9781631054631ChoiceAffairsSalisbury by Jamie Salisbury Page A

Apolo’s
cool with it, I’ll give him a rain check and come see you.”
    “Okay, I’ll let you
know as soon as I can. Love you, Iz.”
    “Love you too,
girlfriend. Stop worrying. You’re about to embark on a life that most of us
only d ream of.”
    “I know. Okay, I’ll
call you after I speak with my husband.” I giggled and hung up. I needed to
find Apolo and find out what was going on.
     
    * * * *
     
    Apolo must have been
watching me from a window because he was waiting at the door for me when I f inished hiking back up to the house. He’d changed his
clothes as well, wearing worn jeans and a T-shirt. “Enjoy your walk?” he asked,
kissing me on the cheek and playfully spanking me.
    “Yes, but that hill is
steeper than I thought. You might want to inform Jacob that there’s a photographer with a telephoto parked at the bottom. Across the street, but he’s there. His name is Bob Secrest, by the way. I
met him when you announced my promotion.”
    “Really? Interesting. Well, Mr. Secrest is on public
property, so not much we can do. I’ll let Jacob know,
anyway.”
    He took me by the hand
and led me to the terrace where we’d had our reception. A table was set up near
the house with our lunch. He pulled a chair out, and I sat. The food was not at
all what I’d asked for— something simple and light,
erring on the side of caution in case we might have to go out this evening.
Instead, it was heavy—sandwiches, potato salad, pasta salad. Way too much.
    Apolo was unfolding
his napkin. Time to nip stuff in
the bud, so to speak. “T his isn’t what I asked to be
served. I specifically asked for a light lunch, as I didn’t know what sort of
plans you may have for us this evening.”
    “Lunch was probably
already made, Caitlyn. Or at least
planned. I can tell by the tone of your voice that yo u have a
problem with it.” I saw a sly smile cross his lips.
    “Yes, I do have a
problem with it. She should have told me it was already made. I suppose I need
to have a chat with her and find out how things have been done.”
    “That might be an
excellent idea, darling.” He picked up a spoon and
got himself a good serving of the potato salad.
    I pushed my plate
away. I’d weigh five hundred pounds if I ate like this twice a day. I needed to
get the staff at both places on the same page. My page.
    “You’re not hungry?”
    “Not for this.” I
stood up, putting my napkin down. “I’m going to go to the kitchen to find what
I want.”
    “Caitlyn,
please. They’re just doing their jobs.” He set his napkin back on the table and rose.
“Come on, I think I know just the thing to ge t you
out of this mood.” Circling the table, he grabbed my hand. “Come on. Go get
your purse, and meet me in the foyer.”
    I sighed and looked at
him. Fortunately for me, the cook came out to check on us like she usually did
when she was working. I noted Apolo’s face. He wanted me to keep the peace. No
way.
    “Just thought I’d see
if you needed anything else,” the older woman, M ildred,
said to Apolo. She was greying and obviously enjoyed working in the kitchen.
    “Something unexpected
just came up, Mildred. We must leave. You and Caitlyn might want to get
together before she and I leave for Washington. You can discuss the menu plan ning in more detail.” He was looking across the table at
me, waiting.
    “That would be fine,
Mr. Choice. A good idea, actually.”
    “Yes, perhaps we could
do it this afternoon. Oh, and by the way, what happened to the lunch I asked
for? If this had already been prepared, that’s all
you needed to say,” I inquired.
    “Yes,
ma’am. I’m sorry. It was already prepared. But you just tell me when you want to
meet.”
    “I shall when we
return.” I disappeared to grab my bag.
    When I came back
downstairs, Apolo was standing the re waiting,
swinging a set of car keys in one hand, a devilish smile on his face.
    We climbed into the
BMW, and he headed back into Atlanta. I knew exactly