Читать книгу Honeymoon Hunt - Judy Christenberry, Judy Christenberry - Страница 9

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?”