Thinking her even lovelier in the daylight, he smiled warmly at her. Slipping down off the hood of the luxury sedan, he took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her fingertips. “Good morning, Miss Beth,” he intoned formally He caught himself staring at her beautiful eyes as he tried to count the varied hues of green and gold.
“Good morning, James. This is a nice surprise,” she said, lowering her lashes shyly. “I guess Lily told you where I live too.”
He nodded. “I had to coerce that bit of information out of her, so don’t hold it against her.”
Beth smiled when he opened the car door for her then ran around to get in the other side. “Where did you want to go for lunch?” she asked, fumbling around for and finally finding the seatbelt. With a loud click, she belted herself in and looked at James expectantly.
James assumed a bewildered expression. “Honestly, I have no idea,” he confided, “I never thought I’d get this far.” She stared at him in disbelief then burst into laughter which continued until tears rolled down her cheeks. When she was able to compose herself again, she peeked over at him from underneath the damp lashes. “Well, do you have any suggestions?” he demanded, then unable to resist any longer burst into happy laughter which got Beth started all over again.
After a few minutes of unrestrained hilarity, James broached the subject again. “Let’s just handle it this way. I’d like to spend time with you. How do you propose we do that? We can work lunch in there somewhere, I’m sure.”
Beth thought for a moment. “I had planned on going to the mall today, but I’m sure that’s not something that you’d like to do. It’s not really very exciting…”
His face lit up with delight. “I haven’t been to a mall in ages. I don’t get to do stuff like that on tour. We’re always in too much of a hurry,” James said.
“If you really want to, we could just walk around the mall for a while, maybe get something to eat in the food court,” she offered.
“I would love that,” he murmured as he started the car. He sat staring in momentary confusion at the steering wheel then turned a bright smile to her. “Now then, darlin’, where’s the mall?”
* * * *
The drive to the large Brandon mall took only a few minutes from her apartment. Finding a parking place close to the building, they entered through one of the big anchor department stores. Beth was charmed to watch his myriad expressions as they moved through Dillard’s toward the interior of the mall. He seemed determined not to miss anything, and she found herself getting swept up by his infectious exuberance.
They chatted amiably while they walked past store windows, pausing occasionally to admire a display or browse an aisle kiosk. Just as they turned toward the food court, Beth happened to notice that they were being followed. Not just by one person either, but a whole group of people, growing by the minute. She could have smacked herself for her own stupidity bringing one of the most famous faces in the world to the mall. She cleared her throat nervously “There are people following us,” she whispered.
He stiffened almost imperceptibly then taking her hand whispered, “Follow my lead.”
He turned back toward the crowd flocking along behind and walked directly toward them as if they weren’t there. When they got close enough, an emboldened teenager stepped out from the crowd and asked, “Hey, you’re James Kelly, right? From Horizon?” The gathered throng rippled with excitement, awaiting the answer.
“Sorry, folks.” James turned to Beth and laughed, speaking loudly enough for those closest to overhear. “I get that all the time, but I swear I just don’t see the resemblance. What do you think, sweetie?”
Beth struggled to keep a straight face. James had spoken with a perfectly neutral American Midwest accent, not a trace of brogue to be heard. She studied him and said, “Maybe a little. I think it’s the beard. I’ve heard you sing, though, and you’re not even close, sugar.”
They laughed and kept walking until the disappointed crowd began to disperse as quickly as it had gathered. They continued walking in silence until James said quietly, “I don’t much like doing that. I mean, they’re fans and all and they’re great, but today I want to spend time with just you.”
Beth’s attention was divided between being flattered beyond measure and praying she wasn’t blushing. “You did that accent pretty well,” she murmured, “Had to do it much?”
“On a couple of occasions,” he admitted. “Usually when I go anywhere I’m surrounded by bodyguards. My manager would be royally pissed off if he knew what manner of devilment I was getting up to today.” His green eyes danced with mischief. “But I’m not overly worried about that. Hungry yet?” As they turned again and headed back toward the food court, Beth got around to noticing that he hadn’t let go of her hand. And, she decided, for now that was fine by her. For now.
The food court at noon was packed from end to clamorous end with harried moms, screaming toddlers and business professionals from nearby office complexes. After giving it a quick glance, James suggested giving one of the more private mall restaurants a go instead. The first one they tried wasn’t yet full, and Beth was grateful when they were able to slide into a quiet booth with only a few moments wait. They perused the menu and laughed when they both decided on the same thing–a bacon cheeseburger, medium, extra pickles, and onion rings instead of fries. As they settled in to wait for lunch, James asked her, “What nationality is your last name? I don’t think I’ve ever heard Vargo before.”
Beth smiled proudly. “Hungarian. Some of my ancestors were Rom.”
He gave her a thoughtful look and a slow, sensual smile spread across his face. “So here’s me sitting and talking with a bona fide gypsy. This day just keeps getting better and–” He jumped as his cell phone went off with a double beep. Looking down at the caller ID, he answered it with a grin.
“Yeeesss?” James said. He listened for a moment. “I’m not at the hotel. I’m having lunch with a beautiful gypsy,” he said, winking at Beth. Pause. “Yes, I remember what you said. Yes, the pond. I know. Jaysus, Ian, go have a nap or something. I’ll call you later, all right?” With a parting chuckle he ended the call, shaking his head in mock pity. “Poor Ian’s a nervous wreck. How is Lily holding up?”
Their server appeared, setting their soda glasses on bar coasters and dropping paper wrapped straws next to them before vanishing again. James snatched his straw, tore off the end and before Beth could blink lifted it to his lips and blew the wrapper at her. It shot past her ear and fluttered down into the next booth, fortunately unoccupied. Her mouth dropped open in mingled shock and delight.
“Em….accident. Sorry about that,” he muttered, offering no further explanation. “So…you were saying about Lily?”
With a wary look at her dining companion Beth peeled her own straw, stuck it in her glass and took a long drink before answering. “As well as can be expected,” she said. “She’ll be worse tomorrow than today, though. I think Ian’s the best thing that has ever happened to her. I’m so happy for both of them.”
James nodded in agreement. “I think the world of Lily. She’ll do him good. We all thought he’d never settle down.”
Beth toyed with her wrapper, tying it in knots to match the ones in her stomach. “What about you? You probably have a girlfriend tucked away somewhere…” She bit her lower lip again when her little internal voice scolded, you’re fishing. Just