Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [129]
“You are never going to believe this, Jake. Never in a million years. Hot damn! This is almost as good as coming straight from the horse’s mouth. Listen to this, Jake. Miss Annie Clark told her brother Tom Clark that the earth did move when I kissed her!”
Jake threw his big head backward and howled until Clay swatted him. “So, Mr. Shake, Rattle, and Roll hasn’t lost his touch after all. Damn! I feel like howling myself, Jake.”
Parker Grayson set his private plane down smooth as silk. “You guys go ahead. I’ll meet up with you for dinner. I need about an hour here and I have some phone calls to make. I’m going to rent a car. Just give me directions to the hotel. Tell me again where the reunion is being held.” Parker scribbled in a small notebook. “I’ll meet up with you later.”
An hour later, all the flight details taken care of, Parker headed for the car that would drop him off at the main terminal. He spent another hour calling all the hotels in the city to find out where Annie was registered. He finally struck paydirt when he called the Four Seasons. He debated a full minute before he made a reservation for himself, then asked to be put through to Annie’s room. He was told his party hadn’t checked in as yet. Parker left a message. “I’m registered here at the hotel. Please call me.”
Parker used up another forty minutes filling out the forms for a rental car. With a map on the front seat, he exited the airport, realizing how much he truly hated city life. There would never be a time in his life when he would appreciate the genteel streets lined with elegant brick town houses. There was no way in the world he would or could accept the public greens and the gardens, not when he came from an island so lush with greenery and brilliant flowers it took your breath away. What did he care if the savvy spin doctors touted the city as America’s mother city. The colonial steeples and expressways that raced around the buildings for people to recall the scrimshaw era had absolutely no interest for him. He flat out hated it.
What was it Ben had said, or was it his friend Andreas who said there was nothing better than Boston fish cakes and yesterday’s baked beans. He’d gone on to say boiled or nouvelle-fangled wood-grilled lobster with wild seasonings was to die for. He knew if he did eat it, he would probably die. Not one word had been mentioned about pineapple, mangos, or any of the luscious foods found in Hawaii. What had really stung was the way his nephew had agreed with Andreas. Damn, his nephew had turned into a Bostonian.
What in the hell am I doing here anyway? Am I such a miserable human being that I have to get in Annie’s face and let her know I know her dirty little secret as my way of punishing her for rejecting me as a person? Is her coffee contract that important to my business? Yes to all of the above.
Is this what I’ve come to? he wondered.
The bright red Mustang convertible made Clay’s eyeballs stand at attention. “We can handle this, Jake,” he said, settling himself behind the wheel. “Buckle up, buddy, we’re gonna roll. Four Seasons here we come. They’re going to do a double take when they see you, Jake. They said small dogs were acceptable. The word small means different things to different people, so behave yourself. I don’t think we’re going to have a problem since my brother was such an icon when he played with the Celtics. If all else fails, I’m going to tell them I’m Larry Bird’s brother. That should get us some first-class accommodations, buddy. Babe Ruth used to hang out here. Then they went and traded him to the damn Yankees. I used to come here all the time, Jake. It’s a great city. I got some of the best lobster I’ve ever eaten right here in this town. I took this girl I was dating at the time to a Harvard-Yale game. I thought I was in love. That day proved I wasn’t. Someday I’ll bring you here to see the Bruins and how they rule. the ice. I’m telling you, this is a great city. It’s amazing that Annie went