Free Dragon Moon by Alan F. Troop Page A

with her already? What remains to be seen?”
    â€œIt’s complicated,” I say, thinking of Chloe, wondering how she’d react to seeing me with this woman, whether she’d care at all. “I don’t know that I can explain.”
    I get off the boat, approach Rita and extend my hand. “Thanks for your help today ... and for Metrozoo. It was a great idea.”
    â€œOh,” she says, “wait a minute. Mr. Gomez gave me something for you.” She rushes off, goes to her car and returns with an envelope. “He said you’d know what to do with this.”
    Taking it, I nod, double it over, put it in my pocket. “Thank you again,” I say turning toward the boat.
    Rita doesn’t move. “Peter, couldn’t I possibly join you to see this house you were talking about? I mean I had fun with you today. I think you had a good time too.” She says no more, waits for my reply.
    I turn back. “I did have a good time,” I say, looking at her, thinking how long it’s been since I felt the warmth of another body pressed against mine. But I wonder about Rita’s motives. She’s human, ambitious, obviously well aware of the wealth that I control and an employee of my business — all good reasons to avoid entanglement with her. And then, of course, there’s Chloe. I just don’t want to hurt Rita’s feelings. If things work out, the woman could be very useful for me.
    â€œYou went shopping with me today for a gift for another woman,” I say. “I’ll be leaving the country in a few months. If everything goes okay, I’ll be marrying that woman in a year or two. I’m just trying to be fair to you. ...”
    â€œWhy don’t you let me decide what’s fair for me?” Rita steps closer to me. “No one’s looking to get married here.” She moves even closer, so our bodies almost touch.
    The scent of her perfume reminds me of jasmine. That, mixed with her natural scent, spiked with the slight hint of her sexual excitement and my four-year self-imposed abstinence, makes her almost irresistible. Hating my weakness, I put my hands on her hips, pull her the last few centimeters toward me and lean forward so my lips meet hers.
    Overhead the late afternoon sun burns down upon us. We ignore its heat, pay no notice to the caress of the sea breeze as it plays with our clothes and our hair.
    A couple, leaving their boat, walks by us, averting their eyes, giggling, whispering about our kisses and hugs loud enough to be heard. Rita tightens her embrace. “Screw them,” she murmurs.
    â€œPapa,” Henri mindspeaks. “Why is she still here? We’re not going to eat her, are we, Papa?”
    â€œNo, we’re not,” I mindspeak, pulling back from Rita.
    â€œGood,” Henri says. “I like her.”
    â€œMe too.” Cocking my head toward the boat, I say out loud, “Look who’s up.”
    Rita smiles toward Henri, smooths her blouse, straightens her hair. “I guess no boat ride for me today, huh?”
    I shake my head. “Not today,” I say. “It’s probably for the best.”
    She shrugs, says, “Well, you know where to find me,” and walks away before I can say anything else.

6
    I’m ready to be gone. I wake each morning anxious to rush through the day so the next day can come and go. I call Tindall so often, to ask whether all the arrangements have been made in Jamaica, that he finally growls, “For Christ’s sake, Peter, how hard do you think it is to hire a few house servants and an interior decorator? The house will be ready before you leave. Your Land Rover’s sitting in Kingston at the dealer. As soon as I hire your groundskeeper, I’ll have him pick it up.”
    Almost a week has passed since we went with Rita to the zoo and Henri continues to delight me with his progress around humans. I regret now that I set our departure