wrath of the Sea Queen (2 page)
Read wrath of the Sea Queen Online
Authors: Cynthia Woods
"
Welcome home,
Lass
. I'm afraid anything more affectionate and both
of
our spouses would be a bit jealous.
"
They both laughed, and C
a
eli held the rose up to smell its fragrance. To her delight, it was not the natural scent of the bloom, but the more masculine scent of Vin's
cologne
. He knew how much she loved the smell and
had
splashed it on the bud. It was a trick she
once
used on
a note to
him when they were dating. It immediately brought Vin's image to her mind
, as he'd intended
;
and
C
a
eli
couldn't wait to get home
and rediscover how much better the scent was on him
.
Ben reached down and grabbed the handle of her rolling suitcase after
C
a
eli
pointed it out
on
the conveyor belt. They were walking down a long, tiled hallway, heading for the parking lot
,
when C
a
eli stopped
unexpectedly
and looked
around. Ben stopped beside her, an eyebrow raised in question.
"
Forget
something?"
"
No.
Excuse me a minute,
Uncle
Ben. I'll be right back.
"
C
a
eli spotted the
restroom
sign
and hurried down the hall
. She
darted inside
the
door on the right
. Ben waited in the hall until she returned
fifteen
minutes later, looking
even more
pale
than
she had
before
.
"
Sorry about that. Remind me never to eat breakfast on an airplane again. Between you and me, it
definitely
wasn't worth it.
"
"
Are you sure
it was only
allergies? Mayb
e you
have
com
e
down with something
.
Did you
see a doctor
while you were there
?
"
Ben asked as he glanced over at her, walking a bit slower
now
.
"
Nah,
I'm sure it's no big deal
.
The
weather
took
its toll on
me
; that's all
. I was actually fighting it most of the
trip
. I thought I
might
sneeze my head off
the first three days I was there
. I'm not used to all that east coast pollen. It's very different from
our
west coast pollen,
"
C
a
eli joked.
By the time they reached his jeep,
the color had returned to her face
,
so
Ben let the matter drop.
CHAPTER 2
The blonde
woman pulled the curtain aside to
glance out the window, anxiously waiting to see
a
car pull up outside. She
had
called
Vin
with an urgent request for help with her computer. Vin
had
set
the machine
up
for
her two years ago, and
Vicki
had
developed
a keen interest in him
.
He
had been
heedless of
her advances
, of course, being
completely devoted to his wife. Vin either ignored or
did
n
'
t notice many of her attempts to gain his attention
over the last two years
.
However, s
he was
n
o
t discouraged. If anything, she loved a good challenge.
Vicki was
accustomed
to getting what she wanted.
And s
he wanted only two things
-
a husband
and a
son
. After so many rejections from
both
Vin and
the
adoption agencies, Vicki no longer cared
what method she
employ
ed
to
achieve her goal
s
; the only thing that mattered was th
at she be successful in achieving them
.
After many discussions and hours of listening to Vicki vent her frustration, h
er
good
friend
, Lorrie,
designed a plan t
o help
Vicki
attain
both
of her desires
.
Lorrie
informed her
that Vin's wife
,
C
a
eli,
was currently out of town
. Together
,
they
contrived an excuse to get
him
t
o visit
Vicki's house
.
"
Yes
. H
e was reluctant at first, but finally agreed. I put on my best lady
-
in
-
distress voice. You were right. He is too much of a gentleman to say no to a lady in need.
"
"
Who sa
ys
chivalry
i
s dead?
"
Lorrie joked.
"
Anyway,
when I added the bit about a
child getting sent to foster care because my computer is down
, there was no way he was going to refuse
.
You were right
again
. He must have less than fond memories of his own foster care experience.
"
"
That was an excellent touch.
"
"
How did you even know he had been in the system? Oh, it doesn't really matter. He should be here
any minute. This black eye from my
clumsy
run in with the door will be just the right touch to convince him that my story is true.
"
"
Remember, Vicki, Vin
i
s old school.
Do
n't be obvious. He
wi
ll see right through
you if
you
aren't careful
.
L
et him
insist on
help
ing
you. It will make him feel
needed
.
Wi
th his wife out of town
for so long
, he may be feeling a little needy himself.
It
i
s possible that h
e may let his guard down
once you get him talking
. What's more, I think he
r trip was scheduled as an excuse
for them
to spend some much needed time apart
.
As near as I can tell, this is the only time she has ever taken a trip without him.
If you play your cards right, t
his
could
be your lucky day.
"
"
Are you saying they separated?
"
"
No.
I can't say that for certain. I do know that she will be coming home soon, but then turning around and leaving
on another trip
without him.
It's the one
in a million shot
you wanted
.
"
"Can th
is
be true?
I find
it
hard to believe after hearing him repeatedly talk about how much he loves her. But, a fall
ing
out
between them
would greatly improve my chances
of success
!
"
Vicki
exclaimed
excitedly.
"
I told you, timing is everything.
Of course
, I
don't know any specific details about her trips
. All I can say is that his wife has been gone for
the last
two weeks. You won't get a better opportunity
to
make this happen
.
D
on't forget what you promised me.
I need
good
photos for the other piece of this plan to work
.
B
ring them with you when you fly down next week.
"
