Did she mention it?'
'Yes, she did. She wanted me to tell you she's sorry they weren't more hospitable.'
Kate laughed. 'Hospitable? That's something Isabel would say, all right. She probably thinks they would have been nicer if I'd offered them a beverage.'
'Don't sell her short, Kate. There's a brain hiding inside that blond hair. I'll tell you what. She's going to break a lot of hearts.'
'I worry about her,' she admitted. 'She's too trusting.'
'You want her to be more cynical?'
'Like me?'
'You're not cynical. You're scared.'
'Scared of what?'
'Me.'
'Ha.' Oh, that was an intelligent, well-thought-out response. 'Why didn't you tell me Isabel was on the phone?'
He grinned. 'I didn't want to.'
'Why not?'
'I was having too much fun watching you get all riled up.'
Had her body language been that easy to read?
Kate made the mistake of trying to bluff her way through the awkward conversation. 'Why would I get riled up?'
'You thought I was talking to a girlfriend.'
Okay, trying to bluff had been a mistake, she realized. Better not to say anything.
'You're not denying it?'
'Would you believe me if I were?'
'Nope.'
'Then I won't.'
Determined to ignore him, she stared out the window and tried to be fascinated by the scenery. The tarred road they were on wound through a collage of colors. They passed an old, deserted fruit stand, and a few minutes later a black-water lake came into view.
'You know what I find real interesting?' he asked. 'You keep insisting that our night together in Boston was a mistake.'
'That's right, it was. And it cannot happen again. It was an unusual circumstance, but now that we're back to normal-'
'This is normal?'
She had to wait for him to stop laughing before she could continue. 'Apparently I need to explain my actions again.'
He groaned. 'You're not going to give me the that-was-then lecture again, are you?'
He was beginning to infuriate her. 'Do I need to?'
'You seem to enjoy giving that speech,' he replied. And before she could interrupt, he added, 'What I find interesting is that you don't want me to touch you, but when you thought I was talking to a girl back home, you got all riled up. That's a contradiction, isn't it?'
She needed to stop being defensive and embarrassed. 'You enjoy flirting,' she said. 'And that's fine with me. But you know as well as I do that a relationship with me would be a disaster. Eventually you're going to go home, and you would feel terrible if you hurt me when you ended it, and I'd feel terrible if I hurt you by ending it, and it's just not worth it.'
'You forgot to mention Jordan this time.'
Rattled, she said, 'I what? What do you mean 'this time'?'
'The last time you told me a relationship with you wouldn't work, Jordan was at the top of your list of reasons.'
'I've said all of this before?'
'Pretty much.'
That took the wind out of her sails. 'Then I shouldn't have to go through it again, should I? I value Jordan's friendship… did I mention that?'
'Sure did. You also told me you didn't want it to be awkward.'
He was sounding slightly patronizing now. 'So you were listening and you do understand.'
'Yes,' he said. 'And I agree. Getting involved is a bad idea.'
She knew she should be relieved that he agreed with her, and yes, she was relieved, but did he have to agree so quickly?
She wasn't being logical. The problem was, she didn't know what to do about it.
Exhaustion and stress. Perfectly sound reasons for being so contradictory.
'I have every right.'
'Excuse me?'
Great. She was in worse condition than she'd realized. Now she was thinking out loud.
'I'm stressed, and I have every right to be stressed, and do you know why?' She continued before he could say a word. 'Someone out there is trying to blow me up.'
'Katie…'
'I'm tired,' she said. 'Since I came home from Boston, I've felt like a punching bag. I think it's time for me to start punching back.'
He nodded approval. 'That's good to hear. As long as you know who to punch.'
'Oh, I've got a few people in mind.'
They rode along for several minutes in silence, and she asked, 'Why can't I use my cell phone?'
'I'm probably being overly cautious, but when I heard that Jackman could be involved and probably is, I didn't want to take any chances. A cell phone is easy to pinpoint, and calls, just like regular phones, can be traced if you've got the right equipment.'
'You told me Jackman was a loan shark. Would he have that kind of capability?'
'He's a whole lot more than a loan shark, and if he doesn't have the capability, he knows people he can lean on who do.'
The man sounded like a monster. A chill ran down her spine. 'Have you told anyone where we'll be spending the night?'
'No, not a soul. I thought we'd head to Charleston. I'll find a hotel there, maybe on the outskirts.'
'The closer we get to Silver Springs, the happier I'll be.'
'We're going to have to figure out what to do about tomorrow. We can't go back to Savannah.'
'No, we can't,' she agreed. 'But until I sign those papers…'
Chapter Twenty-eight
The hotel was packed, yet Dylan managed to get them a lovely room-all without showing any identification, as far as Kate could see. She waited across the lobby and watched the master at work. The person behind the counter was a young woman, and Dylan was Mr. Charismatic. It took him less than five minutes to get her to blush and hand him the key. Kate thought she might have handed him her phone number, too.
The room was well appointed and spacious and had a breathtaking view of the ocean. There were two queen-size beds which the maids had already turned down for the night.
As soon as the bellman left, she asked Dylan, 'What did you have to promise that woman to get this wonderful room?'
'I can't give away trade secrets,' he said. He unzipped his garment bag and hung his clothes in the walk-in closet.
She grinned. 'You just can't help it, can you?'
