Lovers Never Lie (2 page)

Andrew forced his gaze from the woman and watched a cat instead, as it streaked from bush to bush in the yard of a neighboring house. But when the cat slipped beneath a porch and disappeared, he slowly, reluctantly glanced back toward the steps. The woman was still there.

She lifted her hand to press the buzzer. The wind riffled her straight brown hair and for an instant exposed the skin at the base of her neck. He could almost feel the shiver streak across her shoulders then shimmy down the rest of her body.

She pulled her sweater tighter then turned to look around. Her eyes, a dark brown—although why he was convinced of that from this distance he didn't know—met his, then swiftly snapped away again.

Her chest rose, then fell, and for a second time she rang the buzzer. This time the door opened so suddenly whoever opened it must have been waiting on the other side. The woman stepped inside, the door slammed shut, and she was gone.

Andrew glowered at the small clock on the dashboard of his car ticking away the minutes while he sat and waited. He rolled his shoulders to ease his tight muscles. A single sheet of newspaper fluttered along the grass and slammed against the steps where the woman had stood.

No sign of her coming out again.

Andrew's jaw tensed. Watching the woman enter the house had been like watching a butterfly flutter into a spider's web. He didn't know what she was doing in there, but if she wasn't out in five minutes, he was going in after her.

      
      
      
      
*
      
*
      
*

Stacia Roberts hid her distaste as the dry bony fingers of the man touched hers. The whole house felt dry, and was hot like a furnace compared to the chill outside. She could scarcely bear to follow the man into his study, where the heat, combined with the musty odor of ancient overstuffed furniture and seldom dusted bookshelves, was stifling.

The man slipped behind the massive oak desk dominating the room. "Have a seat, Miss Roberts." He gestured towards the cracked leather chair opposite.

Stacia lowered herself carefully. The chair's seams looked as though they might rip apart at the slightest touch.

"So glad, Miss Roberts, that you answered my advertisement." The man surveyed her from head to foot. "You look quite perfect for the job."

"Thank-you, Mr., uh..."

He hesitated for an instant. "Stone," he finally said.

"Mr. Stone," Stacia echoed. "I didn't realize there were any special requirements for the job."

"No, no, nothing of the sort," he replied. "I meant you look... reliable."

She was reliable, all right. But not for much longer. Footloose and fancy free. That's what she wanted. No obligations, no complications....

Stacia sighed. No money. Reliable meant getting this job and with it a ticket to Greece. She smothered another sigh. She could do reliable a while longer.

"How big is the package you want me to take?" she asked.

He reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a brown paper package. Then he pushed aside a framed picture of a dark haired woman and a younger, thinner, more fully-haired version of himself standing in front of an old stone church and passed the package to Stacia.

Whatever was inside was soft. Clothing? Stacia wondered.

"There's a sweater in there," Mr. Stone explained. "Mrs. Andropolous knit it for her husband's daughter-in-law."

"Her
husband's
daughter-in-law?"

"Mrs. Andropolous is my client's second wife." He leaned towards Stacia, spittle flecking the corner of his mouth.

Stacia drew back, the chair's leather giving way obligingly.

"Wrapped in the sweater is Mr. Andropolous's last will and testament," Stone continued solemnly, "to be delivered only into the hands of his eldest son, Darius. Mr. Andropolous's younger son is not happy about the new will. My client is afraid he'll attempt to intercept it." Mr. Stone gazed sternly at Stacia. "You mustn't let on to anyone that you have the parcel with you."

Stacia frowned. "Wouldn't it be safer just to mail the will or file it in your office?"

"Of course it would." He suddenly straightened, his movement bringing a protesting squeal from the wheels of his chair. "But there's no telling Mr. Andropolous that. The old man doesn't trust
any
public institutions—banks, the postal service—let alone a lawyer's office."

Stacia nodded. Grandfather Roberts had been the same. They had found stashes of money everywhere after he died, under his mattress, in a paint can in the garage, tacked to the back of a picture frame. His attorney had shaken his head in despair.

Grandfather Roberts had also insisted on hanging on to his own will. It had been days before they finally located it wrapped in plastic and tucked between two pot roasts in the freezer.

Mr. Stone picked up an envelope and handed it to her, releasing it from his fingers slowly. "I think you'll find everything you need in here. Airline tickets, money, hotel reservations for your first few nights in Athens." His brow creased. "Mr. Andropolous's son is a very busy man. He's often away on business. He intends to meet you at the hotel upon your arrival, but he may well be delayed."

"Don't worry, Mr. Stone." Stacia tucked the envelope and package into her purse. "I'll bring this to him safely." She managed to say it with more certainty than she felt.

The idea of foreign travel both attracted and terrified her. All the more reason she had to do it.
Safe
was not something she wanted anymore. She'd been safe too long.

Stacia stood and followed Stone back down the dusty hall, shook his hand one last time, then stepped out into the crisp spring morning.

The grey car was still parked two doors down. The driver must be asleep, he was sitting so still, his chin tucked into his chest and his hat pulled over his eyes. Strange place to sleep.

He had startled her earlier—staring at her like that. She had, of course, not looked at him properly. Dangerous to do that in the city her father had always said. Avert your gaze. Don't talk to strangers.

Stacia brushed away the moisture suddenly welling in her eyes. She'd always been impatient with her father's advice, had ignored it for the most part, but she missed it now he was gone.

She straightened her shoulders and started down the steps. Her father might be right about Chicago, but in Greece she planned to indulge her natural inclination to look people in the eye. She intended to meet all sorts, talk to anyone she cared to. Excitement surged through her as she quickly walked away.

* * *

No matter which way she juggled her suitcases, Stacia's arms felt as though they might snap in two. She had considered investing in a suitcase on wheels instead of making do with Grandmother Roberts' heavy old case, but every dollar saved would lengthen her stay in Greece.

With a sigh, she squeezed her carry-on case more tightly against her body, until suddenly it slipped from beneath her arm. As she lunged for it the suitcase in her other hand clattered to the floor. It sprang open, the old metal latches not up to any strain.

Cotton dresses, shorts and tops, lingerie and bathing suits cascaded forth in a kaleidoscope of purple, pink and turquoise, ending in a jumbled heap on the floor.

Her new silk panties slid across the linoleum and stopped against a solid brown leather shoe.

A man's shoe.

Heat swept Stacia's cheeks. Without looking up, she leaned over the precariously tilted suitcase and snatched up her underwear.

"Let me help you," a voice offered.

"No, thank you," Stacia replied, reaching for the clothes nearest her and jumbling them back into her case. She had spent a long time packing, had folded each item just so. The travel guide she'd read had promised that judicious packing and the right blend of synthetics would assure a wrinkle-free arrival, but all that mattered now was to rescue her personal belongings from the gaze of a stranger.

She stretched toward a particularly elusive bikini top, but pulled back again when she encountered a hand. A man's hand. A warm current shot up her arm and through to her chest, leaving a peculiar tingling in its wake. She glanced upward and found herself staring into the face of the man belonging to the shoe.

No sign of laughter was evident on his lips, but it lurked in his eyes—impossibly blue eyes, the same blue as his sweater. He picked up her bikini top and, dangling it from between two fingers, offered it to her.

"Thank-you," she said, reaching for it, taking care not to touch him again.

Now
his amusement spread to his lips, lips made for laughter, full and mobile.

"I can manage the rest," she said firmly. She pulled her gaze from his lips but the flush warming her cheeks now spread to her neck.

Ignoring her words, he crouched and with one broad sweep of his arm scooped up the rest of her clothes. He pulled the suitcase toward him, Stone's parcel scraping the floor beneath it.

"Stop! You'll tear it," Stacia cried, reaching for the package.

The man was faster. Releasing her clothes, he lifted the suitcase and snatched up the parcel.

"Looks important," he said, the sapphire blue of his eyes darkening to ebony.

He looked as fierce as the Greek warrior, Ulysses, Stacia thought dazedly, with his high cheekbones and perceptive deep set eyes.

She shook her head. This wasn't one of her library books, and this man was no Greek God. This man had Mr. Andropolous's property and was busy pressing and probing the package as a child might do a Christmas present.

"Well?" he asked, glancing up at her. One eyebrow had shot up and disappeared behind the shock of black hair covering his forehead.

"It's nothing important," Stacia said, holding her hand out for the parcel.

"Clothes?" he asked. His fingers sank into the brown paper, falling just short of ripping it.

"Do you always pry into other people's belongings?" Stacia demanded.

"I'm not usually gathering up a beautiful woman's intimate apparel from an airport floor," he replied with a smile. But his body didn't match his smile, seemed rock hard where it should be relaxed.

Beautiful? Stacia frowned. What did this man want?

"No
gentleman
would pick up a woman's personal belongings," she said crossly, "then have the bad manners to comment on them."

His smile widened to a grin. "No one's ever accused me of being a gentleman before, and you haven't answered my question."

"It's a sweater, if you must know. Nothing exciting."

She wasn't cut out for this sort of work, didn't know how to lie. Didn't
want
to know how to lie. Yet, here she was doing it.

Damn it, all she wanted was to have her parcel back. She thrust out her hand again.

The man gave the parcel another squeeze, the wrapping paper crackling ominously.

Stacia cleared her throat. "My parcel," she said firmly.

In answer, the man set the suitcase upright, dumped clothes and parcel in together then slammed the lid shut. He snapped the locks closed and took a firm grip on the handle.

"You need a new suitcase," he said, standing, her bag still in his hand. "This one looks as though it came across on the Mayflower." He held out his hand as though to help her up.

Had she gone completely crazy? Was it his eyes compelling her to place her hand in his, or the implacable way he reached for her? Whatever the reason, however it happened, when his palm engulfed hers, it felt good. He pulled her up beside him, her body inches from his own, and she felt the zing of attraction, a connection beyond the physical.

Hastily, she snatched her hand away. She didn't want to feel connected to anyone again.

"Which gate are you going to?" the man asked.

"Why?"

His eyebrows rose. "You look as though you could use some help."

"I'll get a sky cap."

His gaze swept the cavernous length of O'Hare airport and the hundreds of people charging to and fro. Helpful bodies in blue were conspicuously absent.

"Good luck," he said, then faced her once more. "I'd be glad to help."

"I wouldn't want you to go to any trouble."

"No trouble," he said, stepping away. He carried her suitcase as though it weighed nothing and with another easy movement, he picked up his own leather satchel.

Thick, black hair curled around the nape of his neck, like Samson's hair in the story of Delilah.

Mythical characters again on her brain! She had to forget about heroes and books. If she compared everyone she met with people she had read about in books, she would never experience life. Besides, when she got back from this trip, she didn't intend to be a librarian anymore. She would go to university and study architecture as she had always wanted, perhaps live overseas. She would focus her attention on how buildings were made and try to restrain this passion for other people's stories.

He raised one thick brow.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Gate 47," she murmured, thrusting away every warning her father had ever uttered about men and what they wanted and what they would do to get it. Meeting men was a good thing, in her opinion. She had been hoping to meet some on this trip. Good-looking men, with whom she could have fun.