been very educational, but I’d like to go someplace where there’s the sound of human voices, perhaps some music. I don’t mean to offend you, Commander,” she added as if in apology, “but I’d like to go somewhere more exciting.”
“Call me Wade,” he said, glancing at the portraits of men and women who made him proud to serve his country. She was right. Maybe, to a casual foreign observer, the gallery wasn’t as exciting as it was to him.
Still, the feeling they were being watched was exciting enough for him. Maybe it was better to move on. “Let’s go. I know just the place.”
Outside, the elusive Secret Service men were nowhere to be seen. Wade hailed a cab and opened the door for his companion. Thank goodness, she was back to smiling. And this time, he sensed the smile was genuine. “The Old Post Office Pavilion, driver.”
“Oh, no,” May said unhappily as she scooted across the seat to make room for him. “Not a post office!”
“Take my word for it, May,” he said with a warning glance at the cab driver, “this isn’t like any post office you’ve ever seen. You’re going to like this one.”
She did. Fascinated by the renovated nineteenth-century Romanesque building, May gazed happily around her at the laughing crowds milling around. And at the double level of shops selling food and items from around the world. She had told the truth, she was starving.
To her delight a band was playing at one end of the first floor. A female singer was belting out “Hit or Miss,” a song she vaguely recognized was a popular American love song. And, as a result of the beautiful melody, reacted even more strongly than ever to her male escort’s presence at her side.
She silently chided herself for her futile attraction to Wade Stevens. An attraction she had felt when she had first noticed him. An attraction that would linger long after she was back home.
She returned her attention to her surroundings with an effort. Her escort had delivered, just as he’d promised. The old post office was a taste of the excitement and a part of the city she’d been hoping to experience.
“What would you like to eat?”
“Something typically American,” she answered. “My father brought his chef with him, and the food is the same as we have back home.”
“You’ll find American food here,” he told her as he pointed to the food stalls. “What will it be, May? Name it and I’m sure it’s probably available.”
“Mexican,” she answered happily, eyeing a neon sign. “It looks and smells inviting. But are you sure it’s typically American?”
“It is now,” Wade said as he spied a table being vacated in front of the fast-food stall. “You grab a table and I’ll get the food.” The temptation to find a vacant table momentarily threatened to overwhelm his common sense.
“Oh, no,” she said, pulling back. “I want to look at everything. And order a little of everything that looks good. You take the table. I’ll be right back.”
Wade caught her arm. After her extended stay in the ladies’ room, he wasn’t about to let her go off on her own. Not while he still had his marbles. He intended to spend the rest of the day joined at the hip to the duchess. “The answer is no. We’ll go together,” he said firmly, and took her arm. “Lead on.”
May dug in her heels. “You still do not trust me, do you? Where do you think I would go?”
“No farther than I can throw a stick,” he said frankly. “The rules are that you’re not going anywhere without me. But don’t let that spoil your appetite.” He led her to the Happy Burrito food stall.
To his amusement May was as good as her word. She was either actually starving or she was putting on a good show. She finally headed for a vacant table carrying a tray laden with a variety of Mexican foods. He passed up his turn to order and strode after her. Whatever she’d chosen would have to be enough for two.
Maybe he had been wrong about her, Wade thought as he followed her swaying hips to a newly vacant table. After an amused glance at her full tray, he’d known he wouldn’t have to worry about her pulling a disappearing act, at least for a while. She’d be too busy eating.
He sat back and surveyed the territory. They were surrounded by enough people to make up a small army. Foreign visitors mingled with American tourists. Maybe even some visitors from countries surrounding Baronovia, he thought unhappily as he checked out the area. Maybe even some from countries that were apparently determined to block a United States presence there.
He remained troubled as the duchess ate her way through her lunch. She glanced up as she dug a corn chip into small plastic dish of hot salsa and held it up to his lips. “Would you like to share?”
Mesmerized by the way she licked a bit of salsa from her lips, Wade opened his mouth for the spicy tidbit. When her fingers grazed his lips, his heart skipped a beat or two. As long as this was a game, he was a willing participant. But that was as far as he intended to go. “Kind of spicy, isn’t it?”
She dipped another corn chip into salsa and chewed happily. Another bit of salsa clung to the corner of her lips. Instinctively he leaned forward and wiped it away with a gentle fingertip. Their eyes met. Hers were wide with a question.
He didn’t know what she was thinking, but he realized his gesture had been more intimate than it should have been. Damn! Much more of this and he’d be putty in her hands. “Just trying to be helpful,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said with a winsome smile. “I find I like Mexican food. I shall have to find a way to bring it to Baronovia.”
Wade thought rapidly. No matter if she’d invited him to call her May while in public, even in private, touching her was not appropriate behavior for an escort. Why had the duchess welcomed his intimate touch? Was it an act?
Or, more to the point, was she now the real May and no longer the devious duchess Mary Louise?
As if to remind him he was her bodyguard as well as her escort, the holster and his Beretta dug into the side of his chest. At the reminder, he tensed and casually glanced around to make sure no one was paying undue attention to them. He would have felt a lot better about being so exposed to danger if he could be certain the Secret Service had caught up with them.
Her appetite momentarily satisfied, May gazed happily around her. The Old Post Office and the air of excitement generated by the hundreds of tourists were just what she wanted to experience. Stone tributes honoring the American heroes she’d known from studying history books were not.
She understood her escort’s appreciation of the places she had said she wanted to visit. The commander was, in or out of the uniform that had attracted her, in the service of his country.
She would have been pleased if he’d worn his uniform now.
She shouldn’t complain, she thought as she gazed at Wade Stevens. Dressed in beige slacks, loose matching jacket and a white shirt open to his throat, he looked like an ordinary tourist. What he couldn’t hide was that he was a military man. At least, not to her. She’d reviewed enough military parades in the company of her father to recognize the proud demeanor and the assurance of a military man.
She yearned to be plain May Baron. To have a man like Wade for her own. To have the child she hadn’t been able to conceive when she was married. Foolish dreams, she told herself and lowered her eyes. She was a dowager duchess with a future royal role yet to be played.
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