Lyza couldn’t decide to laugh or cry. “Father, I cannot believe—well, let me change that. I see that you had David followed. Are these all the pictures you could get yesterday morning? As you can see, each of these women, varied in age as they are, seem to be dressed in their Sunday best. I recognize the background. These were taken in front of David’s church! These women are from his congregation. Is this the best your top private eye can do?”
Lawrence scowled. “So you admit you invited a Christian pastor as your date to the benefit?”
“I promise he’s not going to hurt you, Father.”
“I wish I could make you the same promise. I’m concerned. I don’t want you to see him again.”
“Father, I can’t make any promises. Because if he asks me out after attending Mother’s Save the Orchids benefit, I have every intention of going. He’s a nice man, and I enjoy being with him.”
“Lyza, he’s not in our league. Don’t make him miserable, and don’t make yourself miserable.”
She smiled at the picture of David’s calm face in her mind. “I think he can take the pressure.”
“I’m not worried about him!”
Lyza’s phone buzzed. “I’ve got to take this, Father. We can talk more later.” Saved by the bell! She had no idea who it was, but she jumped on the excuse to end the conversation. Lawrence strode toward his office several yards down the hall.
“This is Lyza.”
“Boy, am I glad to hear your voice,” David said. “Do you have time to get together?”
She grimaced. “Sure, and I think I know what this is about.”
He laughed. “You might be right.”
How can he laugh at this catastrophe? Then, because he laughed, it struck her as funny, and she began laughing too.
Lyza retrieved her purse from the credenza behind her desk. “When and where do you want to meet? I’m free now.”
“Now is good. Is Starbucks on Valley Drive all right?”
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in thirty minutes, tops!” She jumped up, grabbed her purse, and hurried down the hall.
Bill called out as she ran by his office, “Lyza, I’ve got info on the Cairo deal and your reservations for tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Bill. Would you put the info on my desk? I’ll get back to you.” She didn’t miss a step.
***
Rats, I’m ten minutes early, and I don’t want to be sitting there waiting when he drives up. Lyza slowed down as she pulled into the strip mall parking lot. Then she spotted the white church minivan and smiled to herself.
Inside, she found David at a small table near the wall. David stood up and hugged her, whispering menacingly in her ear, “Did anyone see you come? Were you followed?”
She grinned. “You are too funny. It’s a relief to see someone smiling.”
He pulled out her chair. “I hope you don’t mind that I ordered a latte the way you ordered it before.”
Wow. He remembered something like that? “Oh, that’s nice, thanks.”
They started talking at the same time. “No, you go ahead,” was followed by “No, you go.”
After another laugh, David spoke. “Lyza, I hope this article in Today’s Celebs hasn’t caused you too much trouble.” He took her hand. “There’s no way I want to cause you trouble of any kind.”
“I know that. Father showed me the article. He’s very concerned about me getting hurt. I hate to laugh, but you’ll never guess what he did to try and convince me to not see you again.”
David leaned forward. “I’m holding my breath!”
She pulled the pictures out of her purse, her eyes glowing with mischief. “Do you want to explain these other women in your life?”
He looked so serious, she couldn’t hold back her giggle.
“What other women? Lyza, there are no other women. I haven’t even seen another woman for years.”
With great drama, she slapped the photos on the table. “Look at this. It’s proof that you’re fooling around with other women!”
He picked up the pictures, looked confused for a moment, and then broke out in hysterics. He finally got himself together and looked at her soberly. “So, you’ve found out about the other women in my life. He didn’t get the picture of Mrs. Innez when she left church, but then she’s in her eighties and using a walker.”
“Can you believe it, David? Father’s private detective took these pictures yesterday morning. I nearly fell down laughing when he produced proof of your betrayal. He was so serious. He seemed disappointed at my lack of proper response. I’m not going back to the office today. I’ll have Bill e-mail me my itinerary for the Cairo trip.”
“Cairo?”
Lyza realized she hadn’t told David she was leaving. “I’m taking a short trip to inspect a property. I’ll only be gone four days.”
He smiled. “Well, have a safe trip. I’ll be praying for you.”
She shrugged and spoke what was on her heart. “Right now I’m thoroughly disappointed in my father.”
David took her hands and enveloped them in his for a few seconds. “Don’t be too hard on him. He’s looking out for you. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve led a sheltered life, and he’s concerned about you.”
Lyza and David drank their lattes and found themselves looking intently into each other’s eyes, both of them with silly grins on their faces. Finally Lyza broke the silence. “I haven’t known you very long, but I’ll never forget the first time I saw you, at the Memorial Service for Swiss Air Flight 688 victims. When you got on stage to do the invocation, I was shocked to see you giving the eulogy. The man I had just met and had a short conversation with, a pastor.”
He pushed his empty cup away. “I had just met the famous Lyza Lane!”
She sighed. “You are just so easy to be with. I don’t feel like I need my protective mask on when I’m with you.”
“I don’t want you to ever feel like you need to protect yourself from me. I’ll always look to your best interests.”
Lyza stood up quickly. “Take me to a movie.”
David jumped up beside her, nearly knocking his chair over. “What would you like to see?”
She wound her arm around his. “I don’t care. I want to sit in a movie theater, and I want you to put your arm around me the whole time.”
“I can do that.”
***
The next morning, Tim and Leesa boarded the Lane Jet II at LAX for Kramer’s Island to do their inspections before nightfall. Tim needed some down time, since his meeting with Leesa the day before had pushed the limits of his productivity. He hoped Leesa wouldn’t want to talk all the way, but he knew better.
As they rolled down the airstrip, Leesa opened her knapsack and pulled out a sheaf of paper. “Tim, what did the team come up with last night?” She started flipping through pages, pointing at a paragraph here and there. “See, this ordinance requires certain materials to be used in the construction of the smaller village buildings. Is there any restriction on what we can use on the hotel?”
Tim took a deep breath. Her exuberance exhausted him. “It’s a little early to talk building codes. Let’s see that.” He looked at her page of ordinances. “Just