Judy Christenberry - Honeymoon Hunt

Nick stood their suitcases next to the bench and sat down as he took out his cell phone. He dialed the number for his investigator.

“Browning? This is Nick. I’m putting you on speakerphone.” He wanted the man to know someone was listening besides himself.

“Nick? Why am I on speakerphone?” Pat Browning asked.

“I’m with Mrs. Chance’s daughter, Julia. We joined forces here in Dallas.”

“Oh. Well, they’re several days ahead of you. They left Dallas three days ago and flew to L.A. They’re staying at your hotel there.”

“They’re still there?” he asked in surprise.

“The hotel thinks so. None of the staff wanted to go find out. Apparently Abe told them not to worry about waiting on them. They would manage on their own. And there’s a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.”

“All right, thanks, Pat. I’ll be on the next plane to L.A. and I’ll disturb them when I get there.”

“Okay, boss. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Nick hung up the phone and started to head back into the terminal.

“Where are you going?” Julia’s cool voice asked, reminding Nick of his companion.

“Uh, I’m going to L.A. I’ll bring your mother back to you.”

“No, thank you. I’m going to accompany you, if you don’t mind.”

“That’s really not—”

“Necessary? I think it is.”

He conceded on this one. Anything to get going. “Fine. Come on. I’ll get the reservations on the phone and then we can pick up the tickets at the counter.”

“All right,” she agreed, following him into the building. He had both their bags.

Nick announced that he’d reserved their seats. But when they arrived at the ticket desk, they ran into a slight problem.

Julia took out her credit card and said she would pay for her own ticket. But when the woman announced the price of the tickets, Julia almost passed out. “Why does it cost so much?” she demanded.

“That’s the normal price for first class, ma’am.”

“First class? I don’t want first class. Please put me in coach.”

“I’m sorry. Coach is sold out. I can give you a reservation in coach on the red-eye. It leaves at eleven o’clock tonight.”

Nick watched as Julia stood there, trying to figure out what to do. He started to offer to buy her ticket, but she made her decision before he could.

“No, I’ll take the first-class seat.” She pushed her card across the desk.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for your ticket?” he leaned forward and said softly.

She shook her head and said nothing. In fact, she didn’t speak until they were seated and the plane was pulling away from the gate.

“How long will the flight take?” she finally asked.

“Three hours.”

“Shouldn’t we have called them first to be sure they were there?” Julia asked.

“No,” Nick said. “If we let them know we’ve found them, they’d be gone by the time we got there.”

“Why would they do that?”

“If they’re married, they know I’m going to have it annulled. And if they’re not married, they’ll know you’re going to be upset.”

“Why would you have it annulled? If they’re in love—”

“Dad falls in love every other week or so. And your mother probably fell in love with his money, not him.” His father was gullible when it came to beautiful women. After his second marriage had failed, he’d looked for love over and over again. Nick felt it was his duty to protect his father, but the job was becoming impossible.

“My mother is not like that!” Julia protested as the plane took off.

“So you say.”

“Why are you so cynical?” she demanded.

“Because I’m not a second-grade teacher, honey. It’s just not in me.”

A beautiful red-haired flight attendant halted what would no doubt have been a stinging retort. “Good afternoon. May I serve you a drink?”

“Yes, I’d like a Diet Coke, please,” Julia said.

“Certainly. And you, sir?”

“I’d like a bottle of water, please.”

The redhead smiled and batted her lashes several times at Nick. He returned the smile before he picked up the in-flight magazine.

Julia watched him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed quite at ease. She supposed he flew often. She didn’t know where his other hotels were, but if he had a hotel in Los Angeles, he would have to fly to the west coast frequently.

Maybe he even knew the friendly flight attendant.

The woman returned with their drinks and placed Nick’s on his tray.

Julia had assumed the tray was on the back of the seat in front of her. But it wasn’t there.

“Ma’am, if you’ll bring up your tray, I’ll set the drink on it.”

Julia didn’t want to acknowledge that she had no idea how to find her tray.

It was Nick who came to her aid. He reached over and pulled her tray up.

“Thank you.”

She sounded embarrassed. The flight attendant’s smug look didn’t help any, Nick guessed. He fought the protective instinct that suddenly arose in him. He hadn’t expected to have any feelings for Julia at all. But her determination to protect her mother and to pay her own way had touched him.

“Are we going to be served a meal of any kind?” he asked the redhead.

“We’ll be serving a meal in an hour. But if you’re hungry, I can bring you something now, Mr. Rampling.”

He turned to Julia. “Honey, do you want a snack now, or can you wait?”

“I can wait,” Julia responded.

He looked at the flight attendant, who wasn’t as warm and friendly to him as she had been earlier. “I believe we’ll wait for the meal, but thanks for the offer.”

“Yes, sir. Let me know if you need anything.”

He nodded and she hurried away.

“Thank you for finding my tray.”

Her quiet words drew his attention. “When you haven’t traveled first class before, you wouldn’t know.”

A few minutes later, after finishing her Diet Coke, she turned to look out the window.

Nick smiled. He’d guessed she’d prefer the window seat. However, after a few minutes when she hadn’t moved, he realized she was asleep.

She must not have slept well last night. He leaned over and pushed the button to lower the back of her seat as far as it would go.

The flight attendant immediately appeared. “Would your wife like a pillow, Mr. Rampling?”

The question took him by surprise. Not the pillow part, but the wife part. “She’s not my wife,” he whispered fiercely.

“I beg your pardon, sir. Would your…companion like a pillow?”

Her suddenly smug look irritated him. “Yes!” he snapped.

When she brought him the pillow, he leaned over and slipped it between Julia and the window. He needed to get rid of that protective feeling he had. Julia certainly hadn’t asked for his assistance. In fact, she had seemed determined to pay her own way. An unusual occurrence in his life. The women he dated always expected him to pay. Not only for food and transportation, but also for expensive gifts.

Of course, he wasn’t dating Julia.

A light snore from his companion interrupted his thoughts. He wondered if anyone had ever told her she snored. Somehow, he didn’t think so. He couldn’t picture Julia Chance with a lover. She appeared too…too untouched. When he found himself taking inventory of Julia’s slender beauty, he shook his head. He had to stop thinking about Julia Chance.

He wanted nothing to do with her.

Julia’s eyes fluttered open and she stared around her, not sure why she was on a plane. Until her gaze collided with the broad-shouldered man next to her. Nick Rampling.

She straightened up, worried her sleeping might have made her look weak. Around Nick, she had to be careful about how she came off. After all, he was obviously a man of the world, experienced in all things.