Fresh pineapple, dripping golden juice, slippery wedges of deliciously scented mango, long, thin slices of papaya garnished with slivers of fresh lime and mint leaves.
A bite of pineapple, she murmured, to cool off those hot eyes of yours.
Nothing beats a great pineapple, but not now.
Faith shrieked, leaped straight up from her chair and spun to face the man shed just been fantasizing about on the beach.
Except they werent on a beach. They were in the bright white environment of Wycoff Worldwide Travel AgencyWe make your dreams come truein the Westwood area of Los Angeles, surrounded by the hum of telephones, computer beeps and the voices of the four other Wycoff agents and their clients.
There were a few minor differences in the man himself. For one thing, he was wearing a three-piece suit, not a small, tight black swimsuit. For another, she wouldnt exactly describe his gaze as hot with passion. Hot with annoyance was more like it.
Im sorry, she said, trying to organize her hair, her skirt, her blue silk sweater set and her mind all at the same time as she collapsed back into her desk chair. I guess I was, um Might as well use the same line on him that had more-or-less worked with Mr. Wycoff. was concentrating so hard on my work that I didnt see you come in.
He wasnt buying it. Annoyance was no longer sufficient to describe his mood. He looked like a bomb on a short fuse. Except for those things, he was identical to the man on the beachbig, dark haired, tanned, more or less drop-dead gorgeous. Just looking at his scowling face was reawakening the bothersome tingle.
This was no time to tingle. It was time to focus, and focusing on him would not exactly be painful.
Please sit down. How may I help you?
He sat down hard in the chair beside her desk, simultaneously handing her a card hed fished out of the breast pocket of his suit coat. You can plan a honeymoon for my client, he said as if he would rather be tied to a stake and surrounded by dry firewood than planning a honeymoon.
Faith had to wrench her gaze away from his mouth in order to glance at the card. His lower lip was so full and curved so sensuously he should have been wearing a fig leaf over it. Cabot Drennan, she murmured, Publicist to the Stars. Oh, my goodness, what an exciting job. Well, Cabot Mr. Wycoff said to go straight for first names, unless you were talking to him. Theres nothing I enjoy more than planning honeymoons. In fact, honeymoons are my specialty. That wasnt quite the truth, but it was the direction she intended to go in and shed been doing a lot of research on her own timeand quite a bit more on Mr. Wycoffs. What sort of location were you thinking of? Her own dream honeymoon havens began flitting through her mind.
Someplace with good light and a dependable electrical system.
She blinked. And an air of romance, I would imagine, she said hopefully. Have you considered the Cayman Islands? It would be so efficient to send this client honeymooning right along with the Muldens.
Hows the phone system there?
Faith slid her gaze down from his close-cropped head of black hair to his chocolate-brown eyes. Well, Ive been online with many of the hotels there this week, but I dont suppose that makes me an authority on the subject. Theres Rio de Janeiro, she said, warming to her task. What could be more romantic?
Too far.
Mexico, then. Its closer to L.A., if your client is concerned about being too far from home, and the coastal towns have some lovely resorts with absolutely private bungalows, perfect for a
Privacy is the last thing she wants.
Odder and odder. Has she considered a cruise?
Youre trapped on a cruise. A muscle twitched tensely in his cheek.
Shes already trapped, in a manner of speaking, Faith said earnestly. Once she promises to have and to hold, in sickness or in
His face reddened with impatience. I didnt come here for a lecture on family values.
How about the coast of Maine?
Too cold. Shell have goose bumps in the photos.
Oh. Of course. Shell want to take a lot of pictures for her memory book.
He heaved a deep sigh. Shes an up-and-coming young actress. For a moment his eyes shifted left and he seemed uncomfortable. Ill be taking a crew along to make a video of the honeymoon.
A video? Youre going to film this womans honeymoon?
Yes.
Faith straightened, locked her knees tightly together and pursed her lips. Well. Im very sorry, she said, but we at Wycoff Worldwide wouldnt consider being a party to that kind of film. Im afraid you will have to look elsewhere for travel assistance.
He half rose from the chair. As big as he was, it scared Faith a little, but she stiffened her backbone. Standards were standards, and she was not going to make the arrangements for a porn flick.
I dont intend to film that part of the honeymoon, for Gods sake, he said in a deep growl that thinned out his sexy lower lip until it was nearly normal.
In that case, she squeaked, we at Wycoff are happy to assist you.
He sat down again, his lower lip relaxed, and Faith was faced with a whole new issue, most of it going on below the waistband of her flowered silk skirt.
Look He stared at her left breast.
Feel free to touch the display. But he wasnt actually looking at her breast. He was looking at the rectangular silver pin just above her left breast, the one with her name on it.
Faith, this is a fairly simple thing Im asking you to do. I want you to make the arrangements for a honeymoon in an accessible location with top-flight technological services he halted for a moment, looking thoughtful and dependable beauticians and manicurists he paused again and it has to be a well-known honeymoon spot. His glower returned.
Faith swiveled her chair a little to face him more fully, just as shed learned to do in People Skills, the only course in the Travel Agent program she hadnt daydreamed her way through. But the instructor hadnt mentioned what to do if, when her knees brushed the clients, it sent a shot of electricity through her entire body. As though hed felt it too, his gaze briefly melted over her.
Im sure I can make your dreams come true, she murmured. I mean, her dreams.
He snorted. But can you make the reservations?
Faith took a deep breath, gave herself the condensed version of her sister Hopes lecture on presenting herself positively and said, Of course. First well find the location of her dreams. That may take a little research.
Time is money. You never have enough of either one.
He had a way with words. Tomorrow, she said. By tomorrow Ill be able to offer you a choice of desirable locations and well proceed from there.
Today would be better.
Today she had to get the Cayman Islands organized to receive the Muldens. Ill do my best, she promised.
I was thinking Reno.
She stared at him blankly. Its certainly well-known as a spot for quick marriages, she said. Is this a quick marriage? Oh, dear, she said at once, I didnt mean that the way it sounded. I was just thinking how many truly romantic places there were and wondering
The hotel is your problem, not the romance. If anything, he looked even grimmer and less romantic than he had before. The thing about Reno, he went on, is its close and its got all those hokey round beds and pink rooms and AC current.
It does have those advantages. She felt deeply disappointed in him. A publicist who looked like a romantic fantasy should be able to rise above Reno, or even Niagara Falls. Not that Reno wasnt a lot of fun and the Falls werent fantastic, but you only got one honeymoon, and it ought to be
I sense you dont approve.
Faith jolted in her chair. My job is to send her where she wants to go, she assured him, not to approve or disapprove.
So make it Reno, he said. Tippy will be crazy about Reno.
Tippy? Faith said, and then it hit her. Youre not talking about Tippy Temple.
For a moment he looked uncomfortable. Yes. Youve heard of her?
I saw her interview on the Scott Trent Show and liked her so much I rented her movie. Faith felt breathless as she lapsed into a reverie about the romantic film shed watched last weekend.
Her first big movie, I think, she said. A Kiss to Build a Dream On. She may not have been the lead, but she was the star as far as Im concerned. She sighed. Shes beautiful, and so sweet. Oh, the way she gave up Josh Barnett to the heroine, whats-her-name, was the most touching, the most heroic act. Im so happy shes found her true love in real life. She focused her gaze on Cabot. May I ask, would it be too personal a question, who shes marrying?
In the silence, she watched a variety of expressions cross Cabots face. His eyes widened, then narrowed as he chewed on his lower lip, and at last he settled for lines of grim resignation.
Me, he said.
2
THERE IT WAS. Hed made his decision, sitting across from the cutest little woman hed ever met, looking into her gray eyes and realizing it was time to fish or cut bait.
Maybe he wasnt so much cutting bait as cutting off the light of sudden attraction hed seen and recognized in those eyes, and responded to in a big way. Cute little persons werent on his agenda right now. Little stars who deserved to be big stars were. When he had a stable of successful clients, hed be free to look for the kind of woman hed like to spend the rest of his life with, the kind of woman
The kind of woman whod lose that light of sudden attraction the second she heard he was already spoken for. Thats what Faith Sumner had done. The dreamy quality of her gaze was gone, replaced by a look as severely professional as he guessed a butterfly like Faith could manage.
FAITH DIDNT REALIZE shed been daydreaming about honeymooning herself with Cabot Drennan until he hit her with the news that he was the lucky man who was marrying Tippy Temple. That ended the never-fully-realized daydream.
However gorgeous he was, however beautifully he personified the man she would someday love and be cherished by, she had to give up this particular man forever. Even in her dreams. She could never deprive someone as lovely as Tippy Temple of the man of her dreams.
Or the honeymoon of her dreams.
So she relinquished her own happiness. Her heartbreak would be brief, since her daydream hadnt lasted long. She faced Cabot Drennan squarely and said, Tippy is not going to want to honeymoon in Reno. Shell want to go to the most romantic place in the world. Paris. Venice off-season, or a private villa on the coast of
My cell phone wont work in Europe.
Faith gazed at him for a long, long moment. An isolated lodge in the Rockies?
No.
She leaned toward him a bit. A tiny bed-and-breakfast in Vermont?
No.
In Napa Valley?
No.
Her voice hardened. A private car on a coast-to-coast train.
No.
Williamsburg, Virginia? You can live out your fantasies in Colonial costume.
He gave her a look of scorn. No.
Rent San Simeonyou know, the Hearst estate about halfway up the coast? Its a national park, but I think you can rent the bungalows.
He showed his first flicker of interest. Hmm. Phone, electricity. We could bring in the hairdressers and manicurists and all the other paraphernalia. Rent another bungalow for the crew. Yeah. Find out how much it costs.
Feeling hopeful, Faith spun to her computer. Charity had been one of those kids who taught the rest of the family how to use their first computer. Thanks to her coachingbullying was more like itFaith was fairly computer-literate. In a few minutes she had her answer.
No, Cabot said when he heard the price.
Thoroughly frustrated, Faith collapsed back against her chair. All right, Ill get to work on accommodations in Reno, but please do this one thing for me?
His expression said hed done all he could just by sitting there listening to her ridiculous suggestions.
Talk to Tippy about this first. Faith was sure the angelic Tippy would have a fit, an angelic fit, of course, about going to Reno, and Cabot would be back, humble and subdued, to take a look at that little bed-and-breakfast in Vermont or the isolated lodge in the Rockies.
Of course. Then were through for now?
Unfortunately. Yes.
Youll get right to work on it. You wont wait for Tippys answer.
No, Faith lied. Of course she would. And while she waited, shed finish up the Muldens arrangements.
Ill call you early tomorrow morning.
How early? Again the look on his face stopped her. Wordlessly she handed him her business card, which listed her office number, home number, cell phone number, pager number and e-mail address. She was grateful Wycoff printed cards for its agents. Shed never be able to memorize all those numbers.
He took the card, got up and started for the door. Faith watched his every movement, the stride of his long legs, the roll of his broad shoulders, the way his hand wrenched at the door handle. She got up to follow his progress across the street, where he swung smoothly into some sort of small, gleaming silver sports car. He looked terrific in sunglasses.
She stood at the window for a long, long moment, unable to keep herself from resuming her daydream of that tall, dark, domineering man turning into so much custard in her hands. Melting under her touch, while she slyly hid the fact that she was melting too, turning into a river of
Faith It was Mr. Wycoff right behind her, issuing a warning.
Yes, sir, Faith said, whirling, the Muldens. By five.
Shed just reached her desk when the telephone rang. She heard the scratchy static, the fade-in, fade-out sounds of a car phone. You forgot to ask me when, the voice said.
Cabot? She knew it was Cabot because the bottom sort of dropped out of her stomach, and she could feel the flush climbing her cheeks, prickling up into her scalp.
How can you make reservations when you dont know when the honeymoon is?
Well, of course there are the preliminary steps, the general approach, the data-gatheringwhat are the best hotels and so on and so on. She was gesturing a lot, she noticed, which wasnt going to help make her point over the phone.