Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [124]
"Why? Did something happen?" He searched her face for a clue to her distress.
"I just had a little panic attack, imagining that someone was waiting for you by the car or something crazy like that. I'm losing my mind, aren't I?"
"Not even close, but you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"I know. I'm still glad you're back." She took the computer from his hands and set it on the table, then wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a long, loving hug. "You don't mind if we stay like this for a while, do you?"
His hands slipped under her camisole top, caressing her back. "Hey, you left your bra off."
"I didn't think I needed it," she murmured.
"You don't," he said with pleasure. "In fact, we could get rid of this shirt, too."
Before she could answer, a knock came at the door.
"Don't answer it," she said, the fear back in her voice.
"Room service," a voice called out.
"It could be a trick," she warned him.
"Julia, we just ordered food," Alex said calmly. He set her aside, looked through the peephole, then opened the door. As the waiter set up the table, the delicious aroma of burgers and fries filled the room. Alex was reminded of how long it had been since they'd eaten. Julia must have realized the same thing. Her panic gone for the moment, she was already into the fries before he finished tipping the waiter.
"Hmm, this is good," she said when they were alone. "I'm starving. I haven't had a big cheeseburger in a long time. I feel so decadent."
He grinned at that. "I can show you more decadence than a cheeseburger."
"Save it for later," she said with a laugh.
Alex pulled over a chair, and for the next few moments they ate in companionable silence. He finished first, but Julia was a close second. She sat back with her milk shake in hand and a satisfied sigh.
"I think I inhaled that," she said. "And you still beat me."
"I'm used to eating on the run."
"Sleeping on the run, working on the run, pretty much everything else on the run," she said with a knowing glint in her eyes.
"What? You have me all figured out now?"
"Not even close. You're a man of mystery."
"Good. That's the way I like it."
"That's not the way I like it." A frown drew her brows together. "Tell me something I don't know about you. Like a juicy secret."
"You want to know more secrets? Haven't you had your fill?"
She made a face at him. "A personal secret, Alex, nothing that involves foreign governments or spies."
He grinned. "I don't have any."
"You must."
He thought about it and realized that he truly did not have any secrets from her. She knew more about him and his family than anyone. In fact, he'd let her get closer to him than any other person on earth. How had he let that happen? And how was he going to put an end to it?
He'd tried to walk away once before, but he hadn't been able to leave her, not in the middle of everything. He would go when it was over, when they knew everything there was to know. Then he'd leave, wouldn't he?
Of course he would go. He had jobs waiting for him. One call to the magazine, and he'd be on his way to some distant country on the other side of the globe. Just the way he liked it.
Julia would go on with her life. And he'd go on with his.
She'd be a good memory, one of the best. But that's all she would be. Their affair would end like all of his other relationships. He didn't know how to do long-term. He'd never wanted to learn. Until now…He drew in a sharp breath, determined to put that ridiculous thought out of his mind.
"It's okay, Alex," Julia said gently. "You don't have to worry I'll tell your secrets."
"I wasn't worrying about that."
"Then what's making you so uptight? You have your stone face on right now, and that usually means something is bothering you."
"I don't have a stone face."
"Yes, you do. Your skin tightens over your cheekbones, and your jaw gets really set, and even your eyes look cold. They have that 'don't ask me any questions' look in them right now."
"Then maybe you should stop asking