Royal Opposites by Lori Crawford

he’d had was the late lunch with Joan yesterday. What a difference a day made.
    Tom reached for the base of the phone to dial reception.
    After he’d been assured that everything he required would be delivered in fifteen minutes he rolled from the bed to hop in the shower. That had been the easy part of the day. He hadn’t the vaguest idea how to proceed from here.
    First, he needed to level with Joan about who he was.
    Second, he imagined that they would need to call the FBI to report what happened. He knew the law enforcement agency had offices all over the country. They were a higher authority than the police departments who’d been after them. What he didn’t know was if the FBI had an office in Phoenix or if there was one in a nearby city.
    It shouldn’t be too difficult to find out.

    Either way, he wanted their representatives to come to them.
    Meeting there at the hotel was the poor man’s version of home court advantage, but he was loathe to set him and Joan up for anymore unwanted surprises. Before meeting with the FBI, however, he needed Joan to make copies of the video she’d made in the bank. Even the biggest fool could see it would go the furthest to shoring up their story.
    A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. His clothing must have arrived. He shut off the shower and wrapped the towel around his trim hips. Tom used another towel to rub his hair dry while he strode to the door and opened it.
    He couldn’t say which of them was more surprised. Joan, because of his lack of clothing, or him because she was dressed and early. Since when were women early to anything? He must have missed out on quite a lot during his year away.
    “Why don’t you call me when you’re ready?” She turned to leave, but almost walked into a bellman who was delivering the clothes he ordered along with the breakfast. Tom stepped out of the doorway to allow the man to enter. Joan still looked like she was about to bolt, but the way her eyes lingered on the food told him that she’d almost forgotten about her flight.
    “Nonsense. Come on in. Have some breakfast while I dress.
    Then we’ll get down to business.”
    Joan studied him while still hesitating at the door. He didn’t blame her. Tom just waited for her to make up her mind. At last, she entered.
    She waited while he signed the receipt and added a healthy tip for the man before asking, “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”
    “What are you talking about impose? I ordered for both of us.” Tom opened the boutique bag containing his change of clothes to peek inside. “I figured you’d be hungry. Dig in.”

    With hesitant steps, she approached the cart and lifted one silver lid. “Oh my goodness. Even with the two of us, we’ll never be able to eat all this.”
    He gave a nonchalant shrug. “Sure we will.” He shot a smile her way then headed for the bedroom. Her tentative voice stopped him.
    “Tom?” He turned to look at her. The concern in her expression tugged at his heartstrings.
    “Don’t worry, Joan. We’ll have this mess sorted today. You’ll see.”
    To his surprise, she shook her head. “It’s not… it’s just…”
    She chewed on the corner of her bottom lip and seemed to be wrestling with what to say. “How are you affording all this? I don’t mean to pry and I know it’s none of my business, but aren’t you the same guy who had his bank account emptied?”
    “Yes, I’m that guy. But like I said, I have other accounts.”
    She still had doubt all over her face. “Let me get dressed and I’ll explain everything.”
    She stared at him for another moment before giving him a nod of consent. He accepted and then headed into the bedroom. He hoped she’d still be in the living room when he returned.

    ****
    Joan sat in an armchair and nibbled on a bagel. She knew she should go for the fruit, but stressful times clearly called for carbs.
    Who the heck was Tom Rafferty? He didn’t seem to be in the least concerned