“Millionaires talk.”

She smiled. “Before too long, Shafer Travel got the attention of a company that has dozens of agencies nationwide. It didn’t look kindly on the competition mine were giving them.” She raised her shoulders. “They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“You sold out.”

“Lock, stock, and barrel.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“So if you no longer have the business, why were you trying out the hotel in Chicago?”

“Are you sure you want to hear all this?”

“I don’t know. How much more inept and underachieving am I going to feel when you’re finished?” The dimple reappeared.

She tented her fingers and tapped them against her lips as she regarded him thoughtfully. “I don’t quite trust you.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your self-denigration. I think you use it to disarm people so they’ll form a lower opinion of you than they should.”

He placed his hand over his heart. “What a relief. Here I thought my inadequacies were real. I’m glad to learn they’re faked.”

She didn’t laugh as he obviously expected her to. Rather, she continued to wonder why he downplayed the shrewdness she detected in the eyes behind the dark lenses. Not that his psychology was of any consequence to her, she reminded herself. She went on with her story, but only because he motioned for her to do so.

“I discovered I wasn’t cut out to retire at the age of thirty-two,” she said. “Inside of a month, I was bored. So when I began getting calls from former clients, complaining about the lack of attention and personal service they were receiving, I agreed to handle their travel arrangements, everything from the time they left their front door until they returned. Down to the most minute detail.”

“You do this for fun? Goodwill?”

“No, for a percentage of how much they spend on the trip.”

“Ah!” He grinned. “I doubt I could afford you.”

“Few can,” she admitted. “That limits the number of clients I cater to. I get to keep my toe in, but only to the extent I want.”

“Still giving the big boys competition?”

“I’m an…irritant. Especially to the company that bought me out.”

He barked a laugh. “I’ll bet. You’re keeping the big spenders under your wing.” He flopped back against the chair cushion. “For ingenuity alone, I’d give you a five-star rating.”

His flattery made her feel good in a way it probably shouldn’t. She experienced a warmth she wanted to bask in.

“How did you like the minimalist prototype?” he asked.

Glad to be pulled back on track, she said, “There were an overabundance of outlets in which to plug in devices.”

“But?”

“The room was sterile. No personality or character. No—”

“Ambiance?”

“Good word.”

“Whew! Maybe I have promise as a writer after all.”

She gave him an arch look before continuing. “Everything was so high tech, it took me fifteen minutes to figure out how to turn on the lights and keep them on. I’m not particularly fond of baroque or chintz, but I do like a chair that conforms to the human body, one that I can actually sit in.”

“You won’t be recommending the place.”

“No. My clients appreciate having their travel streamlined, and having plenty of electrical outlets for their gadgets, but they also insist on creature comforts.”

“I’m a creature who likes his comforts.”

“Then why did you move into that tiny space with no air-conditioning and a lumpy mattress?”

“I hadn’t suffered enough yet. To be a good writer, one must suffer.”

“Self-flagellation?”

“I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m almost to that point.”

They shared a smile, then he asked, “When you go on these research trips, does Jasper ever go along?”

“Not that often. Only if I’m looking at something a bit more exotic than a hotel for the business traveler.”

“Do you ever go overseas?”

“I go two or three times a year. Jasper, never.”

“Why not? I’d think those would be the trips he’d want to take.”

“He doesn’t like the long flights.”

“I see.”

She sensed there was more to his dismissive comment than the mere two words. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“What?”

“Well, I think Jasper must be the most secure man I’ve ever met to let you go traveling the world on your own and be okay with it.”

“I didn’t ask his permission, so it’s not as though he lets me,” she said coolly. “And I didn’t say he was okay with it.”

“Then he’s not?”

“He is, but he keeps track of my itinerary.”

“So he knows where you are at any given time.”

“Yes.” Minutes earlier, she’d been thinking how glad she was to have avoided one of Jasper’s debriefings late last night. Now, she was defending his husbandly concern. “It only makes sense. It’s a safety precaution.”

“Me? I’d want to put a chip in your ear.”

Again Drex’s grin lightened the tenor of the conversation and relieved the tension inside her chest that had begun to collect. She had disliked having to justify Jasper’s vigilance over her schedule.

Drex looked toward the wheelhouse. “How long have you two been together?”

“Together, a year and a half. Married, eleven months.”

“That was a short courtship.”

“Relatively.”

“He must have swept you off your feet as soon as you met. How did you?”

“You wouldn’t believe it.”

He came back around to her. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me you found each other online.”

“Well, in a sense, but not on a match-up service. We corresponded by email for several weeks before we met in person.”

His eyebrows bobbed above his sunglasses. “Do tell.”

She laughed. “It’s not at all salacious. He’d booked a trip—domestic—through our office in Savannah. When he returned, he had a complaint about one of the hotels we’d booked him into, and wanted to take up the issue with the top dog.”

“That would be you.”

“He was given my email address. I looked into his complaint, and found that it had merit. I got him a full refund for that night. He was impressed by the excellent service.”

“And proceeded to email you flowery compliments for weeks.”

“Then gave me flowers for real.”

“Smoooooth. What did the card say?”

“There wasn’t a card. He drove from Savannah to Charleston to deliver the bouquet in person.”

He whistled softly. “Even smoother.”

“It was a change from being asked out via text.”

“The suave move worked, and here you are. Happ’ly ever after.”

She looked down at her wedding band and turned it around on her finger. “Here I am.” Her soft comment was followed by a ding. She raised her head and looked across the table. “Is that your phone?”