and Lina had returned from their shopping spree. Since then she hadn’t heard a word from him. In spite of all her common-sense resolutions, there was nothing she could do about the sudden leap of her heart.
Jax let himself inside the room quietly in case Sunny was sleeping. Since he’d left that morning, he had packed enough clothes for several days, dealt with the mail and the latest batch of phone messages at his apartment. They’d all been of a personal nature, including one from the woman he was currently seeing, reminding him of the birthday dinner he’d promised her.
He’d clean forgotten it.
Next, he’d met with a real estate agent to spell out his requirements, talked at length to a representative of the shipping firm that owned the vessel involved in the October oil spill, to the Coast Guard exec in charge of the cleanup and to someone from the governmental Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
He’d dealt with two minor cases, taped responses to several letters for Lina to transcribe and gone shopping for a birthday gift suitable for a woman with whom he’d shared a lackadaisical six-month affair.
While he was at the jeweler’s, he’d impulsively selected a sterling silver mug and had it engraved, “To Sunny from Daddy, with love.”
“Hi, is she asleep?” he whispered, closing the door silently behind him.
“I just put her down again. She’s still making noises. I think she’s practicing to surprise you with her vocabulary.”
“What vocabulary? I haven’t heard anything that sounded like words yet.”
“That’s because you don’t know what to listen for.”
Jax tried not to stare at the tall, elegant creature with the cheekbones and the big, rain-colored eyes. She was wearing the same old terry cloth robe. On her it looked sexy as the devil.
Which just went to show that he’d pushed the limits today, after a night in which he hadn’t slept more than a few hours.
He dropped his briefcase on the French Provincial desk and crossed to the miniature bar. “Drink?”
“I made coffee.”
“I need something stronger. Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I—”
“I’ll order. I skipped lunch. What do you feel like tonight, steak? Seafood?”
What she felt like was something homey, like stewed chicken and biscuits, something that didn’t make her feel so much like an imposter. Which was ironic for someone who, if things had worked out, would have been dining on the high seas tonight on such exotic fare as lobster and caviar.
She said, “Maybe chicken again.”
It was the strangest thing. Hetty couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something was different. Tonight they sat across the table, dining together on a room-service dinner, neither of them listening to the all-news station Jax had turned on when he’d first come in.
They’d done more or less the same thing last night, but then they’d both been exhausted, travel-stained and worried.
Tonight was different. It could have been the hotbath, or the sip or two of wine—she hated to waste anything that cost so much. Whatever the cause, for reasons she couldn’t begin to understand, Hetty was acutely aware of her body in a way she hadn’t been since the early days of her marriage.
“Did you find everything you needed today?” He broke off half a roll and topped it with butter.
“Mercy, more than enough. Wait’ll you see the bills.”
“Have some more wine.”
“No, thank you. I thought about getting a stroller and a playpen, but decided I’d better ask you first.”
Jax topped off her wineglass, which had hardly been touched, then watched as she sipped it. She tilted her head as if surprised, then sipped again. “You know, it’s not at all bad once you get used to it. The only other wine I’ve ever tasted was sickly sweet.”
“Buy whatever you need. Lina can tell you where I have accounts.”
“I spent an enormous amount today, I hope you don’t mind. And you need to know in case you ever have to buy
Jax let himself inside the room quietly in case Sunny was sleeping. Since he’d left that morning, he had packed enough clothes for several days, dealt with the mail and the latest batch of phone messages at his apartment. They’d all been of a personal nature, including one from the woman he was currently seeing, reminding him of the birthday dinner he’d promised her.
He’d clean forgotten it.
Next, he’d met with a real estate agent to spell out his requirements, talked at length to a representative of the shipping firm that owned the vessel involved in the October oil spill, to the Coast Guard exec in charge of the cleanup and to someone from the governmental Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
He’d dealt with two minor cases, taped responses to several letters for Lina to transcribe and gone shopping for a birthday gift suitable for a woman with whom he’d shared a lackadaisical six-month affair.
While he was at the jeweler’s, he’d impulsively selected a sterling silver mug and had it engraved, “To Sunny from Daddy, with love.”
“Hi, is she asleep?” he whispered, closing the door silently behind him.
“I just put her down again. She’s still making noises. I think she’s practicing to surprise you with her vocabulary.”
“What vocabulary? I haven’t heard anything that sounded like words yet.”
“That’s because you don’t know what to listen for.”
Jax tried not to stare at the tall, elegant creature with the cheekbones and the big, rain-colored eyes. She was wearing the same old terry cloth robe. On her it looked sexy as the devil.
Which just went to show that he’d pushed the limits today, after a night in which he hadn’t slept more than a few hours.
He dropped his briefcase on the French Provincial desk and crossed to the miniature bar. “Drink?”
“I made coffee.”
“I need something stronger. Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I—”
“I’ll order. I skipped lunch. What do you feel like tonight, steak? Seafood?”
What she felt like was something homey, like stewed chicken and biscuits, something that didn’t make her feel so much like an imposter. Which was ironic for someone who, if things had worked out, would have been dining on the high seas tonight on such exotic fare as lobster and caviar.
She said, “Maybe chicken again.”
It was the strangest thing. Hetty couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something was different. Tonight they sat across the table, dining together on a room-service dinner, neither of them listening to the all-news station Jax had turned on when he’d first come in.
They’d done more or less the same thing last night, but then they’d both been exhausted, travel-stained and worried.
Tonight was different. It could have been the hotbath, or the sip or two of wine—she hated to waste anything that cost so much. Whatever the cause, for reasons she couldn’t begin to understand, Hetty was acutely aware of her body in a way she hadn’t been since the early days of her marriage.
“Did you find everything you needed today?” He broke off half a roll and topped it with butter.
“Mercy, more than enough. Wait’ll you see the bills.”
“Have some more wine.”
“No, thank you. I thought about getting a stroller and a playpen, but decided I’d better ask you first.”
Jax topped off her wineglass, which had hardly been touched, then watched as she sipped it. She tilted her head as if surprised, then sipped again. “You know, it’s not at all bad once you get used to it. The only other wine I’ve ever tasted was sickly sweet.”
“Buy whatever you need. Lina can tell you where I have accounts.”
“I spent an enormous amount today, I hope you don’t mind. And you need to know in case you ever have to buy
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