close to, then I found you
taking more candy from the jar than you asked for, you wouldn’t find me sitting
by the phone either. We’ll just have to let her decide when she’s ready to come
back.”
“But what about her job?”
“She doesn’t need that job, or any other job for that matter.
Her parents left her so well off that she wouldn’t have to work a day in her
life if she chose not to. She just does it to have something to occupy her time
now that she’s all alone.” For Tess, lying came as second nature and she had
perfected it to an art. “So don’t be surprised to find that she’s decided to
quit playing secretary and take up a new hobby for a while.”
“Oh.” He jammed his hands into his pockets and contemplated
the toe of his boots for a few seconds. “Then where does she go when she needs
to get out of town?” Christian asked brusquely, not liking the way the
conversation was going.
“Boy, you really have it for her bad, don’t you, Christian?”
Tess had perched herself on the balustrade encircling the patio and was
gleefully swinging her legs back and forth as she teased him. She might have
forgiven him for his earlier outburst but she was far from ready to forget it,
or let him off the hook without a few repercussions. “Don’t you have a dozen or
so tellers and bookkeepers anxiously waiting for you to get back to Tacoma?”
“I told you I wasn’t going back to banking, so no, I don’t
have anyone waiting for me at home,” Christian replied impatiently. “Now, about
the places Whitney likes to go?”
“Uhmmm, let’s see,” Tess said at length, enjoying putting
Christian through a little hell of his own. She hadn’t appreciated him yelling
at her one bit.
“She did mention that one day she might like to visit the
nude beaches on the Riviera, or maybe catch some of the night life in Rio.” At
the look of skepticism she received she went on, relishing each opportunity to
remind him that he had made a huge mistake putting Whitney in the same class
the other women in his life fit into. “Oops, my mistake. That must have been
some other friend because we both know our little Whitney wouldn’t act like
that.”
“Tess,” Christian said menacingly.
“Oh, all right. But I still don’t see why it’s so important
for you to talk to her. We both know she’s not your type, so why not just move
on to the next beautiful female to catch your eye and let Whitney be?”
Christian wondered the same thing but he instead answered
vaguely, “I have my reasons.”
“I’ll just bet you do,” Tess agreed knowingly.
“Are you going to answer my question or do I have to drag it
out of you?” Christian actually looked as if he would the way he cocked one
eyebrow at Tess in a silent dare for her to continue dodging the issue.
“Still the tyrant when it gets right down to it I see,” she
laughed. Tess had always been allowed to press him further than anyone else but
she could see he was quickly approaching the end of his patience, given what
little he possessed of the quality.
“She’ll go to the mountains, I’d bet my last dollar on it. She
almost always goes where she can either see or be near them. She says they help
fill her soul, or some such nonsense. Personally, I think she must have fallen
off one at some point or another, because I fail to see the attraction.”
Christian did. At every turn it seemed he moved closer to
Whitney. There were too many coincidences between the lives they led for him to
believe their meeting had been just chance. The love of mountains, the
Victorian furnishings, these things told him that she longed for the same
things he did. A simple existence. Freedom to be who he really was. Could it be
she felt the same way?
“What kind of mountains does she like?” he wanted to know as
he drummed his fingers along the railing.
“How many kinds are there? The tall, pointy, snow-capped
ones, I would guess.”
Christian grinned and rephrased his
taking more candy from the jar than you asked for, you wouldn’t find me sitting
by the phone either. We’ll just have to let her decide when she’s ready to come
back.”
“But what about her job?”
“She doesn’t need that job, or any other job for that matter.
Her parents left her so well off that she wouldn’t have to work a day in her
life if she chose not to. She just does it to have something to occupy her time
now that she’s all alone.” For Tess, lying came as second nature and she had
perfected it to an art. “So don’t be surprised to find that she’s decided to
quit playing secretary and take up a new hobby for a while.”
“Oh.” He jammed his hands into his pockets and contemplated
the toe of his boots for a few seconds. “Then where does she go when she needs
to get out of town?” Christian asked brusquely, not liking the way the
conversation was going.
“Boy, you really have it for her bad, don’t you, Christian?”
Tess had perched herself on the balustrade encircling the patio and was
gleefully swinging her legs back and forth as she teased him. She might have
forgiven him for his earlier outburst but she was far from ready to forget it,
or let him off the hook without a few repercussions. “Don’t you have a dozen or
so tellers and bookkeepers anxiously waiting for you to get back to Tacoma?”
“I told you I wasn’t going back to banking, so no, I don’t
have anyone waiting for me at home,” Christian replied impatiently. “Now, about
the places Whitney likes to go?”
“Uhmmm, let’s see,” Tess said at length, enjoying putting
Christian through a little hell of his own. She hadn’t appreciated him yelling
at her one bit.
“She did mention that one day she might like to visit the
nude beaches on the Riviera, or maybe catch some of the night life in Rio.” At
the look of skepticism she received she went on, relishing each opportunity to
remind him that he had made a huge mistake putting Whitney in the same class
the other women in his life fit into. “Oops, my mistake. That must have been
some other friend because we both know our little Whitney wouldn’t act like
that.”
“Tess,” Christian said menacingly.
“Oh, all right. But I still don’t see why it’s so important
for you to talk to her. We both know she’s not your type, so why not just move
on to the next beautiful female to catch your eye and let Whitney be?”
Christian wondered the same thing but he instead answered
vaguely, “I have my reasons.”
“I’ll just bet you do,” Tess agreed knowingly.
“Are you going to answer my question or do I have to drag it
out of you?” Christian actually looked as if he would the way he cocked one
eyebrow at Tess in a silent dare for her to continue dodging the issue.
“Still the tyrant when it gets right down to it I see,” she
laughed. Tess had always been allowed to press him further than anyone else but
she could see he was quickly approaching the end of his patience, given what
little he possessed of the quality.
“She’ll go to the mountains, I’d bet my last dollar on it. She
almost always goes where she can either see or be near them. She says they help
fill her soul, or some such nonsense. Personally, I think she must have fallen
off one at some point or another, because I fail to see the attraction.”
Christian did. At every turn it seemed he moved closer to
Whitney. There were too many coincidences between the lives they led for him to
believe their meeting had been just chance. The love of mountains, the
Victorian furnishings, these things told him that she longed for the same
things he did. A simple existence. Freedom to be who he really was. Could it be
she felt the same way?
“What kind of mountains does she like?” he wanted to know as
he drummed his fingers along the railing.
“How many kinds are there? The tall, pointy, snow-capped
ones, I would guess.”
Christian grinned and rephrased his
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