you are,” she replied, staring at him. “Why don’t you go into comedy for a living?”
“Stop fighting me,” he murmured as she tugged against his firm but gentle hold. “You’ll hurt my ego.”
“It could stand a little deflation,” she said crisply, glaring at him.
Comprehension took the playful expression from his face, leaving his eyes narrow and glittering. He dropped her hand. “She can’t help it any more than I can,” he said, his tone cold and cutting.
“So I noticed.” She reached for the door handle. “Good thing for you both that your half brother is blind as a bat and keeps his nose stuck in his papers. Those quiet types are the ones who go for their guns without asking for explanations. You and Bess would look lousy on the front page of the tabloids, full of bullet holes.”
“Would we?” he asked with surprising mildness. “You seem to find the idea satisfying.”
She grabbed her carryall and slammed the door, about to add something cutting. But just as she opened her mouth, her mother, clad in a flapping red-splashed muumuu, came rushing through the gate like a barefooted, white-haired tornado.
“Darling!” she enthused, grabbing her daughter up in a fierce hug, her blue eyes dancing with glee. “Oh, what a delicious surprise! Your father will be overjoyed! He’s just bought another crawly for his collection and wants to show it off to someone—Who are you?” she added, staring over Elissa’s shoulder as King came around the car.
“Kingston Roper,” he answered easily, studying the tall, thin woman. “You must be Elissa’s mother.”
“Yes, I am. I’m Tina Dean.” Her mother withdrew a little, her blue eyes confused and a little curious. “Is something wrong?”
“King is my neighbor in Jamaica,” Elissa said. “He was kind enough to offer me a lift from the airport. We flew over with his brother and sister-in-law.” She could see that Tina Dean was quietly sizing him up, taking in his tailored suit, his hand-stitched shoes, his silk tie and expensive accessories. She could almost hear her mother’s mind clicking, sorting through what Elissa had told her of her friendship with King and trying to put two and two together about what this obviously wealthy man was doing with her daughter.
“I have some iced tea in the kitchen,” she remarked. “Would you like some, Mr. Roper?”
“King has to get back to Miami,” Elissa said firmly, staring up at him. “Don’t you?” she emphasized.
“Not at all,” he replied with a maddening smile. “I’m in no hurry.”
“Delightful,” Mrs. Dean said with a grin. Her eyes twinkled. “How do you feel about reptiles, Mr. Roper?”
“Well, I used to have a pet horned toad,” he began.
“Oh, Mother, no,” Elissa moaned, putting her face in her hands.
King gave her a curious glance before Mrs. Dean took his hand and led him into the house.
Elias Dean was in his study, where he kept his collection of exotic lizards. He looked up, his thick silver hair slightly receding from his broad forehead, his eyes covered by thick spectacles with wire rims. At the sight of his daughter, he beamed and greeted her warmly. Then he turned his attention to their new visitor.
“Well, hello, who’s this?” he asked pleasantly, rising from a terrarium with a big frilled green lizard in one hand.
King offered a hand, apparently unruffled by the “crawlies.” “Kingston Roper.” He grinned. “You must be Elissa’s father.”
“That I am. Do you like lizards, Mr. Roper? This is my hobby.” He sighed, looking around him contentedly at terrarium after terrarium. “I can’t ever seem to get enough, you know. It’s up to ten curly-tails now, several spring lizards, newts, salamanders... But this is my pride and joy.” He reached for a door and opened it. Inside was an enormous pool with potted tropical plants all around it. On a rock in the pool under a fluorescent lamp was Ludwig, a four-foot iguana who looked like a dinosaur. He stared at them with total boredom and closed his eyes.
“Iguana?” King asked, clearly interested.
“Yes. Isn’t he beautiful?” her father asked. “He was only a baby when I got him. I had to force-feed him the first week with a big syringe, until he took fruits and vegetables on his own. I like frogs, too. I want one of those huge African frogs—they weigh ten pounds. She doesn’t like frogs,” he added with a miserable glance at Tina.
Tina laughed. “You’re just lucky I don’t mind lizards, Elias. Although I did draw the line at that ball python you were ogling.