right, I’ll eat it. But we need to discuss what we’re going to do.”

“We?”

“That’s right,” Julia said firmly.

“It was my understanding that we would exchange information, but that was all.”

“I told you I had another idea. I want to go with you to find them. I don’t think you’re going to be very nice to my mother and I want to be sure she’s okay.” She didn’t think her mother would be strong enough to deal with the loss of another man she loved. The last couple of years had been difficult for Lois, and dealing with Nick Rampling would only make things more difficult.

“I promise to deliver her to your very doorstep. Satisfied?”

“No, I’m not. I’m not concerned with her physical well-being. I’m concerned with her emotional well-being.”

“You can deal with that after I bring her home.”

Julia put down her spoon. “I can’t agree to that.”

He mimicked her, putting down his fork. “Lady, you’re acting like you’re in control. You’re not!” His finger punctuated his remark.

She pointed right back at him. “Neither are you! I agreed to answer your questions as long as you shared your information with me. So far, I’ve done my part. When do you fulfill your part of the bargain?”

He opened his mouth to deny her accusation. Then he suddenly shut it again.

“Well?” she prompted.

“You’re right. I haven’t given you any information. But I’m not going to have any until one-thirty. That’s when my investigator is going to call me and tell me what he’s found out.”

Julia stared at him. “You hired an investigator?” She frowned as if he’d told her something scandalous.

“He’s on my payroll. We have to have one for the hotels. So I thought he could help me out here, too.”

“Does your father know you would turn the investigator loose on him?”

“Probably.”

“So it’s your fault they sent us on a wild-goose chase!”

“I’m not one of your students who broke a rule, Julia.” His eyes narrowed as he observed her. “What grade do you teach?”

“That doesn’t matter!” she exclaimed. She didn’t want to tell him she taught the second grade. He’d think that she was sweet and nice, and that he could walk all over her. That had happened to her before. This time, though, she was going to stand up for herself and her mother.

“Yes, it does. Well?”

“Second grade,” she admitted, her chin going up, as it always did when she was being stubborn.

“Ah,” he said and smiled.

Julia glared at him. “Don’t think you can discount me because I teach young children!”

He didn’t address her remark, merely took the last bite of his meal. When he’d swallowed, he said, “Finish your dessert. We need to leave for the airport.”

Julia folded her napkin and put it beside her plate. “I’m ready.”

“Don’t you want to finish that?” he asked, staring at her dessert, only half-eaten.

“No, I’m ready to go hear the latest information you have.”

The waiter returned to their table and offered coffee, but Nick turned it down and asked for the check.

Julia opened her purse, having figured out how much her lunch had cost, and took out enough cash to cover it, plus a tip. Once they were in a taxi she would give it to Nick. She knew he’d try to embarrass her in the restaurant to have his way.

When the waiter brought the check, Nick asked him to call a cab for them. He paid the bill in cash, leaving a healthy tip. Then he pulled her chair back for her to stand and join him.

“Is it one-thirty yet?” she asked.

“No, but it will be when we get to the airport. I’m sure there’ll be a flight home to Houston that you can take.”

Home? Julia opened her mouth, but then thought better and closed it. Home was one place she wasn’t going. Still, she’d save that argument until it was necessary.

Nick escorted her to the waiting taxi, stopping to pick up her suitcase and his.

Once the cab had started for the airport, Julia handed him the portion of the lunch tab.

“What’s this?” he demanded with a frown.

“The cost of my lunch,” she explained calmly.

“Damn it, take it back before I put you out of this cab right now!” he exclaimed.

His threat didn’t intimidate her. “So you have no intention of keeping your word?” she retorted.

He seethed in silence for several minutes while the taxi driver watched him in the rearview mirror.

When he opened his mouth, he spoke calmly. “Julia, I said I would pay for lunch. There’s no need for you to do so.”

“But I believe I told you I pay my own way, Nick Rampling. I see no reason to change now. Especially when you suspect my mother of trying to steal your money!”

“I see no need to nickel-and-dime you.”

“Since I prefer to handle my own expenses, I expect you to honor that decision.” She dumped the cash in his lap and turned to look out the window.

“Is your mother as stubborn as you?” he asked, exasperation in his tone.

“No, absolutely not. She told me I got my stubbornness from my father.” She didn’t tell him that she knew her mother was lying. That was none of his business!

Nick couldn’t believe he’d been bested by a grade-school teacher. He’d intended to get a little information from her, pat her on her head and send her home. Now he realized it wasn’t going to be that simple. She’d managed to outmaneuver him with her virginal blush and innocent blue eyes, topped by her beautiful long blond hair.

Not that he cared what she looked like.

Nor did he care that she was a virgin—or so he thought. She looked way too sweet and innocent to be experienced. No, she’d just taken him by surprise, that was all.

When they reached the airport, he paid off the taxi and was grateful she didn’t insist on counting out her share in one-dollar bills right there in the street. He escorted her inside and pulled out the new cell phone he’d picked up that morning, along with a suitcase and clothes. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll phone my investigator to see what he’s found out.”

“Is your cell a speakerphone?”

He answered truthfully before he thought. “Yes, of course.”

“Good. So I can hear the conversation, too.”

“I’d rather the rest of the world didn’t hear, if you don’t mind.”

“Let’s go back outside. I don’t remember hordes of people out there.”

He glared at her, but he finally moved toward the door.

Once they were outside the terminal, Julia seated herself on one half of a stone bench and waited.