“I’ll have dinner ready when you've finished,” Remington told her.
"Don't bother about me,” she murmured. "I'm not hungry.”
"Nonsense, Laura. You need your strength. You barely touched dinner last night- had no breakfast this morning, and I'd wager you had a cold sandwich for lunch. I know you're angry with me -”
Laura's eyes blazed as she looked at him. "What reason could I POSSIBLY have to be angry? Just because you disappear for two days, and act like the man I first met, -Oh, never mind,” she said, turning away.
Remington grabbed her arm, turning to face him. "Jessica and I are taking care of the details of her mother's will,” he explained. "I thought this an opportune time, since Mr. Nash was so concerned that I not be involved in his case.”
Laura looked long and hard at his handsome face, trying to gauge the truth of his words. "I-”
He smiled. "Go take your bath and relax. We'll continue this after dinner.” His lips touched hers briefly, then the released her to turn toward the kitchen, delivering one last warning. "You have half an hour, Laura. Or I might be tempted to come in and join you.”
"That’s not much of a threat, Remington.”
"Thirty minutes,” he called out.
Smiling, Laura dropped her jacket onto the floor and started unbuttoning her blouse, her steps taking her toward the master bath.
She shrugged. "Don't let me hold you up.”
"I'm not going anywhere until we get a few things straight,” he informed her. "First, about Laura. She's a FRIEND. A friend whose happiness I care very much about.”
"And who you won't pursue because She's married,” Jessica recalled.
"All right, I admit it. If Laura wasn't married,-” He shook his head. “But she is. As for this evening, Laura's been worried about why Steele’s been staying away from the office the last couple of days. I was just comforting her.”
“Remington’s been with me. I'm helping him with some legal matters.”
“Something he can’t tell Laura about?”
"I imagine he’s told her by now. I suggested he do so this evening. It concerns his inheritance from my mother’s estate. He wants to surprise her.”
Tony grinned at her. “So, have I explained everything to your satisfaction?”
"You really don't owe me any explanations, Antony,” she said, her tone still cool. There was still a troubling memory of his calling Laura's name in his sleep as she had been about to kiss him. “We’ve no hold on each other.”
Tony shrugged. "I just wanted you to know. Have dinner with me tomorrow?”
She smiled. “Why not tonight- oh, that’s right. The stake out,” she recalled. "I- Don't suppose that there might be someone else who can handle it?”
“Sorry. Low man on the totem pole and all.”
“You’re not sorry at all, Antony Roselli. But don't think I’ll let you off the hook so easily. Tomorrow, then.”
A slow smile spread over her face. “The water’s lovely. Care to join me, Remington?” Her eyes opened to reveal an open invitation, as she reached up to place a hand on his thigh.
"What about dinner?” he asked, still amazed at the changes that Laura seemed to be going undergoing. More and more, the free-spirited woman he’d suspected her of being was re-surfacing. The woman that an old lover had described as “absurdly passionate.”
“Later,” she purred, unfastening his shirt, button by button, dampening the silk.
"I'm hungry for something else at the moment.”
“That sounds- intriguing,” he murmured, allowing her to draw his head down, his lips to hers. . .
He concentrated on his soup. “A few things. Actually, she's the trustee for my inheritance.”
“Trustee?” A few thousand pounds wouldn’t require a trustee, Laura thought.
“Any large expenditures will have to be approved by her first,” he said.
Laura's eyes widened. “How large?”
“Oh, we set a one thousand dollar limit,” he told her conversationally.
She nearly choked. “One-THOUSAND?” Her eyes that had been wide now narrowed. “Exactly how much money are we talking about?”
Remington emptied his spoon slowly, watching Laura surreptitiously. “The trust
contained enough that we can live quite well for the rest of our lives on just the interest.”
“How MUCH, Remington?” she demanded to know.
"I believe that amount Jessica mentioned was -” he paused to take a sip of wine,
drawing this out as much as possible. “In the neighborhood of four million - give or take a
few thousand.”
Laura's spoon dropped with a clatter from her suddenly nerveless fingers. “Four MILLION? You inherited FOUR MILLION DOLLARS?!”
"I believe I just said that I had, Laura,” he said. He recalled his own, very similar reaction when Jessica had told him the amount.
"I never expected-”
“Neither did I, actually.”
She got up to pace around the room. “How can you be so calm? You're a multimillionaire. After all of those years looking for the brass ring, it’s simply dropped into your hands,” she said. "You can go anywhere, do anything-”
Remington caught her arm, pulling her into his lap so he could look into her eyes. "I found that brass ring the day I was lucky enough to meet you, Laura. Anything else that comes my way is secondary to that. Icing on the cake. I rather enjoy being Remington Steele.”
Her eyes searched his face. “Then- having all that money isn’t going to change anything?”
He smiled. “Oh, a few things, I would imagine. But not that. There IS one thing I would like to change, though."
"What?” she asked warily.
"I want to buy a house."
“A-house? What’s wrong with the apartment?”
“It’s not really a home, Laura. I think we can do better. Nothing too elaborate, of course, but larger than this - perhaps with some property.”
"I suppose I could ask Mother to start looking,” she said slowly.
“Thank you. I do have just ONE requirement-”
“Which is?”
"No white picket fences.”
Laura smiled. "No white picket fences,” she agreed with a solemnity that was belied by the twinkle in her eyes. "I promise.”
After the kiss that inexorably followed, Laura rose to her feet and went to the sofa, expecting Remington to follow her. Her smile faded into curiousity as she saw the long, black velvet box on the glass coffee table. “What’s this?” she asked, but her husband had disappeared into the kitchen with the empty bowls. So Laura picked up the six by two inch box and opened it, gasping as she saw the gold wristwatch, its crystal surrounded by diamonds. She was placing it against her wrist as Remington spoke.
"I hope you like it,” he said, sitting beside her.
“It’s beautiful. But- how did you know?”
“Know what?” he asked, smiling.
“That I had been looking at this watch? You DID buy it at the jewelers in our building, I assume?”
"You assume correctly, Mrs. Steele. I have to have to few secrets after all. You’ve learned all the old ones.”
"All?”
His grin reminded her of the man she had first met. “Well, most of them, anyway.” He fastened the watch onto her wrist, pressing a kiss to the soft skin. “There. Think you
can handle one more surprise?”
"I'm not sure,” she said, wary again. He held out a piece of paper. "What-?”
“Read it. It’s the deposit receipt for the first interest installment from the inheritance.”
Laura's eyes widened upon seeing the amount, then became confused when she noted the names on the new account. “Remington AND Laura Holt Steele? A JOINT account? But, it’s YOUR money.”
Maintaining eye contact, he shook his head. "I don't happen to see it that way. Ever since I became Remington Steele, I’ve used Agency funds for my personal needs. YOUR money.”
She smiled. “There was a time when being kept by a woman wouldn’t have troubled you in the least, Remington.”
“Perhaps I’ve developed a conscience,” he suggested.
“Or perhaps you're more of a traditionalist than you claim to be.”
“Me?” he questioned, shocked at the very idea. “A traditionalist? What nonsense.”
“Oh, I don't know. Marriage, a house, not wanting to be supported by your wife-”
“That has nothing to do with this. I simply want to repay some small part of what I owe you. And there IS another reason.”
She linked her fingers behind his neck. "And what might that be, Mr. Steele?”
“We’re in a very dangerous business. If something were to happen, I want you to be able to get to the money.”
“Nothing’s going to happen. Not to either of us.”
“Luck is a very fickle thing, Laura. I’ve had more than my share of -”
"And more to come. I haven’t thanked you for my present,” she said, changing the subject. “It really IS exquisite.”
“Then it’s only right that you should have it,” he told her, bringing the wrist under discussion back to his lips.
“Why don't we go into the bedroom so I can thank you properly?” she suggested, moving away.
"I never realized that you were so - insatiable, Laura.”
Grinning impishly, Laura turned. “Too much for you, Mr. Steele?”
He smiled in response to her playful challenge. “Never, Mrs. Steele.”
In the doorway, she removed her robe and smiled at him over her shoulder. “Then prove it.”
Remington followed, with every intention of doing precisely that.