by Judy Angelo
“Just a sec.” He reached through the window of his car and grabbed the novel he’d bought in the airport. Quickly, he copied her particulars into the back of the book and when she handed him her insurance papers he recorded that information as well. He turned around to hand them back to her but she had her back to him, her cell phone positioned as she took photos of her car.
“For the record,” she said and gave him a smile that wasn’t mocking or sarcastic but wide and genuine and beautiful, a smile that so transformed her face that he couldn’t help but stare. Again.
For a moment they both stood there – he, staring at her and she, smiling at him. She almost looked like she wanted to say something else, probably even strike up a real conversation, nothing to do with cars or accidents. He certainly did.
But then, just as he was about to speak, she took the papers from him then stepped back and lifted her hand in a little wave. “Well, I’ve got to run,” she said. “Got things to do and people to see. In fact,” she glanced away and a look of concern flitted across her face, “I'd better get cracking on my next assignment, as crazy as it is.”
Crazy assignment? That piqued his interest but he got no chance to ask questions. She was already walking back to her SUV.
Indiana Moon Lane slid into the driver’s seat, started the vehicle, and without a backward glance she merged into the slow-moving traffic and was gone.
Stone, half bewildered, half intrigued, stared after her. This woman, so fearless and direct, was a world apart from the hothouse flowers he was used to. In fact, she looked like she’d be happier on the wide open plains of the wild west or the jungles of South America than stuck in the middle of traffic on a Canadian highway.
Then a thought came to him, a crazy thought, but he couldn’t shake it. What if she was the one he’d been looking for all along?
CHAPTER TWO
Indie pushed the supermarket trolley down the aisle with Tessa in tow. She reached for a head of Romaine lettuce and threw it into the cart on top of the bag of potatoes, tray of sweet corn and the big green watermelon that she planned to devour later. She loved herself some watermelon.
She was bending over to grab a bag of navel oranges from a huge bin when Tessa grabbed her arm.
“What about that one?” her friend whispered fiercely.
Indie looked up and there, at the end of the aisle, was a very tall, very handsome man, his long dark hair pulled back with a string, his muscular arms quite visible in a sleeveless exercise top. He was wearing sweatpants and gym shoes and he had a carton of milk in his shopping basket. He was studying the label on a box of cereal. Obviously, a health nut. Not that that was a bad thing. But still…
“So?” Tessa nudged her. “What do you think?”
Indie grimaced and turned her attention back to the oranges. “Nah. Too pretty.”
“Too pre-” Tessa glared up at her. “Will you be serious? You asked me to help you, Indie, but you’re not even trying.”
“I am serious. Too pretty.” Indie looked down at her diminutive friend, her straight blonde hair falling past her shoulders, her big brown eyes and full red lips giving her the appearance of a cute little doll. Now that was the look men craved. Who would waste time looking at a short-haired Amazon like her when a little princess like Tessa was right there? Indie sighed. “When will you learn, Tessa? Heartthrobs like that aren’t looking for women like me. I’m too big and intimidating. Too plain. Now go hunt me somebody else more ordinary looking.”
Indie dropped the oranges into the cart and moved on to the tomatoes but out of the corner of her eye she could see Tessa standing there in the aisle, glowering at her. Then, with a sigh of obvious frustration, she turned and headed down the cereal aisle.
Indie could only shake her head and smile. Once she set her mind to something, Tessa took it very seriously. Indie had left straight from the attorney’s office and headed back to her car where she’d called her best friend from her cell phone. Once she’d shared her dilemma with Tessa, she’d taken it on as her own personal project, telling Indie to head straight home to Burlington so they could plan. Tessa was something else, always up for a challenge, especially when it involved men.
Indie left the vegetable aisle and was on her way to the bakery section when Tessa came flying toward her, all smiles. “I found him, Indie, and don’t tell me you don’t like him. I spoke to him and he’s pleasant and smart. He’s a high school math teacher. And he’s ordinary looking, just like you asked.”
Before Indie could say a word in response Tessa grabbed the trolley and began pushing it toward aisle seven.
“Hey, wait up.”
Even with her little legs Tessa was moving fast and Indie had to hurry to catch up. “Listen,” she whispered loudly to her friend’s back, “I don’t know if this is such a good idea, hunting men in the super-”
“Phillip! Hi. Fancy running into you again so quickly.” Tessa pushed the trolley toward a man wearing dark slacks and a light blue dress shirt. At the sound of her voice he turned quickly, a broad smile on his face.
“Tessa.” He looked genuinely happy to see her. “I thought I had lost you. One minute I was reaching for a box of cornflakes and the next moment you'd disappeared.”
“Oh, I just went to get my friend,” Tessa told him then she turned to Indie, looking as pleased as pie. Indie almost rolled her eyes.
“Phillip, I’d like you to meet my friend, Indiana Lane. Indie, this is Phillip Robertson.” She reached out and grabbed Indie’s hand, dragging her forward, almost making her bump into the man whose smile suddenly went stiff then slowly began to fade.
“Oh,” he said and blinked then he looked from Indie to Tessa then back to Indie. Then he stuck out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Lane.”
Yeah, right. Indie knew it wasn’t her he wanted to get to know, it was Tessa. When she’d struck up her conversation with him he must have been flattered, thinking she was interested in him. And then to be thrown a serious-looking, no makeup woman who was taller than he was? Obviously, not what he was expecting.
“Yes, good meeting you, too,” Indie said and, just to be polite, she shook his hand. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I still have a lot of shopping to do.”
It was almost funny to see the look of relief that passed over the man’s face when he saw that she was leaving. Almost. She was a tough bird but what woman wanted to know that a man found her so unattractive that he was glad she was leaving? That was what she got for hanging out with Tessa. Sometimes it sucked to have such a pretty little friend hanging around. It highlighted just how unfeminine she was, with her tall frame, short hair and plain face. Crap.
She was pushing the trolley toward the frozen food section when Tessa came running after her. “Indie, are you insane? Why did you go running off like that? He was perfect.”
“Yeah,” she said with a snort. “With him being four inches shorter than me and bald, how could I give up such a catch? I must be freakin’ crazy.”
“Hey, there’s no need to be sarcastic.”
Indie groaned. “You’re right. That was uncalled for and I'm sorry. But don’t you see the guy was all ga-ga over you? It wasn’t me he wanted.”
“If you’d just given him a chance-”
“Look,” Indie said, cutting Tessa off before she started to lecture her on a hopeless cause, “I know you’re just trying to help. And I know this situation is absurd, what with that stupid deadline. But I don’t think picking up men in the supermarket is the answer.”
Tessa set her mouth in a pout and folded her arms across her chest. “So what do you suggest, Miss Smarty Pants? Do you have a man tucked away somewhere that I don’t know about?”
Indie rolled her eyes. “You know I don’t. Unless you count that aid worker who took a shine to me in Haiti.”
Tessa burst out laughing. “You mean Gorilla George from New Orleans? From what you told me he's three times your size and twice your age.”
“Yeah,” Indie said
with a shake of her head, “but he’s available.”
Tessa glared at her. “We’re desperate but not that desperate.” Then her look softened. “Don’t you know anybody? What about an old boyfriend?”
“I don’t have time for boyfriends.”
“Which is exactly why we’re in this situation right now,” Tessa said, looking none too pleased. “You’ve got to make time for social life, Indie. Life’s not just about saving the world. It’s also about love, and family and kids-”
“Okay, stop right there. That’s your idea of life, not mine.”
“You’re right.” Tessa’s shoulders fell and she stared off toward the cashier. Then, her mind obviously working overtime, she turned back to Indie, an excited look on her face. “I know exactly where to find men who want to get married.”
Indie frowned. Nothing good ever happened when Tessa got that excited look.
“Where?”
“In a church, where else? Men of the cloth – not priests, of course – are always looking for good women to marry. And the men in the congregation, too, they're looking for wives, aren’t they?” She began to push the trolley toward the cashier’s counter. “Come on. We’ve got some church services to crash.”
At that point Indie knew Tessa had finally gone off her rocker. “Stop.”
That brought the little blonde dynamo to a halt. She looked back with an expression that said Indie was the one who had gone bonkers. She put her hands on her hips. “Okay, that’s it. I’ve been the one coming up with all the ideas and you’ve killed every one of them. There’s got to be even one man in this whole world who you like. Come on, woman. Give me something to work with. Anything.”
That made Indie pause and think. One man who she liked…
“Well,” she began, her voice uncertain, “there is one man…”
“Thank you, Jesus.” Tessa raised her hands in an expression of praise then she ran to Indie. “So, who is it? Tell me who you like and I’ll pull out all the stops to help you reel him in even before the thirty days are up. Who is he and where can I find him?”
“I remember his name,” Indie said with a chuckle, “because it’s real funny. Gladstone Hudson. Gladstone. Can you believe it?" She was grinning now. “Although he calls himself Stone so he can sound more macho. I have his address in my notebook. It’s in the car.”
Tessa frowned and cocked her head to one side. “Something's fishy here. It sounds like you hardly know this Gladstone fellow.”
Indie shrugged. “Just met him today. In the car accident.”
Tessa opened her eyes wide. “No. He’s the one who ran into the back of your car this evening?”
“The same.”
“And he’s the one you like? But how do you know you like him? You spent all of ten minutes together.”
Indie shrugged again. “All I know is, he’s the only man I’ve ever met who made my heart race just at the sight of him.” Then she laughed. “Of course, I never let on that he had any effect on me. I was cool as cucumber.”
Tessa nodded as she stared at Indie. “I can bet.” Then slowly her dazed look melted and the old Tessa was back. A mischievous grin tickled her lips. “Okay, Miss Indiana Moon Lane, let’s get on home and start planning Operation Catch Mr. Gladstone Hudson right away."
And as she headed off to the cashier, pushing the trolley as she went, Indie could only shake her head and smile. With Tessa Tyndale on the case Stone Hudson was going to be in for a bumpy ride.
******
“Indiana Moon Lane.” Stone said the name softly to himself as he stared down at the blank page on which he’d written the information. A day had passed since he’d run into her – literally – and he was just as intrigued now as he’d been when he first laid eyes on her.
And he was determined to see her again.
It wasn’t just that he found her fascinating – her boldness, her exotic look, her name. For some reason he felt that their meeting, although not under the most ideal condition, was meant to be. For a long time he’d been looking for someone like Indiana Lane and just like that, when he hadn’t even been looking, she’d fallen right into his lap. Of course, he had no idea if she would agree to work for him but he intended to make the proposal and do his best to convince her to come on board.
But first he had to call his project manager. Although it was just one-thirty in the afternoon in Ontario it was already seven-thirty in the evening in South Africa. He knew Jenna had already signed off for the evening and he hated calling her so late but she was so easygoing. She never complained. In fact, if he would be perfectly honest, she spoiled him.
Jenna picked up on the third ring. “Yeah, boss?”
Stone chuckled. “Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that?”
“Can’t help it,” she said, laughing into the phone. “I happen to enjoy teasing you. What can I help you with, Stone?”
“Good news. I’ve finally found the perfect person to replace you.”
He heard Jenna’s happy gasp then the words came tumbling out in a breathless stream. “Oh my Lord, that’s great news. Who is it? When can he start? Or is it a she? Get them on the plane right away because this baby is not gonna wait-”
“Hold on, not so fast.” He practically had to shout to get the words in above hers. “It’s a her and I haven’t hired her yet.”
Silence on the other end of the line. A full five seconds passed before Jenna spoke again. “What do you mean you haven’t hired her yet?” Then, before Stone could respond she continued. “Oh, you’ve done the interviews but you just haven’t told her she’s hired.”
“No,” he said, dragging out the word. In her state he didn’t want to give her too many shocks. “I haven’t actually asked her yet.”
“What? Stone, I’m going to have this baby any day now. You need to find me a replacement. Like yesterday!”
“I know, Jenna.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Damn him for being such a perfectionist. There were so many other people he could have hired to cover for Jenna but no, he had to find the perfect one. And it had taken him this long to identify her. He'd be up the creek if he reached out to Indiana Lane and she said no.
“Don’t you worry your little head,” he said, his voice sounding a whole lot more confident than he felt. “I’ll be back on a plane to South Africa in no time and I’ll have your replacement with me.”
CHAPTER THREE
“Oh… my…gosh.” Tessa stared at the computer screen, her mouth falling open. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.”
“What?” Indie gave her a stony-eyed look. Tessa, ever the drama queen, was famous for getting all excited over nothing at all.
“Come here, Indie. Come look at this.” Her eyes glued to the screen, Tessa waved Indie over. “You’ve got to see this.”
In no hurry at all, Indie laid down the list she’d been working on – a list of tactics to snag Stone Hudson, no less – and got up from the armchair then walked over to the computer desk where Tessa perched on the edge of the rolling office chair. If she wasn’t careful, that thing would roll back and she’d find herself flat on her face.
Indie pushed Tessa’s chair closer to the desk and set her foot behind the wheel so it wouldn’t run back. Just one more thing in her constant task of keeping her accident-prone friend out of danger. “What’s up?” she asked, as she bent down to see the screen.
Tessa reached out and turned the screen so that Indie could have a better view. “Is this the guy who ran into you?”
Indie leaned forward. “Yeah. Is he a criminal or something?”
“Did you know,” Tessa said in a voice rising higher with each word, “that Stone Hudson is the owner of Hudson Broadcasting Corporation?”
Indie jerked upright then fixed her friend with a narrowed gaze. “Get outta here.” Tessa was a flighty one but this story took the cake.
“No, it’s true,” she said, her eyes wide. “Look.”
As she pointed to the screen Indie’s eyes followed her f
inger. Wikipedia. And the heading read. “Gladstone ‘Stone’ Hudson, chairman and CEO, Hudson Broadcasting Corporation". And there, staring back at her, was the face of the man she was busily planning to catch.
“Well, hot damn.” The words escaped her in a whisper that was breathless with disbelief. Who would have thought…
“You know, we should have put two and two together,” Tessa said, still staring at the screen. “I’ve heard the name Stone Hudson before. Why didn’t it come to me that it could be him?”
Indie gave a snort. “Probably because you wouldn’t think that, of all the people in the world, it would be a billionaire who would slam into my car. How many billionaires do you know?”
“None.”
“Me neither. And that’s why you wouldn’t expect…” Indie’s voice trailed off as another thought came to her. “Now that I think of it, his car seemed pretty darned expensive. All black, sports car type, with a funny-looking symbol like a crown with three points.”
Tessa gave her an incredulous stare. “A trident?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“A Maserati,” Tessa said with a gasp. “He ran into you with his Maserati. Do you have any idea how much those cars cost?”
Indie shrugged.
“You’re looking at about two hundred thousand, easy.”
“Good to know.” Indie folded her arms across her chest and nodded, momentarily lost in thought. Then, with a sigh of resignation, she walked back to the armchair and picked up her list. She walked over to the garbage can in the corner and began to rip the paper, dropping the slivers into the bin.
“Well,” she said with a wry smile, “there goes Plan A.”
Tessa whipped around and stared at her. “What are you doing?”
“Getting rid of my list of ways to attract Stone Hudson. It was hard enough coming up with ideas to catch a regular guy. What hope would I have with a billionaire?”
“Are you crazy, Indie? He’s the only man you like and he’s single. We have to keep going.”