Millions To Spare

His eyes squinted down with skepticism. “How hard did you try?”

She knew she needed to come clean. If she’d learned anything about Harrison, it was that he liked the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“Robbie and Melanie left this morning,” she began. “And then I tried to leave this afternoon.” All true. “But there was this roadblock. At the airport.”

He planted his butt against the edge of Nuri’s desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “And what are you leaving out?”

“Nothing.” That was truly how it had happened. There was no reason for him to know she’d voluntarily changed her ticket.

“They wouldn’t let you into the airport? Funny, my guests all arrived on time.”

Oh, right. She’d left out something important. But she was nervous. Nuri, especially, was making her nervous.

“The doorman at the hotel,” she quickly elaborated. “He said the police were looking for me. That’s why I was afraid of the roadblock at the airport.”

“Are you making this up as you go along?”

“No!”

Harrison straightened away from the desk and moved toward her, definite skepticism in his tone this time. “And why would the police be looking for you?”

She stood to lessen their height difference. She didn’t much like it when he loomed over her. Plus, this part was definitely not her fault.

“I don’t know why they were looking for me. I thought you-” She cut herself off, remembering Nuri. Then she dropped her voice to a hissing whisper. “I thought you took care of that little thing.”

“I did,” said Harrison. “What else did you do?”

“Nothing. Nothing.”

“I have a hard time believing that.”

“Yeah? Well, you seem to have a hard time believing anything I say.”

They stared at each other for a long minute.

Then, apparently, he got tired of having an audience, because he latched on to her arm. “Out here.”

She scrambled out the door with him, along a stone pathway that led over his lawn to a garden gazebo dotted with tables and lawn chairs.

Hands on her upper arms, he sat her down on a padded chair.

“Start from the beginning,” he demanded.

There was that height difference again.

“Sit,” she told him, gesturing to the next chair.

His lips compressed into a line.

“This feels like the Spanish Inquisition.”

“No, it doesn’t. And you came to me, remember?”

“Only because I had nowhere else to go.”

Then she could have kicked herself for the sarcastic tone. She was asking this man for help. The least she could do was be civil about it.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re not the Spanish Inquisition.”

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what this is all about.” But then he did sit down.

Julia took a breath. She went through it from the beginning, all of it-changing her ticket, the doorman, the checkpoint, finally coming to Cadair.

At the end of the hurried explanation, he sat back and gazed across the palm-tree-dotted gardens.

Julia became aware of music coming from the palace. She glanced up and saw lights streaming from every window, flickering lanterns on the veranda and guests, many, many guests both outside and in. It was then that she realized Harrison looked even more formal than usual.

In fact, he was wearing a tux, with a ribboned medal of some kind pinned to his lapel.

“You’re having a party.” she stated.

He glanced over his shoulder at the palace. “I am.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That you interrupted my party?”

She nodded.

He coughed out a cold laugh. “I think that’s the least of our worries at the moment.”

“Is it a special party?”

He raised a brow. “Now who’s the Spanish Inquisition?”

“There must be three hundred people in there.”

“It’s the secretary-general’s reception for the United Nations International Economic Summit.”

She pasted her gaze on the glittering crowd, suddenly feeling as if she’d fallen into another dimension. “You’re kidding.”

“No. I am not kidding.”

She was so out of her league here. No wonder she and Harrison had a hard time understanding each other.

He cracked a grim half smile. “This part is the reason your arrival caused us so much grief. Had you only been a horse thief, my life would have been a whole lot simpler.”

She blinked her focus back to Harrison. “I don’t understand.” Was he sorry she hadn’t been after his horse?

“I thought you were a covert operative sent here to assassinate a Syrian diplomat.”

Julia had no response to that.

She honestly could not think of a single thing to say.

Wait a minute. Her heart sank. “You don’t think the police-”

“No, no.” Harrison vehemently shook his head. “Alex and I were the only ones who even thought of it.”

“You can’t be sure.”

“Yes, I can. Other than the guests and their own security staff, very few people even know about this party. Besides.” He paused. “If somebody else thought you were a spy, it wouldn’t be the police out looking for you.”

Julia swallowed.

She struggled to find her voice. “There was a roadblock.”

“That likely had nothing to do with you.” But then his expression turned contemplative. “You say they came to your hotel?”

It was her turn to nod. “Does that seem like a lot of trouble for a suspected horse thief?”

“I’m afraid so,” he agreed.

“You sure they don’t think I’m a spy?”

Footsteps clattered on the gazebo steps, and Julia’s heart wedged in her throat.

“There you are,” came Alex’s voice.

He came to a halt with Brittany by his side.

She was dressed in a metallic silver gown, full-length, with a gorgeous, flowing hemline around strappy sandals. The bodice was snug, while the neck was a wide band of exquisitely embroidered netting, decorating her shoulders and chest with gold, looped threads, and gold-and-silver beading.

Her hair was upswept, with a small jeweled comb, while enormous diamonds twinkled on her ears and at her right wrist. She looked as though she’d stepped off a Paris runway.

Julia’s pleated, gray skirt and matching bolero jacket felt staid and frumpy. Her canvas flats didn’t help the situation, either.

“Is everything okay?” asked Alex.

“Wouldn’t Ms. Nash prefer to come inside?” asked Brittany.

Julia looked at Harrison, uncertain what to tell the two.

“Julia’s hit a spot of trouble,” said Harrison.

Brittany’s expression instantly turned concerned. She sat down in the chair directly across from Julia. “Can I