Just Deserts - Brenda Jackson [43]
She lifted her lashes, just barely, to look at him. “We have another trip?”
“Yes,” he said softly. “I talked to Chris today.”
Her eyes widened in alertness. “Yes?”
“And he thinks he might have a positive ID on the woman.”
Danielle’s breath caught. They’d been too busy to talk about taking time away to follow up on Chris’s last lead as they’d intended, and she’d been fine with that, had understood completely. Considering everything that was going on with the merger, there had been no way she could have asked Tristan to put everything aside to fly out with her to Costa Woods, so she hadn’t. But neither had she forgotten that the loose end still existed.
“And?” she asked quietly.
“And Chris has told Renée and Hunter is telling Alex. He’s asked me to tell you. Of course he’s fully aware that you want to be the one to go and visit with the woman to tell her about Marc, assuming she doesn’t already know.”
Danielle nodded, knowing there was that possibility. “Did Chris tell you anything about her?”
Tristan shook his head. “He gave me a name and an address. He decided to leave it up to us how we handle things from here.”
He paused a moment and then said, “There’s something else I need to tell you. It’s something Chris shared with me while you and I were in San Francisco. Because I didn’t want to ruin your vacation, I made the decision not to tell you at the time, but I think before we make plans to go anywhere that it’s something you should know.”
“What?”
Tristan slowly disconnected their bodies and then eased off the bed. “Come on, let’s take a shower first and then we’ll talk.”
Tristan walked into the kitchen and paused in the doorway. After their shower, which got delayed because he couldn’t resist making love to Danielle again, he’d gotten a call from one of his new district managers in Savannah. The call lasted longer than he’d anticipated.
Danielle had come into the kitchen to make coffee. He couldn’t help but admire what she was wearing, which was barely anything beneath another short robe. He smiled, thinking that since moving in, she had done wonders in gracing his kitchen each and every morning.
Although she claimed she hadn’t officially moved in, she stayed with him every night. She’d put her house on the market and he knew she was working with a Realtor to find a condo close by the office. But he figured that was going to change soon enough, once he began doing whatever it took to make their relationship permanent.
“Coffee smells good,” he said, walking into the kitchen and taking a seat at the table where she had placed a pair of mugs. She turned and smiled and reached for the coffeepot.
“Thanks. Is everything okay in Savannah?”
He nodded. “Yes. Reynolds wanted to make me aware of a huge shipment coming through. And he wanted us to know that the employees appreciated the new equipment.”
“It was long overdue,” Danielle said, pouring coffee into the mugs. “I’m glad Craven decided to go ahead and sell once he’d made the decision that he wanted no part of the business his father started.”
Tristan couldn’t agree with her more. The acquisition had been a blessing for everyone. Not only had A&T been able to retain Shipping Source’s employees, most of whom had been with the company for years, they had posted a number of new positions at all the offices. The increase in hiring was a boost to the local economy where the offices were located.
Danielle sat down and glanced at him. He saw the anxious look in her eyes. “So, what did you have to tell me about Marc?”
He could see that although she wanted to hear what he had to say, she was also uneasy about it. She had to put her coffee down when her hands began shaking.
He reached over and captured her hands in his. “Don’t, sweetheart. It’s nothing that serious.”
“You mean Chris hasn’t stumbled on a fifth woman?” she asked, affecting a playful tone.
“No.”
“Okay, then, what is it?”
He leaned back in his chair. “When Chris was able to get back to Costa Woods earlier this month to do a more thorough job of going over Marc’s