Chapter 4
Laura was waiting for Mr. Steele after her investigation was concluded, as planned. But there was no clue about his whereabouts.
"That man… he can't be on time even when we are working undercover… He should have been here about fifteen minutes ago…" She whispered to herself. She couldn't take off her mind his image from that morning at the office, holding a fainted Miss Shannon in his arms. Even if he had been wrong about not calling her into the meeting for a start, she couldn't help but think that it was a casual situation. He was too much of a gentleman to leave a woman fainting without trying to catch her in the fall. It wasn't a suspicious situation. Even if it the image was returning to her continuously, she forced it off her mind. It was pointless. Besides, knowing him and his charms, after the uncomfortable situation at the office he'll probably try to redeem himself by rewarding her later, once work duties were over leaving them all alone, enjoying their privacy. He was always eager to reassure her that she was the one, the only one for him. And she was always keen to accept that reassurance.
Checking the hour on her wristwatch for the last time she noticed it was getting more than late. She decided to look for him.
When Mr. Steele opened his eyes, he was laying on the floor. The back of his head was hurting. He stood up, and at the moment he turned himself to get out of the trailer, the door opened, and a butler appeared in sight.
"Who are you?" The man asked him.
In a real effort to talk, he answered, "I'm Mr. Sale, and you are…?"
"I'm the butler," he answered, absolutely serious. "You look pale…" he added, not making any attempt to help him to get up from the floor.
Mr. Steele rubbed the back of his neck, "That's because I've just fainted. I'm not feeling well…"
"Should I hold you?"
"You're a butler, not a catcher," he answered with certainty. I can hold myself, thank you. He finally stood up, straightened his clothes, and after checking the absence of blood in his wound, he turned back to get out of the trailer and find Laura.
Just when he was walking out of the trailer, he saw her walking right in his direction.
She noticed his haggard expression, "What happened to you?"
He rubbed his head on the sore spot, "Someone clonked me on the head. I fainted, and when I woke up, a butler tried to hold me."
"Please tell me it was not a blonde butler."
"I don't know. It was a bald butler."
Laura proceeded to check on Mr. Steele's nape, barely touching the sore zone.
"Ouch!" complained Mr. Steele.
"Sorry," said Laura, taking her fingers off his head. "Let's go. We are done here for today. You are not in shape to do anything else. Your head needs to be checked at the ER. You may have a concussion." She turned him towards the exit. "At least this time you didn't lose your memory. Smile Mr. Steele, you don't need to be clonked again."
"Nothing like you when you're practical, Laura… However, this time I wouldn't mind being pampered instead of being clonked."
"Should I take that as a hint? I'd love to pamper you for once. I'm going to make dinner for you, Mr. Steele."
"Ordinarily, this would not be the specific pampering I would have in mind. Somehow, being clonked doesn't sound that bad anymore…" he whispered to himself.
They were walking to the spot where Fred was waiting for them, when Laura noticed someone dressed as a butler, speaking to a police officer near the trailer where Mr. Steele's incident had happened. She was ready to ask her husband about the man when she saw the police officer sneaking a gun from the other man's hand, and putting it in his own holder.
"Something doesn't look right in that scene, Mr. Steele," she whispered in his ear.
"That's the butler, Laura. What do you think we should do?" He asked.
"Mr. Steele… It's been a long day. We'll follow with the investigation tomorrow. We still have to drive by the grocery before going home." She looked at him "Are you alright to walk by yourself or do you need to lean on me?"
"I think I'm able to walk without help, Laura. However, that doesn't mean I would not appreciate holding your hand the rest of the way."
She looked back at him. It wasn't usual for them to show their affections in public, but they were working undercover at the moment. Who would care if Miss Joyce walked hand in hand with Vince Sale?
"Steaks, potatoes, cream, leeks… I wonder what you have in mind for the menu, Laura."
"I'll try something Frances taught me the other day. It looked fine for me to manage it, and she seemed very enthusiastic about it."
Mr. Steele grabbed a pound of Swiss dark chocolate from the shelf and put it in their cart.
"Are you getting a sweet tooth, Mr. Steele?"
"Not remotely like you, Laura. But for some reason, I'm sure you'll make the occasion inviting." He looked at her, "Will you?" He said the words trying to sound nonchalant, but she caught the flirting in his words, and that stole her breath in advance. She was getting used to enjoy their banter and teasing and to notice the sensuality in his look when he stared at her and sketched a crooked smile once he was caught by her inquiring eyes. A client walked beside them, slightly elbowing her from behind while intruding into their private moment. Feeling they were walking into compromising territory, still at the shop, she pushed the cart to the check out area.
Once they arrived at Rossmore, Mr. Steele lay down on the couch and closed his eyes, while she took charge of the kitchen. Miraculously, dinner was a success. Laura had been developing some excellent skills after watching him periodically and asking for some extra advice from her sister. The outcome was more than satisfactory.
They cleared up the dishes and relished a moment in front of the fireplace. While Mr. Steele was more quiet than usual, Laura's mind couldn't stop wondering. Tonight's peace was pleasantly entrancing and, closing her eyes; she pushed her mind into a different level. She thought about the way he used to kiss her in their evenings in front of the fireplace; slow and softly at the beginning and sweet but absolutely passionately at the end, both entranced in giving themselves to each other until they felt they were each other's continuation. There was no possibility of existence without that fulfilling sensation. They were destined to share a life together. Even in the calmest moments, they rested in each other's presence. And somehow, after any tough day, the difficult times vanished once they found themselves in each other's arms. And it felt absolutely fabulous.
Realizing after a while that he had fallen asleep, she stood up and, after kissing him sweetly in his brow, she took his hand and called him to bed.
