wrath of the Sea Queen (142 page)

"
Lorrie, perhaps I should introduce you to my friends before you say anything else.
"
  Apela gave her a stern look, but she ignored him.

"Yeah, it's Dr. Erickson this and Dr. Erickson that.  It's enough to make you want to kick the woman," Lorrie remarked in irritation.
 

"
Lorrie! 
The gentleman across from you
is Mr. Erickson and this is Dr. Erickson's nephew.  Considering the family at the table, I think it might be wise if you refrained from any further comments along those lines,
"
Apela emphasized the
last
names and Lorrie's attenti
on suddenly became more focused on the two men.

Without missing a beat, Lorrie smiled and continued.

"
I apologize, gentlemen.  I meant no offense.  I
'm sure she's a wonderful person.  H
er work is tremendous
and the speech she is giving is quite interesting
.  Between you and me, it's
difficult
to sit and listen to your boyfriend
drone
on and on about another lady for two weeks, and then have him drooling over
h
er
in person
.  I'm sorry, please don't take it personally.  It's more of a matter between me and him, and not really her fault at all.
"
  Lorrie winked at Ben as she finished.

"
Understandable, Miss.  Apology accepted.
"
  Ben smiled politely, but Vin could tell that he wasn't buying her story.  Neither
was
Vin
for that matter. 

"
So, you traveled all this way to hear your wife speak?  That's
very supportive of you.  Most men
would
rather go fishing
.
"

That comment hit home, and Ben did feel guilty that he had eve
r
considered spending the week doing just that. 
Although Salma would never have complained,
Ben
realized
belatedly
how selfish
and
entirely
unsupportive
it was of him
when this presentation was so important to her
.  But Ben stoically
refrained
from showing any outward reaction.

"
And how about you, Vin?  She
i
s not even your mom
, just your aunt
.  What brought you out by yourself
?  I'm sure your wife wasn't happy about
being left behind
, was she?
"
  Lorrie asked bluntly, staring across the table at Vin.

Vin was leaning back in his chair with his arms cross
ed
over his chest, covering his hands.
 

"
Lorrie!
"
  Apela
whispered harshly and
nudged her
with his elbow
.

"
What?  I'm curious.  You don't see it very often.
"

"
And you wonder why you're still single,
"
Apela said in a harsh whisper.

"
It's ok, Apela,
"
Vin spared him.

He now leaned forward, placing his right hand on the table and picking up his glass of tea
with his left
.  As he finished a few sips of the
drink
and returned the glass to the table, Vin interlaced his fingers and offered Lorrie an explanation.

"
My wife is here
with me
. 
I would never leave her behind
.  Salma is actually her aunt. 
As such,
she
sort of
adopted
me
.
"
  Vin smiled, trying to avoid Lorrie's unrelenting gaze. 
The way she star
ed
gave
Vin
the impression that
she was trying to look inside his mind and
read
his thoughts. 

Lorrie, seeing that Vin was politely avoiding her attempt to catch his eye, turned her full attention on him.  She increased her
blatant flirt
ation
;
smiling and batting her eyes
at him
.

"
So you didn't really come to hear the
good
doctor
speak
then
.  You followed your wife. 
She m
ust be quite a woman to bring you all the way from the States to our little island.  I mean, you're a good
looking
fella. 
You p
robably
have
women making up reasons to see you; throwing
themselves at you all the time.
"

Vin showed no outward reaction as he recalled the incident with Vicki
,
which Lorrie's words brought to mind.
  She seemed to have an uncanny attenuation to the recent events in their lives.

"
I certainly wouldn't think twice about accepting
a date with a man as handsome as you
if you
had
ever asked me out, but you never did.  What I'm trying to say is that you
could have any gal you wanted
following you, rather than traipsing after
a woman
who couldn't
even
be bothered to
show up
with you
.  So,
your wife
must be pretty special.
"
 

By now, Apela's face
was
bright
red
with
embarrassment on his sister's behalf
.  Lorrie
didn't seem to mind at all as
her hand reached out to cover
Vin's
hands on the table
.  Vin
, refusing to be baited by the woman's
poorly
veiled
attempt to
insult
C
a
eli,
politely
re
moved his hands
, folding
them in his lap.

"
Well, I don't know about all that, but I do think she
i
s
both
pretty and
special,
"
Vin agreed
.  Thinking of C
a
eli reminded him of her condition, and it brought
a
genuine
smile
to his face
once again
.

"
There, see now, Apela?  He
re
i
s one of those honest men you keep telling me to find.  I
am
flirting with him, building up his ego, and what d
oes
he do about it?  Nothing.  All he did was get a little embarrassed by the flattery, and his
face lit up
like the midday sun
when he talked about his wife.  Tell me where I can find such a rarity, one who is not already
taken
, and maybe then we'll be in business,
"
Lorrie good naturedly smacked Apela on the shoulder. 

"
Lorrie, please!
"
  Apela pleaded with her to stop.

"
Oh, a
ll right.  It seems I
ha
ve overstayed
m
y brother's welcome. 
Well gents, it
ha
s been a pleasure
. 
I
better get back
to my own table, t
hough I doubt my fella has missed me as much as Vin here seems to miss
C
a
eli
.  But
,
Scott
might
realize I'm gone
when his
glass
is empty.
"
  Lorrie got up and
sauntered
over
to her table with a parting wave to Vin
, who thought th
e gesture
seemed
vaguely familiar. 

Ben stared after her, wondering if Vin noticed her slip of the tongue.  There was definitely something unsettling about Lorrie's demeanor,
harmless
though she seemed to be.
  Vin wonder
ed
if Ben noticed Lorrie's
seeming familiarity with
himself and
C
a
eli
. 
Lost in their
private
contemplations, n
either was paying much attention to Apela.

"
I'm sorry.  Sometimes
Lorrie
can be a bit dramatic,
"
Apela hung his head.

"
Three minutes left.  I will work my way over and wait near the side of the stage.  And here's Lorrie.  She can keep you company
during the commotion
,
"
Neal said as he
looked up from Sc
ott's wristwatch and
stood
up from the table.  He offered his seat to Lorrie as she returned.  She graciously accepted, seating herself on Scott's left
this time
.