Honeymoon Hunt
Honeymoon Hunt
Judy Christenberry
For Julia Chance and Nick Rampling, chasing after her mother and his father was more than a search for eloping lovers; it was an exercise in frustration. Of all partners, how did a jet-setting millionaire get stuck with a prim virgin like Julia, who called him unfeeling and jaded? Still, Nick couldn't deny Julia intrigued him.After all, he appreciated a woman, just not a wife! But the more time he spent with Julia, sharing the same hotel rooms but enduring separate beds night after night, the more he wondered just which couple would make it to the finish line…er, altar…first!
“You’ve never been in love?”
Julia cocked her head as she stared at him, waiting for an answer.
He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “I’ve been in lust, Julia, more than once. And when I was young, I thought it was love. But time proved me wrong.”
“I—I’m sorry, Nick.”
Her unwanted sympathy irritated him. “I don’t need you to feel sorry for me, Julia. I’m fine the way I am. And if you think love is so important, why aren’t you married?” He was very interested in her answer.
“You can’t just decide to fall in love.” She shrugged. “I hope to fall in love one day. It just hasn’t happened yet.”
He saw the longing in her eyes, heard it in her voice and he felt a response in himself. One that scared the hell out of him.
Dear Reader,
No month better suits Silhouette Romance than February. For it celebrates that breathless feeling of first love, the priceless experiences and memories that come with a longtime love and the many hopes and dreams that give a couple’s life together so much meaning. At Silhouette Romance, our writers try to capture all these feelings in their timeless tales…and this month’s lineup is no exception.
Our PERPETUALLY YOURS promotion continues this month with a charming tale from Sandra Paul. In Domesticating Luc (#1802) a dog trainer gets more than she bargained for when she takes on an unruly puppy and his very obstinate and irresistible owner. Beloved author Judy Christenberry returns to the lineup with Honeymoon Hunt (#1803)—a madcap adventure in which two opposites pair up to find their parents who have eloped, but instead wind up on a tight race to the finish line, er, altar! In A Dash of Romance (#1804) Elizabeth Harbison creates the perfect recipe for love when she pairs a self-made billionaire with a spirited waitress. Cathie Linz rounds out the offerings with Lone Star Marine (#1805). Part of her MEN OF HONOR series, this poignant romance features a wounded soldier who craves only the solitude to heal, and finds that his lively and beautiful neighbor just might be the key to the future he hadn’t dreamed possible.
As always, be sure to return next month when Alice Sharpe concludes our PERPETUALLY YOURS promotion.
Happy reading.
Ann Leslie Tuttle
Associate Senior Editor
Honeymoon Hunt
Judy Christenberry
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Books by Judy Christenberry
Silhouette Romance
The Nine-Month Bride #1324
* (#litres_trial_promo)Marry Me, Kate #1344
* (#litres_trial_promo)Baby in Her Arms #1350
* (#litres_trial_promo)A Ring for Cinderella #1356
† (#litres_trial_promo)Never Let You Go #1453
† (#litres_trial_promo)The Borrowed Groom #1457
† (#litres_trial_promo)Cherish the Boss #1463
** (#litres_trial_promo)Snowbound Sweetheart #1476
Newborn Daddy #1511
When the Lights Went Out…#1547
** (#litres_trial_promo)Least Likely To Wed #1570
Daddy on the Doorstep #1654
** (#litres_trial_promo)Beauty & the Beastly Rancher #1678
** (#litres_trial_promo)The Last Crawford Bachelor #1715
Finding a Family #1762
†† (#litres_trial_promo)The Texan’s Reluctant Bride #1778
†† (#litres_trial_promo)The Texan’s Tiny Dilemma #1782
†† (#litres_trial_promo)The Texan’s Suite Romance #1787
Honeymoon Hunt #1803
Silhouette Books
The Coltons
The Doctor Delivers
A Colton Family Christmas
“The Diplomat’s Daughter”
Lone Star Country Club
The Last Bachelor
JUDY CHRISTENBERRY
has been writing romances for over fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. She’s a bestselling author for Harlequin American Romance, but she has a long love of traditional romances and is delighted to tell a story that brings those elements to the reader. A former high school French teacher, Judy devotes her time to writing. She hopes readers have as much fun reading her stories as she does writing them. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two adult daughters.
Contents
Chapter One (#u816fd595-0893-5de5-81df-334b876cbcf0)
Chapter Two (#ub67311e3-99cd-5dd3-99fb-3d75606a9c55)
Chapter Three (#u9be91538-746a-5abb-927a-e41b2bd3a492)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Julia Chance drove slowly down the block in her rental car, anxiously looking from one side of the street to the other, growing more and more uneasy as she went.
She was looking for the Hotel Luna. She was sure she’d followed directions, but she couldn’t imagine her mother being in this neighborhood.
Old, run-down buildings crowded each other in this area of Dallas. Minimarts, aglow with their bright interior lights, battled with the dark bars that found residence on at least every other street. Men loitered in dark alleys between the buildings, prompting her to step on the gas and keep moving.
There on the right, a couple hundred feet up, a small sign drew her attention. Hotel L*na. Despite the sign’s missing letter, Julia knew that had to be it. She drove up to the hotel and pulled to the curb, but hesitated. The hotel looked anything but safe. Surely her mother wouldn’t—
From inside the Hotel Luna a man came running, startling her. He was big, muscular, wearing a white knit shirt from what she could see in the dim street-light. Maybe he was running because he was in a hurry, or maybe he—
Just then, the passenger door was opened, cutting off her thought, and the man she’d glimpsed earlier jumped into her car.
“Step on it, lady!” he ordered with a growl.
Julia’s eyes widened in surprise. Almost as a reflex, she resisted. “I’ll do no such thing! Get out of my car or I’ll call the police!”
She heard a sound similar to a loud pop right before her windshield split. As it happened, the man beside her grabbed Julia and yanked her down.
“What’s going on? Who’s shooting at you?”
“I accidentally interrupted a drug deal,” the man growled.
It took a minute for her to put things together. By that time, another bullet had hit her windshield. Then pain from her right foot shot through her as the man did as he’d asked her to do.
He stepped on the gas pedal, pushing it to the floorboard, ignoring the fact that her foot was under his.
He also grabbed the wheel, rising up just enough to see over the hood.
Julia felt like a coward, but she couldn’t bring herself to sit up and face any more bullets. Who was shooting? It could be the police, for all she knew. Was the man in her car the target? This guy could be a criminal escaping.
Well, he’d carjacked the wrong woman! She straightened and tried to wrest the steering wheel from his grasp. “Take your hands off. I’m the driver!”
To her surprise, he released the wheel. “Then drive. Get on the freeway. The entrance is right here.”
“What if I don’t want to get on the freeway?”
“Then we’ll both be killed! You don’t have much choice.”
The sound of a car behind them had her looking in the rearview mirror, but she couldn’t see much.
“They’re after us!” Again he slammed his foot on hers to increase their speed.
“I’m going to call the police if you don’t get out right now!”
“Do you have a phone? I seem to have lost mine. But call the police! I’d be more than happy to see a black-and-white.”
“You would?” Julia asked, surprised by his answer. Surely he must be a bad guy, she thought.
“Yeah, but hurry. They’re closing in on us quickly.”
“Who? Who is—”
She ended her questioning as bullets began to fly in their direction again. This time, she raced for the freeway, actually running a red light as she noted there was no traffic coming. She’d never done such an outrageous thing in her life!
They shot onto the freeway—and were immediately pulled over by a police car.
“Oh, dear! I don’t know—”
“Let me handle it!” the carjacker/passenger snapped.
The officer knocked on the glass and waited for Julia to lower the window.
Then he said, “You folks have an emergency, or do you just ignore posted speed limits?”
“Yes, officer, we do have an emergency,” the stranger beside her said calmly. Even his body language spoke of ease, but Julia was shaking.
“As you can see, we’ve run into trouble,” he said, gesturing to the bullet holes in the windshield.
“Where were you when this happened?” the officer asked, studying the evidence.
“We were looking for the Hotel Luna on Westmoreland,” the man said, causing Julia to look at him sharply. He was going to the hotel, too? She eyed him up and down, taking in his neatly trimmed brown hair, white shirt and pressed slacks. Not exactly Hotel Luna clientele, she thought.
The cop shook his head. “Not a good neighborhood.”
“We discovered that.”
“Can you tell me who shot at you?”
The stranger shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you. We must’ve just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“All right. If you’ll both come to my patrol car, I need to take a report. Either of you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”
Both men looked at Julia, but she shook her head.
“No, we’re both fine. Just a little shocked,” the man answered.
“Then come with me.” The cop opened Julia’s door and escorted her back to his patrol car. He put her in the back seat while the man got in the front passenger seat.
First, the policeman used his radio to send some squad cars to the Hotel Luna. Then he took a clipboard and asked the man for his name.
Julia leaned forward, interested in that information herself.
Instead of speaking out loud, the man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a business card.
“Thank you…” The cop read his name. “Mr. Rampling. And is this your wife?”
“No! No, she’s not.”
Julia leaned forward and gave her name and home address in Houston.
“So you’re both from out of town? Where are you staying?”
Julia immediately supplied the name of the hotel where she was staying, including the street address. She frowned when Mr. Rampling just nodded. Was he staying there, too? It was way too coincidental for her.
Before she could protest, the policeman went on to their reason for being at the Hotel Luna. Again, she waited for his answer, wondering if her surmise was correct.
“We were looking for our parents. They told us they would be at that hotel, but they’ve led us on a wild-goose chase,” the man said, a sad expression on his face.
How did he know she was looking for her mother? And that her mother was with a man—apparently this Mr. Rampling’s father? How was it that he had all the details she was missing? She didn’t know the identity of her mother’s partner, only his first name.
And why was the young Mr. Rampling searching for his father?
At least, she thought, he wasn’t a carjacker.
The cop made some further notations, then said, “Okay, that about sums it up. If you’ll call before you leave town, we’ll let you know if we’ve found anything.”
Mr. Rampling extended his hand. “Thanks for your help.”
“No problem.” The officer turned to her. “Remember to follow the speed limit, ma’am. You don’t want to cause an accident.”
“Thank you,” Julia added, feeling she should express her appreciation, too.
“No problem, ma’am.” He put on his hat and helped her out to escort her back to her car.
Once behind the wheel, Julia closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.
“You okay?”
She glared at him. “Yes, no thanks to you!”
“Hey, would you have preferred to stay down there and get shot?” he demanded, irritated by her response.
“No, but—”
“But nothing! I did what I had to do. Now, let’s get going.”
“Going where?”
“To your hotel.”
“My hotel?” She stared at him, confused and shocked at his suggestion. Apparently young Mr. Rampling had lied to the officer. He wasn’t staying at the hotel, after all. But now he expected her to be hospitable. “You can’t be serious! You jump in my car, get me shot at, pulled over by a policeman, and you expect me to take you to my hotel? I don’t think so!”
“Look, lady, I just need to use a phone and have a safe place to wait until I get some help. I don’t think that’s asking too much.”
“Well, I do!” When he didn’t leave her car instantly, she said, “I’d have to be pretty stupid to do as you’ve suggested. You’d probably try to lure me into bed!”
“You have nothing to worry about there. You’re not my type!”
“What a relief! And that’s supposed to make me feel safe? Get out!”
“Take me to a phone before you throw me out. That’s the least you can do since I saved your life.”
He had a point. Not one she liked, but she couldn’t disagree with him. Of course, he was the reason they’d been shot at, but he had pulled her down and gotten them out of that place.
And most important of all, he had information she needed.
Driving down the freeway, she tried to sound casual as she asked, “Your father said he would be at the Hotel Luna?”
“Yeah.”
“And you assumed that’s why I was there, too?”
“Of course I did. Your mother is with my father. We both know that, so there’s no need to pretend any longer.”
“I’m not pretending anything. I’m here to find my mother!”
“So I figured. Why else would you be down in that neighborhood?”
Silence.
“How did you get there?” she finally asked.
“By taxi. The driver promised to wait, but must’ve driven away as soon as I was inside.”
“That was rather naive of you, wasn’t it?” she asked, feeling superior.
“Not if you knew what I’d paid him.” His voice sounded grim.
“Where are you from?” she asked.
“I’m from Kansas City.” After a pause, he asked, “Does your mother usually hang out in dives?”
Julia snapped her head around to frown sternly at him. “Of course not!”
“Well, it couldn’t have been my father’s idea. How did you find out about the Hotel Luna?”
“She wrote me and…told me she was staying at the Hotel Luna in Dallas.”
“My father wrote me the same thing.”
“So it could be your father who hangs out in dives.”
“No way!”
She gave him a hard stare and almost drove off the road.
He grabbed the wheel. “Pay attention to your driving!”
“Sorry,” she muttered. “Why are you so sure it wasn’t your father?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Were you worried about him meeting my mom?”
“No! I was worried about him shacking up with your mom.”
“How dare you! My mother would not do such a thing!”
“Then what made you come after her?”
Julia didn’t want to answer that question. Instead, she pulled off at the next exit. As soon as she saw a gas station with a phone booth on the corner, she pulled in. “Get out. There’s a phone booth. Make your calls and stay away from me and my mother!”
“Gladly, as long as you and your mother stay away from my father!”
She told herself she was relieved when he opened the door and got out of her car. She didn’t hesitate to drive away. But she watched him in her rearview mirror all the way back to the freeway.
Nick Rampling stared after the woman. She hadn’t seemed like the daughter of a schemer, but women had lied before. Especially to men with money. God knew, he’d tried to protect his father, but it hadn’t been easy.
What was he going to do now?
Pulling himself together, he headed for the phone booth. After tapping in the numbers of his calling card, he waited until he got an answer.
“Hello?” a groggy voice said.
“Mike, it’s Nick. I need your help.”
“Uh, sure, Nick. What can I do?”
“Do you have something to write with?”
“Just a minute.”
In the background, Nick could hear an irritated woman’s voice, sure it was Patti, his vice president’s wife. Mike assured her that nothing was wrong, that it was just Nick calling.
Nick did occasionally interrupt his people’s private lives, but he paid them well for the inconvenience.
“Okay, Nick, I’m ready.”
“My father wasn’t where he said he’d be. I think it was an obvious attempt to delay my finding him. Find out if he’s used his credit cards and where. And get Browning on the job. I want a full report in the morning. I’ll be at the—” He leaned out the telephone booth and then turned back to the phone. “I’ll be at the Motel 6 on Central Expressway in Dallas. Have him call me there.”
“The Motel 6?” Mike asked in astonishment.
“It’s the nearest hotel, and I don’t have any cash to get a taxi.” That afternoon he’d run off after his father in such a rush, he hadn’t stopped for cash. Nor had he thought of it. “I’ll need you to send some money to me. I doubt there’s a cash machine in the lobby.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll take care of everything,” Mike crisply agreed.
Nick suspected his right-hand man found it amusing that his boss was sleeping at an economy motel when he owned a dozen hotels renowned for their elegance. But Nick could manage for one night; he’d spent worse nights elsewhere.
The walk to the motel was short, but it gave him time to think about the young woman who’d just dropped him off. She had more spunk than he’d expected. At first, he’d thought she was an innocent who’d lost her way, till she told the cop her name.
Throughout the ordeal she’d never seemed jolted until he’d criticized her mother. Then she’d dumped him like a bag of trash. Unlike her mother, she must not know how much money he and his father had.
Or maybe she was playing the innocent. He’d been burned a few times by women who looked like one thing but were actually another.
He entered the motel and requested a room for the night.
“All right, sir. How did you want to pay for the room?” the clerk asked.
Nick pulled out his American Express card. “Will this do?”
The clerk relaxed. “Yes, of course. Do you have some ID?”
Nick showed his driver’s license.
The clerk examined it and visually matched the photo with Nick. He handed it back with an apology. “We have to be so careful these days.”
“Yeah,” Nick agreed. Wasn’t that the truth?
Julia tossed and turned all night, until finally morning dawned. She still had no idea where her mother was. If she was safe…and happy. A couple of days ago, Lois Chance had written a brief note telling Julia she wasn’t coming home to Houston as planned because she’d met Abe, who had persuaded her to stop off in Dallas. There was no last name, no other indication who Abe was.
Her mother had gone on a “summer in New York” tour with her best friend, Evelyn. AARP had offered the trip and promised it would be safe. Julia had approved her mother’s decision to go, feeling Lois had spent much too long mourning her husband’s death two years ago.
But there was a big difference in going on a trip with a female friend and deciding to make a stopover with an unknown man. After all, her mother was an innocent. An innocent with the proceeds from her husband’s insurance policy that was to provide for her financially for the rest of her life.
Moments after she’d read the note, it had occurred to Julia that her mother might have revealed that piece of financial information to Abe. As much as she didn’t want to think her mother might be deceived, Julia feared that had happened. Especially when she’d seen the Hotel Luna.
What should she do now?
Lying under the covers, she tried to think about her choices. She could call Evelyn and see if she’d heard from her mother. But she didn’t think—
Pounding on her door interrupted her thoughts.
Who could that be? She hurried out of bed and put on her robe. Then she tiptoed to the door and looked through the peephole.
With a gasp, she backed away from the door.
“Miss Chance? Are you in there?”
The voice had haunted her most of the night. It was Abe’s son, the one who had accused her mother of “shacking up” with his father.
Julia stood there for a moment, debating her choices. Then she reached for the knob. “Yes, I’m here, Mr. Rampling,” she said as she opened the door.
He looked at her from head to toe. “Sorry to wake you up. I supposed you’d be out looking for your mother.”
“I don’t know where to look. Do you?”
“Not yet, but I will. I have a few questions to ask you before I head out.”
“Head out where?”
He raised his eyebrows, which drew her attention to his remarkable blue eyes. In the darkness last night, she hadn’t been able to see them. “I’m the one looking for answers, Miss Chance.”
“No, Mr. Rampling, we’re both looking for answers. You just think you hold all the cards. But I’m not that gullible. I’ll answer your questions if you share your information with me.”
“You don’t have a bargaining chip in this search, Miss Chance. I can manage without information from you.”
Julia crossed her arms over her chest. “If that were true, Mr. Rampling, you wouldn’t be here.”
“Look, Miss Chance—”
“Oh, for heavens sake, call me Julia.”
“Okay, fine, Julia. I can get by without your information. But it might speed up the process if you’ll answer a few questions. In return, I promise to bring your mother back to you as soon as possible.”
“Not good enough, Mr. Rampling. I want to protect my mother, to make sure she’s not hurt. So either we share information or I tell you nothing.”
“Forget it. I’ll manage on my own.” He turned around and started walking away.
Julia dashed out past him so she could face him. “I won’t let you walk away. I’ll follow you.”
He gave her a leering grin. “In your nightgown? That should be interesting.”
Julia had forgotten she wasn’t dressed…or packed. It would take her at least half an hour to take care of those details, and she knew the man wouldn’t wait.
She felt her cheeks heating up and gathered the collar of her robe, pulling it closer together.
Suddenly he had a change of heart, one she didn’t understand. But she wasn’t going to argue about it.
“Meet me for lunch at the Mansion on Turtle Creek,” he said. “We’ll see what we can work out.”
“Where is the Mansion?”
He rolled those sparkling blue eyes. “It’s one of the most famous hotels in the world. Take a taxi. The driver will find it for you. One hour. If you’re not there, I’ll go on alone. Understand?”
“I understand, and I’ll be there,” she assured him. Wherever it was.
He gave her a sharp nod and walked around her down the hallway.
Julia hurried into her room to start packing. She only paused to dress. She didn’t bother to put on makeup. The man had already seen her with her face scrubbed clean. The important thing was her mother. She had to find out what had happened to her mother.
And his name. She’d like to know her new partner’s name, too.
Chapter Two
The maître d’ didn’t raise his eyebrows at her slacks and blouse as Julia walked into the stately mansion that was an elegant restaurant attached to the hotel by the same name. But he was a little surprised by her suitcase.
“Welcome to the Mansion, Miss. May I take your…suitcase for you?”
Julia let out a sigh. “Thank you so much. I turned in my rental car, and I didn’t have a place to leave it.”
“We’ll keep it safe until after you’ve dined. Will it be lunch for one?”
“Oh, no, I’m meeting Mr. Rampling for lunch.”
Instantly the man’s manner became respectful. “Right this way, Miss Chance. Mr. Rampling is waiting.”
He led the way into a second room that looked as if it had once been a library.
Julia joined him, trying to look at everything at once. She wasn’t prepared to see Mr. Rampling just yet. But there he was, waiting for her.
The maître d’ pulled out her chair and handed her a menu. “Your waiter will be right with you.”
“Hello,” Julia said to the man across from her.
“I’m glad you made it, Julia,” he said.
Her eyebrows rose. “You thought I’d give up on my own mother?”
“She’s with my father, you know, not some Mob guy.” He seemed affronted by her comments.
“I have only your word for his character,” she told him. She knew nothing of Abe Rampling. Or his son, for that matter.
Apparently, though, he was a mind reader.
“My father and I are in the hotel business, Julia.”
“Oh. Well, that doesn’t mean you aren’t connected to the Mob.”
“I think you watch too much television.” He glanced at the menu. “Have you chosen what you want?”
“No, I—It will just take a minute.” She opened her menu and sucked in air. The prices were discreetly printed on the menu, but that didn’t make them any easier to swallow.
As soon as she closed the menu, the waiter appeared at the table. Julia said, “I’ll have the tortilla soup.”
“Of course, madam. And the entrée?”
“No, that’s all.”
Though he looked surprised, he turned to Mr. Rampling. “And you, sir?”
“I’ll have the tortilla soup also. Then I want the sirloin cut with a broccoli side.”
“Yes, sir. How would you like that cooked?”
“Medium-well.” He looked at Julia. “Are you sure you won’t join me for a steak?”
“No, thank you. Oh, and we’ll need separate checks, please.”
The waiter appeared startled and looked at her dining companion.
“That won’t be necessary,” he said quietly.
Before Julia could protest, the waiter hurried away.
“Why did you do that?” she demanded.
“For the sake of my reputation,” he assured her with a smile.
“I couldn’t care less about your reputation!”
“Then feel free to leave,” he said softly.
Julia snapped her lips together. She couldn’t do that until she found out what he knew.
“Very well,” she said stiffly. “I’ll pay you after we leave here.”
With heavy sarcasm, he replied, “I think I can handle the price of a bowl of soup.”
“That’s not necessary. I pay my own way.”
“And what do you do for a living, Julia?”
She hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Come now, I’ve already told you what I do.”
“I’m a teacher,” she finally said.
He frowned. “Is that why you only ordered soup?”
“No! I—I just wasn’t hungry.”
“I’m willing to buy you lunch so I can get the information I need.”
“I have another price in mind,” she muttered. “Look, Mr.—You never told me your first name.”
“And that matters?”
She drew in another deep breath. “I thought we’d agreed to swap information.”
He looked at her as if he were testing her mettle. Then he said simply, “Nick.”
“Very well, Nick. I think we can share our information and be more efficient.”
“I’ll certainly be more efficient. But I don’t see the need for you to be efficient.”
“I want to find my mother as much as you want to find your father.”
“Why? My father is a great catch. I’m not surprised your mother trapped him.”
Julia drew back, anger filling her. “My mother never set out to seduce your father. She’s never done that!”
“You don’t know that.”
His matter-of-fact tone made her crazy. “Yes, I do,” she snapped.
Nick leaned in closer, as if letting her in on a secret. “Look, Julia, my father loves women. Your mother’s not the first one who thought it would be easy to latch onto our fortune.”
Fortune…? As if a lightbulb had lit up over her head, Julia realized he was Nick Rampling of the Rampling Hotels. She remembered reading about him recently. Wealthy, successful and a real catch, judging by the eye candy constantly photographed on his arm. His father had retired some years ago, leaving Nick to run the family business, worth hundreds of millions.
But Nick wasn’t the focus of their talk; her mother was.
Mustering an attitude, she replied, “My mother doesn’t need your money!”
“Independently wealthy, is she?”
Certainly not on the Rampling scale, she thought. But Lois Chance was comfortably well off.
The waiter’s arrival gave her a reprieve from having to answer.
The waiter carefully placed each bowl in front of them. “Enjoy,” he murmured as he withdrew.
“I believe they’re famous for this particular soup,” Nick said.
“It’s quite good,” Julia said politely, as if she were attending a social tea.
“Are your parents divorced?” Nick asked after spoonful.
“No. My father died two years ago.”
She was afraid he would say something offensive. Holding on to her temper, she waited for his response.
All he said was, “I’m sorry.”
She looked up, shocked by his sensitivity.
“Why do you look so surprised? You think I can’t sympathize?”
“I’m sorry,” she hurriedly apologized.
“That doesn’t make me any happier that your mother latched onto my father, but at least she’s not bitter.”
She should have known, Julia thought. She’d obviously been suckered by Nick. “I take back my apology!”
“No need to be difficult, Julia.”
“No need to be insulting, Nick.”
He smiled. “All right, now we can get down to business.”
She stared at him, not sure exactly what he meant.
“Has your mother dated much since she became a widow?”
“Of course not. That’s why—” She stopped abruptly.
“That’s why what?” Nick asked, staring at her.
Julia lifted her chin. “That’s why I encouraged her to go on the trip. She had mourned too long.”
“So you sent her off to find a new man?”
“Absolutely not! I—I encouraged her to go on a tour to NewYork. She needed to start enjoying life again.”
“With my father?”
“I didn’t know your father and you know it! I thought she’d go to a few shows and do some shopping with her friend Evelyn.”
“So you don’t know your mother as well as you thought, do you?”
“I know my mother. I don’t know your father!” Nor did she know his son. But what she saw, she didn’t like.
The waiter returned to collect their plates and serve Nick his meal.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“Yes, bring the lady some crème brûlée, please, so she’ll have something to eat.”
“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.
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?”
Chapter Three
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.
All things…
She wasn’t experienced in that way, either. Not that Nick would ever find out. She’d gotten engaged in college and her fiancé had tried to force her into bed with him. But she’d resisted and had broken off the engagement.
When she felt Nick moving beside her, she stretched. “I’m sorry. Did I miss anything?”
“No. You must not have slept well last night.”
Julia looked away. “No, I was worried about my mother.”
“Are you worried about whether she’ll appreciate your concern?”
“No. I know she’ll appreciate it.”
“Trust me, Julia, I can tell you from experience, your mother will not want your interference. My father never does.”
Julia gathered her courage. “You make it sound as if he elopes every week.”
“Not quite that often.” Nick shrugged. “But I’ll admit this is the first time he’s ever chosen an older woman. However, if your mother looks anything like you, I’m not surprised.”
“I suppose you think I should be flattered, Nick, but I’m not. In order to marry her, a man should feel more than admiration for a woman’s looks. Looks fade. Her soul is always there.”
“And you think my father is in love with your mother’s soul? Right.” He looked as if he were about to laugh.
“Yes, I do, because my mother wouldn’t marry a man just because he flatters her.”
Her chin was in the air. She was not going to allow him to destroy what her mother must be feeling now. That was the very reason she was along on the trip to Los Angeles.
Turning toward the window, she ignored Nick. His opinion of his father’s behavior wasn’t encouraging. But she was relying on her mother’s behavior. She knew her mother would not be with Abe Rampling if she didn’t believe that she loved him…and that he loved her.
At fifty-two, Lois Chance was young enough to start a new life, but still old-fashioned enough to not sleep around with strange men interested only in a fling. She was a levelheaded woman who would have to have a good reason to do something impetuous.
The flight attendant brought warm, damp towels, much to Julia’s surprise. She watched Nick clean his hands with the towel, so she did the same and found it delightfully refreshing. The redhead took back the towels and returned with small cups of warm nuts.
They were Julia’s favorite. As she ate them, she looked over her shoulder and discovered that the door to the coach section was closed. “Are we the only ones receiving the towelettes and the nuts?”
“Yeah. They’ve got to give us some reason for paying the higher prices,” Nick said with a grin. When she stopped eating, he asked, “What’s wrong. Don’t you like them?”
“Yes, I do,” Julia said. “But don’t you feel bad eating in front of the others?”
He looked around with a frown. “Who? They’re all eating their nuts.”
“But not the passengers in coach,” she pointed out.
“Damn it, Julia, they don’t care about warm nuts if they get cheaper airfare!”
Julia nodded and ate another nut. But the difference in coach and first class still bothered her. “Are they being served anything?”
“They get a snack!” Nick snapped at her as if he’d had enough.
Why did he always seem to get irritated whenever she asked anything?
She stopped asking questions, stopped talking altogether.
When the meal was served, she ate her baked chicken in silence.
After a moment, Nick said, “Are you pouting?”
Julia looked up in surprise. “Why would you think that?”
He glared at her. “You stopped asking those ridiculous questions.”
“I don’t think concern for others is ridiculous. But it was obvious I was irritating you, so I stopped.” She took another bite of chicken and stared at the seat in front of her.
“Just like that? Because you figure out you’re irritating me?”
“Is that a problem?” she asked stiffly.
He stared at her before he said, “No. Not a problem. And I’m sorry I was so…impatient with you. I’m not used to having my lifestyle questioned.”
“I didn’t mean—Obviously I owe you an apology, too. It wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable. But our lifestyles, as you put it, are quite different.”
She was still avoiding his gaze. She almost jumped out of her seat when his warm hand settled on her arm. “W-What?”
He withdrew his hand at once. “I was trying to apologize,” he said.
“Not necessary. We have a deal. That’s all there is between us. I’m trying to make it as painless as it can be for both of us.”
Her response irritated Nick even more. What made her so perfect? She didn’t think they had anything personal going on? Why did she think he had let her come along? He could’ve managed without the information from her. True, he thought it might help to keep her mother under control if he had her along. But he could’ve managed just fine on his own!
She couldn’t be real, anyway. No woman worried about those less fortunate than herself when she was flying first class. At least, no woman he’d ever been with.
He figured she was putting on a show to convince him her mother wasn’t after their money. But she could give that up. He knew better than to buy her act.
When the flight attendant came to remove their meal trays, Nick realized Julia hadn’t finished. “Didn’t you like your lunch?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then why did you let her take your tray before you’d finished?”
She drew a deep breath. “I didn’t want to cause trouble.”
He closed his eyes, then opened them to stare at Julia. “Honey, you paid for first class. You can tell her to leave your tray until you finish.”
She shrugged. “Now I’ll have room for dessert,” she said, a smile on her lips. “Believe me, Nick, I would’ve kept it if I’d been starving. But I’m not.”
The dessert was worth it, a rich chocolate cake drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce and topped with raspberries.
Julia didn’t hesitate to dig in.
“Now you can have two desserts,” Nick told her. “I don’t really want mine.”
Julia looked at him. “No, thank you. It’s very good. You should try some.”
Disgruntled, Nick picked up his fork and took a bite. He didn’t really want the dessert, but he was miffed that Julia had turned him down. Once he tasted the dessert, he decided to eat it.
“How much longer until we reach L.A.?” Julia asked as she put down her fork.
“We’ve been in flight a little over two hours…It should be about forty-five minutes,” Nick said. “You looking forward to seeing your mother?”
“Yes, I am. Aren’t you looking forward to seeing your father?”
“Not really. He’s going to be upset when he sees me.”
“Because he knows you don’t believe him?”
He frowned. “Why should I?”
“Because he’s your father.”
“But he doesn’t love any of them. He’s easily convinced. When I face the woman, she’s willing to be bought off.”
“I see,” Julia said slowly.
“So I guess your mother is going to come into some extra money very soon. Do you want to negotiate the amount now so we’ll have that out of the way when we get there?”
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Judy Christenberry
For Julia Chance and Nick Rampling, chasing after her mother and his father was more than a search for eloping lovers; it was an exercise in frustration. Of all partners, how did a jet-setting millionaire get stuck with a prim virgin like Julia, who called him unfeeling and jaded? Still, Nick couldn't deny Julia intrigued him.After all, he appreciated a woman, just not a wife! But the more time he spent with Julia, sharing the same hotel rooms but enduring separate beds night after night, the more he wondered just which couple would make it to the finish line…er, altar…first!
“You’ve never been in love?”
Julia cocked her head as she stared at him, waiting for an answer.
He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “I’ve been in lust, Julia, more than once. And when I was young, I thought it was love. But time proved me wrong.”
“I—I’m sorry, Nick.”
Her unwanted sympathy irritated him. “I don’t need you to feel sorry for me, Julia. I’m fine the way I am. And if you think love is so important, why aren’t you married?” He was very interested in her answer.
“You can’t just decide to fall in love.” She shrugged. “I hope to fall in love one day. It just hasn’t happened yet.”
He saw the longing in her eyes, heard it in her voice and he felt a response in himself. One that scared the hell out of him.
Dear Reader,
No month better suits Silhouette Romance than February. For it celebrates that breathless feeling of first love, the priceless experiences and memories that come with a longtime love and the many hopes and dreams that give a couple’s life together so much meaning. At Silhouette Romance, our writers try to capture all these feelings in their timeless tales…and this month’s lineup is no exception.
Our PERPETUALLY YOURS promotion continues this month with a charming tale from Sandra Paul. In Domesticating Luc (#1802) a dog trainer gets more than she bargained for when she takes on an unruly puppy and his very obstinate and irresistible owner. Beloved author Judy Christenberry returns to the lineup with Honeymoon Hunt (#1803)—a madcap adventure in which two opposites pair up to find their parents who have eloped, but instead wind up on a tight race to the finish line, er, altar! In A Dash of Romance (#1804) Elizabeth Harbison creates the perfect recipe for love when she pairs a self-made billionaire with a spirited waitress. Cathie Linz rounds out the offerings with Lone Star Marine (#1805). Part of her MEN OF HONOR series, this poignant romance features a wounded soldier who craves only the solitude to heal, and finds that his lively and beautiful neighbor just might be the key to the future he hadn’t dreamed possible.
As always, be sure to return next month when Alice Sharpe concludes our PERPETUALLY YOURS promotion.
Happy reading.
Ann Leslie Tuttle
Associate Senior Editor
Honeymoon Hunt
Judy Christenberry
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Books by Judy Christenberry
Silhouette Romance
The Nine-Month Bride #1324
* (#litres_trial_promo)Marry Me, Kate #1344
* (#litres_trial_promo)Baby in Her Arms #1350
* (#litres_trial_promo)A Ring for Cinderella #1356
† (#litres_trial_promo)Never Let You Go #1453
† (#litres_trial_promo)The Borrowed Groom #1457
† (#litres_trial_promo)Cherish the Boss #1463
** (#litres_trial_promo)Snowbound Sweetheart #1476
Newborn Daddy #1511
When the Lights Went Out…#1547
** (#litres_trial_promo)Least Likely To Wed #1570
Daddy on the Doorstep #1654
** (#litres_trial_promo)Beauty & the Beastly Rancher #1678
** (#litres_trial_promo)The Last Crawford Bachelor #1715
Finding a Family #1762
†† (#litres_trial_promo)The Texan’s Reluctant Bride #1778
†† (#litres_trial_promo)The Texan’s Tiny Dilemma #1782
†† (#litres_trial_promo)The Texan’s Suite Romance #1787
Honeymoon Hunt #1803
Silhouette Books
The Coltons
The Doctor Delivers
A Colton Family Christmas
“The Diplomat’s Daughter”
Lone Star Country Club
The Last Bachelor
JUDY CHRISTENBERRY
has been writing romances for over fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. She’s a bestselling author for Harlequin American Romance, but she has a long love of traditional romances and is delighted to tell a story that brings those elements to the reader. A former high school French teacher, Judy devotes her time to writing. She hopes readers have as much fun reading her stories as she does writing them. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two adult daughters.
Contents
Chapter One (#u816fd595-0893-5de5-81df-334b876cbcf0)
Chapter Two (#ub67311e3-99cd-5dd3-99fb-3d75606a9c55)
Chapter Three (#u9be91538-746a-5abb-927a-e41b2bd3a492)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Julia Chance drove slowly down the block in her rental car, anxiously looking from one side of the street to the other, growing more and more uneasy as she went.
She was looking for the Hotel Luna. She was sure she’d followed directions, but she couldn’t imagine her mother being in this neighborhood.
Old, run-down buildings crowded each other in this area of Dallas. Minimarts, aglow with their bright interior lights, battled with the dark bars that found residence on at least every other street. Men loitered in dark alleys between the buildings, prompting her to step on the gas and keep moving.
There on the right, a couple hundred feet up, a small sign drew her attention. Hotel L*na. Despite the sign’s missing letter, Julia knew that had to be it. She drove up to the hotel and pulled to the curb, but hesitated. The hotel looked anything but safe. Surely her mother wouldn’t—
From inside the Hotel Luna a man came running, startling her. He was big, muscular, wearing a white knit shirt from what she could see in the dim street-light. Maybe he was running because he was in a hurry, or maybe he—
Just then, the passenger door was opened, cutting off her thought, and the man she’d glimpsed earlier jumped into her car.
“Step on it, lady!” he ordered with a growl.
Julia’s eyes widened in surprise. Almost as a reflex, she resisted. “I’ll do no such thing! Get out of my car or I’ll call the police!”
She heard a sound similar to a loud pop right before her windshield split. As it happened, the man beside her grabbed Julia and yanked her down.
“What’s going on? Who’s shooting at you?”
“I accidentally interrupted a drug deal,” the man growled.
It took a minute for her to put things together. By that time, another bullet had hit her windshield. Then pain from her right foot shot through her as the man did as he’d asked her to do.
He stepped on the gas pedal, pushing it to the floorboard, ignoring the fact that her foot was under his.
He also grabbed the wheel, rising up just enough to see over the hood.
Julia felt like a coward, but she couldn’t bring herself to sit up and face any more bullets. Who was shooting? It could be the police, for all she knew. Was the man in her car the target? This guy could be a criminal escaping.
Well, he’d carjacked the wrong woman! She straightened and tried to wrest the steering wheel from his grasp. “Take your hands off. I’m the driver!”
To her surprise, he released the wheel. “Then drive. Get on the freeway. The entrance is right here.”
“What if I don’t want to get on the freeway?”
“Then we’ll both be killed! You don’t have much choice.”
The sound of a car behind them had her looking in the rearview mirror, but she couldn’t see much.
“They’re after us!” Again he slammed his foot on hers to increase their speed.
“I’m going to call the police if you don’t get out right now!”
“Do you have a phone? I seem to have lost mine. But call the police! I’d be more than happy to see a black-and-white.”
“You would?” Julia asked, surprised by his answer. Surely he must be a bad guy, she thought.
“Yeah, but hurry. They’re closing in on us quickly.”
“Who? Who is—”
She ended her questioning as bullets began to fly in their direction again. This time, she raced for the freeway, actually running a red light as she noted there was no traffic coming. She’d never done such an outrageous thing in her life!
They shot onto the freeway—and were immediately pulled over by a police car.
“Oh, dear! I don’t know—”
“Let me handle it!” the carjacker/passenger snapped.
The officer knocked on the glass and waited for Julia to lower the window.
Then he said, “You folks have an emergency, or do you just ignore posted speed limits?”
“Yes, officer, we do have an emergency,” the stranger beside her said calmly. Even his body language spoke of ease, but Julia was shaking.
“As you can see, we’ve run into trouble,” he said, gesturing to the bullet holes in the windshield.
“Where were you when this happened?” the officer asked, studying the evidence.
“We were looking for the Hotel Luna on Westmoreland,” the man said, causing Julia to look at him sharply. He was going to the hotel, too? She eyed him up and down, taking in his neatly trimmed brown hair, white shirt and pressed slacks. Not exactly Hotel Luna clientele, she thought.
The cop shook his head. “Not a good neighborhood.”
“We discovered that.”
“Can you tell me who shot at you?”
The stranger shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you. We must’ve just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“All right. If you’ll both come to my patrol car, I need to take a report. Either of you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”
Both men looked at Julia, but she shook her head.
“No, we’re both fine. Just a little shocked,” the man answered.
“Then come with me.” The cop opened Julia’s door and escorted her back to his patrol car. He put her in the back seat while the man got in the front passenger seat.
First, the policeman used his radio to send some squad cars to the Hotel Luna. Then he took a clipboard and asked the man for his name.
Julia leaned forward, interested in that information herself.
Instead of speaking out loud, the man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a business card.
“Thank you…” The cop read his name. “Mr. Rampling. And is this your wife?”
“No! No, she’s not.”
Julia leaned forward and gave her name and home address in Houston.
“So you’re both from out of town? Where are you staying?”
Julia immediately supplied the name of the hotel where she was staying, including the street address. She frowned when Mr. Rampling just nodded. Was he staying there, too? It was way too coincidental for her.
Before she could protest, the policeman went on to their reason for being at the Hotel Luna. Again, she waited for his answer, wondering if her surmise was correct.
“We were looking for our parents. They told us they would be at that hotel, but they’ve led us on a wild-goose chase,” the man said, a sad expression on his face.
How did he know she was looking for her mother? And that her mother was with a man—apparently this Mr. Rampling’s father? How was it that he had all the details she was missing? She didn’t know the identity of her mother’s partner, only his first name.
And why was the young Mr. Rampling searching for his father?
At least, she thought, he wasn’t a carjacker.
The cop made some further notations, then said, “Okay, that about sums it up. If you’ll call before you leave town, we’ll let you know if we’ve found anything.”
Mr. Rampling extended his hand. “Thanks for your help.”
“No problem.” The officer turned to her. “Remember to follow the speed limit, ma’am. You don’t want to cause an accident.”
“Thank you,” Julia added, feeling she should express her appreciation, too.
“No problem, ma’am.” He put on his hat and helped her out to escort her back to her car.
Once behind the wheel, Julia closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.
“You okay?”
She glared at him. “Yes, no thanks to you!”
“Hey, would you have preferred to stay down there and get shot?” he demanded, irritated by her response.
“No, but—”
“But nothing! I did what I had to do. Now, let’s get going.”
“Going where?”
“To your hotel.”
“My hotel?” She stared at him, confused and shocked at his suggestion. Apparently young Mr. Rampling had lied to the officer. He wasn’t staying at the hotel, after all. But now he expected her to be hospitable. “You can’t be serious! You jump in my car, get me shot at, pulled over by a policeman, and you expect me to take you to my hotel? I don’t think so!”
“Look, lady, I just need to use a phone and have a safe place to wait until I get some help. I don’t think that’s asking too much.”
“Well, I do!” When he didn’t leave her car instantly, she said, “I’d have to be pretty stupid to do as you’ve suggested. You’d probably try to lure me into bed!”
“You have nothing to worry about there. You’re not my type!”
“What a relief! And that’s supposed to make me feel safe? Get out!”
“Take me to a phone before you throw me out. That’s the least you can do since I saved your life.”
He had a point. Not one she liked, but she couldn’t disagree with him. Of course, he was the reason they’d been shot at, but he had pulled her down and gotten them out of that place.
And most important of all, he had information she needed.
Driving down the freeway, she tried to sound casual as she asked, “Your father said he would be at the Hotel Luna?”
“Yeah.”
“And you assumed that’s why I was there, too?”
“Of course I did. Your mother is with my father. We both know that, so there’s no need to pretend any longer.”
“I’m not pretending anything. I’m here to find my mother!”
“So I figured. Why else would you be down in that neighborhood?”
Silence.
“How did you get there?” she finally asked.
“By taxi. The driver promised to wait, but must’ve driven away as soon as I was inside.”
“That was rather naive of you, wasn’t it?” she asked, feeling superior.
“Not if you knew what I’d paid him.” His voice sounded grim.
“Where are you from?” she asked.
“I’m from Kansas City.” After a pause, he asked, “Does your mother usually hang out in dives?”
Julia snapped her head around to frown sternly at him. “Of course not!”
“Well, it couldn’t have been my father’s idea. How did you find out about the Hotel Luna?”
“She wrote me and…told me she was staying at the Hotel Luna in Dallas.”
“My father wrote me the same thing.”
“So it could be your father who hangs out in dives.”
“No way!”
She gave him a hard stare and almost drove off the road.
He grabbed the wheel. “Pay attention to your driving!”
“Sorry,” she muttered. “Why are you so sure it wasn’t your father?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Were you worried about him meeting my mom?”
“No! I was worried about him shacking up with your mom.”
“How dare you! My mother would not do such a thing!”
“Then what made you come after her?”
Julia didn’t want to answer that question. Instead, she pulled off at the next exit. As soon as she saw a gas station with a phone booth on the corner, she pulled in. “Get out. There’s a phone booth. Make your calls and stay away from me and my mother!”
“Gladly, as long as you and your mother stay away from my father!”
She told herself she was relieved when he opened the door and got out of her car. She didn’t hesitate to drive away. But she watched him in her rearview mirror all the way back to the freeway.
Nick Rampling stared after the woman. She hadn’t seemed like the daughter of a schemer, but women had lied before. Especially to men with money. God knew, he’d tried to protect his father, but it hadn’t been easy.
What was he going to do now?
Pulling himself together, he headed for the phone booth. After tapping in the numbers of his calling card, he waited until he got an answer.
“Hello?” a groggy voice said.
“Mike, it’s Nick. I need your help.”
“Uh, sure, Nick. What can I do?”
“Do you have something to write with?”
“Just a minute.”
In the background, Nick could hear an irritated woman’s voice, sure it was Patti, his vice president’s wife. Mike assured her that nothing was wrong, that it was just Nick calling.
Nick did occasionally interrupt his people’s private lives, but he paid them well for the inconvenience.
“Okay, Nick, I’m ready.”
“My father wasn’t where he said he’d be. I think it was an obvious attempt to delay my finding him. Find out if he’s used his credit cards and where. And get Browning on the job. I want a full report in the morning. I’ll be at the—” He leaned out the telephone booth and then turned back to the phone. “I’ll be at the Motel 6 on Central Expressway in Dallas. Have him call me there.”
“The Motel 6?” Mike asked in astonishment.
“It’s the nearest hotel, and I don’t have any cash to get a taxi.” That afternoon he’d run off after his father in such a rush, he hadn’t stopped for cash. Nor had he thought of it. “I’ll need you to send some money to me. I doubt there’s a cash machine in the lobby.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll take care of everything,” Mike crisply agreed.
Nick suspected his right-hand man found it amusing that his boss was sleeping at an economy motel when he owned a dozen hotels renowned for their elegance. But Nick could manage for one night; he’d spent worse nights elsewhere.
The walk to the motel was short, but it gave him time to think about the young woman who’d just dropped him off. She had more spunk than he’d expected. At first, he’d thought she was an innocent who’d lost her way, till she told the cop her name.
Throughout the ordeal she’d never seemed jolted until he’d criticized her mother. Then she’d dumped him like a bag of trash. Unlike her mother, she must not know how much money he and his father had.
Or maybe she was playing the innocent. He’d been burned a few times by women who looked like one thing but were actually another.
He entered the motel and requested a room for the night.
“All right, sir. How did you want to pay for the room?” the clerk asked.
Nick pulled out his American Express card. “Will this do?”
The clerk relaxed. “Yes, of course. Do you have some ID?”
Nick showed his driver’s license.
The clerk examined it and visually matched the photo with Nick. He handed it back with an apology. “We have to be so careful these days.”
“Yeah,” Nick agreed. Wasn’t that the truth?
Julia tossed and turned all night, until finally morning dawned. She still had no idea where her mother was. If she was safe…and happy. A couple of days ago, Lois Chance had written a brief note telling Julia she wasn’t coming home to Houston as planned because she’d met Abe, who had persuaded her to stop off in Dallas. There was no last name, no other indication who Abe was.
Her mother had gone on a “summer in New York” tour with her best friend, Evelyn. AARP had offered the trip and promised it would be safe. Julia had approved her mother’s decision to go, feeling Lois had spent much too long mourning her husband’s death two years ago.
But there was a big difference in going on a trip with a female friend and deciding to make a stopover with an unknown man. After all, her mother was an innocent. An innocent with the proceeds from her husband’s insurance policy that was to provide for her financially for the rest of her life.
Moments after she’d read the note, it had occurred to Julia that her mother might have revealed that piece of financial information to Abe. As much as she didn’t want to think her mother might be deceived, Julia feared that had happened. Especially when she’d seen the Hotel Luna.
What should she do now?
Lying under the covers, she tried to think about her choices. She could call Evelyn and see if she’d heard from her mother. But she didn’t think—
Pounding on her door interrupted her thoughts.
Who could that be? She hurried out of bed and put on her robe. Then she tiptoed to the door and looked through the peephole.
With a gasp, she backed away from the door.
“Miss Chance? Are you in there?”
The voice had haunted her most of the night. It was Abe’s son, the one who had accused her mother of “shacking up” with his father.
Julia stood there for a moment, debating her choices. Then she reached for the knob. “Yes, I’m here, Mr. Rampling,” she said as she opened the door.
He looked at her from head to toe. “Sorry to wake you up. I supposed you’d be out looking for your mother.”
“I don’t know where to look. Do you?”
“Not yet, but I will. I have a few questions to ask you before I head out.”
“Head out where?”
He raised his eyebrows, which drew her attention to his remarkable blue eyes. In the darkness last night, she hadn’t been able to see them. “I’m the one looking for answers, Miss Chance.”
“No, Mr. Rampling, we’re both looking for answers. You just think you hold all the cards. But I’m not that gullible. I’ll answer your questions if you share your information with me.”
“You don’t have a bargaining chip in this search, Miss Chance. I can manage without information from you.”
Julia crossed her arms over her chest. “If that were true, Mr. Rampling, you wouldn’t be here.”
“Look, Miss Chance—”
“Oh, for heavens sake, call me Julia.”
“Okay, fine, Julia. I can get by without your information. But it might speed up the process if you’ll answer a few questions. In return, I promise to bring your mother back to you as soon as possible.”
“Not good enough, Mr. Rampling. I want to protect my mother, to make sure she’s not hurt. So either we share information or I tell you nothing.”
“Forget it. I’ll manage on my own.” He turned around and started walking away.
Julia dashed out past him so she could face him. “I won’t let you walk away. I’ll follow you.”
He gave her a leering grin. “In your nightgown? That should be interesting.”
Julia had forgotten she wasn’t dressed…or packed. It would take her at least half an hour to take care of those details, and she knew the man wouldn’t wait.
She felt her cheeks heating up and gathered the collar of her robe, pulling it closer together.
Suddenly he had a change of heart, one she didn’t understand. But she wasn’t going to argue about it.
“Meet me for lunch at the Mansion on Turtle Creek,” he said. “We’ll see what we can work out.”
“Where is the Mansion?”
He rolled those sparkling blue eyes. “It’s one of the most famous hotels in the world. Take a taxi. The driver will find it for you. One hour. If you’re not there, I’ll go on alone. Understand?”
“I understand, and I’ll be there,” she assured him. Wherever it was.
He gave her a sharp nod and walked around her down the hallway.
Julia hurried into her room to start packing. She only paused to dress. She didn’t bother to put on makeup. The man had already seen her with her face scrubbed clean. The important thing was her mother. She had to find out what had happened to her mother.
And his name. She’d like to know her new partner’s name, too.
Chapter Two
The maître d’ didn’t raise his eyebrows at her slacks and blouse as Julia walked into the stately mansion that was an elegant restaurant attached to the hotel by the same name. But he was a little surprised by her suitcase.
“Welcome to the Mansion, Miss. May I take your…suitcase for you?”
Julia let out a sigh. “Thank you so much. I turned in my rental car, and I didn’t have a place to leave it.”
“We’ll keep it safe until after you’ve dined. Will it be lunch for one?”
“Oh, no, I’m meeting Mr. Rampling for lunch.”
Instantly the man’s manner became respectful. “Right this way, Miss Chance. Mr. Rampling is waiting.”
He led the way into a second room that looked as if it had once been a library.
Julia joined him, trying to look at everything at once. She wasn’t prepared to see Mr. Rampling just yet. But there he was, waiting for her.
The maître d’ pulled out her chair and handed her a menu. “Your waiter will be right with you.”
“Hello,” Julia said to the man across from her.
“I’m glad you made it, Julia,” he said.
Her eyebrows rose. “You thought I’d give up on my own mother?”
“She’s with my father, you know, not some Mob guy.” He seemed affronted by her comments.
“I have only your word for his character,” she told him. She knew nothing of Abe Rampling. Or his son, for that matter.
Apparently, though, he was a mind reader.
“My father and I are in the hotel business, Julia.”
“Oh. Well, that doesn’t mean you aren’t connected to the Mob.”
“I think you watch too much television.” He glanced at the menu. “Have you chosen what you want?”
“No, I—It will just take a minute.” She opened her menu and sucked in air. The prices were discreetly printed on the menu, but that didn’t make them any easier to swallow.
As soon as she closed the menu, the waiter appeared at the table. Julia said, “I’ll have the tortilla soup.”
“Of course, madam. And the entrée?”
“No, that’s all.”
Though he looked surprised, he turned to Mr. Rampling. “And you, sir?”
“I’ll have the tortilla soup also. Then I want the sirloin cut with a broccoli side.”
“Yes, sir. How would you like that cooked?”
“Medium-well.” He looked at Julia. “Are you sure you won’t join me for a steak?”
“No, thank you. Oh, and we’ll need separate checks, please.”
The waiter appeared startled and looked at her dining companion.
“That won’t be necessary,” he said quietly.
Before Julia could protest, the waiter hurried away.
“Why did you do that?” she demanded.
“For the sake of my reputation,” he assured her with a smile.
“I couldn’t care less about your reputation!”
“Then feel free to leave,” he said softly.
Julia snapped her lips together. She couldn’t do that until she found out what he knew.
“Very well,” she said stiffly. “I’ll pay you after we leave here.”
With heavy sarcasm, he replied, “I think I can handle the price of a bowl of soup.”
“That’s not necessary. I pay my own way.”
“And what do you do for a living, Julia?”
She hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Come now, I’ve already told you what I do.”
“I’m a teacher,” she finally said.
He frowned. “Is that why you only ordered soup?”
“No! I—I just wasn’t hungry.”
“I’m willing to buy you lunch so I can get the information I need.”
“I have another price in mind,” she muttered. “Look, Mr.—You never told me your first name.”
“And that matters?”
She drew in another deep breath. “I thought we’d agreed to swap information.”
He looked at her as if he were testing her mettle. Then he said simply, “Nick.”
“Very well, Nick. I think we can share our information and be more efficient.”
“I’ll certainly be more efficient. But I don’t see the need for you to be efficient.”
“I want to find my mother as much as you want to find your father.”
“Why? My father is a great catch. I’m not surprised your mother trapped him.”
Julia drew back, anger filling her. “My mother never set out to seduce your father. She’s never done that!”
“You don’t know that.”
His matter-of-fact tone made her crazy. “Yes, I do,” she snapped.
Nick leaned in closer, as if letting her in on a secret. “Look, Julia, my father loves women. Your mother’s not the first one who thought it would be easy to latch onto our fortune.”
Fortune…? As if a lightbulb had lit up over her head, Julia realized he was Nick Rampling of the Rampling Hotels. She remembered reading about him recently. Wealthy, successful and a real catch, judging by the eye candy constantly photographed on his arm. His father had retired some years ago, leaving Nick to run the family business, worth hundreds of millions.
But Nick wasn’t the focus of their talk; her mother was.
Mustering an attitude, she replied, “My mother doesn’t need your money!”
“Independently wealthy, is she?”
Certainly not on the Rampling scale, she thought. But Lois Chance was comfortably well off.
The waiter’s arrival gave her a reprieve from having to answer.
The waiter carefully placed each bowl in front of them. “Enjoy,” he murmured as he withdrew.
“I believe they’re famous for this particular soup,” Nick said.
“It’s quite good,” Julia said politely, as if she were attending a social tea.
“Are your parents divorced?” Nick asked after spoonful.
“No. My father died two years ago.”
She was afraid he would say something offensive. Holding on to her temper, she waited for his response.
All he said was, “I’m sorry.”
She looked up, shocked by his sensitivity.
“Why do you look so surprised? You think I can’t sympathize?”
“I’m sorry,” she hurriedly apologized.
“That doesn’t make me any happier that your mother latched onto my father, but at least she’s not bitter.”
She should have known, Julia thought. She’d obviously been suckered by Nick. “I take back my apology!”
“No need to be difficult, Julia.”
“No need to be insulting, Nick.”
He smiled. “All right, now we can get down to business.”
She stared at him, not sure exactly what he meant.
“Has your mother dated much since she became a widow?”
“Of course not. That’s why—” She stopped abruptly.
“That’s why what?” Nick asked, staring at her.
Julia lifted her chin. “That’s why I encouraged her to go on the trip. She had mourned too long.”
“So you sent her off to find a new man?”
“Absolutely not! I—I encouraged her to go on a tour to NewYork. She needed to start enjoying life again.”
“With my father?”
“I didn’t know your father and you know it! I thought she’d go to a few shows and do some shopping with her friend Evelyn.”
“So you don’t know your mother as well as you thought, do you?”
“I know my mother. I don’t know your father!” Nor did she know his son. But what she saw, she didn’t like.
The waiter returned to collect their plates and serve Nick his meal.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“Yes, bring the lady some crème brûlée, please, so she’ll have something to eat.”
“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.
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?”
Chapter Three
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.
All things…
She wasn’t experienced in that way, either. Not that Nick would ever find out. She’d gotten engaged in college and her fiancé had tried to force her into bed with him. But she’d resisted and had broken off the engagement.
When she felt Nick moving beside her, she stretched. “I’m sorry. Did I miss anything?”
“No. You must not have slept well last night.”
Julia looked away. “No, I was worried about my mother.”
“Are you worried about whether she’ll appreciate your concern?”
“No. I know she’ll appreciate it.”
“Trust me, Julia, I can tell you from experience, your mother will not want your interference. My father never does.”
Julia gathered her courage. “You make it sound as if he elopes every week.”
“Not quite that often.” Nick shrugged. “But I’ll admit this is the first time he’s ever chosen an older woman. However, if your mother looks anything like you, I’m not surprised.”
“I suppose you think I should be flattered, Nick, but I’m not. In order to marry her, a man should feel more than admiration for a woman’s looks. Looks fade. Her soul is always there.”
“And you think my father is in love with your mother’s soul? Right.” He looked as if he were about to laugh.
“Yes, I do, because my mother wouldn’t marry a man just because he flatters her.”
Her chin was in the air. She was not going to allow him to destroy what her mother must be feeling now. That was the very reason she was along on the trip to Los Angeles.
Turning toward the window, she ignored Nick. His opinion of his father’s behavior wasn’t encouraging. But she was relying on her mother’s behavior. She knew her mother would not be with Abe Rampling if she didn’t believe that she loved him…and that he loved her.
At fifty-two, Lois Chance was young enough to start a new life, but still old-fashioned enough to not sleep around with strange men interested only in a fling. She was a levelheaded woman who would have to have a good reason to do something impetuous.
The flight attendant brought warm, damp towels, much to Julia’s surprise. She watched Nick clean his hands with the towel, so she did the same and found it delightfully refreshing. The redhead took back the towels and returned with small cups of warm nuts.
They were Julia’s favorite. As she ate them, she looked over her shoulder and discovered that the door to the coach section was closed. “Are we the only ones receiving the towelettes and the nuts?”
“Yeah. They’ve got to give us some reason for paying the higher prices,” Nick said with a grin. When she stopped eating, he asked, “What’s wrong. Don’t you like them?”
“Yes, I do,” Julia said. “But don’t you feel bad eating in front of the others?”
He looked around with a frown. “Who? They’re all eating their nuts.”
“But not the passengers in coach,” she pointed out.
“Damn it, Julia, they don’t care about warm nuts if they get cheaper airfare!”
Julia nodded and ate another nut. But the difference in coach and first class still bothered her. “Are they being served anything?”
“They get a snack!” Nick snapped at her as if he’d had enough.
Why did he always seem to get irritated whenever she asked anything?
She stopped asking questions, stopped talking altogether.
When the meal was served, she ate her baked chicken in silence.
After a moment, Nick said, “Are you pouting?”
Julia looked up in surprise. “Why would you think that?”
He glared at her. “You stopped asking those ridiculous questions.”
“I don’t think concern for others is ridiculous. But it was obvious I was irritating you, so I stopped.” She took another bite of chicken and stared at the seat in front of her.
“Just like that? Because you figure out you’re irritating me?”
“Is that a problem?” she asked stiffly.
He stared at her before he said, “No. Not a problem. And I’m sorry I was so…impatient with you. I’m not used to having my lifestyle questioned.”
“I didn’t mean—Obviously I owe you an apology, too. It wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable. But our lifestyles, as you put it, are quite different.”
She was still avoiding his gaze. She almost jumped out of her seat when his warm hand settled on her arm. “W-What?”
He withdrew his hand at once. “I was trying to apologize,” he said.
“Not necessary. We have a deal. That’s all there is between us. I’m trying to make it as painless as it can be for both of us.”
Her response irritated Nick even more. What made her so perfect? She didn’t think they had anything personal going on? Why did she think he had let her come along? He could’ve managed without the information from her. True, he thought it might help to keep her mother under control if he had her along. But he could’ve managed just fine on his own!
She couldn’t be real, anyway. No woman worried about those less fortunate than herself when she was flying first class. At least, no woman he’d ever been with.
He figured she was putting on a show to convince him her mother wasn’t after their money. But she could give that up. He knew better than to buy her act.
When the flight attendant came to remove their meal trays, Nick realized Julia hadn’t finished. “Didn’t you like your lunch?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then why did you let her take your tray before you’d finished?”
She drew a deep breath. “I didn’t want to cause trouble.”
He closed his eyes, then opened them to stare at Julia. “Honey, you paid for first class. You can tell her to leave your tray until you finish.”
She shrugged. “Now I’ll have room for dessert,” she said, a smile on her lips. “Believe me, Nick, I would’ve kept it if I’d been starving. But I’m not.”
The dessert was worth it, a rich chocolate cake drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce and topped with raspberries.
Julia didn’t hesitate to dig in.
“Now you can have two desserts,” Nick told her. “I don’t really want mine.”
Julia looked at him. “No, thank you. It’s very good. You should try some.”
Disgruntled, Nick picked up his fork and took a bite. He didn’t really want the dessert, but he was miffed that Julia had turned him down. Once he tasted the dessert, he decided to eat it.
“How much longer until we reach L.A.?” Julia asked as she put down her fork.
“We’ve been in flight a little over two hours…It should be about forty-five minutes,” Nick said. “You looking forward to seeing your mother?”
“Yes, I am. Aren’t you looking forward to seeing your father?”
“Not really. He’s going to be upset when he sees me.”
“Because he knows you don’t believe him?”
He frowned. “Why should I?”
“Because he’s your father.”
“But he doesn’t love any of them. He’s easily convinced. When I face the woman, she’s willing to be bought off.”
“I see,” Julia said slowly.
“So I guess your mother is going to come into some extra money very soon. Do you want to negotiate the amount now so we’ll have that out of the way when we get there?”
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Judy Christenberry
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: For Julia Chance and Nick Rampling, chasing after her mother and his father was more than a search for eloping lovers; it was an exercise in frustration. Of all partners, how did a jet-setting millionaire get stuck with a prim virgin like Julia, who called him unfeeling and jaded? Still, Nick couldn′t deny Julia intrigued him.After all, he appreciated a woman, just not a wife! But the more time he spent with Julia, sharing the same hotel rooms but enduring separate beds night after night, the more he wondered just which couple would make it to the finish line…er, altar…first!