shook her head. “One glass is my limit. I have to drive.”
Plan A out the window. She wasn’t going to get drunk and spend the night here. Time to put Plan B into action.
“Excuse me,” he murmured.
A pass of a few twenties to Ives, and he found himself in the hotel parking lot standing before Lacey’s older and somewhat battered SUV. It didn’t take long. Jarrett returned to the hotel, washed the grease off his hands in the men’s room and went to their table.
Their food arrived and as he picked up his fork, Lacey handed him the hot sauce without asking. Amused, he shook the sauce over his broiled fish. Marriage did that to you. You had habits that your spouse knew, and those habits were hard to break. But he was quietly pleased she’d remembered his preferences.
She ate quickly, keeping her gaze focused toward the hotel’s front. As the hour passed, her animated conversation grew quieter.
Lacey realized her donor was not going to show up. She dug out her cell and excused herself.
Jarrett polished off his meal and waited, nodding at Ives as he came to check on their wine. He’d slipped Ives money earlier to pass a bottle of the hotel’s finest rum to Augustin in apology for the thrown paint incident. If Ace’s intel proved right, and Ace’s intel always proved right, the bastard was drunk as hell right now on his favorite liquor. He didn’t want him anywhere near Lace.
Sure enough, Lacey returned, palming her cell phone, her expression dejected as she resumed her seat. “He’s not coming. Paul said Monsieur Augustin is inebriated and doesn’t want to go anywhere. Paul is staying with a friend tonight and said he’d call him tomorrow.”
And by tomorrow you’ll be gone. The man’s bad news, Lace. Will you trust me on this for once?
He signaled for the waiter. “Would you like dessert?”
She stood and he stood, as well. “I have to leave, Jarrett.” She stuck out her hand. “Thank you for dinner. It was nice to see you again. I hope you enjoy your stay in St. Marc.”
Instead of shaking her palm, he lifted her knuckles to his mouth. The kiss was a bare brush of his lips, but she turned pink. Desire and recognition flared between them, and her breathing hitched.
Then she pulled away, picked up her backpack and walked off, hurrying as if she wanted to get away from him fast.
He sat down, sipped more wine to quell his raging hormones, which urged him to run after her, sweep her into his arms and carry her upstairs to his room. Straight into his bed, where they could get reacquainted in a much more pleasant way.
He waited.
Ten minutes later she stormed back to the table. “My car’s dead.”
Jarrett tilted his head. “Oh?”
“The battery is gone. Damn it, Jarrett, why did you do this? I need to get back home.”
“Yes, you do.” He leaned forward. “Home to the United States of America. That’s your home.”
Lacey dumped her backpack. “You bribed someone.”
He shrugged. “Money talks in these countries. Think, Lacey. I paid cash for someone to point out your car so I could remove the battery. What if I wanted to blow up your car instead?”
“Will you stop being so paranoid.”
“It’s my job to be paranoid and protect citizens like you. You’re not going anywhere. You’re spending the night here.”
Then he added in a gentler tone, “You couldn’t drive all the way back to your home this late, anyway. It’s too far and too dark on these roads. Stay here, and things will work out.”
Her mouth trembled as she sat. “I can’t stay here. This is an expensive hotel. I’d planned to go to the L’Étoile d’Amour.”
Recognizing the name as a place one of his teammates had visited during a deployment here, Jarrett choked on his sip of wine. “The Star of Love? Lace, that’s a place where you pay by the hour and you bring your own sheets!”
“It’s inexpensive and only for one night. And I know the owner.”
Jealousy wormed through him. “How do you know the owner?”
“He’s donated to my NGO.”
Long as the man didn’t donate anything else, like his DNA. Jarrett inwardly swore. Why was he reacting like this? He’d thought his feelings for her had died. Obviously not.
Hands on hips, she glared at him. “I’ll hire a taxi and go there. You can’t keep me here.”
Think fast. Don’t let her get away. If he lost her for the night, he lost her for good.
Jarrett went to her, clasping her shoulders, feeling delicate bones beneath her soft skin, feeling her quiver beneath his touch. “You’re right. I can’t. Don’t go, Lacey. I’ll make you a deal. Stay the night here and I’ll give you a ride back to your compound tomorrow. You can make arrangements to return your truck.”
Anger faded from her expression, replaced with wariness. “Spend the night with you, in your room?”
Oh, the possibilities, but Jarrett forced away the temptation. “I’ll pay for your room tonight. Tomorrow we’ll leave. I want to see this place you’ve talked so much about.”
Lacey bit her lower lip, and it made him hard all over again. Such a sweet, lush mouth. “C’mon, Lace. I wouldn’t let you stay at a fleabag motel, and I do want to see your NGO’s compound while I’m here. It sounds amazing. I’d like to visit and see all the work you’ve done.”
Finally, she nodded. “All right. But I’m paying you back for the room and the dinner when we get to my home. And I’m not getting on a plane with you, Jarrett. No matter what you say.”
“Fine. Come with me and I’ll reserve you a room.”
As she walked with him into the hotel, he felt a sense of relief more than jubilation. Lacey was safe here tonight, with him. And tomorrow he’d see the compound she had worked hard to establish.
He just had to convince her to leave it all behind.
Much as he’d wanted to head out at first light, for Jarrett didn’t want to take chances of running into protestors, they didn’t get on the road until nearly noon. Lacey had business in the city, and Jarrett drove her to various stores and did shopping of his own.
They were safe enough for now. She’d monitored the radio, heard reports of burning tires and roadblocks planned for later this afternoon.
Riding shotgun as he steered the rented Montero SUV through the city streets, Lacey fisted her hands atop her backpack. She’d spent a restless night thinking of Jarrett and their past. Once they had deeply loved each other. But life changed her. She wasn’t
