Deadly Adventure (Hardy Brothers Security Book 19) (4 page)

“I’m a trouble magnet?” Mandy challenged. “Thanks.”

“Baby, I love you more than life itself, but let’s not kid ourselves. You can’t help drawing trouble to you. I think it’s because you’re so pretty.”

“Oh, smooth,” Mandy said dryly, although she settled in the booth again and reached for her drink. “Just pretend I’m not here, Jesse. It’s fine.”

James blew out a frustrated sigh, her tone irking him.

“I’m sorry,” Jesse said. “I didn’t mean to cause problems. How about we spend the day together tomorrow instead?”

“We’re going to Stonehenge,” James answered. “We have our tour booked and everything.”

Jesse wrinkled his nose. “You’re going on a tour?”

“Mandy wants to see Stonehenge,” James answered. “She’s been looking forward to it for … well … forever. I’m excited to see it with her.”

“It’s a tourist trap, though, man.”

James didn’t miss it when Mandy shifted uncomfortably next to him. She didn’t like Jesse. That much was obvious. He wasn’t sure he blamed her. “Well, we’re tourists,” James said. “We’re going to Stonehenge. You’re welcome to come with us if you want.”

James didn’t expect Jesse to take him up on the offer. He was dumbfounded when the man bobbed his head.

“Okay, that sounds great. We’ll go as a group.”

“Great,” James intoned, risking a glance at Mandy. She didn’t look happy with the new development. “I’m definitely going to need another beer.”

“
I
know you’re angry
, and I don’t blame you,” James said the next morning, following Mandy off the bus and struggling to keep up. “Just … yell at me or something.”

“I’m not angry,” Mandy said, hurrying around the bus and pulling up short when her gaze landed on one of the places she’d dreamed about seeing her entire life. “Look at that.”

James was torn. Her expression was so excited, so exuberant, he didn’t want to dampen her joy. He also didn’t want Jesse showing up to ruin their day before they had a chance to talk things through. Jesse said he would meet them at the exhibit shortly after ten. They had a half hour before that happened. “Baby … .”

Mandy was irritated when she turned. “James, he’s your friend,” she said. “I get that he wants to spend some time alone with you. He might want to talk about something that happened when you were overseas.”

“I don’t care if you hear that,” James said. “You already know my deepest and darkest secrets.”

“And that’s great,” Mandy said. “Maybe the conversation isn’t about something you did, though. Maybe it’s about something he did … or felt … or that revolves around him. I know we’re high-maintenance and think everything revolves around us, but it really doesn’t.”

“Huh,” James mused, rubbing his hand over his chin. “I didn’t even consider that.”

“It’s okay, James,” Mandy said, reaching out to grab his hand so she could give it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m here. I’m in the presence of actual magic. I just want to see it. You can talk to Jesse while I do.”

“You’re magic,” James said, tugging her to him so he could wrap her in a warm hug. “You’re really smart sometimes. I wouldn’t have figured out that possibility without you.”

“I
am
a genius,” Mandy confirmed, kissing the corner of his mouth. “You don’t have to be glued to me. I’m just happy to be here.”

“And what if I want to be glued to you?” James challenged, refusing to release his wife no matter how much she wiggled.

“James! I need to see it up close.”

“I know.”

“Then let me go,” Mandy whined.

“I’ll never let you go,” James said. “I will, however, gladly follow you to look at the big rocks.”

“They’re magical … and possibly leftover from when aliens visited Earth,” Mandy intoned.

“You are my favorite person in the world,” James said, smacking a kiss on her lips. “Come on. Let’s see the big rocks.” He linked his fingers with Mandy’s to make sure she didn’t race ahead and accidentally get separated from him.

“Move faster,” Mandy ordered. “I want to stare at them a long time. I’m going to want a lot of photos, too.”

“Your wish is my command, wife.”

“
Y
OUR
wife seems
… happy.”

James glanced at the man beside him and ruefully smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest and watched Mandy excitedly talk to another woman next to the ropes that separated the walkway from the prohibited grass around the Stonehenge exhibit.

“She’s wanted to see this forever,” James explained. “She thinks it’s magic.”

“What do you think?”

“I think she’s magic,” James said. “I also think she looks amazingly happy. I have no idea who that poor woman is next to her, but Mandy just can’t stop chattering on about this place.”

“That’s my wife,” the man said.

James snickered. “Oh, I’m sorry. Mandy is … excitable.”

“So is Becky. That’s my wife’s name, by the way. I’m Danny Cameron. We’re from Illinois.”

“Oh, it’s a small world,” James said, shaking the man’s hand. “I’m James Hardy. We’re from Michigan.”

“It is a small world,” Danny said. “How long are you over here for?”

“Just until this weekend,” James replied. “We fly home first thing Sunday morning.”

“We’re here another two days and then we’re gone,” Danny said. “My wife has a list of things she wants to see before we leave. Our beds didn’t make the list.”

James snickered. “My wife has a few things she still wants to see, too,” he said. “I think the big ones are Harrods and the wax museum.”

“Oh, Becky would never go to the wax museum,” Danny said. “She thinks they’re ghoulish. I would like to see it, but she gets two votes to my one. How about your wife?”

“My wife is … amazing,” James said, opting for honesty. “She would give up the museum to make me happy.”

“Would that make you happy?”

“No. I think wax museums are pretty cool and I absolutely adore watching her freak out over the horror displays. She’s something of a horror geek … and a
Jaws
geek … and a
Star Wars
geek. Come to think of it, she’s an all around geek.”

“She sounds like the perfect woman.”

“She is,” James agreed, smiling as Mandy flipped through her guidebook and continued talking to Becky. “God, I love her.”

“Oh, you’re cute,” Danny said. “How long have you been married? Is this your honeymoon?”

“We’ve been married a year.”

“Yeah, once you hit the ten-year mark, give me a call,” Danny intoned. “You probably won’t feel the same way.”

“I’ll always feel this way,” James said, lifting his eyebrows as a hand landed on his shoulder. “Hey, Jesse.”

“Hey, man,” Jesse replied, offering Danny a friendly head nod. “I thought it would be easier to find you here. I’ve been here for twenty minutes wandering around. This place is packed.”

“It’s Stonehenge,” James said. “It’s magic.”

“Yeah, you’ve turned into a sap or something,” Jesse said. “Where is your wife? I thought you couldn’t be separated from her for thirty seconds or she would cry or something.”

James narrowed his eyes. “She over looking at the stones,” he said. “Do you have a problem with Mandy?”

Jesse balked at the question. “Of course not. She seems great.”

“Then why did you say that?” James pressed, keeping one eye on Mandy as he faced Jesse down. Becky had her hand on Mandy’s arm and both women appeared entranced with something in the guidebook. “You have attitude where Mandy is concerned, and I want to know why.”

“I don’t have attitude,” Jesse scoffed. “I’m just … stunned. How could you get married?”

“Um, I’m going to check on the women,” Danny said, shifting uncomfortably.

“Thanks, man,” James said, offering him a wan smile. “I just need a few minutes alone with my friend.”

“I understand.”

James waited until Danny was out of earshot before letting his temper come out to play. “Tell me what your problem is with my wife.”

“I don’t understand why you picked this route,” Jesse said, opting for honesty. “You were going to play the field forever. You were going to love hundreds of women. Now you’re saying you’re going to love one for the rest of your life? I just … it makes no sense.”

“I was an idiot when I said that stuff,” James argued. “I was young … and foolish … and terrified I was going to die over there. It was dangerous to dream about a future because being distracted is what gets you killed in a place like that.

“Once I got home, I lived that life,” he continued. “I slept with so many women I lost count. I didn’t love any of them, though. I didn’t connect with any of them. There’s a difference.”

“And you connected with Mandy?” Jesse asked.

“I connected with Mandy the first moment I locked eyes with her again,” James replied. “I didn’t even know who she was. When I left Barker Creek I was eighteen and thought war sounded like a great idea. She was fourteen and hiding in big sweatshirts and books.

“There was something there from the start when she came back into my life,” he continued. “I could feel it. My skin … hummed. My heart did this flopping thing that made me sick to my stomach.”

“And so you married her?”

James frowned. “No. I fought my feelings until they almost tore me apart. Then I gave in and it felt as if I’d been rescued from the brink. I’ve never once looked back.”

Jesse was conflicted. “And you’re happy?”

“She completes me,” James replied. “She doesn’t have a piece of my heart. She is my heart.”

“I just … you’re like a dude from a romance novel now,” Jesse said. “You know that, right.”

James smirked. “I can live with that,” he said. “All I want is to make her happy. My favorite part of the day is when we first wake up and she’s all warm and snuggly. I could spend an entire lifetime in that five minutes. That’s how happy I am.”

Jesse shrugged, defeated. “Well, then I guess I’m happy for you,” he said. “I just … it took me by surprise. I didn’t know what to think.”

“I get that,” James said. “You have to accept she’s part of my life, though. No, that’s wrong. She
is
my life. You can’t say things to her like you did last night.”

Jesse was confused. “What did I say?”

“You suggested she leave the bar on her own,” James replied. “You insinuated she got pregnant so I had to marry her. Both of those things were insults.”

“Aw, man, that’s not how I meant it,” Jesse said. “I didn’t think you would want to talk about old times in front of her. I thought it would embarrass you.”

“She knows most of it,” James said. “What she doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing. Don’t embarrass or hurt her again. I don’t like it.”

“I’ll apologize,” Jesse said, holding his hands up. “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay,” James said, his eyes lighting up as Mandy scampered toward him. “What’s up, wife? Do you need more photos?”

“No. I have like a hundred photos.”

“That’s good,” James said, smoothing the back of her flaxen hair. “What’s next? Do you want to walk around the entire thing again?”

Mandy shook her head. “Did you know there’s a gift shop?”

James pursed his lips. “No, but that doesn’t surprise me.”

“We need to go to it.”

James linked his fingers with Mandy’s. “Lead the way, baby.”

Mandy shifted her attention to Jesse. “Do you want to come or … I could leave James here with you and go myself.”

“No, that’s completely unnecessary,” Jesse said, shaking his head. “In fact, I want to apologize if I made you uncomfortable last night. I didn’t realize what I said was rude. I don’t spend a lot of time around women.”

Mandy made an exaggerated face. “Oh, puh-leez. I can tell you fancy yourself as popular with the ladies.”

“Yes, but I never take the time to listen to what they have to say,” Jesse clarified. “James explained how that’s important, and I think I did you a disservice. I’m sorry for what I said. I hope we can start with a clean slate.”

“Sure,” Mandy said, clapping his shoulder hard enough to rock him. “I’m fine with that. Can we go to the gift shop now?”

James chuckled. “Lead the way, wife. I’m dying to see how many things you buy here.”

“Me, too!”

“
I
’M
exhausted just looking
at her,” Jesse said, shaking his head as he watched Mandy study each display with a critical eye. “That’s the same stuff she’s looked at twice before. It hasn’t changed.”

“Leave her be,” James chided. “She’s been talking about seeing this place since before we got married. If she wants every single thing in this shop, she can have it.”

“Wow, big spender,” Jesse teased. “You must be doing well.”

“I
am
doing well,” James confirmed.

“I’m glad business is so great for you,” Jesse said. “I wish I had the balls to start my own company instead of working for someone else. At least you’re building something. I feel as if I’m treading water.”

“You could always go back home and get a job there,” James suggested, grinning as Mandy picked out a snow globe and added it to her pile of goodies. “You can build up a good reputation and save money and then branch out and open your own business when the time is right.

“My first office was tiny,” he continued. “It took more than a year to build up to the big building, but once I did things started snowballing. You know what you’re doing and have a great reputation. You could do the same thing.”

“Thanks for the pep talk,” Jesse said. “Do you think I can find a wife like yours, too? She’s kind of a nerd, but I finally get what you see in her. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s smoking hot. But that smile she just flashed you was something to behold.”

“She’s my baby,” James said, holding his arm out to collect Mandy’s basket as she headed in his direction. “Do you have everything you want?”

“I think so,” Mandy replied, biting her lip as she glanced around. “I got charms for Ally, Sophie, and Emma. They go on those Pandora bracelets you guys got.”

“Hey, I got that bracelet first,” James argued. “Everyone else jumped on it after the fact. I was the first.”

“Yes, you’re very wise,” Mandy said, patting James’ chest and then leaving her hand on the spot above his heart for a moment. The simple gesture warmed James. “I got a little onesie for Avery, too. I got a book for Grady because he loves nerdy stuff.”

“Good,” James said. “Did you get a charm for yourself?”

Mandy nodded.

“What about the necklace?”

“I don’t need the necklace,” Mandy said, gesturing toward the silver chain around her neck. “I’ll never take this necklace off.”

“That’s a shark,” Jesse said, confused.

“Sharks turn her on,” James said. “I bought that one as a wedding gift and had it engraved.”

“Oh, what a softie,” Jesse teased, grabbing James’ cheek and giving it a good jiggle.

James jerked his head away. “I am a softie,” he agreed. “For her. I’ll still beat you.”

“Duly noted,” Jesse said, fighting to control his smile … and losing.

“So you got the snow globe and the charm,” James said. “How about that big book you were looking at? That would be nice in the new arboretum.”

“Ooh, I didn’t think of that,” Mandy said, her eyes lighting up. “I got the same book for Grady but I didn’t know where to put it in our house so I didn’t add it to my basket. I’ll be right back.”

“We’ll be right here,” Jesse called to her back. “She is something.”

“She is,” James agreed, chuckling as Mandy inadvertently ran into Becky as they reached for the same book. The two women smiled at each other and Mandy retrieved two books so she could give one to Becky. He couldn’t hear what they said to each other, but they appeared happy. “She really is.”