that no one else would realize that the relic was anything other than an alien curiosity. Nevertheless, he wanted it in his possession as quickly as possible.
One thing was clear now: Davis Oakes was a problem. Any ghost hunter capable of destroying a doppelganger without generating green fire had to be taken seriously. More crucially, Oakes appeared to have Celinda Ingram in his control. That meant that she was the key to the missing relic.
He rezzed the computer and searched for everything he could find on Celinda Ingram, professional marriage consultant. Everyone had a weakness.
He discovered Celinda’s in less than five minutes.
Chapter 12
MRS. FURNELL WAS WAITING AT THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS. Celinda, preparing to lock her door, looked down and got a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Luck had been with her earlier when Trig had left. Mrs. Furnell had evidently not heard him descend the stairs. But she was lying in wait for Davis. It was too much to hope that she would not know that he had spent the night.
Davis was halfway down the stairs, a suitcase in either hand, Max perched on his shoulder. He nodded pleasantly at Betty when he reached the front hall.
“Good morning, Mrs. Furnell,” he said.
“I thought I heard someone coming down the stairs.” She chuckled. “I meant to tell you both that I had the oddest dream—” She broke off, wincing in pain. She touched her temples with her fingertips. “Oh, dear, I seem to have a headache coming on. Probably that new pillow.”
It wasn’t like Betty to complain about aches and pains, Celinda thought. Worried, she started down the stairs, the plastic-covered pink dress draped over one arm.
“Are you all right, Mrs. Furnell?” she asked.
“What?” Betty blinked. Her face cleared miraculously. “Yes, dear, I’m fine. Just a bit of a headache. But it’s easing up already. I’ll take something for it in a minute. I just wanted to wish you a safe trip to Frequency City.”
“Thank you,” Celinda said.
Araminta stuck her head out of Celinda’s oversized tote and chortled happily at Betty.
Betty laughed lightly, reached into the pocket of her purple track suit pants, and took out a small, paper- wrapped candy. “There you go, Araminta.”
Araminta accepted the gift with polite greed and downed it with two or three efficient crunches of her sharp little teeth.
Betty beamed at Celinda. “Give my regards to your sister.”
“I’ll do that,” Celinda promised. She tried to edge surreptitiously toward the front door. Unfortunately, Davis was standing in the way, and he showed no signs of moving.
Betty smiled archly at Davis. “I see you’re going to attend the wedding with Celinda.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Davis assured her.
“You know, I don’t believe Celinda has had any overnight visitors in the four months she’s been here except for her sister, who came to visit her last month.”
Davis gave her a wicked grin. “You can’t know how happy I am to hear that, Mrs. Furnell.”
Betty laughed. “Go on, you two. You’ve got a long drive ahead of you.”
Celinda yanked open the front door and hurried outside to the Phantom. Davis followed at a more sedate pace. He opened the small trunk and put the suitcases inside. She arranged the pink dress very carefully on top of the suitcases and then stood back and watched him close the trunk.
“You do realize that it will be a miracle if my reputation survives the week,” she said.
He shrugged. “What’s the big deal about having a man spend the night?”
“A marriage consultant’s reputation is her most important asset. In fact, the vast majority of successful consultants are in Covenant Marriages. It sends a subtle signal to the clients, you see.”
“That the matchmaker knows what she’s doing?”
“Exactly. Mrs. Takahashi took a big chance when she hired me. If word gets out that I let men I barely know spend the night, she’ll probably ask me to leave.”
For some reason that observation seemed to irritate Davis. “I spent the night on the sofa, remember?”
“Yes.” Celinda started toward the passenger door. “But appearances are everything in my business.”
He went around to the driver’s side and looked at her over the Phantom’s low roof. “Don’t worry, if your reputation gets damaged because of this case, the Guild will take care of it.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or grit her teeth. “Got news for you; there are some things even the Guild can’t fix.”
Chapter 13
THE DRIVE TO FREQUENCY CITY USUALLY TOOK A LITTLE over three hours, but Celinda had a feeling that with Davis at the wheel they would make it in considerably less time. It wasn’t just that the Phantom was a fast car, it was the way Davis drove it, efficiently and with exquisite control.
Araminta, who had been perched on the back of the seat with Max since the start of the trip, hopped onto Celinda’s shoulder and made little encouraging noises. Celinda gave her another cookie from the bag of snacks she had brought along.
Cookie in her paw, Araminta returned to the back of the seat and huddled close to Max. She broke off a bit of her treat and offered it to him. He took it as though it were a rare and valuable offering.
“Araminta and Max seem to be getting awfully cozy together,” Celinda observed, more to break the silence than anything else. Davis had said very little thus far. After the quick stop by his apartment to pick up an overnight bag and his tux, he had seemed content to concentrate on his driving.
His mouth curved a little at the corner. “Dust bunny love, you think?”
“Whatever it is, I doubt that it can be dignified by the term love,” she replied. She winced a little, aware of the primness in her voice. “They only met yesterday, and they spent the night together last night. We in the matchmaking profession refer to that as a one-night stand.”
“I’m getting the feeling that’s probably against one of the rules in that book you wrote.”
“It certainly is,” she said.
“They’re still together this morning. Doesn’t that bode well for true love?”
She watched Araminta and Max move a little closer to each other on the back of the seat.
“A brief affair, maybe,” Celinda said. “Not love.”
“Mind me asking where you got all those rules you put into your book?”
“I made ’em up.”
He gave her a quick, sidelong look. “That’s a joke, right?”
“Of course it is.” She turned serious. “The rules in my book are based on my own experience as a marriage consultant and the combined experiences of several of my colleagues whom I interviewed. Over time you see what works and what doesn’t.”
“One-night stands don’t work, I take it?”
“Nope.”
“Good thing we stopped where we did, then, last night, huh? Means there’s still hope for us.”
She stiffened and stole a quick look at him, wondering if he was teasing her. But Davis looked calm, even thoughtful.
She, on the other hand, was pretty sure that she was probably blushing all the way down to her toes. It was the first time the subject of that scorching kiss in the doorway had come up. She had begun to believe that they were both going to continue to pretend nothing had ever happened, that it might be better that way, given that the
