Different Dreams by Tory Cates

Author:Tory Cates
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books

Chapter 7

Malou watched Cam as he spoke with Edward Darden. He clearly felt none of the awe that afflicted her. She doubted if there were many people in the world who could awe Cameron Landell. Her thoughts kept drifting away from the conversation she should have been paying attention to, fixing instead on details like the way his fingernails wrapped clean and square around the sturdy tips of his fingers. Or the way sandy brown hair tufted at his bottom knuckle. Or how he kept raking her with his gaze when she least expected it.

And then she thought of those strong, capable hands on her, doing the wondrous things they had done last night. A flush of heat swept through her, and she looked down as if something fascinating were happening amid the ice cubes in her orange juice. Bits of Cam’s responses filtered through her discomfiture, enough so that she caught the drift of the conversation. Darden’s plan was an exciting one, so exciting that her eyes were gleaming by the time Cam hung up.

Malou eagerly recapped her understanding of the discussion. “He wants you to turn Los Monos into a tourist park?”

“That’s about the size of it.”

“What a fantastic idea! It works in Japan. They restrict visitors to one area that doesn’t interfere with normal troop interaction. We could do the same thing at Los Monos. That way you could generate revenue and we could still keep the troop together.”

“A very nifty plan except for one detail: time. We don’t have nearly enough of it. My note is still going to come due at the end of May. The Japanese got their start-up capital in the form of government grants. I don’t see Uncle Sam offering to back us on this one, Malou, and there’s no way I can currently finance it. So, essentially, we’re in the same position we started in—you still need to drum up some grant money.”

Malou nodded, her enthusiasm leaking away. She stood stiffly, putting her glass down. “Well, I guess I’d better go start calling again.”

Cam came around to her side of the desk. “I guess you’d better not.” He twisted his wrist around so that his watch faced Malou. “See, way past five. Wouldn’t be anyone in. What you’d better do is come to dinner with me.”

Malou smiled at his goofy tactics, her nameless fears subsiding in the wake of Cam’s easy joviality. “I can’t, Cam. I’m not dressed.”

“And you think I am?” he asked, indicating his casual outfit. “I don’t patronize restaurants that don’t allow women with beautiful legs to show them off in khaki shorts.”

“A wise policy.” Malou smiled in spite of herself and took the arm that Cam held out to her. The receptionist and Cam’s other employees had already left for the day, and Cam locked up as they stepped out into the balmy spring evening freshened by a light breeze.

The drive into downtown San Antonio was a short one. They parked near a famous landmark that Malou had been meaning to see but had never quite gotten around to—the Alamo.

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