The door closed behind him and Rik was gone. Where, Hallie didn’t know, couldn’t imagine, wasn’t entirely certain she cared. Except now that she was alone, she didn’t want to be.
Her headache wrapped around her brain like a flannel blanket, muffling her usually crisp, clean morning thoughts. Her stomach growled and she alternately eyed the cup of orange juice and the can of V8 juice and reminded herself that she didn’t handle acidic foods well. The pretzels were fat free, but the sodium content was very high, which might be okay if she had a gallon of water to drink with them. There was only tap water, though, and with everything else that had gone wrong on this trip, she hated to take chances with her drinking water.
Too bad she hadn’t been more particular about what she poured down her throat last night. Tequila probably wasn’t filtered for purity. But then, neither were the random glimpses of last night that ricocheted at odd intervals through her memory, bebopped across her mind’s eye and gave her a chill of embarrassing recognition. Not that any singular memory was stand-alone awful, but the whole bundle together was enough to submarine her self-confidence. She couldn’t have been dancing in the lobby last night. She’d remember doing something so…so out of character.
But already this morning, Babs had mentioned a dancer as if she knew what she was talking about. Dan had mentioned a dancer as if he knew what he was talking about. And Rik had said…
I’ve seen you naked.
Humph. She’d like to know exactly how he’d managed to justify taking her clothes off.
No, she wouldn’t
Yes, she would.
No. Definitely no. Some things were better left to the imagination.
She only wished the last twenty-four hours had been one of them.
With a groan, Hallie picked up the energy bar, tore open the wrapper and bit off a mouthful. It was actually more like sawing off cardboard with her teeth, but then, food that took effort to chew was usually better for the digestive system.
But what she wouldn’t give for a Hershey’s candy bar right now.
Hershey’s bar. Hershey’s Kiss. Rik’s kiss. Rik.
She would not think about him. He was no gentleman. Taking advantage of her sorry situation to get her out of her clothes, teasing her, kissing her….
Giving her his room—well, trying to, at any rate— keeping Babs away from her, ordering breakfast, bringing her not just a change of clothes but an abundance. He’d provided necessities she hadn’t yet thought about needing. He’d even gotten snacks because she’d been cheated out of breakfast and he thought she might still be hungry. He’d rescued her from the balcony without chiding her for going outside in the first place.
So, okay. Just because his manners were a little on the rough edge was no reason to deny he possessed some gentlemanly traits. He had lived in the jungle, for heaven’s sake. Miss Manners Saves the World probably didn’t make the top ten reading lists there. All of which meant that Rik’s behavior wasn’t the problem. It was her reaction to his behavior that bothered her.
Gnawing on the energy bar, Hallie decided she owed Rik a measure of gratitude. He shouldn’t have kissed her, certainly, but she could have—should have—made it clear she didn’t want to be kissed. Instead, she’d enjoyed it, responded to it, liked it. She was fairly certain he knew that, too.
Lord, her head hurt. She would never, ever, for the rest of her life, take another sip of tequila. She’d be a model of propriety from now on. Hawaii wasn’t on her short list of preferred places to be. It wasn’t even in the top hundred. But since the Brewster wedding had brought her to Paradise, she’d make the best of it, avoid any excess exposure to the island atmosphere and stay as far away from the ocean as possible.
While she was at it, she’d stay as far as possible from the attractive man who just happened to be sharing his room with her.
Recognizing Rik had good points didn’t change the basic truth that he had his own agenda. He’d told Jack he was keeping the bachelor party’s entertainment under wraps. He’d told her he had a few surprises in store for Jack. Hallie didn’t like surprises in conjunction with one of her weddings. If Rik was planning to play some tasteless joke at Friday night’s party, he’d have to do it over her dead body. Which, considering how she felt at the moment, wasn’t out of the question.
But she’d be better by Friday night, and she’d make certain Rik’s silly surprise wouldn’t spoil even a single moment for Jack and Stephanie. It was, after all, what the Brewsters were paying her to do.
FROM WHERE HE WAITED by the bank of pay phones, Rik observed the lobby. The woman at the concierge desk reminded him of Stephanie, except she was shorter, darker and rounder and looked nothing like Stephanie at all. Earlette was working the front desk, which must mean someone hadn’t shown up for their shift. She was looking a bit frazzled, but her smile still carried a sincerely warm welcome. He was going to like living in Hawaii. He was going to like flying tours between the islands, being married, having kids, putting down roots….
Leaning his shoulder against the booth divider, he wished the woman on the other end of the phone would take him off hold. She was checking on a costume, but the longer it took, the less he was sure this baby idea was a good one. If it worked, Jack would still be single come Sunday morning and Stephanie would be looking at him, Rik, in a new light. Well, it might not be quite that simple, but—
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Barney isn’t available, but we do have a nice Big Bird, if you’d want that.”
Big Bird. Wasn’t that something like a stork? “The bird’ll be great,” he told her. “You have all the instructions, right? And my credit card number. Anything else you need?”
“Normally, there’s an extra charge for making a special delivery along with the singing telegram, but since we couldn’t provide the costume you originally requested, I’m going to waive that fee.”
“Thanks, I appreciate your help. You’re sure the telegram will arrive as scheduled tomorrow afternoon? Without fail?”
The woman laughed. “Barring complications, Big Bird will be there.”
Complications were exactly what Rik hoped would arise from this little escapade. He was beginning to feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing, but damn it, he had to do something to stop Jack from going through with this, There was no other way Rik could see to clobber his buddy’s complacent rush into this misconceived state of matrimony. It wasn’t as if Rik wouldn’t be right here to oversee this small practical joke. He could step in the minute things got out of hand. If they got out of hand. Which they wouldn’t. Jack just needed a jolt to open his eyes to the sham his marriage would be, and Rik felt sure this little delivery would do it
Now, all he had left to do was to check with his sister, Lynn, and make sure she still intended to leave baby Sam with his uncle Rik for a couple of hours tomorrow afternoon. And if this didn’t turn the tide, Rik had no idea what else he could do. Except stick to Hallie like a saddle bur and do his damnedest to interfere with the wedding arrangements.
“This is strictly confidential,” Rik reminded the woman who’d taken his order. “I don’t want my friend to be able to call you and find out I’m the one who set him up. At least, not right away.”
“We’re very good at keeping secrets here at Patty’s Party-Grams, Mr. Austin. Thank you for calling. I believe you’ll be very happy with our services.”
“I’m counting on it,” he said.
THE PHONE SHRILLED and Hallie gave up on the idea of taking a nap. The darn thing hadn’t stopped ringing for the past ten minutes, and even with the pillow stuffed on top of it, she could hear every jarring jangle. It no longer mattered to her who was calling whom, or whether she was supposed to answer or not supposed to answer, whether she was supposed to be in this room or another one. She just wanted the ringing to stop, so she stopped it.
“Hello” she said into the mouthpiece.
“Ms. Bernhardt.” Babs’s voice tapped across the phone line like a redheaded woodpecker on a hollow tree. “I thought I would never reach you. Do you know they have lost you at the front desk?”
Hallie wasn’t surprised to hear it After yesterday, she wouldn’t be surprised to learn her birth certificate had been revoked. “I’m here,” she said, as brightly as possible. “On the job.”
“I am relieved to hear it. In the last hour, I’ve been told you were given the wrong room when you arrived, that you checked in, then checked out, and that now they have no record of you in the reservations computer at all. But, as I told Danny, I knew you had to be here and that there was simply an error on the part of the hotel. Frankly, Hallie, I expected a bit more from this hotel. You gave it such a glowing recommendation, I felt comfortable sending that enormous check, sight unseen. I realize we’ve only been here since yesterday, but I have to tell you I’m bothered by a few things.”
Hallie eyed the bed with desperate longing, but there was no escape.
“The orchids.” Babs began listing, and Hallie reluctantly, but quickly, picked up a pen and began making notes on a pad of hotel stationery. “Have you checked with the hotel to make certain we can keep them in the restaurant refrigerating unit until the last possible moment? Well, I have, and the kitchen manager was not at all encouraging. He was almost rude. And the chef…”
Those last three words somehow formed a complete sentence that spelled trouble. Big trouble. Hallie said a silent prayer that Jacques hadn’t been offended. It had taken her an entire month of phone calls to persuade the chef to agree to make the wedding cake himself. He was touchy, she knew from experience. One wrong word from Babs, much less several words together, and there could be major problems already on tap.
“Jacques,” she wrote on the notepad.
“Also,” Babs continued, “I think you should call the weather bureau. This wind will ruin the effect of the waterfall and I’ve invested too much time, energy and money into this wedding to allow it to be ruined by a passing hurricane.”
“Weather is one of the variables we discussed, Mrs. Brewster, if you recall. It’s always a factor, and since we can’t control it, we will simply work around it.”
“I hope you can get a commitment from the hotel groundskeeper, because I couldn’t. I merely asked him about moving some trees closer to the lanai where the ceremony will be held, and he was quite snippy about refusing.”
Hallie didn’t know why Babs hadn’t just asked him if he’d mind putting up a seawall between now and Saturday. A pretty one, made out of seashells to complement the bridal bouquet. “I’ll talk to him,” she said, and wrote “Harold” on the pad.
“I do hope you’ll call the weather bureau. All these special reports on the television and radio are nerveracking for a woman of my sensibilities, you know. I’m not sure I can survive this wedding.”
A sentiment Hallie had heard repeated any number of times since Babs Brewster first walked into her office. She’d just never really thought about how much easier this wedding would be to carry off if that particular sentiment came true. “I’ve never lost a mother of the bride yet,” Hallie said cheerfully, and added “hitman” to the list. “You hired me to worry about these things, remember? I’ll take care of everything. You relax and enjoy these couple of days before Stephanie arrives. She’ll be here Friday evening, right?”
“That’s another thing. I’ve been calling her, telling her she needs to change her plans and arrive sooner than that.” Babs’s sigh was heavy with the frustrations of motherhood. “She’s so conscientious, you know. Can’t leave the office until her desk is cleared. That sort of nonsense. Honestly, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you thought Stephanie wasn’t excited about her own wedding. Which she is, of course.”
“Of course she is.” Hallie had pegged this bride as brilliant from day one. Stephanie Brewster obviously had no illusions about the kind of wedding she would have, whether she wanted it or not. So she’d wisely given her mother carte blanche and stayed as far from the wedding plans as possible. Hallie only wished she could have afforded to do the same. But this was her business, she was damn good at it, and Babs was merely an experience she’d look back on with satisfaction and a ton of relief. “Stephanie will love the orchids. You were absolutely right to insist on having enough to fill the entire staging area in front of the waterfall. It’s going to look just gorgeous.”
Babs’s pleasure flowed through her voice like fine wine. “Isn’t it, though? I’m beside myself with anticipating the moment Stephanie and Jack see the lanai all covered in orchids on Saturday’ Her tone changed. “If this terrible wind doesn’t ruin everything. You will talk to the groundskeeper right away, won’t you?”
“Right away,” Hallie said, and underlined Harold’s name.
“And you will inform that dreadful man in the kitchen that we do, indeed, require the entire refrigerator from Friday night until Saturday noon?”
“Consider it. done.” She circled Jacques’s name in ink.
“Wonderful. Now, if you’ll just tell me your room number, I’ll let you get on with your work.” There was the sound of a drawer being opened with a creak. “Wait, let me find a pen so I can write it down.”
Not in this lifetime, Hallie thought. “There’s someone at the door, Mrs. Brewster. I’ll phone you later.”
“No, wait! I nearly forgot the reason I called you. You’ll need to contact someone about getting Danny a tuxedo. Can you believe the man cannot locate his pants anywhere? I can’t imagine what he’s done with them, but I’d rather buy an extra tuxedo than have him fret over those pants. You will take care of that for me, won’t you, Hallie?”
“Absolutely,” she assured Babs, and wrote down “Dan’s pants.” Not that she believed Danforth Brewster could work up a good fret even if he’d lost every pair of pants in America. “Now, I really must see who’s at the door. Goodbye, Mrs. Brewster.”
“Keep me informed” were Babs’s last words before Hallie cradled the receiver and sank onto the edge of the bed. As if there could be anything Hallie might know that Babs hadn’t discovered first Why had she ever agreed to do this wedding? It had shouted “Headache” from the introductory call. Not just out of town, this wedding had to take place half a world away. Not just an absent bride and groom, neither one had even been available to speak to Hallie about the arrangements. Not just another family, this was the Brewsters, one of the most influential names in all of Boston.
Which was the reason Hallie was here now. Business was business, no matter how much of a nuisance the mother of the bride turned out to be. And Babs was going in the record books…right after Hallie proved she could deliver the perfect wedding, no matter where, no matter who, no matter what the weather. Picking up the notepad, she read over the list of potential hazards and decided to tackle the easy one first It would drive Babs crazy to have to rent a tux for Dan, but Hallie wasn’t about to take him shopping and she didn’t see how she could find time to argue about tuxedo pants. If Mr. Aloha Formalwear was good enough for the groom— and it had been Jack’s choice—it was good enough for the father of the bride.
And the best man.
Making arrangements to have Rik and Dan measured for a tux would be a simple matter of scheduling, she thought as she found the Honolulu phone number in her briefcase and put in a call to Mr. Aloha. One simple call and her sense of accomplishment was on the rise.
At least it was until the phone failed to produce any more than a busy tone and an oft-repeated message to hang up and try the call again. Okay, she’d move on to the next item on her list and try the call again later!
Jacques, the chef. The arrogant, irritable genius whose own staff referred to him as the Pope of Pastries and Pout He hadn’t taken well to the idea that the Brewster-Keaton wedding cake had to meet certain standards. Babs’s standards. Hallie had had to compromise her principles and promise him a night of secret passion—a rendezvous with a box of Mallomars, his weakness—in order to coax him into saying yes. She did not think she could deal with Jacques and her hangover at the same time. He could wait.
Harold. One glance out the window at the clouds and the peach-bra wind sock told her that Harold had more important matters on his mind right now than weatherproofing the lanai.
Which brought her back to Mr. Aloha. Somewhere in this hotel, sometime today, there would have to be a free phone line that could connect her with Honolulu. She’d try the call again…just as soon as she found that bottle of pain reliever Rik had bought in the pharmacy, just as soon as she washed down a couple of the nonacidic aspirin with the acidic orange juice.
What the hell. This morning was not going to get better, anyway.
THE CONNECTION WAS scratchy at best. “Mr. Aloha Formal wear?” Hallie repeated. “Honolulu?”
“Yeah. What d’ya want?”
This definitely was not the cultured man she’d conducted her business with long-distance not two months ago. “Could I speak with Mr. Reynolds, the owner?”
“Yeah, you could…if he was here, which he ain’t.”
“When will he return?”
“Didn’t say. You wanna leave a message?”
“Is there someone there who can assist me with a rental order?”
“Yeah. Me. What d’ya want to rent?”
She had a bad feeling about this, but she told him anyway.
“YOU’RE SURE YOU WANT to do this?” Rik couldn’t believe he’d said that, especially when his sister’s laugh echoed over the phone line.
“If you’re feeling that apprehensive about babysitting your nephew, I can leave Sam home with a sitter,” Lynn said. “But last week you said you wanted to watch him while I went to my doctor’s appointment. Honestly, Rik, it isn’t like you’re going to have him for longer than three or four hours at the most. And he still takes long afternoon naps. Besides, you’re usually better with him than his own daddy. Keanu is still scared to death that Sam is going to break.”
“He isn’t, is he? Going to break, I mean?”
She laughed again. “Of course not. Sam is made of sturdy stuff. He’s half-Austin, remember? I suspect in another few months, he’ll be making even you wish you were in better shape to keep up with him.”
“You’re sure?” Rik asked, knowing in his heart of hearts that he should not be making plans involving his nephew. “He’s barely eight months old. Maybe I shouldn’t—”
“If you’re trying to tell me you’ve had a better offer for tomorrow afternoon, you’d better think again. Being uncertain about your baby-sitting skills is one thing. Dumping your nephew for some skinny blonde in a skimpy bikini is another.”
“No. Save me from skinny blondes. Plump ones, too, for that matter. I’d rather be with Sam any day. He smiles at my jokes and laughs when I make a face. No blonde has ever come close to liking me as much as he does.” Rik was nuts about the little guy and he did want to see him, spend time with him. And maybe he wasn’t crazy to think that a couple of hours with a great kid like Sam would squeeze Jack’s tough-nut heart and make him realize what he’d be missing if he went through with this wedding. “Of course I want to babysit tomorrow. Just tell me where to meet you and what time.”
She did.
RIK INSERTED THE KEY CARD into the door of room 1413 and waited for the green light before he reached for the latch.
“Psst!”
He looked over his shoulder at the deserted hallway, looked in the other direction at the same empty view, then pushed open the door with the heel of his hand.
“Psst! Rikr
This time he knew he hadn’t imagined the reedy whisper and he turned around, scanning for the source, as the lock clicked back into place behind him. At the end of the hall nearest his room, the fire escape door opened a crack. A half inch, maybe three-quarters, but not more. And sticking out of the opening was a finger. A woman’s finger, crooked and beckoning him down the hall.
Whatever this was about, it ought to be good. “Tell me quickly,” he whispered as he stepped into the stairwell and saw Hallie. “Are we on the trail of the elusive lingerie? Or is this a romantic assignation?”
“It’s an assignation, all right. Minus the first three syllables.”
Her morning obviously wasn’t going as well as his. “What are you doing out of the room? I thought you were going to take a nap.”
“I had to use the phone.” Her hazel eyes seemed brighter, sharper than the last time he’d looked into them like this.
He snapped his fingers, realizing why she looked different, like a little girl with pudgy cheeks and flyaway hair surrounding a serious, studious face. “You’re wearing your glasses…and a sweater.” Pausing, he stepped back to note the eclectic mix of poppy red sarong and brick red, cotton cardigan. “Your glasses. My sweater. Are you cold?”
“I’m locked out.”
“Hmm, usually women lock themselves in my room, not out of it”
She frowned. “Have you been drinking?”
“I must have had three glasses of orange juice already this morning, and it isn’t even eleven o’clock.”
She wrinkled her nose. “The acid in the juice doesn’t bother your stomach?”
“Nothing bothers my stomach.”
“It’s early yet. Look.”
He arched a brow. “At you?”
“No, look down the hall.” As he was about to yank open the door and take a look around, she stopped him. “Don’t open it all the way, for Pete’s sake. Be discreet He might be out there.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Aloha.”
“Mr. Aloha?”
She peeked under his arm at the scant inch of visible hallway. “Trust me, you don’t want to be found.”
“I don’t?”
“Well, I don’t. I suppose you can decide for yourself.”
“Which is why you lured me into the fire escape for this little rendezvous?”
Her chin came up and she stepped away from the door. “If I had wanted to lure you, Rik, I’d have hung out a neon sign with a big green arrow pointing at the door handle. As it happens, I called you in here to warn you.”
He was beginning to like the sound of this. “Okay, here I am. Warn me.”
She cocked her head at an angle, and behind the slightly bent, duct-taped pewter frames, her hazel eyes nailed him. “You know, you deserve what’s going to happen to you.”
“I certainly hope so. I’ve worked hard all my life to get my just deserts.”
“Fine. I wash my hands of you.” She demonstrated the effect by dusting her hands. “Just remember when it comes time for Mr. Aloha to measure you, I tried to save you from embarrassment.”
“All right, Hallie, I’ll bite. Who is this Mr. Aloha and why do you believe he’s going to embarrass me?”
“Mr. Aloha Formal wear is the shop I asked to handle the tuxedo rental. You need a tuxedo for Saturday’s wedding. Therefore, Mr. Aloha needs your measurements.”
“For an Aloha lei?”
She didn’t even smile at his joke. “For a standard tux.”
“Ah.” He nodded sagely. “The standard tuxedo measure. And you thought that would embarrass me?” Rik laughed. “Really, Hallie, that’s sweet and all, but believe me, there isn’t any part of my anatomy that won’t measure up. Certainly nothing I’ll be embarrassed about.”
She eyed him with tightly pursed lips. “I don’t know what I was thinking. You obviously are a man among men and this won’t bother you one teeny, tiny bit.” Grabbing the door, she jerked it open and then closed it just as quickly with a shove. “He’s out there!”
“Mr. Aloha? Let me see.”
“Jack.” She splayed herself against the door, holding it closed, even though it was under no threat of being opened. “At least, I think it’s Jack. He’s built like a football player and he’s wearing a football jersey.”
“Blue or green?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Makes a lot of difference if you’re on the opposing team. Let me take a look.”
“No.” She kept him back with a narrowed gaze. “If he realizes we’re in here, you’ll just invite him in, and frankly, this is not a good time.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m having a heck of a good time.”
“You’ve been in the jungle too long, Rik.”
“Several people have said that to me lately. It doesn’t offend me, you understand, but it does sound a trifle condescending. Sort of like a polite way of calling me an ape.”
“There isn’t a polite way to call you an ape. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I was merely saying that your idea of a good time needs a serious overhaul.”
“Isn’t that just like a woman? You’ve known me less than twenty-four hours and already you’re trying to change my spark plugs.”
“Men.” She rolled her eyes and made a hundredand-eighty-degree turn, cracking the door once again. Rik tilted his head to the side and glanced over her head “He’s at our door,” she said in a sinking voice. “You’d better go out there and stop him.”
“Psst! Jack!” Leaning over her, Rik sent a loud whisper through the door crack before she slammed it closed, almost taking off the tip of his nose.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, wide-eyed.
“You said to stop him.”
“I said go out there and stop him. Not invite him in here.”
“He’s a nice guy. I’ll vouch for him.”
“Sh! Will you keep your voice down? I’d prefer to meet the bridegroom under more positive circumstances.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he’ll enjoy meeting you under any circumstances.”
“This is not a good time for me to make Mr. Keaton’s acquaintance,” she said tightly.
“Why not? He has a sense of humor.”
“Considering he’s been living with you for the past several years, that isn’t reassuring. I’m not taking any chances on him confusing me with the ex-ah-tic dancer you’ve hired for his bachelor party. I have to protect my business and professional reputation, Rik. I can’t have Jack Keaton or Dan Brewster or anyone else thinking I’m some sex kitten, sharpening my claws on your bedpost while I wait for Friday night.”
The image was a tad overpowering, coming from a woman who had, only an hour ago, responded to his kiss with more primness than purring. “Sex kitten?” he said with a slow grin. “You?”
It was the wrong thing to say. The glint of annoyance in her eyes crystallized into a challenge as she whipped off the pewter-rimmed glasses and stared him down. At least she tried. He knew she couldn’t have him in focus at this range and he was pretty certain she preferred it that way. But for a moment, watching her defenses rise like a trout to the fly, he could only admire her selfprotective technique. Any man in his right mind would kiss her about now. Before she opened her mouth and gave him what for.
“Mr. Austin,” she said crisply. “Regardless of your opinion, there are men who find me quite attractive.”
“Wait a minute. There’s a broad jump between saying a woman is attractive and referring to her as a sex kitten. I never said you weren’t attractive.”
She clasped her hands at her breast. “I will carry your so gallant compliment with me to my dying day.” The hands returned to guard the door. “In the meantime, please keep in mind that I am a professional. I’m going to do whatever I have to in order to bring off Saturday’s wedding with style and good grace. Babs Brewster hired me to ensure that everything goes according to her plan. She won’t, and I can’t, tolerate any tasteless practical jokes in connection with this wedding.”
Rik felt the blood surge to his face. She couldn’t know about that. He’d only just gotten off the phone after making the arrangements with Patty’s Party-Grams and Lynn. He wasn’t even sure he would follow through with the idea of dropping a baby on Jack’s doorstep. So how could—
“Whoever you’ve hired as entertainment for Friday night—and I have no interest in knowing her name, nationality or vital statistics—better keep a low profile. Because I’m on the job and I’ll be keeping an eye out for trouble.”
The tap on the door behind her came so abruptly it startled her and she jumped up and forward…right into Rik’s arms. He staggered a little with the unexpectedness of having his arms full of female, but he recovered as Jack opened the stairwell door and looked in.
“Excuse me’ Jack said. “I was looking for a ninetypound weakling. Guy named Austin. You two haven’t seen him, have you?”
Hands locked behind his neck, Hallie stared dismally at Rik, then at Jack, and whispered a sickly “No.”
“See what happens when you keep an eye out for trouble?” Rik told her. “It walks right up and knocks on your door.” Lowering her carefully to the floor, he couldn’t help thinking Jack usually got the better of him in moments like this. “Great timing, Jack,” he said. “But wrong stairwell. The ninety-pounder is in the fire escape at the other end of the hall.”
Jack’s knock-’em-dead smile turned full strength on Hallie. “Hello,” he said. “I’m Jack Keaton. And you must be the entertainment—”
“Committee,” Rik inserted smoothly.
“Consultant,” Jack finished with a you-didn’t-reallythink-I-was-going-to-say-what-you-thought-I-was-going-to-say-did-you look. “I’m so happy to meet you. Rik was telling me over the phone how extraordinarily talented you are.”
Hallie’s shoulders went back and her chin came up so fast the top of her head nearly whacked Rik in the chest “Really?” Her laugh was two seconds’ worth of pure nerve-racking beauty. “Trust me, he doesn’t even know the extent of my talents. I can be very entertaining. Depends on how much I like you.”
Jack blinked, and his wary eyes sought Rik’s with a question, which Rik couldn’t have answered even if his speech mechanism hadn’t been held hostage by surprise. The best he could manage was a don’t-ask-me shrug.
“Well,” Hallie continued in a satisfied, tight little voice, “now that we’re all acquainted, let’s go to your room, Rik. I think it’s time we took a few measurements.”
Keaton’s gulp was audible in the stairwell and Rik only wished he could swallow his own astonishment. Whatever Hallie was doing, he wished she wouldn’t. Although, on the other hand, this was the first time since the wedding announcement he’d seen anything more than a despondent resignation in Jack’s eyes. Panic wasn’t exactly the substitute he’d hoped for, but it was a start.
If Jack could only meet another woman, someone who could ignite his interest and stake a real claim on his heart, he’d have to give up the idea of marrying Stephanie. Hallie wasn’t the woman, of course. She’d drive Jack nuts in a matter of minutes. But she had the advantage of being close and of being the only person in recent memory to get any reaction out of Jack at all. He didn’t like the look in her eye, but he’d be damned if he was going into that bedroom with her alone. Whatever she had in mind, he figured he could use a witness. “Sure,” he said. “Let’s all go to my room. I have the key right here in my pocket.”
“You know,” Jack said, “I’d really love to join you, but I just remembered I signed up for a tennis lesson.”
“There’s no charge for no-shows,” Hallie told him as if she knew. “And Rik is going to need assistance. Aren’t you, Rik?”
He wasn’t going to argue with that “I am, Jack.” Signaling his best friend with every subtle nuance at his command, he willed Keaton to hang tight and stay close. “I really am.”
Jack clapped his hand on Rik’s shoulder and squeezed. “Sooner or later, old pal, a man has to fly solo. You know what they say…two’s company.”
“Oh, but Mr. Keaton,” Hallie said brightly. “We need you to make a foursome. Me and you, Mr. Austin and Mr. Aloha.”
This time, Rik was the one who gulped. He smiled, desperately at Jack. “Would you excuse us for a moment, please?”
Jack nodded and was in the hall before the last echo of the request faded down the stairwell. Rik frowned suspiciously into Hallie’s audaciously innocent expression. “What in hell are you trying to do? I thought you were worried about your reputation? I thought you didn’t want anyone to confuse you with a, quote, ‘sex kitten,’ unquote?”
“Me?” Her eyelids batted up and down, up and down. “You don’t honestly believe anyone could confuse me with a quote, ‘sex kitten,’ unquote?”
He wouldn’t have believed his remark could have struck such a nerve with her, but she was obviously very protective of her image. He just couldn’t figure out what image she was trying to protect…or at what cost. “I thought you had better sense.”
She arched that saucy little eyebrow at him and his heart took a swan dive. “I’m only trying to make sure everyone, including Jack, gets his just deserts.” She patted his arm. “It’s a tough job, but that’s what I get paid the big bucks to deliver. You might want to keep a close eye on your spark plugs, though. I yield a mean torque wrench.” With a rebellious flip of her hair, she followed Jack into the hall.
Feeling a tad on the vulnerable side and a whole lot intrigued, Rik went after her.