Back on Solid Ground (35 page)

“You saw my
father?”

“Yeah.  Don’t
worry, I didn’t kill him,” Niki said.  “But I should have.”

“I never
thanked you for going over to Colombia to find me,” she said, fiddling with his
hair.

“Don’t thank
me.  It was my fault you ended up there in the first place.” 

“No it
wasn’t.  But I knew you’d come find me,” Stacy said.  “Did you go by yourself?”

“We all
went,” Niki said. 

“All four of
you?” she asked, surprised, and Niki nodded. 

“You sort of
made a lasting impression on all of us during your short but memorable stay. 
It’s not the same now without you there.  The place seems so dead.”

Stacy smiled.
“That’s funny,” she said, and she hugged him.

“I’m glad you
think so,” Niki said sarcastically.  He looked at his watch, “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Good, let’s
go eat. 

They took
Stacy’s car and Niki drove them to Frederick’s Bistro.  They were led to a cozy
booth, and Niki scooted in beside Stacy. There was a bottle of champagne
already at their table and the waiter popped the cork and poured each of them a
glass. 

When the
waiter had gone, Stacy asked, “So where are you from, Niki Lautrec?”

“New Orleans.”

Stacy’s eyes
lit up.  “I
love
New Orleans!  You grew up there?”

“I did.  My
parents and my sister still live there.  I was just there yesterday.”

“Really? 
Somehow I didn’t picture you as being close to your family.  I mean other than
with Eli,” Stacy said. 

“I don’t see
them as often as I should.  I hadn’t been there in almost a year.  But it’s
always great when we get together.  My sister, Charlotte, is getting married in
two weeks.”

“How old is
she?”

“She’s 25,”
he said.  “Will you go with me to the wedding?”

The question
took her by surprise.  “In New Orleans?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t
know,” Stacy said.

“What do you
mean you don’t know?  That’s not the right answer.”

Stacy laughed
and thought about the offer.  “I would love to go with you to your sister’s
wedding,” she finally said, and she scooted over closer to him.  Stacy finished
her glass of champagne and the waiter refilled it. 

“How’d you
make a living before you started kidnapping people?” Stacy asked.

“You’re the
only person I ever kidnapped. First and last,” he added.  “I have an
investigations service.”

“You did or
you do?” Stacy asked.

“I do.”

A light went
on in Stacy’s head.  “You own Lautrec Investigation Services?”

“You’ve heard
of it?”

“Heard of
it?  I did your ad campaign.  You’re based out of Dallas,” Stacy said.

“Small
world,” Niki laughed.  “I kidnapped my own advertising executive.”

“That’s a
huge company.  Why do you have to be a criminal if you have such a big
company?”

Niki laughed
at the question.  “It’s more fun,” he said.

“That’s a
terrible answer!” Stacy said, horrified, and he laughed again.

“I’ll give it
up if you marry me,” Niki said, and he leaned over and kissed her.

“You are so
bad,” Stacy said.  “You’re exactly the type of guy my mother warned me about.”

The waiter
was back with menus and they ordered appetizers of crab cakes with spicy
remoulade, and oven roasted shrimp in tomato basil cream sauce with crostinis;
and entrees of  baked Norwegian salmon with basil pesto, roasted red peppers
beurre blanc with garlic mashed potatoes, and grilled lamb chops dijonaise with
potatoes au gratin.  The waiter brought out fresh hot rolls, and Stacy buttered
one and handed it to Niki then she buttered one for herself.

“Tell me
about yourself,” Niki said.  “What do you like to do?”

“Well,” Stacy
said, thinking about the question, “I like to be outdoors.  I like to go to the
beach.  I like swimming and hiking. I like scuba diving.  I like to go to the movies. 
I like to lounge on the couch and read.  I like to eat good food.”

“What’s your
favorite time of year?” Niki asked.

“Summer is my
favorite season, but Christmas has always been my favorite time of year.” Stacy
made a face, “I guess it won’t be this year.”

“Yeah, it
will be,” Niki said. “You’ll like my family.”

“Oh, I’m
invited for Christmas too?” she asked.

“Hell yes.”

“Well maybe
you better run that one past your mother first,” Stacy laughed.

The waiter
set down their appetizers and refilled their glasses and disappeared again.

“She already
knows,” Niki said, taking a bite of crab cake.  “Taste this, it’s incredible,”
he said, feeding Stacy a bite.

“Yum, that is
to die for.  What do you mean she already knows?”

“I told her
about you,” Niki said. 

“What’d you
tell her?”

“I told her
what a pain in the ass you were after I shot and kidnapped you,” he said, with
a straight face.

“You did
not!”

Niki
laughed.  “I told her that I was in love with you.”

Stacy looked
at him but couldn’t figure out if he was telling the truth or not.  “You’re
such a liar,” she said.  She offered Niki a bite of shrimp and took another
bite of crab cake.

“No, I’m
not,” Niki said.

“And what did
you tell her about how we met?”

“I told her
the truth; that we met in a bank.  I’m not a liar,” he said, poking his fork at
her.  “The food here is great.”

They sopped
up the tomato cream sauce with bread as the waiter arrived with the salads and
more hot rolls.   They ate their salads and ordered a bottle of red wine, then
they shared the entrées, and after a leisurely-paced dinner, they ordered a
Grand Marnier Soufflé, two cappuccinos and a Sambuca.   By the time the meal
was over, more than three hours had elapsed.

Stacy leaned
her head against Niki’s shoulder.  “I’ve had a great time tonight.”

“I have too,”
Niki said.  “You want to go somewhere else?”  

Stacy
smiled.  “Yeah.  I want to go to your hotel room.”

“On our first
date?  What a slut!”

Stacy laughed
out loud and the people at the next table turned and looked at them.  There was
a look of recognition on the woman’s face and she turned to her husband and
whispered something, then they both looked back over.  The woman had taken her
napkin out of her lap and was getting up. 

“Excuse me,”
the woman said, “but I just saw your picture in the paper this morning and I
just wanted to tell you how proud we are of what you did for that Children’s
Shelter.”

Stacy
smiled.  “Well, thank you.  You’re very sweet,” Stacy said.  “There were a lot
of people involved to make everything turn out right, and I’ll pass along your
words of praise.”

The woman
looked over at Niki.  “You must be so proud of her!” she beamed.  “Are you her
husband?”

Niki put his
arm around Stacy.  “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

The woman
smiled.  “I’ll let you get back to your evening.”

“Thank you
again,” Stacy said.  The woman walked back to her table and replaced her napkin
then whispered something else to her husband and looked over again.   

Niki looked
at Stacy and smiled.  “People just love you.”

“Oh brother.”

“It’s true,”
he said.  “Look at me.  You were mean as hell to me and I still fell in love
with you.”

“I was
not
mean as hell to you.”

“You were
too.  You punched me in the chest, you slapped me across the face, you called
me every mean name you could think of.  And that was just the first day.  And
look what happens.  I fall in love with you.”

Stacy laughed
out loud again.  “I
was
sort of on the warpath,” she said, thinking
back.  “You should have seen the look on Eli’s face when I walked in there with
Jason’s gun,” she said, and this time it was Niki’s turn to laugh out loud. 

The waiter
came over with the check and left it on the table. 

“You want
anything else?” Niki asked Stacy.

“No.  I’m
perfect.”

Niki looked
over at her and smiled.  “You are perfect.”

“Food wise,”
Stacy clarified.

“I know what
you meant,” he said, shoving her head to the side. “Let’s get out of here.” 
Niki left money on the table and they walked out of the restaurant holding
hands.  They drove down to the hotel and went up to the Presidential Suite on
the top floor of the hotel.

“This is
awesome, isn’t it?” Stacy said, looking around.  “I’ve put clients up here
before and they’re always impressed.”

“Yeah, it’s a
great hotel.  I can enjoy it now that my mind isn’t preoccupied,” Niki said. 
“Jason and I stayed here when I confronted your father, but I was a bit of a
mess.”

“Jason came
with you?” Stacy said surprised.

Niki nodded
his head yes.  “He loved it here.  Said he wanted to come back for vacation
some time.”

“How do you
guys know each other?”

“We grew up
together.  I’ve known him for as long as I can remember.”

“Will he come
to your sister’s wedding?” Stacy asked.

“I don’t
know.  I haven’t talked to him to tell him.  Probably.”

“What about
Carlos?” she asked.

“Probably,”
Niki said.  “I can see the wheels spinning in that busy little head of yours,”
Niki said, laughing.  “What are you plotting?”

“Nothing,”
she said, feigning innocence.

“Bullshit,”
Niki said.  He scooped her up and carried her over to the couch and sat down
with her in his lap.  “I can read you like a book.  You’re up to something.”

He took
Stacy’s face in his hands and kissed her on the lips, then Stacy laid her head
against Niki’s chest.  There was something masculine about the way he breathed
and it was fascinating to listen to.

“Thank you
for dinner,” Stacy said, into his chest. 

“It was my
pleasure.”

He stroked
her head and ran his fingers through her hair. Stacy lifted her head and kissed
him softly on the lips.  “I love you, Niki.”

“
Yes
!”
Niki said with a fist pump, and he leaned his head against the back of the
couch with a huge smile on his face.  “I love you too, Stacy.”

He laid her
down on the couch and made love to her, then they moved into the bedroom for
round two.  Stacy was curled up in Niki’s arms, with her head against his
chest.

“I don’t want
tonight to end,” Stacy said.

“Me neither,”
Niki said. 

They fell
asleep in each other’s arms and made love again when they woke up in the
morning.  They ordered room service and ate breakfast in bed and it was 11:00
before they made it out of the hotel.  Stacy called in to the office and said
she was taking the day off, then she and Niki went back over to her condo so
she could shower and change clothes.

“What do you
feel like doing today?” Stacy asked.

“Being with
you,” Niki said.

They spent
the day picnicing and hiking at a local park, and were lying on a blanket
watching the clouds.  Niki put his arm around Stacy.  “I have to leave
tomorrow,” he said.

Stacy’s head
snapped towards him.  “No!  I just got you back.  You can’t leave!”

“It’s just
for three or four days.  I can come back after that.”

“Niki,” Stacy
whined.

“Stacy,” he
mimicked her, laughing, and she slugged him.  

“Where are
you going, to rob another bank?” she said grumpily.

Niki smiled. 
He hadn’t expected her to be so disappointed and he liked it. “No.  It’s actually
legitimate business,” he said.  “I have to go to L.A.”

“I don’t want
you to leave,” Stacy said.  “It was terrible not knowing if I would ever see
you again and not having any way to get in touch with you.”

Niki smiled
at her.  “Stacy,” he said.  “Do you not get it?  I wake up in the morning
thinking about you and I’m thinking about you when I go to bed at night.  I
want to spend my life with you.  And you laugh every time I say that, but it’s
God’s honest truth.”

Stacy sat up
but didn’t say anything.

“Believe me,
I’d much rather stay here with you, but it’s not something I can get out of,”
Niki said.  “You can come with me if you want,” he suggested.  Niki sat up and
Stacy buried her head in his chest. 

“I’m sorry,”
Stacy said. 

“For what?”

“For being a
baby,” she said, embarrassed.

“Why don’t
you come with me?”

“I can’t. 
I’ve got appointments all week I’d have to reschedule, and I’m finally getting
caught up at the office.  But you’re sweet to ask.”

“Sweet?” he
repeated.  “Now there’s an adjective I’m not often associated with.”

Stacy laughed
and Niki wrestled her to the ground, then he pinned her down and started
kissing her neck, tickling her. 

“Stop,” she
said laughing.  “You’re giving me goose bumps.”  She finally gave up the
struggle and put her arms around his neck and Niki moved his mouth to hers and
kissed her long and tenderly on the lips.

“I’ll come
straight back,” he said.

They stayed
at the park for another hour laughing and talking, then they packed up the car
and headed back home.  

“Can I take
you to dinner?” Niki asked.

“No. I want
to cook.  What time do you have to leave tomorrow?”

“Mid-morning,”
he said.

“Well, let’s
go get your stuff from the hotel and you can check out this afternoon. That way
you don’t have to do it in the morning.  You’re staying at my place tonight.”

“You’re kind
of bossy aren’t you?”

“No more than
you.”

They checked
Niki out of the hotel and went back over to Stacy’s condo.  She cooked dinner
and they turned out the lights and had a candlelit dinner on the balcony
overlooking the city lights.