Falling Read Free Page B

all, and it's a mutual arrangement of benefit to both. They go away and we don't have to kill 'em." He tore a croissant in half. "Why are you here?"
    " Hmpf ?" She was mid-way through a mouthful of roll when he'd casually tossed the question out, hoping to catch her off-guard.
    "Why are you here? I'm just curious. It's August, not the most popular tourist season, as you can tell." He glanced around the almost empty restaurant. "You're blonde and probably burn to a crisp, so you're not here for a tan."
    It would be a sin to burn that creamy skin of yours.
    Time to move in to more personal questions. God, he was pushing this woman. Why, he didn't know. But five seconds after hearing that laugh…there was something there. Something he was getting desperate to explore.
    "That could be an engagement ring." His gaze fell to the pretty diamond on her left hand. "And yet you are alone."
    "And you're very observant." She wiped her mouth on a napkin, hiding her gaze from him.
    He shrugged. "It's my job to notice these things. Another croissant?"
    "Oh gosh, no. Thanks. This was just fine. I don't usually do breakfast, so it's been a rare treat. Most often there's not time for more than coffee. You know, traffic…all that stuff…"
    She was rambling, and she knew it. He could tell by the way her eyes looked everywhere but at him.
    "You should eat breakfast. Most important meal of the day. So why are you here?"
    She snorted. "This from a man who had one and a half croissants and two cups of coffee?"
    She had been paying attention. Good. He said nothing, simply waited and sipped his coffee patiently.
    "I don't know." Finally, blue eyes met brown. "I truly don't know."
    *~*~*~*
    Jen stretched languorously on the chaise lounge. Cris had taken her to the pool, settled her into a shaded spot, and left her, pleading the press of the day's work. He hadn't followed up her non-answer with anything more than an enigmatic smile and a slight nod.
    Whatever the hell that meant.
    She tried to push those thoughts-all thoughts of Cris-aside, and focus on what was really important. That question, and her answer.
    Why was she here?
    The air rested humidly on her skin and she shifted, easing her bathing suit around her hips. Five minutes after settling down, she knew shorts weren't going to cut it in this heat. A quick trip back to her room, a tug, a pull and a shimmy later, and she was in her swimsuit. Conservative, navy blue with white flowers, and totally not revealing anything she didn't want revealed. A bit higher cut on the legs than she'd been happy with, but now she was rather glad of it.
    Resting beside her in a neat pile were the obligatory traveler's accessories. Suntan lotion, glasses, a visor, and a romance novel. They'd sat there for the last hour, untouched, while Jen let herself slip back into a habit she'd formed during her early teens. She was engaging in a silent inner dialogue with herself.
    So why are you here?
    For some R and R? An escape from the rat-race?
    Liar.
    Okay. So I'm here to take a long look at my life. Better?
    No. Be honest. It's not your whole life you're looking at, it's your relationship you're looking at. Or trying not to look at.
    Yes.
    Jen let the soft air soothe her. The pool was empty, the surrounding garden quiet but for the squawks of large birds holding some kind of avian convention in a nearby palm tree.
    The filters hissed beneath the waters of the pool, a plane droned in the distance-it was tranquility and peace. A good time to let it all out.
    Her relationship. Did she love David?
    She didn't know. The answer came back promptly, surprising Jen a little. She'd always thought she loved David. And no, she couldn't imagine her life without him.
    So you're not going to leave him ?
    No. No, of course not.
    There's no "of course" about it. You think you love him and you're not going to leave him, but you're here stretched out on a chaise lounge in the hopes that Mr. Sex-on-a-stick is gonna come back