The Heart Has Reasons (61 page)

“Glad
to hear it, because there’s absolutely no reason for you to be.”

After
they left the café, they strolled down the area of Bay Street known as Rainbow
Row, past restored homes painted in bright Caribbean-influenced blues, pinks,
greens, and lavenders.

At
Waterfront Park, both tourists and locals alike cooled their feet in the two
fountains.  Sun-lovers sprawled on the grass, soaking up the rays, while
the more circumspect lounged on park benches in the shade.  Their passage
across the Great Lawn was slow and laborious as hoards of laughing children
insisted on petting the frolicking puppy.  Larissa was painfully aware of
the crowd’s scrutiny as people recognized her and began pointing her out to
their companions.  A group of men began to clap, and then the entire crowd
was applauding.  Pasting on a tight-lipped smile, she raised a hand in
acknowledgment and steered Chase toward the aptly named Pineapple Fountain.

“Why
the embarrassment?” Chase asked.  “You should be proud.”

“Proud
of taking credit for something I didn’t do?  You’re the hero, not me.”

Disgust
twisted his mouth.  “I’m no hero.  Hell, I rank only a few notches
above Sparrow.”

“That’s
not true and you know it.”

He
suddenly stiffened and made a sweeping scan of the area, his gaze roving over
the crowd with a grim intensity made the hair on the back of her neck prickle,
and then she too was studying the faces in the crowd.  “Chase, I wish
you’d stop doing that.  You’re making me nervous.”

“Sorry. 
Thought I spotted something or someone in the crowd.  It was such a brief
glimpse that whatever I saw didn’t fully register.”  Wrapping one muscular
arm about her shoulders, he leaned down to kiss her.  “You’re probably
right.  Recent events have me paranoid.”  His smile didn’t quite
reach his eyes and she caught a momentary flicker of unease in their blue
depths before they returned to scrutinizing the crowd.

As
a trio of dolphins splashed two-hundred feet from shore, they strolled toward
the water.  At intervals along the four-hundred-foot pier, old-fashioned
porch swings hung beneath covered areas.  Claiming a vacant one, Larissa
cuddled in the curve of Chase’s arm, enjoying the cool breeze coming off the
water.  While the water lapped at the pilings beneath the pier, the puppy
grabbed another nap beneath them.  Gently rocking the swing with her
sandaled feet, she leaned her head on Chase’s shoulder, grateful for this small
oasis of happiness and contentment, this day of near-perfect bliss.

Clasping
her hand, he brought it to his lips.  “Why do they call this the Low
Country?”

“The
southeastern third of South Carolina is nearly at sea level.  Shallow
creeks and streams meander through the whole area and it’s prone to marsh- and
swampland.  We’ll have to go to Cypress Gardens someday.  It’s a
hundred-and-sixty-acre black-water swamp.”  When he regarded her with
raised brows, she added, “It’s much better than it sounds.”

With
a start, she realized she was speaking as though his relocation to Charleston
was a foregone conclusion.  The truth, however unpalatable, was that they
were merely in the process of getting to know one another better.  Chase
was a man accustomed to a life
brimming with excitement and
danger.  Now that he was spending time with her under normal
circumstances, would he find her too ordinary?  Her life too
mundane?  The knowledge that he might decide
not
to move here
pierced her with the emotional equivalent of an arrow through the heart.

Fighting
the impulse to throw herself into his arms, she settled for tightening her grip
on his hand, as if mere force of will could somehow keep him from
leaving.  As dread slowly accreted in her stomach, she desperately tried
to convince herself she was worrying over nothing.  After all, just last
night he’d said he loved her.  But men often said, “I love you” after
extraordinary sex, when what they really meant was, “I love having sex with
you”.

Unaware
of her sudden disquiet, Chase squinted toward the far bank of the Cooper
River.  “That looks like a battleship.”

Her
mouth was so dry she could barely speak.  “The
USS Yorktown
. 
It’s been turned into a museum.”  They briefly discussed Charleston’s
history and, since his interest seemed to illustrate his continuing intention
to relocate there, she was able to force her worry to the back of her
mind. 

As
they left the pier, Larissa’s gaze casually passed over the throng of people
and something — a face in the crowd? — kicked her heart rate up several
notches.  Coming to an abrupt stop, she carefully scrutinized the
multitude, but the constantly shifting mosaic of people refused to divulge
whomever or whatever had caught her eye.

She
turned back to find Chase watching her, brows raised in silent query. 
Hoping it looked sincere, she pasted on a smile.  “You see?  Now
you’ve got me doing it.”  Despite her feigned nonchalance, premonition lay
heavy upon her and suddenly she wanted be far away from this crowd. 
“Let’s walk down to The Battery.”

Chase
carried the slumbering puppy as they headed south on East Battery Street,
strolling along the raised walk that bordered the river.  Gulls dived and
wheeled overhead, their cries raucous.

They
came to a stop at the very tip of the Charleston peninsula, at the point where
the Ashley and Cooper Rivers converged at Charleston Harbor.  When he
wrapped his arms about her, she leaned back against him, relishing his
comforting strength.  The sun shimmered off the water, creating golden
spangles that gilded the backs of the low waves as graceful sailboats and
picturesque shrimp boats wended back and forth in the harbor.

He
inhaled the salty tang of the air.  “I love the ocean.”

The
breeze off the water blew wayward tendrils of hair into her face.  “Folly
Beach isn’t far from here.”

They
moseyed across the street to White Point Gardens, with its huge statue
dedicated to the defenders of Fort Sumter.  Aimed toward the harbor,
cannons lined the street alongside pyramidal stacks of cannon balls.  The
puppy romped through the grass as they strolled hand-in-hand beneath the
sinuous branches of majestic live oaks dripping with Spanish moss.  Golden
sunlight filtered down through the canopy, dappling them with lacy shadows.

On
the opposite side of the park were the palmetto-lined streets of the Battery,
with their grand, historic homes wrapped with second and third floor
verandas.  “It’s so beautiful here.”

“You
should see it in spring when the dogwoods and daffodils are blooming, and the
entire city is blanketed in wisteria vines and azalea blossoms.”

“You
really love it here, don’t you?”

She
smiled up at him.  “I do.”

He
came to a halt and gently backed her against the trunk of a live oak. 
Cupping her chin in one hand, he tilted her face up to his.  “Would it
upset you if I went ahead and moved here, regardless of how our relationship
progresses?”

“Are
you serious?”

He
nodded.  “If you decide you don’t want a relationship with me, well … it’s
a big city.  And if you’re worried I’ll turn out to be a stalker, you know
you’ll always have the option of calling Agent Jarvis.”

She
playfully punched him in the arm.  “I’m not worried about that.  Nor
do I have the right to tell you where you can or cannot live.  But after
last night, I think
you’re
the one who may be at risk of being stalked.”

“Was
it that good?”

She
removed her sunglasses.  “Honey, good doesn’t even
begin
to
describe it.”

He
grinned rakishly.  “If all these people weren’t around, I’d fuck you right
here on the ground under this tree.”

The
blatant explicitness of his words tightened her nipples into hard little peaks,
while the muscles throughout her pelvis clenched in anticipation.  “If all
these people weren’t around, I’d let you.”

He
leaned down to kiss her and, heedless of who might be watching, Larissa opened
her mouth beneath his.  When she lightly sucked his tongue, a shudder ran
through his body and he reluctantly broke off the kiss.  “Jesus,
Larissa.  If you only knew the effect you have on me.”

She
glanced down at his crotch, where his erection was pushing against the
constraint of his khakis.  “I can plainly see.”  All wide-eyed
innocence, she moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, slipped one
earpiece of her sunglasses between her lips and sucked it.  Softly, for
his ears only, she said, “When we get home, I’m going to get down on my knees
and—”

“Stop
it!”  Glancing about, he surreptiously adjusted himself.  She
laughed, enjoying his discomfort.  Switching back to their previous subject,
he said, “So you wouldn’t mind if I went ahead and made plans to move here?”

“I
was actually starting to worry you might decide
not
to move here. 
As far as I’m concerned, the sooner, the better.”

“In
that case, it’s settled.  Would you mind if someday soon my friends flew
out to visit?  They’re dying to meet you.”

“Are
they housebroken?”

He
shrugged.  “For the most part.”

“Are
they going to sit around and tell war stories?”

He
made a wry face and nodded.  “If they get a few drinks in them, you won’t be
able to shut them up.”

She
grinned mischievously.  “Then I’ll be sure to keep them plied with
liquor.”

“You
may regret it.”

“Not
if you’re in the stories.  I look forward to meeting your friends, and
they’re welcome anytime.”

He
leaned down and kissed her, a long, slow kiss that left her breathless. 
“How did I get to be so lucky?”

She
was totally deadpan as she offered, “Maybe Fate has decided to reward you for
being such a law-abiding citizen.”

He
glared at her, but his blue eyes sparkled with mirth.  “I should have
brought that gag with me.”

“If
I get even a glimpse of that gag, I’ll put a bullet in you.  And I should
warn you I’m a fairly decent shot.”

“You
wouldn’t shoot me.”

“That’s
an assumption you might not want to test.”

When
he laughed, the sound touched an erogenous spot deep inside her.  “Do you
know when I fell in love with you?  It was that first night when you
brandished the steak knife, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “I’ll be
leaving now.”

She
eyed him dubiously.  “That’s a peculiar reason to fall in love.”

“The
way you stood up to me was so goddamned sexy.  Of course, it wasn’t until
much later that I realized it.  You’d have really stabbed me, wouldn’t
you?”

“If
I’d been confident that I could either kill or disable you, I wouldn’t have
hesitated.”

“Good
for you.”

“But
I knew you were right about the knife being too dull and too light for
sufficient penetration.  Would you have shot me if I’d thrown it?”

“You
know very well I was bluffing.  There wasn’t even a round in the
chamber.  I was more concerned about you screaming, than of you wounding
me.”

“So,
when
did
you realize you loved me?”

“Not
until that last night, when you told me you’d faked everything.  It felt
like you’d hit me square in the chest with a sledgehammer, although at the time
I was trying hard to convince myself that what I was feeling was simply anger
that you’d tricked me.  I didn’t finally admit it to myself until the next
day, after I’d delivered you to the man I believed to be your husband. 
The knowledge that I’d never see you again caused me such heartache I briefly
wondered if I were having a heart attack.”

“I
know the feeling.  After I returned to Charleston, I felt hollow except
for a deep ache in the center of my chest.”  She glanced down to where the
puppy was sprawled across one of her sandaled feet, sound asleep.  “After
all this excitement today, he’ll sleep well tonight.”

“Then
maybe he won’t even miss us while we’re gone.”  He glanced at his
watch.  “Speaking of which, if we’re to be on time to meet Brendon, we
should head back now.”  Glancing around to make sure no one was within
earshot, he whispered, “Jesus, I can’t believe how horny I am.”

She
linked her arm through his and leaned up to whisper back, “Then it might
interest you to know I’m not wearing panties.”

His
pupils suddenly dilated.  “Liar.”

“I
wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

He
slipped an arm about her waist and ran a casual hand along her hip, searching
for elastic beneath the lightweight cotton of her dress.  Finding none,
his breath caught.  “You are a wicked and cold-hearted witch.”

“Admit
it — that’s what you like about me.”

He
gave her a wolfish grin.  “It certainly is.

* * * * *

Larissa and Chase peeled off their
clothes and climbed together into the shower.  As Chase soaped his groin,
he remarked, “Ah, Jesus, I’m sore.”