Morning light flooded through the gaps in the drapes that covered the glass door to their balcony. Lee woke to the sound of the shower running and a puzzle in his mind as to how he'd slept so well. He was a light sleeper, especially while on a case. They weren't on a case. He was also easily awakened when he had a bed partner. Amanda wasn't that kind of 'bed partner.' Lee marveled at how nice it was to be so comfortable with someone that he could sleep so soundly.
Adjusting the pillows behind his back, he sat up and lazed in bed. He didn't know how long it'd been or when he'd dozed off, but the bathroom door opening and Amanda calling his name had him wide awake.
"Lee, bathroom's all yours." While her hair and makeup were done, she wore a ship-supplied bathrobe with 'Princess Martha' embroidered on it. "You were right about that jetted tub. It could practically fit Phillip, Jamie, and the whole Junior Trailblazer troop!"
"Not exactly the image I had in mind," Lee mumbled before loudly remarking, "You might want to wear something a bit more 'beachy' for the day."
"Cute."
"Yes, I am. I've been telling you that for at least a year, when are you going to believe me?"
Lee stretched and Amanda couldn't help but notice how his shirt rucked up to expose his lower abdomen as he lifted his arms. It almost changed the answer she'd been about to give. Almost.
"I'll keep you posted," she said while ducking her head into the closet to pick out clothes.
Lee gave a disgruntled snort as he got up and rummaged around for clothes before going to shower, shave, and dress.
Hearing the water turn on, Amanda discarded the robe and put on a three-quarter sleeved white blouse with thin blue horizontal lines, a pair of white linen pants, and her Keds.
When Lee was done, he stepped out and gave her an appraising stare. "You look cute."
"Thank you."
Lee held his hands out and shrugged. "See how easy that was? It's really not that hard to tell someone that they're cute."
"Yes, but I am cute."
"I'm never going to win this one, am I?" He shook his head and laughed as he slipped on his shoes.
"You never know…" Amanda teased.
As they walked to the buffet breakfast, Amanda proposed a plan. "I was reading the brochure on Curaçao and there's a great historical walking tour. I was thinking we could do that - you like history and the boys will appreciate it if I come back with more than just 'went to the beach' stories. Then in the afternoon, there's a snorkeling excursion."
"The snorkeling in the Bahamas is much better, and we'll be there the day after tomorrow," Lee said with confidence.
"Done a lot of snorkeling have you?"
"As a matter of fact, I have. Peter Simons, one of our best agents from the old days used to have a bungalow there and he'd throw these wild Agency parties…" Lee caught Amanda's disapproving look. "Uh... nevermind the parties. But trust me, the snorkling is fantastic in the Bahamas."
"Well then, you can teach me."
He was glad she skipped any commentary on Pete's ragers. The party days of Lee's late twenties had been full of ill-advised wild-oat sowing. Those bacchanalian times now seemed immature and not nearly as appealing as anything other than stories from the past.
"I'd love to. And that history walk of yours sounds interesting."
At the buffet, Lee fixed himself a modest plate, grabbed a cup of coffee, and found an empty table.
"Actually eating breakfast?" Amanda asked as she sat down.
"I figured we'd be walking for a couple of hours on the tour, and then we might want to keep exploring the town, so, you know… energy."
"Good planning." Amanda gestured around the room with her fork. "The breakfast buffet is practically as empty as the deck was last night."
"The couples that are here look pretty tired."
"I think we got a lot more sleep than they did!"
"At least a tiny bit more," Lee held up his finger and thumb.
Amanda raised her eyebrows as she tipped her head toward a couple that was well absorbed in each other's physical company. "Lee, there's your couple from C-24."
"Those two just don't stop!"
After disembarking, Lee and Amanda stood by a line of golf carts and waited for their tour. As they did, it became clear that the other couples milling around and queuing up for excursions were definitely newlyweds. There was a pair canoodling and giggling incessantly; a couple that kept looking at their wedding bands and kissing; and a wife and husband who kept saying 'We're married!' back and forth to each other.
Lee lifted Amanda's hand and gestured to her ring. "Shines nicely in the sun, doesn't it, dear?"
"Sure does, sweetheart." Amanda smiled at their jokes.
Maybe it was the love in the air around them, but rather than jerk their hands back as they might have in the past, they just kept holding on.
Lee liked this new development very much, but was nervous she might pull away if he didn't distract her. "So, what fake birthdate did you use?"
"Yesterday, on the marriage record? Why?"
"Just curious if you made yourself younger," he shrugged.
"You think I'm old?" Amanda let Lee linger in momentary fear that he'd offended her before squeezing his hand reassuringly and continuing, "We've only been married for a day and you're ready to turn me in for a younger model?"
"Not at all, you're a classic."
Amanda gave him a sour look, then admitted, "Okay, I made myself three years younger. What about you?"
"Two years. I guess we're a couple of old fogies."
"Oh, we've still got some good years ahead of us," she laughed. "I'm guessing you didn't put 'spy' as your occupation - sorry 'intelligence operative'?"
"I went with 'State Department analyst.' Let's see… you put 'housewife'?" Lee assumed that she'd have given an honest answer for at least one of the questions.
"No, I thought it might look suspicious since we weren't married yet." Amanda looked down at her wedding band.
"Hang on, you gave false information on the rest of the form, but worried that 'housewife' would raise red flags?" Lee looked around assessing the situation. "Hang on, you didn't put 'spy' did you?!"
"No one's paying a lick of attention to us. But no, I didn't. Give up?"
Yesterday, Amanda had felt particularly guilty about all the untruths she'd put on the form. Today in the warm Caribbean breeze, with their case tidily wrapped up and Lee holding her hand sweetly, it seemed more like a fun game of make-believe.
"One more guess…" Lee waived his hand around looking for the 'right' answer. "I know! Circus performer."
Amanda's eyes went wide. "Yes!"
"I was joking!" Lee guffawed.
"Well, 'circus costume designer.' My grandmother used to take me and my cousins to the circus every year. They loved the acrobats and the clowns and the lion tamer. I loved the wild outfits - all sparkly, silly, or sleek. Obviously, that career didn't pan out, but it did get me into sewing."
"Huh. We should work that into your cover sometime."
"The sewing?"
"No, the circus part."
"Not a chance, buster." Amanda shook her head. "What about you - what'd you want to be when you were a kid?
"The usual. Sheriff in the Old West, cowboy, astronaut, fireman."
Lee's banter and unguarded conversation was a testament to the layers he'd shed from his stubborn and irascible veneer. Amanda was finding it very appealing.
"You could probably get away with using 'fireman' or 'astronaut' but I'm not sure 'cowpoke' would work."
"Cowboy not cowpoke!" Lee pretended exasperation at her teasing.
He loved it when Amanda teased him like this. When Billy had first insisted they work together, Lee found her to be an exasperating drag. Eventually, her enthusiasm for learning and natural aptitude for the job began to impress him. He came to admire her down-to-earth practicalities and warmth with people. But it was her stubborn fortitude that won him over. Lee liked to be challenged; and she sure challenged him, in the best possible ways.
With two staccato blasts on a whistle, their tour guide rounded up his charges for the day, inviting them to grab a seat on one of the golf carts. As Lee and Amanda slid into the last row of a cart, the young couple in front of them turned around.
"Hi, I'm Julie and this is my husband Tony. We're the Selkirks from Cincinnati."
Not missing a beat, Amanda spoke up. "Nice to meet you. I'm Amanda, and this is my husband, Lee. We're so glad he could get time off before the big cattle drive on the good ol' Chisholm Trail. Now that we're finally hitched, I know he'll stay away from those calico queens, or he'll be wearin' a California collar sooner than you can say 'git along little doggies'."
"Wow!" said Tony.
"Gosh!" exclaimed Julie.
On top of the ridiculous story, the drawl Amanda was affecting sent Lee into a coughing fit. Julie and Tony looked concerned for their new friend while Amanda patted him on the back.
Lee had just about recovered when Amanda made a concerned 'hmm.' "Oh, honey. I hope it's not the scrofula," which sent him back into choking spasms.
"Gosh, that won't interfere with your, um, cattle duties, will it?" Tony asked earnestly.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. What do you do, Tony?" Lee croaked out reassurances and desperately tried to steer them away from 'the good ol' Chisholm Trail.'
"Oh… uh, I'm an accountant and Julie's a teacher."
Tony sounded self-conscious about their professions and Lee took pity. "Accountant, huh? Well, I'll tell ya, I never was much good with figurin' numbers. Amanda tried teachin' for a while, but it didn't take. The kids scared her somethin' fierce. Worked out though - gave her a chance to follow her dream, isn't that right, honey?"
"Yeah, you gotta follow your dreams." Amanda agreed warily, not appreciating the shoe being on the other foot.
"The kids can be a bit much sometimes." Julie was sympathetic. "What do you do now?"
"I'm a... um-" she began.
Lee jumped in and Amanda could've kicked herself for not being faster out of the gate.
"She trains monkeys for the circus."
Not that either of them had truly forgotten that they were still holding hands, but Lee was suddenly made very aware of it when Amanda clenched his hand as hard as she could.
"Really?!" Julie asked.
"Oh, yes. I just love those little primates to pieces," Amanda said through a fake smile.
"Wow, you two are something else." Tony shook his head in awe and admiration.
Not a moment too soon - in fact several moments too late to save them from the backstories they'd spun - their convoy of golf carts started off and their guide began to talk. Hensley peppered them with statistics and anecdotes about his home island as they drove from the pier toward historic Punda in Willemstad.
Under the guise of whispering 'sweet nothings' into Amanda's ear, Lee put his arm around her and leaned in. "What are you doing!?"
"What am I doing? What are you doing?"
"Apparently I'm fighting off tuberculosis! And just what are calico queens and California collars? Where do you get this stuff?"
"Last year- while on a break from training the monkeys," Amanda threw his fabrication back at him, "I helped Phillip with his Chisholm Trail project. California collars are nooses and calico queens are, um, 'working girls'."
"Phillip did his report on hookers?!"
"No! He checked a book out of the library on Old West slang and it was so interesting that Mother and I both read the whole thing. We steered Phillip toward the chapter on cattle. Did you know that 'cowboy' and 'cowpoke' are actually the same thing?"
"Fascinating." Lee leaned back to give her a droll look. "But what was with that accent? It was like Ricky Joe's ex-wife came to life again."
"Oh, just being silly, I guess."
"Amanda, even though we're regular passengers now, we should still keep a low profile."
"You got it, Tex." Amanda winked as she pointed a 'finger gun' at him and pretended to shoot.
Lee laughed and shook his head. Phillip and Jamie were lucky to have her as their mother. Amanda was a lot more fun than his disciplinarian uncle that'd raised him - which wasn't to say that she didn't have high expectations for her boys. She was the kind of parent he liked to think his mother had been. The kind he'd want to have as the mother of his childr-
Before Lee could finish the thought - let alone process why that image had leapt so readily to his mind - the parade of golf carts came to a jerking halt in front of Fort Amsterdam, an yellowy-orange set of buildings with bright white trim. Passengers piled out and arranged themselves in an informal semi-circle around Hensley.
"Do you see that cannonball?" All eyes followed to where he was pointing. Up on the second floor of one of the buildings, there was an actual cannonball embedded in the wall.
"That was from a British ship led by John Bligh when he captured the fort from the Dutch in 1804. It may look small way up there, but here's one on the ground. Who wants to try to lift it?" Hensley looked around. "Come on… someone must want to show off for their new wife! How about you, in the light blue polo shirt?"
It was a nightmare come true for Lee, being picked out of a crowd for the sake of some ridiculous demonstration. He tried to demure, but the group cheered him on, including Amanda.
"Oh, honey, I'd just love to see you lift that thing!"
Lee stepped forward, looked back at her with the biggest grin he could plaster on and hoped she could read his eyes, which said 'you'll pay for this!'
He knew this scenario probably played out several times a day, with unsuspecting tourists trying to lift a cannonball that was undoubtedly cemented to the ground. Lee bent to grasp the projectile and, of course, it wouldn't budge.
Hensley led the group in a chant. "Lift! Lift! Lift!"
There was something about hearing Amanda's voice in the crowd that made him not want to be a spoilsport or disappoint her. Grunting and groaning a few times for effect, Lee's biceps strained the ribbing on the sleeves of his shirt. He concluded his performance by standing up, wiping his brow, and laughing goodnaturedly at himself.
Once back with Amanda, she curled her fingers around Lee's upper arm and gave a test squeeze. "I've made up my mind. You're definitely not cute."
"No?" Lee looked at her, his eyebrows knit together.
"You're hunky."
Lee's face broke into a smile, and when Amanda reached again to feel his muscles, dimples lined his cheeks.
"And you, Amanda King, are a tease." He flexed his bicep hard and soaked in the revelation that with just a silly exchange, Amanda could make him feel more desired than any of the women who'd ever openly flirted or propositioned him.
Despite her joshing, Amanda's insides did an exhilarating flip at Lee's comment and the feel of his firm muscles under her grip. She counted herself among the many who admired his physique and found him attractive. Knowing he was showing off his body especially for her put a hitch in her chest and warm tingles through her body.
The tour continued through the fort, the adjoining museum, and surrounding historic streets. Finally, Hensley gathered the group to announce that he would drive anyone back to the ship who wanted a ride, otherwise they were on their own to explore and shop.
Lee and Amanda strolled around historic Willemstad and down Keukenstraat to visit the Maritime Museum, where Amanda bought Phillip and Jamie a couple of books on the buccaneer history of the Caribbean. They peeked inside the oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas and admired the azure stained windows and sand-covered floor.
"Amanda…" Lee began as they started toward the Queen Emma Bridge. "I really am sorry I didn't tell you this was a wedding cruise."
"You know you could've told me you didn't think we'd get as far as the ceremony. You could have explained that we would use false information so we wouldn't be legally married."
Lee sighed. After she'd chastised him when they first boarded, he realized that their partnership - and Amanda's experience in the field - should have demanded that he be honest with her from the start.
He stopped walking and turned to hold onto her arms. "I wanted you as my partner on this, and I was afraid you'd say 'no.' But I should've talked to you about it. You're my partner and it wasn't fair of me."
"Thank you, that really means a lot." Taking his hand in hers, they continued to walk as she added, "If I'd known the plan, we might not have sounded so confused about our own engagement in front of Jillian and Miles that first day."
Releasing a relieved breath, Lee fessed up to the final reason for his deception. "It was either you or Francine, and there was no way that was happening. She's a great agent - you're a much better wife."
"Yeah, but she probably wouldn't have told people you were a cattle driver. On the other hand, she'd hog all the closet space."
They looked at each other and laughed. Francine was an excellent operative but she could really be an interpersonal bull in a china shop.
"Wait a minute," Amanda said. "If I'm such a great wife, why were you so reluctant to pose for Miles? Even a hug was giving you hives that day."
"That guy just really got on my nerves." Amanda could see Lee's jaw clenching as he talked. "It's one thing to play our cover when it's just between us. But being told by a blowhard like Miles…" Lee slowed his pace. "I… I don't like being ordered to be phony like that with you."
Amanda stopped short and turned to face him. "Really?"
The clarity of exactly how very un-phony they were feeling about each other hovered tentatively in the air. The sensation barely had a chance to form before a loud naval bell clanged and broke apart their dawning realization.
"I don't think we're going to get to walk across the bridge today," Lee said, pointing toward the floating pedestrian walkway that spanned the bay. There was a line of boats large and small queued up to return to port via St. Anna Bay, and the footbridge was starting to swing open.
"Hey! You're from the cruise, right?"
It was the C-24 couple from the ship.
"Uh, yeah. Hi." Lee was amazed they recognized anyone from the cruise since they spent all their time making out.
"We wanted to walk the pontoon back to the pier but it looks like we're out of luck. Want to go in on a cab?"
"Uh..." Lee wasn't particularly keen on spending time with these two but Amanda had other ideas.
"Oh, you betcha' we would. My dogs are really barking and I'd just love to grab a pop and get in a soak before supper. I think there's a taxi stand just down the road apiece."
Lee stared at Amanda as she swung into what he guessed was an attempt at a Minnesota accent. Or Maine, he wasn't sure.
"Cool! I'm Tad and this is my wife, Dixie."
"Gaman ad kynnast ther, eg heiti Bjorn." Lee nodded and smiled.
"Wow! Is that Swedish?" Dixie asked Amanda.
"Íslenskur," Lee answered, much to Amanda's relief. She had no idea what he was speaking.
"Iceland?!" Tad guessed.
"Ja."
"He's still learning English. We get by on the language of love, don't we Bjorn?"
"Ja," Lee said again, squeezing Amanda to his side.
The foursome shared a taxi, and because of his height Lee lucked out and got the passenger seat. Amanda was squished in the back, up against the passenger-side door, while Dixie and Tad cooed and kissed. When Dixie let out a particularly loud moan, Amanda clapped a hand on Lee's shoulder. He smiled and patted it, he understood. Afterall, he'd spent a very awkward 45 minutes in Tad and Dixie's closet a couple of days ago.
Grateful for the cabbie's speed through the narrow streets of Willemstad, Lee and Amanda ditched them as soon as they settled up with the driver. More like Tad and Dixie immediately forgot anyone else existed as they walked and smooched their way toward the ship.
"I understand being passionate, but they are just too much!" Amanda shook her head in amazement.
"You understand being passionate, huh?"
Lee couldn't help himself. There was no way Amanda could use the word 'passionate' without him taking very close notice.
"Wouldn't you like to know..." Amanda strode briskly forward and up the gangplank, leaving Lee agape.
By the time he caught up to her, other passengers had started to gather in the elevator queue. "We'll get back to that," Lee said quietly. "In the meantime, this whole pretending to be other people charade has got to stop."
Amanda looked straight ahead. "Okay."
"Okay? Just like that?" He knew better than to be convinced.
"Just like that." She kept her face neutral, her gaze off in the distance.
"You're not going to, are you?"
"Nope." Amanda shook her head, smiled, and finally looked at him. "You?"
"Nei, örugglega ekki," Lee said as he put his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
The timing did, in fact, work out so Amanda could have a pop and a soak before they needed to dress for dinner. Lee ordered drinks, cheese, and crackers, which they ate out on their balcony.
"I was expecting the balcony to be bigger. But it fits - tiny cubes of cheese on our tiny balcony." Amanda speared a bit of gouda with a toothpick and held it up for inspection before popping it into her mouth. "Today was fun, I hope the pleasure of my company wasn't tiny."
"Pleasure… passionate..." Lee looked meaningfully at Amanda, trying to figure out if she was dropping those words on purpose.
"Well," she said, standing up. "I'm going to try out that jetted tub before we get ready for dinner."
Once again, Amanda breezed off leaving Lee in the dust of his own befuddlement.
Closing his eyes, he sighed and leaned his head back to ponder several kinds of pleasure that could be had in the giant tub. His mind drifted to the alluring dip of her dress from the prior evening… how foolish and amazing she'd been by trying to investigate Lifeboat C… how sensuous her lips had felt when they'd kissed yesterday… how she could be both so sensibly suburban and sexy beyond words.
Invading his very enjoyable thoughts was the stark juxtaposition between Amanda and Randy. 'Baby,' he added silently, mentally rolling his eyes at himself.
He hadn't seen Randy since she'd run into Amanda at his apartment - for the second time. She had left a couple of terse messages after that, but Lee found he didn't care if he ever saw her again, so he just deleted them.
On the outside, Randy was the type of woman that a tall, handsome spy should date while in his virile 30s. But it was all superficial flash. Women like Randy had started to become poor substitutes for someone of real depth and complexity that, deep down, Lee longed for. Someone like Amanda.
Meanwhile, Amanda luxuriated in the warm bubbles foaming around her as the jets aerated the water. She put her feet up against the jets for a while, then turned to let the power of the water massage her back. Sliding down, she lingered below the surface before re-emerging and slicking back her hair.
The tub was truly enormous and obviously intended for romantic assignations. Amanda was suddenly tempted to indulge her imagination with a few delicious possibilities of how she and Lee might take advantage of the tub and its jets. But with him lounging on the balcony not far away, she didn't quite feel free to explore those thoughts - or the sensations they aroused in her body.
Amanda knew the kind of player lifestyle Lee had led, but that reputation seemed to belong to the Lee she'd worked with in their first year. He was increasingly grounded and at ease with himself. She'd been seeing more and more of what she knew was the real man behind the bravado.
They'd been getting closer as friends, and had become real partners at work, but the kiss at their 'wedding' awakened something deeper that refused to be ignored or even tamped down. She wasn't sure where it might lead. For now, Amanda was content to see how things naturally played out.
After her bath, Amanda and Lee played 'musical rooms' between the bedroom and the bathroom to change their clothes and primp for dinner in the dining room.
"You ready?" she called to him in the bathroom.
Lee came out snugging his necktie into place. "Just need my jacket."
"Nice. Very 'Carribean'." Amanda complimented his wardrobe choice - an ecru linen suit with a russet-orange tie.
She wore a deep azure dress with spaghetti straps and a swooping neckline.
"You, too." Holding his arm out, Lee felt like the luckiest man on the ship to have Amanda at his side.
The dining room was decorated in silver and blue, including a towering pyramid of bottles of local Blue Curaçao. Roving waiters offered the first of many blue cocktails they enjoyed through the evening. Amanda chose something called a 'sapphire alpine,' which was nearly the color of her dress and featured a curl of lemon rind. Lee picked up a 'daphne martini' with a slightly deeper blue tint and three blueberries at the bottom.
"I didn't know I'd match the drinks," Amanda said as they made their way to their table.
'I could drink you up,' Lee thought.
Seated at a round table for eight, they managed to keep the spinning of their wild yarns reasonably tame. He introduced them as Lee and Amanda, alpaca breeders from Indiana.
"I have just one word for you: alpacas. There may not be a lot of us around now, but just you wait, there's a great future in alpaca ranches!"
Amanda regaled the table with how she'd worked for years shearing the herd; cleaning, skirting, and carding the fibers; then spinning it into yarn for knitting into sweaters and scarves, which she sold in local boutiques - all so they could afford the cruise.
"It was worth every effort. But gosh, we've been missing those spittin' alpacas this week."
Lee nodded in agreement before taking another bite of his prime rib.
Dessert was Baked Alaska, flambéed with Blue Curaçao. Once everyone was served, the head waiter announced, "Thanks to you all, we beat the record yesterday for the most marriages in a day on San Angelo - by ONE!"
Lee looked at Amanda and mouthed 'no we didn't' before winking with a sly half-smile on his lips.
"I toast you all and wish you every happiness!" He took a sip of his blue drink, and on that cue the dining room staff began to ting their glasses with silverware. "You know what that means! Time for the newlyweds to kiss!"
Amanda grimaced recalling Lee's resentment at being ordered to perform. But as he took her hand and leaned in close, he whispered, "This isn't phony, this is for real."
And his kiss was so real. Their wedding kiss had been a mere hint at what was possible. This kiss was imbued with purpose and clear intention.
It was exhilarating and Lee very much wanted more. But most of all he knew he'd never forgive himself if their partnership - their friendship - was ruined because of a day of flirting, blue drinks, and a rushed decision to pursue something physical.
Amanda felt Lee's desire as he pressed his lips to hers - it mirrored her own. She could've kept kissing him for ages under slightly different circumstances. If they were going to get physically involved, she wanted to do it on a clearer head than one that'd spent the day in the sun and dinner drinking blue cocktails.
When they parted, the sexual tension that'd been brewing all day eased somewhat, and they both took a metaphorical step back and a literal deep breath.
Throughout the rest of the evening they didn't shy from holding hands or standing close. The atmosphere between them simply took on a quieter tone, a slower pace. They watched the evening's entertainment - a buxom flamenco guitarist who'd once been married to Xavier Cougat, then played a couple of hands of blackjack in the casino before going back to their suite.
Amanda took her turn in the bathroom first and was dozing off when she felt Lee get into bed. She could smell the soap on his hands and the mint of his toothpaste. It felt right to have him next to her.
Once Lee was under the covers, he turned toward Amanda and watched the steady rise and fall of her breathing as she slipped into sleep. He smiled, knowing that he would again have a sound night's sleep.
END CHAPTER TWO
END OF CHAPTER NOTE: The concept of the two leads making up varying backstories for themselves is from one of my favorite episodes of the 90s sitcom "Mad About You" (Season 2, Episode 19 'Two Tickets to Paradise'), which never fails to put me into stitches of laughter. Also, apologies to the nations and peoples of Curaçao and Iceland, circus performers and costume designers, monkey trainers, cattle drivers, Old West sex workers, and alpaca breeders.
