by Honor James
“Vinegar, darling,” he said, lifting the container. “In this case”—he sniffed at it and nodded—“hmm, a very nice and well-aged malt vinegar, from the aroma I’m getting. Gotta love it when they put the good stuff out.”
“Well, I’m happy that they have what makes you happy and what makes me happy. See, this was the right place to come to,” she teased him with a smile and looked over the foods. “It all looks so very wonderful. Which should we try first?”
“Hell if I know, I can’t even pronounce most of this. I say we dive in and figure out what everything is as we go along.” Giving her a wink, David picked up a roll of some sort. It sort of looked like an eggroll, but smaller and darker. Taking a bite, he chewed and nodded a couple of times. “Meat, a little on the spicy side, but quite good.”
She picked up what she knew was a pepper of some sort and took a bite. “Oh, this is spicy.” She fanned herself and winked at him. “Oh, mercy.” Taking a big drink of the ale, she shook her head. “Okay, that one I do not like. I think that I need to wash my hands.” She looked just over his shoulder, it was clear that the ones listening to them wanted to talk to David, so she needed to give them an opening. “I will be back in, like, two minutes, darling. Promise,” she said as she slid out of the booth and walked, as if she had not a care in the world, to the bathroom.
Watching her go, David shook his head and let out a hum. He knew just why she’d taken off like she had. Good thing, too, given how antsy the fellows behind him were. Once she was gone, though, they didn’t say anything. The one he’d bumped just turned and passed him an envelope. Feigning surprise, David took it and blinked at him as he stood.
“Follow the instructions inside,” he said before he and his friend, departed the bar.
Frowning, he turned it over in his hands. Picking at the flap, he gave the impression of fighting with the urge to open it or wait. He was still being observed, so he knew he needed to play it up a bit, but not too much.
Catching sight of Hope returning, he quickly stuffed the envelope, with a small fumble, into his inside jacket pocket. She would have seen the move but, consummate professional that she was, she’d act like she was oblivious. Those watching, though, would have seen it as a nervous act.
Standing as she returned, he kissed her lips and let her sit before settling back in again. “Better now?” he asked as she flicked her napkin back over her lap.
“Yes, darling, much better.” She had seen it all. She wasn’t a stupid woman, by any stretch. Smiling she added, “And I do not want any more of those spicy ones, please. So I will just take what I know, if that’s okay with you?”
“Fine by me,” he assured her. Smiling at her, he lifted his glass to drink, his gaze idly checking out the room while his head bobbed slightly to the soft music. “We’ll have to remember this place,” he said to her. “I know Carl and Edith are planning a trip here in the spring, I’m sure Carl would get a serious kick out of this joint.” He wanted to stay for another hour at least, which she got from the use of the two code names in that precise sequence. Had David said Edith first, and that Edith would have gotten the kick out of the place, he’d want to get out inside of five minutes.
“Oh, absolutely. They would love it. It’s so rustic,” she said with a smile and took a fry, dragging it through ketchup, which she hated, but needed it for the visage that she was playing up. “I think that it is a very good thing to tell them just where they can come to get such amazing foods.”
“Yes, but darling, anything you don’t have to cook yourself you find amazing,” he said with a chuckle. “Come on, you know it to be the truth,” he teased, wrinkling his nose up playfully. When she threatened him with her ketchup-soaked fry, he laughed even harder. Holding up his hands in surrender, he winked at her.
She giggled. “Well, you and I both know that I have been trying to cook, but really, I’m nowhere near as good at it as Martha is. We are truly blessed to have her as our personal chef,” Hope said with a smile and took another fry through the ketchup, eating it even though she didn’t want to.
“We are, at that, my dear. We are, at that.” Nodding, he plucked up a fry and dripped some vinegar on it. Chewing slowly, he looked around the place, his head moving to the beat of the music again. “I was thinking, before we return home, that we should take in some more of the sights. Maybe get out of the city and see a bit of the countryside. I’ve heard tell there are some amazing little villages around, where you can find some amazing crafts and such.”
“Oh I would love that. To find some crafts. Perhaps while we are in the villages we could find some silks or the like so I can have a designer make me a one-of-a-kind dress. Something that the other wives will be jealous of?”
“As if they need anything more than just you, my dear,” he said. Reaching over, he took her hand in his and squeezed. “You are rather outstanding and amazing, as you very well know. But if you wish, we can definitely look and see if you can’t find something. Perhaps for the annual Christmas gala?” he asked.
“Perhaps with the diamonds that you will buy me as well?” she asked with a hopeful smile. “I think that would be wonderful. A truly one-of-a-kind dress and one-of-a-kind jewelry on me as well. Ah yes, I can already see the ladies bitching and wishing that they had thought of it.”
“And they will attempt to outdo you the following year when you will go for sleek and subtle,” he said with a knowing grin. “I see how you are thinking now.” He chuckled. “Sneaky woman. I do love just how devious you are.”
“Well of course you do, darling. It’s one of the many reasons why you married me. That, and because our fortunes together are perfect,” she said as almost an afterthought. “Now, which one should I try next?” she asked as her hand hovered over their plate of food.
He pointed to something on the platter but didn’t say anything to her. His eyes, while on her, were focused elsewhere, even as he picked up a wing to nibble on. She knew better than to turn and look, especially if he was playing it as he was. Something, or someone, had caught his attention but he was playing it off like he hadn’t noticed.
Finally, though, he focused on her again and glanced at his watch. “Crap, we should head back soon, darling. We have that meeting in the morning over at the gallery about that piece you want to purchase. And you know how much I detest being tardy, especially when dealing with the snooty elite of the artist realm.”
Wonderful, so whoever it was that had caught an interest in them weren’t who they wanted to catch an interest in them. “Drat, you are right. Can you please leave the money or get the check, or whatever it is that one does here? I dearly do want that piece, and would be crushed if I couldn’t get it.”
Lifting his hand, David waved down the server and mangled the request for the check. He smiled brightly as the man winced and walked off. Grabbing a couple more fries, he nibbled on them as they waited for the man to come back. And he did, in record time. David pulled out his wallet and paid him cash, with a very big-ass tip that actually got a grin out of the kid.
When David stood and held his hand out to her, Hope slipped hers into his and allowed him to help her up. Smiling, she grabbed her jacket and allowed her ID to fall out. The fake one, of course. “I’m ready darling,” she said as she put on the jacket. There, now the people who were giving them interest would learn all that they could about David and Hope via the false lives that the agency set up for them.
Sliding his arm around her waist, they walked out of the pub and hit the street. But they didn’t head straight back to the hotel. Instead, David detoured them slightly. At her look, he gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. No questions, not yet, his look said. Walking, he headed them toward the fountain in one of the plazas. There would be lots of ambient noise, and it would be perfect for a pair in love to view and, in their case, to also talk near so they weren’t easily overheard. Almost as good as a shower. Sadly, no nudity though.
When they stopped, Hope ran her hands u
p David’s chest and hugged him close. Using her hair to cover her face at least a little, she whispered, “What’s up?” There was a reason they were stopping where they were, a reason that he was holding her close with his lips to her ear.
“We’ve got a tail and I wanted a look at them,” he said. Squeezing her closer, he nuzzled at her throat and let out a breath. “Plus, any reason to hold you close is a good enough reason for me. Don’t tell me that you’re planning on complaining.”
“Nope, not planning on doing anything except be very happy that you want to hold me. That you are keeping me close, and love me as much as you do.” She pulled back and looked up at him with a smile. “It’s moments like this that are worth living for.”
Smiling back at her, he pressed a kiss to her lips. Turning slightly, he sat down on the edge of the fountain and pulled her onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around her, he rubbed his nose to her cheek. “I see someone watching us, but they are still in shadow. I doubt that, whomever it is, they’ll get any closer to use while we’re out here in the open. We need to find a busier place that they’ll have to close the gap to keep us in sight. Any ideas at this time of night?”
“How about the market? From what I overheard the cleaners saying, they are very busy right now, so that might be the best place to go.” She was speaking against his ear. To anyone else it would look like she was just holding him and being held by him, which was what they both wanted people to think.
Nodding, he gave her a squeeze. “That sounds like a very good plan. And we can pick up a few munchies as well. Or whatever else we might want or need.” Dropping a kiss on her lips with a grin, he urged her up off his lap. “Let’s go.” He stood and took her hand in his.
“Sounds like a plan to me.” She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. “All right, just know that I can’t have much more salt or I will swell up like a balloon.” Which was a sad and honest truth. Dammit.
“What about a few sweets instead? Or something more savory than salty, that would be a nice change.” He shook his head and shrugged. “I just have this need to get something to nibble on, you know? A craving which obviously, if we were in the States, I’d likely figure out right quick at the corner store, but here I’m a little unsure just what I’m wanting.”
“That sounds utterly marvelous. A few sweets and you know that you can nibble on me anytime you want to.” She leaned into him and gave his arm a squeeze. “I do so very much love this time with you, darling.”
“Mm,” he hummed with a growing smile. “Perhaps that is what I’m craving,” he said. Swinging her around in front of him, he bent his head to nibble on her throat as they continued a slightly drunken path toward their destination. “So damned tasty and absolutely perfect in every way.”
“Well you know, a girl has to try to ensure that her man is satisfied in all ways.” She leaned in closer and whispered, “Nine o’clock. Shadows. Getting closer.” And then nibbled on his neck as if she hadn’t said a word.
“And you do satisfy me, in all ways,” he said, turning them slightly with a small, planned stumble. He grunted. “Got them,” he whispered back. Lifting his head, he kissed her with a grin and then let her loose so they could walk normally again. “But I still need munchies, my love.”
“Yes. Munchies are good. Mostly because I don’t understand how to ask for Cheetos when I call down to room service,” she added with an eye-roll. “One would think that they would be used to requests like that, right?”
“I doubt they have Cheetos here, love. But I’m very sure we can find a substitute that is similar enough for you to have. The market was a damn fine idea,” he told her. Swinging her hand in his, he squeezed gently as they crossed the street, both of them looking around for cars before stepping off the sidewalk. “But we should make it a quick visit. We do need to get some sleep tonight.”
“Yes, this is very true and I still have needs that need to be met tonight before sleep, as well,” she tossed out there, and stopped before a pretzel vendor, or at least she thought they were pretzels. “Can I have one of these please?” she asked nicely.
David dug out some money as the man pulled one of the bread items out and, with a quick twist of the paper, handed it to her. Passing over the money, David murmured a soft thank you in flawless German. “So, how is it?” he asked her as they moved to the side for others to step in and make a purchase.
Taking a bite she sighed, “Oh this is actually very good, David.” She couldn’t stop herself from taking another and then another bite as they walked along. She was actually honestly surprised. It was a bread product, but while the outside looked hard, it was actually very soft and the inside was this rich, buttery, creamy bread. It was delicious.
Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he drew her in close. He let her nibble on it in silence as they walked, their pace leisurely and very relaxed. They were both fully aware of being followed, but moved in such a way that the follower would never be any the wiser that he’d been outed.
“Would you like to try a bite?” she asked, and offered it up to him, the way she moved not blocking his view at all. “If not, you know I will have it all eaten before we even make it back to the hotel, so this is your one and only time,” she said teasingly.
Grinning he leaned in and took a small bite, his eyes flicking just past her ear and holding for a second before he straightened with his gaze on her. Chewing, he nodded slowly and then licked his lips. “That’s actually very tasty. I’m not a huge bread fan but that I’m actually very impressed by.”
“See, same here. It looked like a pretzel but it’s actually just a very sweet bread.” Leaning her head on his shoulder she walked along at his side, eating her bread and watching the shadows. She might appear to be the dumb and pretty eye candy, but she was far more than that, and both she and David knew she would do whatever was necessary to keep them both safe and accomplish the mission.
Tugging on her slightly, he led her into the market, or what was left of it still set up for the evening. He went up to one vendor selling jewelry and paused to look at some of the pieces. Most of it was just costume jewelry but there were a few pieces, in heavy glass cases, that were the real deal. Those were what he was looking at, in particular, rings.
“Oh, are you going to buy me something pretty and sparkly?” Hope asked with a smile. “They aren’t diamonds though.” She pouted. In honesty, Hope hated diamonds, but David knew that. She was more of an opal or emerald girl than diamonds. “They are still rather lovely, aren’t they, darling?”
Tapping the glass over one of the rings, he smiled at her. “I’ll get you your diamonds, darling. But that will be a very special set that I will personally help in designing and get a professional to figure out the creation of said design for you. This is just for a little something between us, from me to you,” he said. Taking the ring from the woman, he turned to her and lifted her right hand. The look in his eyes said something more, but he didn’t speak it out loud as he slid the ring onto her finger. “Perfect,” he murmured, stroking his thumb lightly on her skin.
Smiling, he turned to the woman and paid her for the ring, quite a bit actually, not that he even flinched. Thanking the woman, he slid his arm around her waist. “So, what do you think? A cute memento of our trip for you to have and hold for all time?” he asked.
Hope was having one hell of a time keeping her cover. In that moment, she knew what the ring was. She saw it in his eyes just what he was asking her and all she could do was swallow the sudden lump in her throat. She didn’t speak for several minutes, worried she would blow their cover if she did. Finally, however, she held the hand with the ring on it out and smiled. “It’s a pretty little bauble, very sparkly and you do know how I love sparkles.” The truth was in her eyes though. She loved it. She wanted so very much to be able to hug him and show him just how much she loved it and how desperately she wanted to answer the unasked question, but instead she smiled and said, “I think we should return to the hotel.
A shower, and then bed. What do you think, darling?”
“I think that is a great idea,” he told her quietly. Squeezing her closer, he winked. He knew what she had planned and was fully on board. They both forced themselves to keep their pace slow, relaxed, and like they had all the time in the world. But she knew that they both wanted to race back to the hotel just so they could get in the shower, the water running, so they could talk freely, if quietly.
When they made it to the hotel, she smiled up at him. “Will you arrange room service for breakfast for us? I don’t want to be bothered before nine, if that’s okay with you. Do you think you will be able to hold off on everything until then?” She made a production of stopping in the center of the lobby and making her request so their tail could slip in as well.
“Shouldn’t be a problem.” He nodded. He looked at his watch and his lips moved slightly, as if he was calculating in his head. “If we eat right at nine, shower by nine thirty and leave by ten to with a car service, we’ll make it just in time for our meeting with the gallery. But we need to be right on schedule, my love. No sneaky little deviations.” He grinned at her.
“I will do all that I can in order to ensure that there are no deviations. We might want to wake just a bit earlier because we both know that I do have a way of finding ways of killing time more often than not.” She teased him with a smile. “Yes, I think that’s marvelous, don’t you?”
“So, wake-up call at eight?” he asked with a meaningful chuckle, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively. Dropping a kiss on her lips, he handed her the key card for their room. “Why don’t you head up and get the shower started? Just remember to let me in when I knock this time, yeah?”
“Ah yes, a wake-up call at eight sounds like just the right thing for me. That way I can get my hour of exercise and then we can have breakfast.” She teased with a smile. “And don’t worry, I will let you in.” After giving him another kiss, she headed off for their room, key card in hand, and looking over her shoulder once at him.