mobile—"
"The second time," I interrupted. "When he called you back to complain. Why didn't you just hang up?"
"Would you?"
He had me there. "Did you at least tell him that I
wasn't
your woman and
nobody
could control me?"
"And ruin the hail-fellow-well-met mood that kept him talking? Not likely." Lex studied my expression, his own guarded. "Not to mention, I like him underestimating me. Just think of me as a double agent."
Unfortunately, I'd already been thinking of him that way for a couple of months now. It wasn't the most stable ground on which to build our relationship.
He leaned forward. "Maggi, I had business in the city—important business like you can't imagine—but I dropped it
For you
. I got here in under twenty-four hours, which wasn't easy, all because I was worried about you, and you're sitting over there looking at me as if
I'm
still the bad guy. Can't we put a moratorium on arguing at least until after dinner?"
Over there
was all of three feet away. In fact, our feet were framing each other's on the floor between us.
"You did it for you," I insisted, fully aware of how childish I sounded and resenting being made to feel that way. "I asked you not to come, and you came anyway."
"Maybe nobody can control me, either." His words came out a lot more seriously than I thought he meant them to. But he had a point there, as well. Which was no reason I should drop my own plans—
Except that I didn't have plans, at least not for dinner. And I
was
hungry. When he silently extended a hand, his golden eyes pleading, I abandoned my righteous indignation for the time being and reached for it.
His strong fingers closing around mine felt so necessary, on so many levels, that I experienced a chill of foreboding.
Not danger. My throat didn't hurt.
But I couldn't help wondering how much more than three feet still lay between us, after all.
And how bad a thing that was.
Dinner was… wow.
The Corniche, where Lex had found this restaurant, is the main seafront boulevard in Alexandria , a long crescent following the harbor. We were led onto a tiled balcony that held only four tables, draped in intricately embroidered cloths, diners given privacy by potted palm trees. Discreet fans assisted the sea breeze in cutting the oppressive heat. The pierced stone railing, all arabesques and Persian arches, was the only thing that separated us from a breathtaking view of the harbor, the medieval fort beyond it, and the Mediterranean Sea beyond that. Lights glanced off black waves. Stars glinted in the night sky. Exotic music on lutes and drums drifted over us from a higher balcony.
This place had to cost a fortune, even considering the exchange rate.
"Let me guess," I said, as Lex held my chair for me. "You're buying, right?"
"It's the least I can do after barging out here against your express wishes." He expertly pushed my chair back under me as I sat, then seated himself across the table with equal grace.
I knew full well that I was being manipulated—but that was the problem with dating someone as wealthy as Lex. Sometimes, when you've had a day or two as frustrating as mine had been, the temptation was just too great.
I capitulated with a condition. "As long as you know you aren't staying. Here in Egypt , I mean."
"You can't think I'm going home without—" Lex stopped when our waiter, turbaned and obsequious, handed us ornate menus. The man also placed on the table tall glasses of water and bowls of some kind of delicacies—I recognized olives and figs. Not together, of course.
"Sure you are," I insisted. "You have business in
New York
, right? Important business like I can't imagine, you said. Speaking of which… " I took a sip of water, in which floated a slice of lime, to hide my lingering sense of foreboding. Or maybe it was merely good, old-fashioned suspicion. "Just what kind of business was that, again?"
"Nothing you'd be interested in."
"Which means, nothing you're able to tell me." And the
"The second time," I interrupted. "When he called you back to complain. Why didn't you just hang up?"
"Would you?"
He had me there. "Did you at least tell him that I
wasn't
your woman and
nobody
could control me?"
"And ruin the hail-fellow-well-met mood that kept him talking? Not likely." Lex studied my expression, his own guarded. "Not to mention, I like him underestimating me. Just think of me as a double agent."
Unfortunately, I'd already been thinking of him that way for a couple of months now. It wasn't the most stable ground on which to build our relationship.
He leaned forward. "Maggi, I had business in the city—important business like you can't imagine—but I dropped it
For you
. I got here in under twenty-four hours, which wasn't easy, all because I was worried about you, and you're sitting over there looking at me as if
I'm
still the bad guy. Can't we put a moratorium on arguing at least until after dinner?"
Over there
was all of three feet away. In fact, our feet were framing each other's on the floor between us.
"You did it for you," I insisted, fully aware of how childish I sounded and resenting being made to feel that way. "I asked you not to come, and you came anyway."
"Maybe nobody can control me, either." His words came out a lot more seriously than I thought he meant them to. But he had a point there, as well. Which was no reason I should drop my own plans—
Except that I didn't have plans, at least not for dinner. And I
was
hungry. When he silently extended a hand, his golden eyes pleading, I abandoned my righteous indignation for the time being and reached for it.
His strong fingers closing around mine felt so necessary, on so many levels, that I experienced a chill of foreboding.
Not danger. My throat didn't hurt.
But I couldn't help wondering how much more than three feet still lay between us, after all.
And how bad a thing that was.
Dinner was… wow.
The Corniche, where Lex had found this restaurant, is the main seafront boulevard in Alexandria , a long crescent following the harbor. We were led onto a tiled balcony that held only four tables, draped in intricately embroidered cloths, diners given privacy by potted palm trees. Discreet fans assisted the sea breeze in cutting the oppressive heat. The pierced stone railing, all arabesques and Persian arches, was the only thing that separated us from a breathtaking view of the harbor, the medieval fort beyond it, and the Mediterranean Sea beyond that. Lights glanced off black waves. Stars glinted in the night sky. Exotic music on lutes and drums drifted over us from a higher balcony.
This place had to cost a fortune, even considering the exchange rate.
"Let me guess," I said, as Lex held my chair for me. "You're buying, right?"
"It's the least I can do after barging out here against your express wishes." He expertly pushed my chair back under me as I sat, then seated himself across the table with equal grace.
I knew full well that I was being manipulated—but that was the problem with dating someone as wealthy as Lex. Sometimes, when you've had a day or two as frustrating as mine had been, the temptation was just too great.
I capitulated with a condition. "As long as you know you aren't staying. Here in Egypt , I mean."
"You can't think I'm going home without—" Lex stopped when our waiter, turbaned and obsequious, handed us ornate menus. The man also placed on the table tall glasses of water and bowls of some kind of delicacies—I recognized olives and figs. Not together, of course.
"Sure you are," I insisted. "You have business in
New York
, right? Important business like I can't imagine, you said. Speaking of which… " I took a sip of water, in which floated a slice of lime, to hide my lingering sense of foreboding. Or maybe it was merely good, old-fashioned suspicion. "Just what kind of business was that, again?"
"Nothing you'd be interested in."
"Which means, nothing you're able to tell me." And the
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