Chapter 16
CELINDA WAS TOO STUNNED TO RESPOND. THEN THE ABsurdity of the situation struck her like a flash of ghost light.
She put her head down on her folded arms and started to laugh.
“Damn, are you crying?” Davis slid around the curve of the booth and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. “It’s okay. I know trying to pretend that I’m your new boyfriend isn’t easy, but you’re doing just fine.”
She dared not raise her head. She was laughing too hard. Maybe she was sinking into hysteria.
“Your parents didn’t seem too upset when they left,” Davis said, apparently having decided to take an encouraging tack. “Look on the bright side. Whatever they’re thinking right now, it’s a good bet that they don’t have a clue that I’m here as your bodyguard. That was the whole point, remember?”
She managed to get herself under control with an effort of will. She raised her head, aware that her eyes were damp and her face was probably flushed.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. She used a napkin to wipe her eyes. “I don’t know what came over me. Blame it on the stress.”
“You were laughing,” he said, sounding deeply relieved. “I thought—never mind.”
“I can’t believe we got into that stupid argument in front of my parents.” She felt the odd laughter start to well up inside again and swallowed hard to suppress it. “Probably all the champagne at dinner. What were we thinking?”
“Don’t know about you, but I was thinking that I was getting damned tired of hearing you tell everyone I was just a casual friend.”
She stilled, astonished. “Well, it’s not like there are a lot of useful terms to describe a man in your position. I was doing my best to make our relationship sound normal.”
“But it’s not normal, is it?”
“Listen, you’re the one who said this little charade was going to be simple, remember? ‘Just stick to the truth as much as possible,’ you said. If you will recall, I wanted to discuss our cover story in detail on the drive here, but you insisted on blowing off that plan.”
A suspicious gleam of amusement darkened his eyes. “Are we arguing again?”
She sat back, slouching in the seat. What was wrong with her? It was the stress.
“No. I think I’ve had enough quarreling for one evening,” she said very politely. “It’s time I went to bed. I’m going to be wearing pink tomorrow. I need my sleep.”
DAVIS OPENED THE DOOR OF HER ROOM USING HER KEY A short time later. She switched on the lights. Max and Araminta were sitting side by side on the table looking out at the night through the sliding glass window.
“We’re back,” Celinda announced.
Araminta and Max tumbled down off the desk, rumbling greetings. Celinda reached down, scooped up Araminta, and plopped her on her shoulder. Araminta immediately began making little cooing noises in her ear.
“I think she wants another snack,” Celinda said. Morosely, she eyed the empty dishes on the table. “Looks like she and Max went through everything I ordered from room service for them before we left. I’m going to have to break open the minibar. Do you know how much they charge for the stuff inside a minibar?”
Davis picked up Max. “Keep a record. I’ll put it on the Guild’s tab. Wyatt can afford a few snacks out of a minibar, trust me.”
“I believe you. Problem is, how eager is he going to be to pay for things like minibar snacks if he doesn’t get his relic back?”
“Well, he won’t be thrilled,” Davis said.
She groaned. “You know, I could do without having the head of the Cadence Guild annoyed at me. I’d have to leave town. Again. It was bad enough pulling up roots here in Frequency because I pissed off a para-psycho member of the local Guild.”
His expression hardened. “Regardless of the outcome of this case, you’re not going to be forced to leave Cadence.”
“Hah. Easy for you to say.” She crouched down in front of the minibar and de-rezzed the little seal. “You don’t know what it’s like living in a town after you’ve made a high-ranking Guild person mad, trust me.”
“I do trust you,” he said quietly. “But I think it’s time you tried trusting me.”
Something in his words froze her in place. She looked up at him. It was a long way, given her current position close to the floor. When she finally got to his face, she saw that his features were set in grim, implacable lines.
“Great,” she said evenly. “Now I’ve annoyed you, too.”
“Uh-huh.”
She rose to her feet, chagrined. “Sorry. Things have been a little stressful lately. I really do need a good night’s sleep.”
He inclined his head, coldly polite. “I’ll say good night, in that case.”
He walked to the connecting door. “I’ll open this again after you’re in bed.”
He went into his own room, Max on his shoulder, and shut the door very quietly.
She stood looking at the closed door for a long moment. This was clearly one of the downsides of hanging around with a bodyguard. They were in the habit of giving a lot of orders.
Araminta made encouraging little noises in her ear.
“Right.” Celinda said. She went back down on her knees in front of the minibar again. “First things first. A girl’s gotta eat.”
SOME TIME LATER SHE TURNED OVER IN BED FOR WHAT was probably the thousandth time and finally gave up trying to sleep. She pushed herself up on her elbows and glumly studied the door that connected her room to Davis’s. It was open, but the crack was no more than a couple of inches wide.
It was impossible to see into the other room, but she had been listening for quite some time, and things were awfully silent on the other side of the door. Evidently Davis wasn’t having any trouble sleeping.
At the foot of the bed, Araminta’s blue eyes glittered in the moonlight. She was awake.
“Don’t tell me you’re hungry again,” Celinda whispered.
Araminta scampered across the covers, batted her blue eyes, and made hopeful sounds.
“Okay, all right, I wouldn’t want you to starve.” Celinda got out of bed, pulled on her robe, and padded across the room to reopen the minibar. There was enough green light to illuminate the contents. “What’s it going to be? Cookies or nuts?”
Araminta dithered briefly and then fixed her attention squarely on the nuts.
Celinda plucked the nuts out of the bar, straightened, and tore open the package. She dumped the contents into the dish on the table. Araminta hopped down and began munching daintily.
“At least you’re not out there in the dark running around with Max in a strange city,” Celinda said softly. “What did you do with that stupid relic?”
Araminta ate a nut.
“Do you have any idea how much trouble we’re in?”
Araminta displayed no sign of concern. She selected another nut.
Celinda went to the window and looked out at the view of the night-darkened city. The hotel was located in the heart of the Quarter, which was suffused with the pale glow of Old Frequency.
She opened the sliding glass door and moved out onto the balcony. The air was warm and balmy. Resting her elbows on the iron railing, she savored the gentle rush of alien psi and contemplated the night.
The intriguing aura of some very familiar energy pulsed nearby.
Startled, she stepped back and turned quickly, pulling her robe more tightly around her.
Davis was lounging against the railing of his balcony. He was wearing only his trousers. His feet were bare and so was everything else above his waist. Moonlight and the faint glow of the green wall’s radiance gleamed on his shoulders. He looked at her with eyes as mysterious as the night. Max sat beside him on the railing.
