Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“Yes, the issue has been dealt with satisfactorily. I’m good. If I have a bad moment, I don’t want you to think I’m panicking without merit, though. I might have panic attacks just at the thought of being in a committed relationship, since I’ve never really been in one before.”
“This is going to be interesting, the two of us navigating our way together, since neither of us know what a good relationship is. We’ll just make our own rules.”
“Good. Rule one. You tell me when you’re worried about something.” Vienna pounced when she could.
He laughed and lifted his head, his dark eyes going velvet soft. “I can see you’re going to be relentless when you want something.”
“Yes. That’s why I’m good at search and rescue. I don’t give up until I find who I’m looking for and bring them home.”
Zale pushed himself into a sitting position. “I know you need to eat. You never want to after playing poker, but you need to. You can order dinner, and while we’re waiting for it, I’ll tell you what I think is going on.”
He wasn’t exactly telling her she had to eat, but he put the phone in front of her along with the menu. “Would you order me a steak with the prawns this time, everything on the baked potato. Salad on the side and the brussels sprouts special. That beet thing looks good. Do you want to share it? What dessert do you want to get this time?” He paced across the room and then back again to pick up the menu and look at it a second time.
“You have it memorized,” she said, trying not to laugh, because, really, he did.
“I know, but if I stare at it, items jump out at me. Look at this one. I never really noticed this one before. Grilled mahi-mahi. Some sort of lemon sauce that sounds fantastic.”
She couldn’t hold back her laughter. He clearly loved food. “Should I just order one of everything on the menu? I could go down the list.”
“If you didn’t eat like a little bird, we could do that and share. As it is, make sure you order something I’ll enjoy too, because you never finish your plate.”
“How is it you don’t gain tons of weight?” she demanded.
“It’s called a metabolism, Snowflake. What are you ordering besides all the fruit on the menu? We need whipped cream too.”
“We do?”
“Yep. I’ve got plans for later tonight. Serious plans, so whipped cream and a good bottle of champagne.” He paced away from the bed again and then came back to peer over her shoulder. “If you get that prawn dinner you love, I’ll switch to lobster with my steak.”
“I might get pasta.”
“You always say you might get pasta, but you don’t actually order pasta. You go back to the prawns. And you love the New England clam chowder.”
“Only if I can get fresh garlic bread.”
“At this point, Vienna, you’re the golden girl. They’re afraid you might sue them, so they’ll give you anything you want. You want garlic bread, if they don’t have it fresh, they’ll find someone who can make it for you. Hell, they might already know my background and call me on my cell to have me come downstairs to whip it up.”
She laughed again. That was one of the things she loved about being with Zale most—he could make her laugh. “I’ll order you the lobster and me the prawns and I’ll get the chowder. It’s going overboard to get the mahi-mahi too. You can order that from your room.” She picked up the phone.
“Dessert,” he mouthed. “Whipped cream. Strawberries.”
Laughter bubbled up again as she ordered what she was certain was enough food for ten people. She let him help her up so she could make her way to the cuddle chairs in the huge living room. That way, when the food came, she could bring the cart inside the door herself.
“Did Rainier stay in the suite tonight?” She wanted to find a way to subtly bring the conversation back to Zale’s problem of the missing agents and whether or not his cover had been blown.
“Yes. He normally goes down to gamble this time of night. He plays the big spender at the craps table, women hanging all over him, drinks a bit, but not too much, always the gentleman, but we were both fairly certain someone tried to kill him last night by poisoning his drink. He wasn’t the one who drank it. One of the ladies at the craps table had been wrapping her arms around his neck and blowing on his dice for him. He picked up the drink and she took it out of his hands and downed it herself, smiling at him. Looking him right in the eye. She went down hard, straight to the floor. Just collapsed.”