Together Again(19)
Following the predictable-but-not-too-boring speeches, Margo said good night to her dinner companions and headed for the back of the room to wait for Tony. Before she got there, she felt a hand at the small of her back. She didn’t bother to look around. “Where is it, Tony?”
“Where’s what, Margo?” It sounded like he was suppressing a laugh as he said it.
“I don’t know — GPS? Cell phone tap? You must have something on me to know when I left the table.”
“Sorry, it’s on a need-to-know-basis. And you don’t … ”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don’t need to know.”
Chapter 6
Margo ordered a Brandy Alexander and Tony a Tuaca. When the drinks arrived, Tony lifted his glass. “Salute. It’s been a great week.”
Margo touched her glass to his. “It’s been fun doing this with you. Thank you.”
“And thank you for ordering a drink in my honor.”
She shot him a puzzled look, then got it. “Oh, right. Brandy Alessandro. This is my favorite after-dinner drink. Never made the connection with your family.”
“Sure it’s my family?” He leaned closer to her, his brown eyes almost black in the dimly lit bar, and took her free hand with his.
She smiled. “I wouldn’t think you’d have to stoop to angling for a compliment. Don’t you still have to beat women off with a stick?”
“Funny how that works. The one you want to hang around moves a continent away. The ones who stay, you don’t care about.”
Greer Payne materialized at the table, interrupting what was working into an interesting conversation, a man in tow who she failed to introduce. “Hello, Tony, nice to see you. And Margo — are you staying here, too? I thought you’d be home. With your mother.”
Margo pulled her hand away from Tony and moved a bit to put some space between them. “Portland’s home, Greer, and, yes, I’m staying here.” She took a deep breath and tried to be more pleasant. “I didn’t have a chance at dinner to ask if you’ve gotten out to see much of Philly.”
“A little bit. What would you recommend I see, Tony?” The green eyes she turned to him seemed to shine in the dim light, as did the gold in her hair.
“You really shouldn’t miss the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.” He finished his drink. “I hate to recommend and run, but we were just about to leave. Do you and your, ah, friend want the booth?”
“Thanks, but we’re meeting people. Do you have to leave? I was hoping you’d join us.”
“We’d like to but I have an early morning tomorrow,” Tony said as he stood up. He put out a hand to assist Margo in getting out of the booth.
It took all of Margo’s considerable determination to keep from laughing as they left the bar. She gave into it as soon as they were out the door. “The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall? Jesus, Tony, how obvious could you be that you were brushing her off?”
He flashed a wicked, conspiratorial grin. “And she didn’t even break stride when I did it. It was time to get out of there anyway so I could walk you to your room.”
“You don’t have to … ”