Steele Romance

Part 4

By Nancy Eddy

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His eyes still closed, Harry reached out, intending to pull Laura close, but the bed was empty. Opening his eyes, he frowned as he noticed that her clothes were gone as well. In fact, except for the lingering scent of her that filled his senses, there was no sign that she'd ever been in the room at all. Grabbing a robe, he opened his bedroom door and knocked on hers, resisting the temptation to simply enter the room. She opened the door wearing a robe as well. "Good morning," he said.
"Good morning." She seemed uneasy for some reason that Harry couldn't fathom.
"Mind if I come inside?" She stepped back from the door, letting him close it behind him. "Why did you come back here, Laura?"
She turned away from him. "I don't know. I just wasn't sure that you - wanted me to stay -"
Harry pulled her back against him. "Believe me, Laura, if I hadn't wanted to spend the entire night with you by my side, you would have known." His lips were close to her ear. "I missed you when I woke up to find you weren't there."
"Harry-" she began, turning to face him, trying to find some way to say what she wanted to say.
He looked at her, smiling, his blue eyes working their magic. "What? Was it so terrible?"
She shook her head. "You know it wasn't. I just- I haven't had a lot of luck with relationships," she said quietly.
Seeing the uncertainty in those brown eyes, he met that look squarely. "Things will work out, Laura. Trust me." He lifted her face for a kiss that rekindled the banked passion between them. "Think anyone would notice if we just spent the day in bed?" he asked, smiling down at her.
"Daniel might be just a bit suspicious," she pointed out, linking her arms around his neck.
"Let him. He'll find out eventually. Knowing him, he probably already knows." He picked her up to carry her to the four poster bed. "I don't want to let you out of my sight today," he told her, sitting down with her in his lap.
"You promised me another picnic," she reminded him.
"So I did," he agreed, his lips against her slender throat. "But it's not even daylight yet. We've hours until noon -"
Laura wove her fingers into his thick, dark hair. "I guess you're right." She relaxed in his arms. "I wonder what we could find to do until then?"
His head lifted so he could look at her. "Oh, I think we can think of a few things," he said, his hand sliding beneath her robe to caress her soft skin.
Laura's hand moved as well, causing Harry to moan deep in his throat. She lifted her lips to his again . . .

It was after ten before they made their way downstairs to find Daniel looking through the photographs that Laura had left in the drawing room. He glanced up, smiling as they entered the room. "Ah, there you are. I told Cook that you were both likely exhausted after your outing yesterday and slept in." His eyes held a glint of humor as he indicated the photos. "If there are any indication, the site seeing trip was a success."
"It was WONDERFUL, Daniel," Laura said enthusiastically. She turned her attention to the pictures as well. "I'd forgotten about leaving these down here," she told him.
Clearing his throat, Daniel commented, "You must have had- other things on your mind. His expression remained carefully neutral as Laura looked at him, uncertain.
"What- What do you mean?"
"Only that you also left your shoes in here last night," he told her, pointing out the white, high heeled shoes near the sofa.
Laura felt her cheeks grow warm. "So I- did. I must have been more- tired than I thought I was." She grabbed the photos and stooped the pick up the shoes, backing toward the door. "Excuse me, I'll just- take these- upstairs," she said brokenly before fleeing the room.
Harry shook his head upon seeing the glint of humor in Daniel's eyes. "Was that necessary, Daniel?"
"I don't what you're talking about, Harry," Daniel objected, smiling. "Am I missing something?"
"You don't miss a thing and you know it. Did you HAVE to embarrass her? She's already nervous enough without-"
"Nervous? About what?"
Harry sighed. "Laura- Laura's not like the others, Daniel."
"I'm well aware of that, my boy," Daniel said, his dark eyes now serious. "I saw Charlie while I was out this morning. Did you REALLY have to carry her out of the club last night?"
Harry sat back, smiling again. "I did. She'd never gambled before- I suppose I should have stayed with her, but-"
"He said she had a rather- remarkable streak of beginner's luck."
Harry nodded. "Turned fifty pounds into a thousand just like-" he snapped his fingers, "that." They shared a laugh before Harry said conversationally, "We went to Brixton yesterday afternoon, Daniel."
Daniel frowned. "Whatever for?"
"Laura wanted to see it. And I'll admit that I was a bit- curious."
"And what did you find?"
"The movie house has been closed down for years. Sal was killed in a robbery not long after I left the last time."
Daniel took a deep breath. "I'm sorry to hear that. I know he was a friend. How did you find out?"
"Do you remember Maudie?"
Daniel looked thoughtful. "That impertinent woman who lived with Sal?"
Harry grinned. "She still doesn't like YOU, either," he informed his friend, his blue eyes alight with laughter.
"How is she these days?"
"Getting by. Says that it's the most any of us can do."
"How on earth did you find her?"
Harry hesitated now. "Well, um-"
"He retrieved her purse from a thief," Laura said, returning to sit on the arm of Harry's chair, her eyes daring Daniel to try and embarrass her again as Harry's arm curved around her waist.
Daniel's eyes slid back to Harry. "You- WHAT?" he questioned.
"It was either that or let Laura go after the thief alone," Harry said a bit defensively, uncertain of what he saw in Daniel's eyes. "I did let him go once he'd given me the purse."
"Rather odd, don't you think?" Daniel questioned, "One thief stopping another?"
"Look, Daniel-"
"I'm not condemning you, Harry. Not at all. I've no use for those creatures who prey on little old ladies. You know that." Harry sighed with obvious relief as Daniel sat down. "Now. I want to hear all about your visit to Brixton."

Just before noon, Harry and Laura rode on horseback out to the small pond near the back of Daniel's property. They were both quiet as they spread a blanket and ate their lunch, both painfully aware that it would soon be time for Laura to leave. After lunch, Laura tried to concentrate on a book as Harry opened his sketch pad. Realizing that she had re-read the same passage three times, Laura closed the book with a loud "Snap!", sighing and lifting her gaze to the tree tops.
"We need to talk, Harry," she said at last.
He looked up from his sketching. "About what?" he asked cautiously.
"Us. About where we go from here."
"Where do you want us to go?" he asked, his eyes searching her profile.
"We can't work on going ANYWHERE as long as you're here and I'm in Los Angeles," she said quietly.
"So stay here."
She turned to look at him. "What?"
His blue eyes met hers. "Don't go back to Los Angeles, Laura. Stay here, with me-"
"And what about my career? The Agency? I can't just -"
"Why not?" he asked. "You can work in London-"
"Doing what?" she asked bitterly. "Catching YOUR friends?"
"Laura-"
"I've invested too much time and energy into building what I have back there, Harry," she said, trying to make him understand.
"So that damned agency is more important to you than WE are? Than our future?"
"What kind of future could we have here? One built on your managing to stay one step ahead of the authorities?"
"Dammit, Laura, I-" he began, reaching out to take her hand, only to frown as she pulled away from his touch.
"NO. We have to talk," she insisted, rising to her feet.
"Talk? About what? I don't see that there's a problem here. I came up with a solution-"
"You call THAT a solution?" Laura scoffed. "That I give up everything I've worked for, let people that depend on me down - just to come here and wait for you to pull off the next con? Or the next heist?"
"Then what do YOU suggest we do?" Harry asked through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowed in anger.
"You could come back to Los Angeles with me," she said, dropping to her knees beside him, her brown eyes sincere. "BE Remington Steele-"
"It wouldn't work, Laura. I'm not a detective, remember? You said it yourself: I'm a cheap crook, a cut-rate con man. I couldn't pull something like that off on a regular basis."
"Don't sell yourself short, Harry," Laura begged.
Harry's eyes met hers, then fell away to gaze unseeingly at the sketch he'd begun of her. He laughed mirthlessly. "You're a real piece of work. You refuse to even consider moving her, to London to be with me, but you ask ME to chuck it all to follow YOU-"
"I'm thinking of the future, Harry," Laura said. OUR future."
"We could have a future here," he insisted.
"For how long?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"How long would it be before you wound up in prison and I'd have nothing to go back to? I can't live like that, Harry," she told him in choked voice. "I'm sorry, but I just can't."
His eyes were hard, cold, glittering like blue ice. "Then I guess there's nothing more to say, is there?"
Laura blinked, refusing to give in to the tears that were building. "No," she agreed, rising to her feet again. "I guess there isn't." She turned and moved blindly toward her horse, mounting and kicking the animal into a hard gallop back toward the stable before Harry could do more than get to his feet.
"Laura!" he called after her before grabbing the reins of his own horse.

Daniel was coming from the drawing room when the front door opened to admit Laura. She moved directly to the stairs, and Daniel frowned as he saw her hand move to wipe at her cheek. "Laura. You're back earlier than I expected-"
She stopped, but didn't turn to face him. Her voice was hoarse, and he somehow knew that she'd been crying. "Would you please call a taxi to take me to the airport, Daniel?"
"What's wrong, my dear?" he asked, moving closer.
"I've just decided that I need to go home," she told him quietly. "Back to where I belong."
Before Daniel could ask another question, the front door opened again, this time to admit a dark visaged Harry. Laura's shoulders straightened. "Laura,-" Harry began.
"I asked if you would call a taxi for me, Daniel," Laura repeated as though Harry wasn't in the room, hadn't spoken her name. "If you won't, then I'll find another way to the airport-"
"That's right, Laura," Harry accused, "Run away. Don't stay and try to find some way to settle this-"
She sighed, and Daniel saw her swallow heavily. "We're just from two different worlds, Harry. It's impossible."
Daniel saw Harry's jaw set, recognized all the signs of his temper about to explode. "I'll drive you to the airport, Laura," Daniel offered. "If you're certain that it's what you want."
She took a deep breath. "No, it's not what I want. But it's the way it has to be."
Harry turned without a word and went into the drawing room, slamming the door loudly behind him. Daniel turned his attention back to Laura, who had visibly flinched at that loud noise. "Let me know when you're ready to go," Daniel told her.
"Thank you." She continued upstairs, back straight, shoulders back.
Daniel remained on the stair until he heard her door close, then, a determined look on his face, he turned toward the drawing room.

Harry was standing before the fireplace, a drink in his hand, obviously still furious. "That woman is THE most obstinate female that I have EVER had the misfortune to meet," he declared. "Do you know what she asked me to do?" Daniel remained silent, knowing from past experience that Harry needed to talk through is anger. Confronting him, questioning him, would only prolong it. "She ACTUALLY suggested that I go back with her. Give everything up to become her imaginary boss! Just turn my entire LIFE upside down just to be with HER! The nerve -" Daniel kept an eye on the stair as Harry continued to rant. "I asked her to stay here, with me, but she said no! That bloody detective agency means more to her than I do!"
Daniel saw Laura struggling with her cases at the top of the stairs. He spoke in a quiet voice as Harry at last fell silent. "I have one question, Harry: How would you feel if you never saw her again?" He turned, closing the door behind him, leaving Harry to stew over those words.

He carried Laura's cases downstairs for her, opened the front door to let her go outside. The drawing room doors remained tightly closed. Apparently, Daniel thought, following Laura out to the car, Laura Holt didn't have a corner on being obstinate. He drove her to the airport, waited for her to ask if there was an earlier flight back to Los Angeles. She returned to him quickly.
"The next flight leaves in ten minutes," she told him. "There's an empty seat I can have."
"Laura, are you certain about this? Perhaps if you stay until this evening- Harry will calm down, you can discuss it again-"
She shook her head slowly. "I don't think it will do any good to discuss it, Daniel. He isn't willing to change- and I can't ignore my responsibilities to the Agency. Take care of him, okay?"
"I'll try. You keep in touch."
She nodded, then impulsively threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Daniel. For being his friend-"
"And yours. Don't ever forget that, my dear."
"I won't." The announcement over the loudspeaker announced the final boarding call for her flight. "I have to go. Tell him-"
"I will." He brought her hand to his lips. "Have a safe trip."
She gave him another hug, then rushed toward the gate.
Daniel stood at the window, watching as the huge jet taxied out and took off. Squaring his shoulders as Laura had done earlier, Daniel turned at last and went back to his car.
He had to talk some sense into Harry. And quickly.

Harry had watched Daniel's car until in disappeared around the bend in the drive, then turned emptied his glass. "How would you feel if you never saw her again?" Daniel's words came back to him, and Harry's knees buckled, causing him to sit heavily on the edge of the chair behind him. To never see her again. Never see those almond shaped eyes that were a window to her soul. To never taste her lips, feel her touch on his skin - But she'd been right, he told himself. Their worlds were too incompatible, too far apart for them ever to make it work. But it would be a very long time before he managed to forget Laura Holt. If he ever did.

He was still sitting there when Daniel returned from the airport. When he heard the Mercedes, Harry rose and went to pour himself another drink. As he did, something caught his eye. A bit of white beneath the sofa. He picked it up, then felt his fingers curve tightly around the glass in his other hand as he gazed into the laughing eyes of Laura Holt. One of the photographs had somehow fallen to the floor. He sat down on the sofa.
He never heard the front door open or Daniel enter the room. Daniel paused at the threshold, knowing that the photograph in Harry's hand was no doubt of Laura. Going directly to the bar, he poured himself a drink. "She's gone," he said quietly. "If you're interested."
Harry started, "I'm not," he lied, putting the photo onto the cocktail table. Rising, he finished his drink. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go change clothes and go out for awhile-"
"We need to talk about this, Harry-"
Harry stopped in the doorway, but didn't turn around. "I'm not in the mood for a lecture, Daniel. It's my life. Just leave me alone, okay?"
"You might not be in the mood for a lecture, but you're going to get one - if I have to follow you all over town this evening."
Harry had never heard Daniel use that tone with him. He turned to look at the older man. "I beg your pardon?"
"Sit down, Harry."
"I'd rather stand."
"And you said SHE was stubborn." Daniel shook his head. "Oh, Harry. In case you don't realize it, I'm going to tell you that you probably just made the biggest mistake of your entire life this afternoon."
"And what was I supposed to do, Daniel?" Harry asked in a rather belligerent tone.
"Whatever it took to keep the two of you together," Daniel said softly.
"Daniel, you're not seriously suggesting that I even CONSIDER -"
Daniel looked into his glass before speaking. "How important is Laura to you, Harry?"
Harry sat down, sighing heavily. "I don't know, Daniel- " <Liar!> his conscience yelled at him. "Alright, I DO know. But why do I have to be the one who makes all the changes? Why can't she back down just a little-"
"Because she's Laura Holt. And if she did back down, if she had agreed to come here, to give up everything she'd worked so hard to do, she would no longer be the woman you- care about as you do. Harry, my boy, you've changed your life so many times over the years- what's one more change? And this one-"
"I don't know if I could pull it off, Daniel. Pretending day in and day out that I'm a famous detective -"
"Think of the challenge, Harry," Daniel said.
Harry lifted confused eyes to his friend. "I must admit that I'm confused, Daniel. You would be the last person I would think would be pushing me to do this."
Daniel sat down. "Harry, most people only get one chance to change their lives. To be happy. I let mine slip away. I just don't want to sit by and watch you make the same mistake. If you DON'T take this chance, then you'll in all likely hood end up a lonely, frustrated old man -"
"Which doesn't describe you in the least, Daniel," Harry pointed out.
"Don't be so certain, my boy. The biggest mistake of my life was insisting that I get one last, big score before giving it up. It turned me away from any chance at real happiness."
Harry looked at him for a long moment. "You loved her a great deal, didn't you?"
Daniel met that look. "More than I've ever loved anyone else, Harry. For a brief, shining moment, I held the entire world in the palm of my hand - only to turn my back on it when lured by the glitter of fool's gold."
Harry sat there, looking at Daniel, as if seeing him for the first time. "She must have been something very special, Daniel."
"Almost as special as your Laura," Daniel agreed, a smile softening his features.
"What do you suggest I do, Daniel? Give in? Totally change my entire life to suit her?"
"If that's what it takes, then yes." When Harry sighed heavily again, Daniel sat forward. "Harry, think about something. Laura has a respected position, a career she can be proud of. What do you have that can possibly compare to that? You've been here longer this time than you usually stay- By this time you've usually found some new game to begin and moved on."
"If I didn't know better, Daniel, I'd swear you were trying to get rid of me."
"Harry, you'll always have a place with me. But there's no future here for you. You're ready to move on to bigger and better things - and unfortunately, those things don't include me."
Harry rose and paced across the room to stand at the side window that held a view of the stable. "I need to think about this, Daniel. It's not something that I can just up and do.-"
"I understand that. And I think Laura would as well."
Harry's smile was rueful. "She probably won't ever speak to me again after this afternoon."
"I think, by the time her plane lands in Los Angeles, she'll be more than happy to hear your voice. Don't close those lines of communication, my boy."
Harry nodded. "I think I'm going for a walk, Daniel," he decided. "Need some time alone- to think things through."
Daniel nodded, smiling as the younger man patted him on the shoulder before leaving the house. He moved to the front window to watch the red sports car moved down the drive. "Ah, Harry," he said softly, "You'll go. Even if I have to drag you across the Atlantic Ocean and all of North America, you'll go."

Laura let herself into her little house, dragging her suitcases inside. It looked different, somehow. Smaller. She knew she was comparing it to Daniel's house - and she didn't want to. She removed her hat and jacket, tossing both onto a nearby chair before collapsing onto the couch. She was exhausted. The flight, the emotional roller coaster that her feelings were on both combined to make her want to cry at the drop of a hat.
She sighed. "Alright, Laura. Enough of this. It's over," she said aloud, hoping that it would get the message across to her bruised heart. "Face it. There's no way I could ever give up the agency to join him in London -" She'd worked too hard, too long to consider that as an option. Things were just starting to pay off, too. They were getting better, higher profile cases - Give up the agency? It would be like cutting off her arm, she thought.
But a tiny, traitorous voice told her, <But at least you can live with one arm. You can't live without your heart.>
Laura stood up. This wasn't like her at all. She'd barely spent any time moping around after Wilson had left her. But Wilson wasn't Harry, she reminded herself. There had never been ANYONE else like Harry. She looked at the telephone on the table beside her. If she were to call him, - "No," she said, shaking her head. She didn't need him. She didn't need anyone else except for Laura Holt. She was her own person, not someone else's shadow. She didn't need him, she told herself again.
<Liar> that little voice said again. <You need him. You're just too afraid to admit it.>
"I'm NOT afraid of anything!" Laura insisted, then, realizing that she had yelled aloud to an empty house, she sank to the floor, sobbing. "Except never seeing him again," she whispered.

Bernice was surprised to find the glass doors to the agency lobby unlocked when she arrived on Monday morning. She was certain that Murphy would have locked them when he left- She knew that he had an early appointment with a client across town, so he wasn't there ahead of her. She went to the door of Laura's office, tapping softly. "Laura?" There was no answer, so she opened the door. The desk was as neat as a pin - as always - and the adjoining door that led to the main office- "Mr. Steele's" office - was ajar. "Laura?"
"In here, Bernice," Laura responded.
Her employer was sitting behind the desk, the chair turned toward the window. "You're here early. When did you get back?"
"Yesterday afternoon," Laura said.
"I want to hear every detail," Bernice began. "Don't leave ANYTHING out. And I mean ANYTHING, Laura." When Laura turned around, Bernice frowned. "I hope those dark circles under your eyes mean that you enjoyed yourself."
"I'd really rather not discuss this weekend, Bernice, if you don't mind."
"But-"
Laura rose from the chair. "Where's Murphy?"
"He's meeting with Mr. Giddons at nine about that security set up," Bernice said, following Laura back to the smaller office.
"Any other appointments for this morning?"
"No. Murphy wasn't sure when you'd be back, so we moved everything to this afternoon."
Laura tapped her finger on her desk. "Good. There are some things I need to do- Let me know if anyone calls."
Bernice stood in the doorway, concern marring her attractive face. "Laura- "
"I'm fine, Bernice. I just- don't want to talk right now, okay?"
"Okay, Laura." She returned to her desk, frowning. What the hell had happened in London? she wondered.

When Murphy returned, he was it the same bad mood he'd been in on Friday evening. "Any word from Laura?" he asked, picking up his messages.
"She's in her office," Bernice told him quietly. "And she's NOT in a good mood."
Murphy allowed himself to smile slightly. "Really?" His concern for Laura kicked in immediately. "If he did anything to hurt her- Did she say anything?"
"Just that she got back yesterday afternoon."
"Yesterday-?" He turned went to his office and took off his jacket before tapping on the door between his and Laura's offices. "Well. If it isn't the world traveler," he said, watching as she concentrated on some information on the computer.
"'Lo, Murph. Just a minute. Took me forever to get into this database -" She tapped a few keys, then smiled in a way that Murphy recognized before turning the monitor off. "How did the meeting go with Mr. Giddons?"
"I didn't come in here to talk about -"
"He IS our client, Murphy," she told him, hoping that the hastily applied make up covered the dark circles that had drawn Bernice's concerned attention. "Did he decide about the security system?"
"I think we've about got everything hashed out," he told her, sensing that he wasn't going to get anything out of her until they discussed this. "He's supposed to call this afternoon with a final answer."
"Good."
"What time did you get back yesterday?"
"Around two or three, I guess. Why?"
"You didn't answer your phone. I called several times-"
"I didn't let the answering service know I was home," she told him. "I just didn't want to talk to anyone."
"I was worried, Laura - and it looks as if I might have had reason to. What happened over there?"
"Nothing." She went to the file cabinet and bent over the folders.
"Come on, Laura. Talk to me."
"I can't, Murphy. Not right now. I need some time to figure things out in my own mind, okay?"
He looked at her, his eyes searching her face. "All right, Laura. Why don't we have dinner this evening? I can bring you up to speed on the Mitchellson case."
"Did something happen?"
"Nothing except that Mrs. Mitchellson apparently tried to shoot Mr. Mitchellson -" He saw the interest in her face, but it wasn't the same. Something had happened in London. He could read Laura like a book. She'd shut her emotions back into that little box and was just going through the motions, doing what was expected of her. He watched her pace the office, asking him questions about the Mitchellsons. All he could do was just be here when she needed him, he supposed. At least it was something. And if he promised himself that if he ever saw that blue eyed devil that had hurt her,-
"Murphy?"
"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I was thinking about - where we could have dinner."
"Thanks, but - I don't really feel like going out, Murphy. Did you talk to Mr. Graham on Friday?"

Laura looked at the information she'd written down. If she had put it together right, then it explained a lot of things. Except for the most important one. She didn't even know why she was bothering to do this. It shouldn't matter anymore.
But it did. And until she found some answers, she would keep digging. She reread the information. There was only one person who could fill in some of the blanks, she decided, picking up the telephone and dialing a number. She didn't know what she would do if HE answered. And she wouldn't ask about him, she told herself. That wasn't why she was calling.

Daniel returned to the drawing room after dinner, sighing deeply. He tended to forget how big and quiet the place was when no one else was about. The telephone's shrill ring broke the heavy silence. "Hello?" He knew there was someone on the other end of the line. He could hear them breathing. "Hello?"
"Hello, Daniel," Laura finally said.
Smiling, Daniel sat down. "How are you?
"I'm - okay. As good as can be expected, I guess, anyway. I -"
"What is it, Laura?"
She hesitated. How could she explain her reasons for what she was doing? "I - wanted to ask you something -"
"Ask away, my dear. I've nothing else to occupy me this evening."
"Harry's not-" She stopped herself, but not soon enough.
"No. He left earlier today for Cannes, I believe."
"I see." She closed her eyes tightly. So he was getting on with his life. So was she. And after she did this, she would be able to close this door and put it behind her.
"You mentioned a question, Laura?" Daniel prompted.
"Yes. Uh, well - My curiosity got the better of me and I did a little digging, Daniel -"
"Digging? Regarding what?"
"Harry's father." There was a long silence during which Laura was afraid that he might have hung up. "Daniel?"
"Why drag all of that up now, Laura? Believe me, it won't help you to get Harry to Los Angeles if you suddenly present him with his long lost father."
"No, but it might help Harry's father to know that there's someone else who knows the truth - "
"And if this hypothetical father were to ask you not to take it any farther, Laura? What would you do?"
"I'd have to ask why."
He sighed.  "We can't discuss this over the telephone, my dear," Daniel said at last. "It's far too important a matter. If you've REALLY discovered the whereabouts of Harry's father, then-"
Laura sat back, knowing that she had him. "I think I have."
"I can be in Los Angeles by tomorrow morning," he said.
"Let me know what flight. I'll meet you at the airport."
"I'll call you back as soon as I've made the reservation," he told her. Laura hung up the telephone, then stared at the information.  She WAS right.  And Daniel was the only one who could verify that.

Daniel hung up the telephone. He'd been afraid of this. Laura was too sharp, too intelligent not to have been of doing something like this. He'd been in worse situations before, he supposed. Thank goodness Harry was on the Continent - the last thing he needed were questions about why he was going to see Laura in Los Angeles. Of course, it might do the boy some good to have a reason to be a bit jealous - He grinned, then dialed the number for the airline. Some good might just come of this after all. IF he could convince Laura Holt to keep whatever she'd found to herself..