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“It’s a lot better than what they’d inscribe on mine. ‘She planned every second of her life to death.’”
Ashton coughed long and hard until tears ran from his eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asked him as the fit slowly abated.
“I inhaled some of my wine. That was some pretty dark humor just now,” he said. “It caught me by surprise.”
“Did it?” She considered what she’d said. “I guess I think that way fairly often, but it rarely comes out. It’s not the sort of thing my mother appreciated hearing so I learned to bottle it up.”
“There are more layers to you than anyone realizes, aren’t there?”
Harper shrugged. The admiration in his gaze was both thrilling and a touch uncomfortable. She’d concentrated on doing and saying the right thing her whole life. It was liberating to let loose, but it worried her a little how unmanageable her impulses might become.
It wasn’t until after a second round of wine, when Ashton glanced at his watch, that Harper realized the shadows had lengthened. Once again she noticed how in his entertaining company time seemed to fly.
“I’m going to shower and then take you out for a terrific dinner.”
“Have you registered?”
“Not yet.” He rose and went to where he’d stashed his go bag by a large planter.
“Why don’t you use my shower then?”
He turned and looked at her, his eyes searching her face.
“We both know how tonight will end up. Why pay for two rooms?”
“That’s rather presumptuous of you.”
Despite the cooling air, her skin heated. She got to her feet, hoping to appear more confident than she felt. “I’m just being realistic.”
Ashton wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her, his lips warm and sweetly persuasive. “Have I mentioned how much I appreciate your practical nature?”
Relaxing against his solid body, Harper gave in to a satisfied smile. “You can after dinner.”
“How about a little before and a lot after?”
“That sounds quite acceptable.”
* * *
A sliver of sunlight lanced through a narrow gap between the closed curtains, waking Ashton. From the angle, he surmised it was early afternoon. Jumping multiple time zones had always been a part of his life and from an early age he’d adapted to functioning on less sleep than the average person, but combine his long trip with an insatiable Harper Fontaine and it was amazing he hadn’t slept until dusk.
He rolled onto his back and stretched his arm across the empty mattress. It was cool to the touch. She’d been gone some time. He couldn’t blame her. From the heaviness of his limbs he’d probably been sleeping like the dead. Some fun traveling companion he was.
A tented piece of paper sat on her pillow. He read her note and grimaced. She’d gone to the embassy to see about her passport. That meant she wouldn’t return anytime soon.
Ashton pushed upright and ran his fingers through his hair. He’d use the time to make some arrangements. Last night as they’d talked over dinner, it came to him that no matter how short her trip was, she really shouldn’t leave South Africa without seeing a little of its natural beauty.
It took him an hour’s worth of phone calls to get everything in place. When she arrived half an hour later, looking jubilant and proud of herself, he wrapped her in a warm embrace.
“How’d it go at the embassy?”
“They scolded me for not filing a police report, but I should have a temporary passport early afternoon tomorrow.”
“That’s good news. And I have some, as well.” He drew her toward the hotel room door. “Let’s get something to eat and I’ll tell you all about it.”
This time he took her to a restaurant with unassuming furnishings and mouthwatering aromas emanating from the long buffet. They filled their plates with authentic South African dishes and returned to their table. As they ate, Ashton did his best to explain all the things they’d chosen. It had been over ten years since he’d last visited South Africa and some of the more exotic fare wasn’t familiar.
