“Good God, this is one hot place.” Anthony dragged the now damp handkerchief across his forehead, but still sweat oozed from his pores.
Lecia pulled her silk camisole away from her skin. She blew down her shirt in a useless attempt to cool herself. “And to think, people talk about Florida being a killer in the summer. Dry heat my ass.”
They were currently in Hottest Spot in the World, Arizona, standing outside of their vehicle. They had stopped at some nowhere gas station because they needed to fill up and get some refreshments, but after being cooped up for so long, they had opted to walk around first and stretch their legs. Barely five minutes later the heat was almost unbearable.
“It’s at least one hundred degrees in the shade,” Anthony commented, clearly still miserable.
“We should probably just hit the road as quickly as possible.” Lecia didn’t care if her butt went numb back in the car. Right about now the air-conditioned Navigator was far more preferable to this heat. “You want me to get the refreshments while you gas up?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“What do you want? Juice? Soda? Water?”
“All of the above. We may as well stock up.”
She didn’t bother to again suggest that they fly to New Orleans. Anthony had nixed that idea the first time. He was concerned that if any type of law enforcement were looking for him, they’d be able to track him down from flight information.
Which meant they were resigned to a wretched thirty-hour drive. So far, they’d driven for four hours. They had a very long way to go.
Pushing that troubling thought from her mind, Lecia headed into the store, which from the outside looked like little more than a shack. Inside, however, the place had clearly been renovated. The tile floors sparkled. Bright halogen lights illuminated the entire store. Every rack looked brand spanking new, as did the fridges filled with juice and other cold beverages.
The interior put her mind at ease. She had a phobia of public rest rooms, but if they were as clean as the rest of the place, she didn’t think the experience would be in the least traumatic.
Sure enough, the rest room was not only clean, it smelled faintly of citrus. Lecia relieved herself quickly, washed her hands, then headed back into the store.
Anthony had said to pick up a variety of cold drinks, so she grabbed a six-pack of soda and two large bottles of water, then brought them to the counter. The guy who’d been sitting behind the register stood when he saw her coming. No older than twenty-one, he was as thin as a rake, wore a black AC DC T-shirt, and sported a dark brown mullet. If his name wasn’t Billy Bob, then her name wasn’t Lecia Calhoun.
Lecia dumped the armful of items and headed back to the
fridge for juice. She chose an orange-banana combo as well as raspberry-lime. This would be more than enough to last them before they had to stop for gas again.
Maybe it was seeing all the bars of chocolates and bags of chips that triggered her hunger, but her stomach rumbled. Pausing on her way back to the counter, she nabbed a large bag of potato chips and two packages of Twinkies.
So much for healthly eating, she thought. She was sure the junk food would add five pounds to her thighs the moment she inhaled it, but hey, a girl had to splurge every now and then.
“That everything?” Billy Bob asked. One of his two front teeth was half rotted.
“Uh, yeah.” She smiled sheepishly. Then nearly burst into laughter when she saw that his name tag actually read
BILLY BOB
.
The door chimes sounded and both Lecia and Billy Bob looked in that direction. Anthony flashed an easy smile as he strolled inside.
Lecia turned back to Billy Bob to settle the bill, but the young man wasn’t looking at her. He stared at Anthony, a sparkle in his eyes and an open-mouthed grin on his face.
“I know who you are,” he said in an excited drawl.
Lecia saw the look of panic flash on Anthony’s face. They’d heard no news to the effect that the police were looking for him, but it was entirely possible. If word had reached this remote spot…
“You—You’re that famous actor. Eddie Murphy!”
Anthony looked too stunned to speak. Almost as if he wasn’t sure whether Billy Bob was pulling his leg.
“Oh my God,” Billy Bob went on. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
There was no doubt about it, Billy Bob wasn’t pulling Anthony’s leg. He truly thought that Anthony was Eddie Murphy. Lecia didn’t know whether to be relieved or roll her eyes at how this kid could be so blind. The only resemblance Anthony had to Eddie Murphy was that they were both black.
“Shucks,” Anthony said. He even snapped a finger. “I didn’t think anyone would recognize me out here.”
“Are you kidding?” Billy Bob’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Man, I’d recognize you anywhere. I love your movies.”
Lecia fought to suppress a chuckle. She hadn’t expected Anthony to go along with Billy Bob’s mistake, but now that he had, she thought the joke was priceless.
“You do?”
“’Course I do!”
“So you’re a big fan, huh?” Anthony probed.
“Oh, yeah. I loved you in that movie with Robert DeNiro. The one where you played a cop.”
“You mean
Showtime
.”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Man, you were funnier’n shit.” Billy Bob threw a hand over his mouth. “Oops.”
Anthony waved a hand. “Aw, don’t worry about it,” he said, chuckling softly. Then, “Where are your rest rooms?”
“Straight back.”
Anthony turned to start off, but he caught sight of all the stuff Lecia had on the counter. “You sure that’s enough?” he asked, his tone playfully sarcastic.
“It’s going to be a long trip.”
He shrugged, then started for the back of the store.
Billy Bob’s gaze followed him until he was out of sight. “Oh, man. I can’t believe this. Eddie Murphy in
my
store. Where’re you two heading?”
“Um…” What should she say? “Well, it’s private. As I’m sure you can understand. Not that we can’t trust you to keep quiet, but it’s the only way to make sure no one will bother us. Some people—not you, of course—like to sell that kind of info to tabloids.”
“I’d never do that,” Billy Bob said, signing a cross over his heart. “But I sure do understand where you’re comin’ from. Sometimes I read those stories, and I feel so bad for y’all famous folks.”
“I’m glad you understand,” Lecia said.
“Um, maybe…you think I could get his autograph, though?”
“I’m sure he’d be happy to do that for you,” Lecia told him, smiling sweetly.
And Anthony did just that, much to Billy Bob’s absolute thrill. At least he didn’t have a camera to snap the fraudulent moment. Though he would probably save the store’s video surveillance tape, if he could.
“Okay, babe,” Anthony said, placing his hand on the small of Lecia’s back. “We’ve got to roll.”
Lecia’s body tingled at Anthony’s touch, which meant, she told herself, that she had to be completely insane. Because obviously he was only touching her for Billy Bob’s benefit. It
wasn’t
supposed to feel so damn good.
He didn’t let go of her until they were outside the store. “Did you believe that guy?” he asked, laughing. “Eddie Murphy? Gimme a break.”
“It’s gotta be the goatee.”
Anthony rolled his eyes playfully, saying he knew better.
He unlocked the doors and helped Lecia pile all the stuff in the Navigator. “All this junk food’s gonna make you hyper,” he told her.
“The place wasn’t exactly overflowing with healthy choices. Besides, I’m hungry.”
“Me, too.” He pulled his shirt away from his chest. “And sweaty. Damn, I wish I had a change of clothes.”
“I saw a rack of stuff in the store.”
“I didn’t.”
“It was at the back, near one of the fridges. We could at least get another T-shirt or something.”
“I guess you’re right. We still have a ways to go.”
“All the more reason to get on a plane and get there as soon as possible.”
Anthony leveled a lopsided grin in her direction. “Nice try, but you know why we can’t do that.”
“It was worth a shot.”
Billy Bob’s eyes lit up when they entered the store again, but he left them to their shopping in peace.
The clothing section—if you could call it that—should have had a sign over the top of it that read, “Tacky.” Because that’s exactly what the selection was. Most of it looked like it had been salvaged from a bin at a dollar store, or even pilfered from a Good Will donation drop box.
“I don’t want to wear any of this,” Lecia complained. But she also didn’t want to stay in the camisole that was sticking to her body like a second skin. With the heat, she had shed her blazer once they stepped outside the car, but that had left her feeling quite naked. One of these cotton T-shirts would be much more comfortable all around.
The shirt in the best condition was one that read,
TRY A VIRGIN
in bold letters and beneath that caption,
U.S. Virgin Islands.
Anthony groaned pitifully as he skimmed the rack. “Man, we stopped at the wrong place.”
“Better than being recognized at some bigger service station,” Lecia whispered. “By someone who can actually discern faces.”
“Guess this will have to do.” Anthony lifted a tropical print shirt. “If only they had the matching straw hat.”
“They do.”
Anthony’s gaze flew to Lecia’s. “You’re kidding me, right?”
She giggled. “Yeah, I am. But they’ve got some cute floppy hats.” She picked one up from a second rack and dangled it before him. “Bend down.” Anthony did, and she placed the hat on his head. But he didn’t straighten right away. Instead, his eyes met hers. Held. A frisson of heat traveled through Lecia’s veins.
She swallowed. Was she mistaken, or was Anthony looking at her like…like he wanted to kiss her?
Looking down, she stepped backward. She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice as she said, “Now people will mistake you for Gilligan.”
“I think you need one, too. The sun’s hot.” Anthony picked up a pale blue hat and planted it on her head. His finger skimmed her cheek as he pulled his hand away. “Ooh, that’s cute, Doc.”
Lecia inhaled a slow breath as she tried to figure out if Anthony was flirting with her. But she wasn’t able to give it much thought because Billy Bob’s voice intruded on the moment.
“Y’all need some help?”
Lecia whirled around and found Billy Bob right behind her. “No. No, we’re fine.”
“I’ve got some more T-shirts in the back,” Billy Bob went on.
“No. This should do it. For me, at least. What about you,
Eddie
?”
“I’m cool.”
At the cash register, Billy Bob punched in all the items. Then he announced, “Thirty-four seventy-seven.”
Anthony handed him a fifty and told him to keep the change. Billy Bob actually squealed in delight. “Aw, man. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“If you’re driving back this way,” Billy Bob said, “be sure to stop by.”
Anthony raised a hand in a good-bye as he and Lecia left the store.
Anthony had been driving for about five minutes when Lecia reached into the plastic bags filled with the stuff they’d bought. Then she announced, “Don’t look.”
Anthony immediately glanced her way. “Don’t what?”
She took out the T-shirt and placed it on her lap. “Don’t look at me.”
Lecia grasped the bottom edge of her camisole, and Anthony narrowed his eyes in her direction. “Yo, Doc. What are you doing?”
“Changing.”
Anthony forced his gaze back to the road, then swerved to the right when he realized he’d moved out of his lane.
“Pay attention,” Lecia told him. “To the road.”
Easy for her to say. Although he stared ahead, he couldn’t resist a quick glance to the right. He caught a flash of a lacy white bra and the curve of her breasts just before the T-shirt covered her skin.
A quick flash, yet his mouth watered. Suddenly irritated with himself, he jerked his gaze back to the highway. What the hell was wrong with him?
It didn’t help matters when Lecia drew the seat belt across her body. The shirt tightened over her breasts.
Again Anthony looked away. But not without feeling the tickling of an arousal. Not enough to give him a hard-on, but enough to give him pause.
Ginger was a throw-it-in-your-face type when it came to sexuality. In the bedroom, she was voracious. When she went out, her style was skimpy and provocative. She liked men to check her out, no matter how much she would deny that fact.
But that wasn’t what had drawn Anthony to her. In fact, she hadn’t been that way when he’d first met her, but she changed practically the day after they’d gotten married. “I don’t want you tempted to look at anyone else,” she told him. He’d figured she was insecure that she might lose her star-athlete husband to temptation, and he didn’t entirely blame her. Lots of men in his position strayed from their wives simply because they could.
But despite Ginger’s obvious sex appeal, she hadn’t stirred him on quite the same level as Lecia had just done. And Lecia had done it unintentionally.
The heat must be getting to him, he thought.
And maybe, just maybe, he was a little intrigued about the good doctor because of her job. Hell, she talked sex for a living. That would turn any hot-blooded guy on.
Wouldn’t it?
“New Orleans is a long way off,” Lecia said. “What’s the plan for tonight?”
“Ah, yeah. Tonight.” He hadn’t really thought about it, but it suddenly dawned on him that they’d have to stop somewhere and sleep. “I guess we’ll stop when I get tired of driving and then start off in the morning.”
Lecia nodded, then asked, “At a hotel?”
“Of course.” He leveled a lopsided grin in her direction. “I kidnap in style. I wouldn’t have you camping out in my car.”
“That remains to be seen. You may take me to the Roach Motel.”
“You in the Roach Motel? Never. You’re the kind of girl who makes a guy want to splurge.”
Lecia had a light, easy laugh. The kind that emanated warmth from her body straight to another person’s.
Anthony said, “You seem okay with all this now.”
She faced him. “Hmm?”
“Five hours ago you weren’t too happy. In fact, you looked mad enough to kill someone.”
“I know. But…” She shrugged. “Life’s an adventure, right? Sometimes, you just have to roll with it. This is kind of sad to say, but in a way, taking off like this was just what I needed. To get away. Because my life has been one crazy string of promotional events and I’m
really
getting tired of that. I need a break.”
“You need to call anybody—let them know where you are?”
“Are you fishing?” Lecia asked, a laugh in her voice.
“Fishing for what? Oh, to see if you have a man? No, I wasn’t. But…do you?”
“I’m free, single, and disengaged.”
Anthony simply nodded. At least he wasn’t keeping her from some jealous lover who might want to blow his head off. He hadn’t even thought of that when he’d hit the road. “What I was really asking is if you’ve got to call someone at the office to let them know you won’t be there.”
“I’m not in the office tomorrow.”
“Then I picked a good day to do this.”
“Don’t push your luck.”
“Whatever your reasons, thanks for sticking with me.”
“I know you didn’t do anything to your wife. That’s the main reason I’m here.”
“It means a lot to hear you say that.”
Lecia pulled down the passenger seat visor and checked herself out in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her short hair, ruffling the already messy coif. Frowning, she pushed the visor back up. “That’s a lost cause.”
“Your hair looks great. You look great.”
Her lips twisted in an expression that said she didn’t believe him.
“I swear. You’ve got that Halle Berry thing happening, which is
hot.
”
“Oh, yeah. Like anyone could ever compare me to Halle.”
“You’ve got to know you’re hot.”
“Let’s change the subject.”
Shock of all shocks, Lecia looked embarrassed. A hint of pink even touched her honey brown cheeks. She didn’t know how attractive she was, and it made him like her that much more. Clearly, Dr. Love was down to earth. Real.
“I was thinking,” Lecia began, “that I could call the numbers from Ginger’s cell phone bill. Pretend to be an old friend looking for her.”
“An old friend?”
“I don’t know. I can always say I’m calling from Publisher’s Clearing House,” she said with a wry grin. “That might get her to come to the line.”
“You go, Tuppence.”
Lecia’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”
He shook his head briefly. “Nothing.”
“Did you call me Tuppence?”
“Yeah. It’s from—”
“I know what it’s from,” Lecia said, cutting him off. “But I have to admit, I’m surprised you do.”
Anthony took his eyes off the road to face her for a couple beats. “You a Christie fan?”
“Totally,” Lecia replied, as if anyone who met her should know that off the bat. “You, too?”
“Agatha Christie’s my girl.”
Lecia continued to eye him skeptically. Could it be that this man, a superstar jock, was indeed an Agatha Christie fan? “So I should call you Tommy.”
“Tommy and Tuppence. Two of the best amateur detectives in fiction. I loved
Partners in Crime.
”
Lecia gaped at him. “Wow. You’re not kidding.”
“Of course, no one beats Poirot. What?” he asked when she wouldn’t stop staring at him. “You don’t believe me.”
“I believe you. I’m just…surprised.”
“I’ve read every one of Agatha’s books at least twice. I even have one on the backseat.”
Lecia glanced behind her.
“It’s in that black bag with my CDs.”
Not sure whether she believed him, Lecia reached for the bag and brought it forward onto her lap. “May I?”
“Be my guest.”
She pulled out a well-read copy of
Death on the Nile
. “Well, I’ll be damned. I’ve never met another soul who’s as crazy about Agatha as I am.”
“You just met him.” The light in Anthony’s eyes spoke volumes. “What’s your favorite title?”
“Hmm. I’d have to say
A Pocket Full of Rye.
”
“Ooh, gotta love Miss Marple.”
“What about you?”
“I really loved
Curtain,
Poirot’s last case. But I’ve got to go with
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
”
“Definitely my second favorite. Well, tied with
Murder, She Said.
”
“You’re cool,” Anthony said, grinning at her. “I dig you.”
Lecia thumbed through the paperback, then placed the book on her lap with a contended sigh.
“I have the hardcovers in a special place in my house,” he said. “No one touches those. But I carry around the paperbacks to actually read. You fly from city to city to play an opposing team, there’s no better way to pass the time than with a Christie title.”
Lecia tried to imagine Anthony sprawled out in first class, tuning out his teammates as he devoured an Agatha Christie novel. She couldn’t quite picture it. “What about Ginger? Is she a Christie fan?”
Anthony shook his head. “She doesn’t read.”
“Not at all?”
“Nope. Says it’s too hard to stay interested in a story. She’d rather watch a movie.”
“That’s the problem with people these days. They’ve forgotten how wonderful books are. And you can take them with you anywhere.” She held the book up. “Like a long road trip.”
When Anthony didn’t make any type of comment, Lecia studied his profile. His happy expression had morphed into something darker. Had she said something wrong?
“Tony, what’s wrong?”
“I’m just thinking about Ginger. Wondering how we ended up together when we’re so obviously different.”
“Opposites attract, as they say.”
“Yeah, but…” His voice trailed off.
“But what?”
“Nothing.”
Lecia waited, hoping he would complete his thought. When he didn’t, she said, “You’re not going to tell me?”
“You’re a shrink. And I don’t need a shrink.”
“Is that what you think—that I’m trying to psychoanalyze you?”
“Are you?”
“Hey, you brought up your differences, I didn’t.”
“So you won’t mind if we drop it.”
“Fine,” she told him.
Several seconds passed. Anthony didn’t look her way, but he could see that she’d turned and was staring through the passenger window. There wasn’t much to see on this stretch of highway except cacti and tumbleweed.
It seemed like ages passed before she spoke. “Can I ask something else?”
“I’ve already had enough people grill me about why I married Ginger.”
“That wasn’t what I was going to say, but…it’s obviously a touchy subject for you.”
“Meaning I
should
talk about it?”
“It might help.”
“When I’m ready for your input, I’ll let you know.”
He realized his tone was sarcastic, though he hadn’t meant it to be. It was just that he didn’t want to talk about his relationship with Ginger. Especially not with a shrink.
He felt stupid enough with the way things had turned out for him. Not only did he live in Beverly Hills, it seemed he fit right in, and in a way he didn’t want to. So many stars mar
ried and divorced like it was strictly for entertainment, and while that had never been his plan, it appeared to have become his life.
And fine, things happened. People split. That was a part of life. What nagged at him was that he should be hurting over Ginger’s leaving because he loved her. Instead his biggest concern was that she’d take him to the cleaners. Granted, he’d known her less than a year, but still, what did that say about him?
You’re more like your dead-beat father than you ever thought.
Anthony’s hands tightened on the steering wheel as his thoughts ventured to his father. He barely talked to him these days. They kept in touch at birthdays and Christmas, but that was pretty much it. He did the same with his half siblings, of which there were plenty in the state of Tennessee. The moment he’d gotten a great contract, most of them came out of the woodwork, looking for handouts. In the beginning he hadn’t known how to say no. He’d also figured it was some sort of familial duty to spread the wealth. That had turned out to be a disaster, because no matter how much he gave, it never seemed enough for them.
His father had known better than to ask him for a dime. The man had barely been in his life. There’d been at least eight years when they hadn’t spoken at all.
The years when he had grown into a man, under the guidance of his mother.
In fact, it was his mother who had encouraged him to reach out to his father. Reluctantly, he had, and they’d salvaged some sort of relationship, but it certainly wasn’t a father-son one. Anthony knew he didn’t need that, not at this stage of the game. He was a grown man, taking care of himself, making his own way, and doing a damn good job of it.
He still wondered what had possessed his father to call him after the story about him and that prostitute had broken. A sense of newfound kinship? His father’s words still pissed him off.
“I know there are things that happened between your mother and me that you didn’t understand when you were a kid, but it seems that now you do. Because now you’re a man.”
“Pops, I didn’t do anything with that woman.”
“Whatever happened, just know that you have my support. I’m sorry you’re going through this. And don’t worry about Ginger. If she’s a decent woman, she’ll forgive you.”
It wasn’t that his father’s words weren’t true—if Ginger had trusted him the way a wife should trust her husband, she would have heard him out. What peeved him was his father’s implied jab at his mother. That if
she
had been a decent woman, she would have stood by and watched him have affair after affair.
She practically had. It was Anthony who’d sat his mother down one day and told her that he would kill his father if she didn’t kick his ass out. He hadn’t been able to deal with her tears night after night. It had broken his heart to know what kind of pain his father was causing her with his philandering ways.
The way he saw it, neither he nor his mother had needed his lowlife father. He’d barely been there for them anyway, with all the partying and screwing around he had done. Anthony had vowed to take care of his mother when his father left for good, and he had kept his word. Even now.
Being dumped hadn’t even given his father pause. The bastard had gone on to marry one of his mistresses before the ink on the divorce papers had dried.
“I’m nothing like him.”
“Nothing like who?”
Anthony whipped his head in Lecia’s direction. Shit, he’d spoken aloud.
“Nothing like—” Lecia’s voice broke off as a look of horror flashed on her face. She screamed, “Watch out!”