His heart was knocking hard against his ribs. That kiss. The kiss. The kiss he would remember for the rest of his life. None had ever been that good, or felt so goddamn right, or been so goddamn wrong. That kiss could ultimately change his life, ruin his career, condemn him.
“Do you remember the name of the place?”
“No.”
“Texaco? Exxon?”
She shrugged and shook her head.
“Location?”
“Somewhere along the highway,” she replied impatiently. “It wasn’t in a town. Self-serve. Pay at the window. There are dozens of them along that highway. The cashier was watching a wrestling match on TV. That’s all I remember.”
“Did you pay by credit card?”
“Cash.”
“I see. With one of those large bills.”
Hammond saw the trap and hoped that she did. Most self-serve stations and convenience stores didn’t take bills larger than a twenty, especially after dark.
“With a twenty, Mr. Smilow,” she said, giving him a retiring smile. “I bought twenty dollars’ worth. I didn’t get change.”
“Veddy, veddy cool.”
Steffi had spoken beneath her breath, but Alex heard her. She glanced in their direction, looking first at Steffi, then at Hammond, and he vividly remembered holding her face between his hands and bringing her mouth up to his.
“Don’t say no. Don’t say no.”
Smilow’s next question drew Alex’s attention back to him. Hammond exhaled without making it obvious that he’d been holding his breath.
“What time did you arrive at Hilton Head?”
“That was the beauty of the day. I had no plans. I wasn’t on a schedule. I wasn’t watching the clock, and I didn’t take a direct route, so I don’t remember what time it was when I actually got there.”
“Approximately.”
“Approximately… nine o’clock.”
At approximately nine o’clock, they were eating corn on the cob that had left her lips greasy with melted butter. They had laughed over how messy it was, and elected to forget their manners and shamelessly lick their fingers.
“What did you do on Hilton Head?”
“I drove the length of the island down to Harbour Town. I walked around, enjoyed the music from the various open-air bars. Listened to the young man performing for the children there under the large live oak. Basically I strolled around the marina and out onto the pier.”
“Did you talk to anybody?”
“No.”
“Eat in a restaurant?”
“No.”
“You weren’t hungry?”
“Apparently not.”
“This is ridiculous!” Frank Perkins protested. “Dr. Ladd admits to being in the hotel on Saturday, but so were hundreds of other people. She’s an attractive lady. A man—this Daniels being no exception—is likely to notice her even in a crowd.”