Daniel let himself into his hotel room, smiling at the memory of the enjoyable evening in Mildred Krebs company. He was so caught up in the pleasant memories that he was totally unprepared to find himself set upon as he turned on the light.
"Surprise!" Laura said, her arms around his neck. "I hope you don't mind that I let myself in."
"Laura? What on earth are you doing here? I thought that you and Harry were planning-"
"I told him that it's over," she informed him, smoothing his lapels before going over to sit down.
"You what? But, Laura, dear- He-"
"I told him that I was going to Europe-" she said, indicating the suitcase sitting beside the door. "With you."
"Europe? But- what about your job? Your dream of being a private detective?"
"I can always do that later," Laura said airily. "It's not every day that a girl gets an invitation to tour Europe."
"I don't recall inviting you-"
"Yes, you did. Well, you invited Harry AND me, but since Harry's too busy to get away, I thought now was a good a time as any for me to go. Maybe it will convince him once and for all that I've no interest in getting married."
Daniel stood there, trying to sort out what was going on. He was exceedingly grateful when the telephone rang and gave him excuse to turn his back on the young woman. "Hello?"
"Daniel," Remington said quickly, "DON'T let Laura know it's me."
"Very well," Daniel responded in a neutral tone. "I'm really surprised to hear from you. What can I do for you?"
"Laura's trying to teach you a lesson not to meddle anymore. I tried to explain to her that it was mostly my fault, but she wouldn't listen."
"I see. Well, I can leave for London tonight, I suppose," Daniel said.
"Be gentle, Daniel," Remington warned. "Lunch tomorrow, eh?"
"Indeed." The line went dead, but Daniel kept the receiver to his ear. "As a matter of fact, I doubt I'll be coming back to Los Angeles- at least for awhile…No. Once I leave, I don't think he'll be wanting to see me for some time…" He turned to smile at Laura, saw her expression change to one of marked uncertainty. "I'll see you when I get back to London…Good night." He hung up and turned to look at Laura. "Do you have your passport? I think I can get reservations on a flight within the hour," he said, picking up the telephone again and dialing the number for the airline.
"I-What?"
"You said you wanted to go to Europe," Daniel reminded her, giving her a confused look as he hung up the telephone. "One needs a passport for such a trip."
"But- I thought you'd try to talk me out of it," Laura insisted.
"Why should I? I've reconsidered my position. If you prefer my company to that of my son's, then why should I question my good fortune?" As he spoke, Daniel moved slowly toward the young woman, backing her toward the bed.
"What about your relationship with Harry?" Laura asked, "If I go with you, he might never speak to you again."
Daniel lifted his shoulders in a gesture of resignation. "It's a chance I'm willing to take- if you are, my dear," he told her, backing her against the bed.
Laura felt the immovable object behind her and placed a hand on Daniel's chest to hold him off. "Daniel- I think we're moving a bit fast here- I mean- " She gulped in air as Daniel took her hand and kissed it tenderly. "I mean- you're old enough to be my father, for God's sake!"
"I'm willing to overlook that minor detail," Daniel assured her, pushing her back onto the bed.
Laura quickly scrambled across to the other side, placing the width of the bed between them. "Daniel- "
He couldn't stand it any longer. The laughter that he'd been holding back tumbled out, filling the suddenly quiet room.
Suspicion flared in Laura's brown eyes. "You KNEW. That phone call- it was HIM, wasn't it? Harry. He called to tell you what I was doing."
"He IS my son, Laura, and he didn't want you taking me to task for something that was equally his fault. He DID ask for my help," Daniel told her.
"And you went along with it? Tried to help him con me into getting married?"
"There was no con to it, my dear. Harry wants to marry you- I simply offered to help *convince* you to at least consider his suggestion." Daniel sighed. "Apparently my powers of persuasion aren't as good as I thought they were." He sat down. "I'm sorry for letting you go on as I did, but- I did warn you that my relationship with Harry comes first and foremost."
"So you did, Daniel. And if nothing else good has come out of this mess, it's that you and he seem to have finally found each other again."
His smile lit up his face. "It has been wonderful, almost like the old days. Before he found out the truth."
She knelt beside him. "Have you told him everything yet?"
"No. He wanted to wait until this was finished."
"You have to tell him why you weren't there for him, Daniel. He deserves to know."
He covered her hand on his arm with one of his. "We'll see. What are you going to do?"
"I wish I knew. I have to think." She picked up the suitcase. "It was empty," she explained, seeing his surprise at how easily she lifted it. "Promise me that you won't leave until you've talked to Harry?"
"I promise. He and I are having lunch tomorrow."
"Then you aren't going back to London right away?"
"That depends on him, I'm afraid."
Laura stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You know, Harry's really very lucky to have you for a father."
"I think he's luckier to have you," Daniel insisted, opening the door for her. "I'll see you tomorrow."
***
Four hours later, Remington opened the door to find Laura there and gave a relieved sigh. "Thank God. Where the hell have you been? I've called everywhere looking for you," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Daniel said you left him hours ago."
"I did," she admitted, setting the suitcase she'd borrowed earlier to one side.
"Where did you go?" he asked, releasing her.
"I just- drove around. I needed to think about- things."
Remington went still. "Things? Such as?"
"Us, mostly. Just- listen, okay? Don't say anything, just- listen." Remington nodded, hoping that he didn't look as worried as he felt. Laura paced across the room, as if gathering her thoughts. "I know that you want to marry me- and I want that, too- eventually. So I suggest -a compromise."
"A compromise?" Remington repeated, then put a hand to his lips. "Sorry."
"I'll agree to an- engagement-but we won't set a date right now- and it stays between us."
"What about Mildred and Murphy?"
"Okay," she nodded at last. "I think we can trust them not to say anything."
"And Daniel?"
"Okay. Daniel, too."
"What about your mother?"
"NO," Laura insisted.
"Laura-"
"Are you kidding? She'd have the invitations ordered the next day! She'd be constantly asking if we'd set a date, badgering me about WHY we hadn't-"
Remington placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her pacing the floor. "Laura, let me talk to her. I think we'll both agree that I can handle Abigail in these matters. After all, she's known all this time that I wanted to marry you- and she has yet to mention that you, has she?"
Laura took a deep breath. "You promise she won't go crazy and -"
He placed a hand over his heart. "Cross my heart."
"Okay. Then we have a deal?"
"Just about," he agreed. "Stay there."
Laura frowned as he moved toward the bedroom. "Where are you going?"
"Hold on." He returned a moment later, and Laura saw that his hand was clenched around something. Taking her hand, he led her to the sofa.
"What-?"
"If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right," he declared, going down on one knee before her.
"Harry-"
"Miss Holt, would you do me the honor of agreeing to marry me- sometime in the future?" he asked, his blue eyes meeting hers as he opened the small box in his hand to reveal a diamond ring surrounded by smaller blue stones.
Laura gasped upon seeing it. "Uh, yes. Yes, I'll marry you."
He slipped the ring onto her finger and then kissed her hand before leaning forward to claim her lips. Once the kiss ended, he examined the ring. "I don't expect that you'll wear it at the office-"
"Why not?" she asked. "It's lovely. What are those blue stones?" she asked him. "They're so blue. Almost like- pieces of the sky…" her voice trailed off. "Royal Lavulite?"
"Yes. I thought the choice rather appropriate, since it was the Lavulite that brought us together, in a way."
Laura linked her arms around his neck. "You're something else, Mr. Steele."
"Hmm," he murmured, joining her on the sofa to press her into the soft upholstery. "What would you have done if I'd really been planning to marry Felicia?" he asked.
Laura smiled. "Clawed her eyes out," she answered simply. "Let's not talk about Felicia."
"What shall we talk about then," Remington asked.
"Who needs to talk?" she asked, pulling his head back down to hers. The telephone's ringing caused Remington lift his head and reach behind the sofa for the phone. "Let the machine get it," Laura urged.
"It's probably Daniel," he told her. "I told him I'd let him know when I heard from you. He was as worried as I was." Picking up the line, he answered. "Steele here…Daniel…Yes, she's here…We've been getting some things straightened out…Yes, everything's fine," he assured his father as Laura started unbuttoning his shirt. "And it appears that I owe you my thanks…I'll explain tomorrow. How about Trini's at noon?…Fine…I will. Goodnight, Daniel."
He levered himself from the sofa and held out a hand to help Laura to her feet. "Harry, about Daniel-you and he need to talk. I mean REALLY talk."
"We will," he assured her. "But right now, I thought you were the one who didn't want to talk at all?" he asked, closing the bedroom door behind them.
The End
Steele With a Twist 4
Keep watching for the continuing adventures of Remington and Laura.