Among the Tulips (9 page)

Victor shot his friend a glare. “No, Annie. I'm fine.”

“No residual damage from the wreck?” Sean asked, taking a bite of his sandwich roll. He chewed it with gusto as he awaited his friend's answer.

“Nope. Not even sore today, though Annie can't say the same thing.” He glanced over at her. “At the appointment later today we'll see about a walking cast. Those crutches have you moving slowly and stiffly.”

“I can't believe how much pain crutches can cause,” she agreed. “They're supposed to help a person, not hinder them.”

“Is the pain medication helping?”

She glanced at Sean, saw him watching her and then glanced back. “Yes. Thank you, again, Victor, for all of your help.”

“Annie,” Victor said and she heard the warning in his voice. He hated her to keep thanking him when he felt it was his fault. She shrugged.

“Dank u?”
she said cheekily.

He broke into laughter and shook his head.

“You know very well what I meant.” He turned
to Sean and smiled. “Sean is here because our new movie will be premiering in two weeks.”

“Really? Oh!” Annie's eyes widened. “
Shadow
…no
Shelter,
right?

“I remember hearing about it, but I didn't remember you being…er…” She saw Sean grin at the fact that she would have recognized him in it but not Victor. She glared at him. “That's right, you play the hero, don't you?” she asked Victor, pointedly turning her attention to him.

Sean's smile disappeared. “We're both heroes.”

“Oh?”

Victor looked from one to the other and chuckled. “Sheath the claws, Annie. Stop baiting Annie, Sean. I play a knight in a fantasy. He is looking for an ancient shelter that contains the protection the world needs to survive. Sean is my sidekick who is there to keep me on the straight and narrow.”

“I wasn't sure from the trailer exactly what it was about,” she replied.

“Yeah, the trailer wasn't that well put together,” Sean muttered, turning his attention to Victor. “I wonder how that is going to affect box-office stats.”

“You know with you in it we'll have every woman under thirty knocking down the doors at the theater,” Victor replied simply.

“Funny, old man,” Sean said.

Evidently this was an ongoing thing between the two, Annie thought, as she watched the banter between them. “I like mine older, thank you very much. You're the one who likes them young,” Sean said.

Victor cast a glance at Annie and cleared his throat.

“And how old are you?” Sean asked, smiling at Annie.

“Forty,” she replied simply.

“Poaching on my territory, I say,” Sean said to Victor.

He shot a look at his friend. “So, who are you taking to the premiere?” he asked, changing the subject.

Sean shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich. “I thought about Helena, but she wouldn't have me,” he said referring to the housekeeper and being totally outrageous. “So, I'll settle with Reanna. She's been wanting to go to a premiere for a while and I think she'll enjoy this one.”

“And you?” Sean asked and then winced as if he'd said something wrong. He glanced guiltily at Annie.

Annie wasn't sure what was meant by that until Victor said, “I was planning on taking no one, just calling Meredith who played one of the lead
parts,” he said in an aside to Annie, “and seeing if she'd go. But,” and his gaze turned fully to Annie. “If Annie will do me the honor, I'll take her to the premiere.”

Annie nearly choked on the mouthful of sandwich she was chewing.

“A
re you all right?” Victor started to stand.

Annie held up her hand and wheezed, attempting to swallow what was in her mouth.

Even Sean looked concerned. “Jake?” he said.

Annie shook her head and swallowed. She grabbed her water glass and drained it, and then promptly spewed water as she coughed and gasped again.

“Jake,” Sean said really alarmed.

“Annie?” Victor stood and started toward her.

“You—you can't be—serious.”

Seeing she was talking, albeit a bit raspily, Victor reluctantly took his seat.

She picked up her napkin and dabbed at her mouth and then the table.

Sean picked up his own napkin and began to dab at himself.

“I am quite serious,” Victor replied, the only one not dabbing.

“Oh dear,” she whispered.

“Annie?” Victor asked gently.

When she didn't look up, Victor reached over and took her hand into his. “Is there a problem?”

She glanced up quickly at him and then back down.

Sean cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

“I'm not…well…I'm just plain Annie, Victor. I've seen the premieres on TV. You're not supposed to appear with someone like me.”

Victor squeezed her hand. “I thought we were friends,” he said again and Annie sighed.

“Well, yes.”

“Look at me, Annie.”

She glanced nervously at Sean, who was sipping his water and then her gaze lifted to Victor's. “I want to take you. I had planned on waiting a day or two more to ask, but then Sean showed up.”

Reminded of Sean's presence, Annie's gaze darted that way and then back. She wasn't used to having an audience.

Victor felt her hands, slick with perspiration, and realized how nervous she was. Gently, he began drawing circles on the back of her hand with his
thumb, totally ignoring his friend. “It'd be an experience you could take back and tell your friends,” he said, tenderly, smiling, turning on the charm.

She weakened some. He saw it in her eyes and the way her shoulders relaxed a bit. If Sean would not say anything, he could probably convince her.

“But I don't have clothes like that to wear. You've seen all the dresses I have with me,” she admitted desperately.

Victor blinked. “Is that all?” His smile invited her to smile with him. “We'll find something. Clothes are the least of our worries. My biggest worry is being there without a date and having to face the leading lady, Meredith.”

She was wavering. She chewed her lip and wrinkled her nose up in indecision.

“Please, Annie. It'll be fun, and it would be an honor for me to have someone who can actually carry on a conversation, especially someone that makes me laugh like you do.”

“I wouldn't know what to do.”

“You would have to do nothing except grace my arm with your presence.”

He paused and saw her wilting. “It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You'll love it. It's even better than windmills and wildflowers.”

She was defeated. Her shoulders slumped and
she laughed. “Even better than that?” she asked. “Well how can I resist?”

“I promise it won't interfere with our tour of Holland.” He squeezed her hand.

She glanced over and was reminded of Sean's presence. A dull flush climbed up her cheeks. Glancing down at her dress, she winced. “I need to change before the doctor's appointment.”

Victor stood and moved behind Annie. He slipped a hand under her arm and assisted her to a standing position. She wasn't far from him and he took the moment to inhale her sweet scent again. “Thank you again,” he said softly.

She glanced up and their gazes connected. He saw something there, he wasn't sure what, and then it was gone. “I'll be back down in time for the appointment.”

He reluctantly released her arm and allowed her to go her own way.

When she was gone, he continued to stare after her.

“Just friends?” Sean asked, disbelief rife in his voice.

Victor turned to Sean. “Yes. We're friends.”

Sean blew out air, pursing his lips as he did. “Please, dear boy. How long have I known you?”

Victor waved him off and took his seat.

Sean changed tactics. “She's not your size-three starlet or the model you usually date.”

“I'll agree to that,” Victor said. He took the last bite of his sandwich.

“A bit clumsy if you ask me,” Sean added.

Victor stared at his friend. “She just found out who I am and met you. I think a lesser person would have really made a scene. Personally, I think she took the news well—especially since I had no time to prepare her for the invitation.”

“Ah, the invitation.” Sean nodded. “Are you sure about that? You know the media is going to eat her alive. Just what do you know about her? I mean, her reputation and all. It wouldn't do to be seen with a former…uh…nah, never mind,” Sean said.

“Yeah. She's not a former anything. She's a very nice widow from Louisiana.”

“What are you going to do about her clothes?” he asked.

Victor shrugged. “Call a designer and have her send a couple of dresses here.”

Sean nodded. “I'll do my best to help deflect questions and such, but you know how the media is.”

“Yeah,” Victor said and sighed.

“Are you sure you know what you're doing here, Jake? I do say, if you're just friends, you
could break it off now and possibly avoid any disasters.”

“I want her to go with me,” Victor replied.

Sean paused, studying his friend intently as he sipped his water. Finally he said, “You made her say, ‘I'm his,' when I arrived today.”

“It was a joke,” Victor replied. It hadn't been at the time. He'd actually been jealous of his friend. But he wasn't going to admit that to him. He'd never been jealous of Sean—not like this. Maybe because of the look on Annie's face when she'd recognized Sean. All he knew for certain was that he hadn't liked the feeling in him when she had looked at Sean.

Sean nodded. “I hope so, otherwise you might just be serious about this woman. And personally I find her fascinating.”

He knew what Sean was fishing for—a reaction. Instead of satisfying Sean, he picked up his glass and took a sip of wine. “She's already taken. I'm escorting her to the premiere, remember?”

He nodded. “That you are. But that doesn't mean she can't be interested in someone else, does it?”

If he said yes, then Sean would have proven a point. If he said no, then Sean would set about to prove a point.

Luckily, he was saved by the ringing of the
phone. “I'm expecting a call. Excuse me,” he said and stood.

“I'll take my regular room. I'm exhausted and need a nap. See you later this afternoon?” Sean asked, standing.

Victor nodded and headed out of the dining room, thinking he wasn't sure he was ready to face Sean and his usual pranks.

 

Annie heard the phone but didn't think anything about it until Helena showed up and said in broken English, “Telephone.”

She nodded and picked up the extension next to her bed. “Hello?”

She was surprised to hear the lodge on the phone, calling to see if she wanted them to continue to hold her reservations. She was glad to know the man on the other end spoke broken English. She thought about it and then answered, “No. Thank you, but I'll not need them at least for three more days. Can you cancel up through then?”

She was assured it was no problem before disconnecting. Five days. If she only stayed two weeks, then she would be leaving in a week. But she'd agreed to go to a premiere in less than two weeks, so she'd be staying at least three weeks…

She replaced the receiver and stood before the mirror to look at her outfit.

She had on a pair of blue jeans with a tiny braided belt and she'd put on the blue sweater. Instead of a secondary piece of clothing, she'd buttoned it up as a primary top. It looked great that way. They might not wear them like this in Holland, but they did in America. She'd seen others wearing tops like this and she liked the sweater so much that she decided to go for it.

Her pants were let out one-quarter of the way up—just enough room for them to slip over her cast—and then hemmed up the side. They looked great.

She wished she knew who to thank for the alterations.

She quickly combed her hair and then checked her makeup. She started to put her hair back up but paused.

It looked so stark that way. That was how she usually wore it since it was so long, but perhaps…

She thought about braiding it and then shook her head. She pulled it back into a ponytail but thought, too young.

With a sigh she gave up and walked out of the room—and nearly ran down Victor.

Catching her by the arms, he steadied her. “Why are you looking so glum?” he asked curi
ously. He had his coat in his hand and was headed toward the stairs. He released her and turned, slipping an arm behind her back as he did.

“Your hair!”

He grinned and ran a hand over his short hair. “Did I mention a barber was coming to cut my hair today?”

“No.”

He chuckled.

“You shaved your beard too,” she said noting how clean-shaven he was.

He nodded. “Back to the normal look.”

She thought if he'd looked like that when she first saw him, there would have been no mistaking him for who he was. Wow, he was drop-dead gorgeous.

Together they started toward the elevator. “It's silly but I didn't feel like putting my hair up and so I left it down, but it just looks so plain.”

“So change it.”

She glanced up at him. “What?”

He grinned. “Change it.”

He opened the lift and allowed her to go in first.

“Haven't you ever thought about it?” he asked.

“Well, yes,” she admitted. “But…I just don't know how I'd do it.”

“There's a place in town I go to occasionally. As a matter of fact, the stylist that cut my hair
today is from there. Let's go by. Pick out something you want and have them design a new style. Yvonne will be able to advise you. She has exquisite taste.”

“You're serious?” she asked and reached up to touch her hair.

He touched his own hair reminding her of
his
new look. “Yes. I'm serious.” He mocked her and she found herself laughing in return.

“When I got tired of this, all I had to do was cut it. Same with you. Or you can add highlights or a dozen other things.”

She thought about it and then thought how much she was saving by not being at the lodge. She had enough money to do something with her hair. “Why not?” she said and grinned.

“That's the spirit,” Victor said and shot a fist up in the air.

She laughed. “To spirit.”

“Yeah,” he growled.

She shook her head, wondering what this man was doing to her. She'd only just left the dining room a short time before, her emotions in an uproar over going to a theatrical premiere. She'd made a mess of the table, spat water all over Sean Hampton and was so jittery she hadn't been sure she would make it to her room before she collapsed.

But back alone with Victor he was able to calm her and change her glumness and worry into fun and laughter.

How did he do it?

She wasn't sure how, but she did know she was certainly glad she had met him.