“I can make it on my own,” she said when he started walking alongside her.
“I’m sure you can. But I’m not leaving your side until you’re at the door to your villa.”
Arguing took too much effort, and besides, she wasn’t stupid. Her lungs were still a little tight, and exerting herself without someone close by was a recipe for disaster. “Fine.”
Val laughed, and kept a hand on her back as he walked her to the golf cart to take her home.
Chapter Nine
“Someone came in late last night,” Michael started in while he poured a morning cup of coffee.
“Someone turned in early last night,” Meg countered.
Michael took the first sip of his coffee and closed his eyes with the pleasure of it. “Damn I feel good.”
“Sex will do that to ya.”
Michael wiggled his eyebrows and sat at the kitchen counter.
“Where is Ryder?”
“He’s an early riser. Decided on a morning jog on the beach. Utah is surprisingly shy of shoreline.”
Meg rested her chin on her hands. “I don’t think I’ve seen you glow, Michael.”
He snapped up in mock surprise. “Men don’t glow.”
“Bullshit on that.”
Michael stared into his coffee cup for a few seconds. “I wonder, sometimes, what it would be like to live with someone . . .”
“Like Ryder?”
“Like Ryder.” The smile on his face faded.
“You know, Michael, the only way you’ll ever know how that would work is if you did it.”
“My career would be over.”
“You don’t know that. Hollywood spins things to match their needs all the time. Who says you can’t spin what the world knows . . . or what the world thinks it knows.”
He was thinking about it. That, Meg could see.
When his eyes started to scowl, Meg changed the subject by confessing her evening’s sins. “I kissed Val.”
Michael’s jaw slacked open.
“He kissed me, actually. Then the oxygen level dropped and damn it . . . but yeah, we kissed.”
Michael was smiling, enjoying her unease with her confession. “How was it?”
“Before my lungs seized? Great. I mean, have you looked at the man?”
“Lots of lips, just the right amount of tongue?”
Meg squeezed her eyes shut, started to laugh. “How did you know?”
“Just a guess.”
She blew out a sigh. “I shouldn’t have.”
“Why not? He’s sexy, straight. Perfect for you.”
“I’m here with you.”
“Something tells me you didn’t have an audience.”
“We were alone.”
“So what’s the problem? Val would be breaking his own rules by spilling the encounter. He doesn’t strike me as a kiss-and-tell kind of guy.”
She still didn’t feel right about it.
“Listen,” Michael said. “Karen and I were married for a year and a half. Neither of us were involved with anyone and no one got hurt. You’re here as a date. Last time I looked that didn’t amount to jack in this day and age.”
“But—”
“But nothing. Kiss him, sleep with him, do whatever you want with the man. I have no claim and wouldn’t say otherwise regardless of what might come of this vacation. Besides, it isn’t like there are a bunch of cameras snapping pictures and asking questions. This place is off the map. I know I’m coming back.”
Some of the tension inside Meg’s chest eased. “With Ryder?”
“Maybe.”
The bell to the front door of the villa rang with a noise that surprised the both of them.
Michael answered while Meg watched.
“Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Wolfe. Miss Rosenthal has mail.”
Mail? On vacation?
Michael took the envelopes from the man and closed the door.
“I thought vacations were no-mail zones.”
Michael glanced at the three envelopes before handing them over.
“One is from your sister.” Judy’s handwriting was as familiar as her own. The return address, however, was illegible.
Meg tore into Judy’s first.
Hey, Livin’ the High Life on Someone Else’s Dime,
Two things since I can’t pick up a freakin’ phone and call like any normal person in this century . . . First, I’ve heard NOTHING about you or Mike since you left. I’m watching every platform, as is the ball and chain and his partner.
Meg knew that meant Rick and Neil. Both had a background in military intelligence and could be trusted with her life.
Second . . . the man you asked me about. I’m not liking the information I’m finding. Or not finding, as the case may be. Not sure why you’re asking about him, but “don’t trust him.” Those are the ball and chain’s words.
Hope you’re having a fantastic time.
Can’t wait to hear all about it . . . or not hear all about it.
Give my bro a kiss for me.
J
Meg scratched her head.
“What is it?”
“Judy says hi.” Meg let the kiss go for now. “Said all is silent in the real world.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Yeah.”
“Then why the frown?”
“I asked her to check on that Alonzo guy.”
Michael frowned. “What did Judy find?”