Chasing Glory (24 page)

Glory was alone in the reception area when he got off the elevator. She jumped up and launched herself at him.

He bowed his back in self-defense.

She raked him with a worried gaze. “You’re hurt!”

A handball to the ribs hurt worse, but this was fresh and her hug had awakened the thrumming. “Jeff got in a lucky shot. Nothing serious.”

Anger replaced her concern. “I hope he needs stitches.
And
his suit is ruined.
And
his next suit is orange.”

He shut off her tirade with a kiss. Why on earth had he thought having a companionable relationship based on a spreadsheet would make him happy?

He tipped his head toward his brother’s door. “William in?”

“He had an early tee-time.”

Of course he did. Gutting it out in the damp spring weather to play golf with a potential client. The best of both worlds. Tal laughed and rubbed his jaw. “Ow. Okay. Not sure where I’ll be when he gets in, so call my cell.”

She kissed his bruised cheek lightly. “My hero.”

• •

Glory sat on the side of Tal’s bed brushing her hair. He’d had to deal with a commercial cleaning crew, the company insurance rep, procurement, Greg Hannity, Legal, and a visit from Detective Dunn. By the time he’d taken her to pick up a change of clothes and some order-out Thai, exhaustion had had its way with him. He’d eaten and trudged into the shower.

She hadn’t heard him pad out of the bathroom and smoothed back her hair to turn and gasp at the Technicolor bruise on the right side of his chest. He’d made light of it earlier, but it looked like it hurt.

It was a hard lesson. Learning how much he was coming to mean to her. How much she was capable of feeling for him. His injuries could have been much worse. Any of the large shards of glass in the lab could have been lethal. She shivered, then gently touched the bruise. “Did the hot water ease the soreness?”

“Yes, thanks. I’ll have to sacrifice my games with Nate for a while, though.”

She patted the bed beside her. “Do you think they’ll believe anything Lassiter says? I mean, he said he came down to investigate noises and you attacked him. Why would you do that? And why would he stop to put on protective gear? They can’t believe that would make sense.”

He took her hand and rubbed the palm. “Alyssia caught me in my office signing procurement forms. I think she was genuinely shaken. When she heard what had happened, she contacted an attorney friend and was advised to retain a criminal attorney and put together a statement. She wanted me to know she had nothing to do with Jeff’s actions this morning.”

“I’ll bet she would’ve liked to take some action of her own against Jeff for being so stupid. That’s what she gets for partnering with a complete gene pool washout. She went to you to see if she could recruit you as an ally.”

“Maybe,” he said slowly, “But I think there’s enough evidence to show Jeff just lost it. He was about to be fired, fined, and possibly arrested. He and Alyssia were cut from the same cloth. Both out for themselves, so he knew there was no help from that quarter. The logical target for his frustration was Kingston’s.” He shrugged. “They’ll both be charged, regardless.”

“Sad, really,” she said. “Not sad as in I feel sorry for either of them, but sad as in everything they did out of greed eventually … What are you looking at?”

“The tie to your robe. It looks loose.”

Her mouth curved. “Glad to help in your recovery.”

• •

Three Months Later

Heat suffused Glory’s cheeks when Tal picked her up in front of the Hibiscus Suite. Samson looked on, grinning.

“Now, this is a man enjoying his second honeymoon. And only three months after the first. I think this is a record. A kiss for the camera?”

“Glad to oblige.” Tal leaned in. “Mrs. Kingston?”

She nodded, giddy at being addressed as Tal’s wife.

A flash of light sealed the moment and Samson gave a thumbs up, then strolled away.

Tal nuzzled her neck. “Door, please.”

She giggled as she struggled to get the keycard in its slot. “No fair.”

The door clicked and she turned the knob.

Tal stepped over the threshold and kicked the door closed, setting her on her feet. “You should know by now unfair is how I operate.” He started unbuttoning her top. It was the white eyelet one she’d worn the night they went to dinner on their first trip. “Did I tell you I had a dream about unbuttoning this?”

Glory batted at his hand. “Idiot. You left our bags outside.”

“All part of the plan,” he said, sliding his hands across her breasts.

Her breath caught in her throat as Tal leaned toward her ear. “Samson doesn’t know it but he’s only getting two pictures this time. The one he just took, and one at check out.”

Two could play at this game. Glory tugged his shirt out of his khakis. “So you say. You might get tired of all this, um, closeness.”

He pulled her into his arms. “Tired, yes. But not of the closeness.” He kissed her forehead.

She took his hand and led him toward the big bed.

“What?” he said. “On an empty stomach? You expect me to perform without eating?”

Exasperation forced a wrinkle between her eyebrows. “I did
not
mistake that look …”

Tal kissed her wrinkle, pulled her in for a tight hug. “No, you didn’t, but if they don’t deliver dinner soon I’m going to embarrass us both. It should be here any minute.”

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. Glory turned away, buttoning her top. “You get it.”

Tal wheeled in the room service cart, followed by a
Deux
staffer who set their bags inside, then left.

When she turned back around, he lifted the domed cover, revealing two bowls of vanilla ice cream.

“That’s dinner? Tal, what’s going on?”

He walked to the small entry table and withdrew a jar of Kingston’s
Dark and Dangerous Chocolate
Sauce
from between the folds of cellophane of the welcome basket and handed it to her.

Glory’s stomach dropped. “Oh, no.”

“Look again,” he said.

She turned the jar in her hands, examining the label. It was a genuine Kingston product. “When did you do this?”

He grinned. “First assignment for Alyssia’s replacement.”

The End