Meant to Be (3 page)

In her line of work, Lauren had
learned to spot people who were capable of being physically
dangerous—the way they carried themselves, their build, a certain
look in their eyes that revealed a complete lack of fear. The man
strolling toward her possessed all that and more. He exhibited a
certain confidence or authority that could be felt from a distance
and discerned in his eyes, yet he was an inconspicuous kind of guy
who would not stand out in a crowd—if not for his blatant good
looks.

When he reached her, Rad placed his
tanned forearms on the seawall and leaned forward. “Fancy meeting
you again.” He smiled at her with a lopsided grin and pushed his
ball cap up, revealing more clearly his piercing gray-blue
eyes.

“
Yeah, fancy that.” Lauren
folded the newspaper. The sight of his boyish smile somehow warmed
her heart, yet she still felt somewhat uneasy. “Are you stalking
me, or what?”

“
Yeah, right.” His smile
disappeared as if disappointed by the response, but it reappeared
in an instant. “Actually, I’m staying close to here with some of my
buddies and was just walking around taking in the
sights.”

At that moment, two darkly tanned,
bikini-clad women strolled past. Over their sunglasses, they stared
openly at him.

“
You’re not the only one
taking in the sights.” Lauren nodded toward the
admirers.

Rad gave the two spectators an
indifferent glance before bringing his attention back to her. But
in that brief moment, Lauren had the opportunity to study the
powerful stance of his body. Although he talked with surprising
gentleness, he seemed the type of man who could knock aside anyone
who got in his way with no remorse or pity. His tight tee shirt
revealed an athletic, fit physique, yet he didn’t seem like the
type of guy who spent countless hours in a weight room. Rather, his
broad shoulders and sinewy forearms looked like those of a
hard-working farm boy who had grown up throwing bales of
hay.

“
Hey, have you ever been
to the Ripley Museum?”

Lauren stared at him curiously, as if
he had some magical powers allowing him to see what she had seen.
“No.”

He hesitated, seeming to measure her
for a moment. “Wanna go check it out?

“
With
you
?”

“
Why not?” He vaulted over
the sea wall so effortlessly, Lauren blinked and shook her head.
Although the wall only stood about two and a half feet high on her
side, it was close to five feet on his.

Lauren’s surprise altered into
suspicion as she instinctively scanned the jam-packed beach and
crowded Boardwalk. How had he found her so easily? It seemed
improbable, if not impossible, that he’d just stumbled upon her.
Yet when he sat down and looked into her eyes with a friendly,
unassuming expression, her uneasiness faded, and she felt, once
again, like an awkward schoolgirl.

“
They say that
truth—”

“
Is stranger than
fiction,” Lauren finished for him. “Yes, I’ve seen the ad. No, I
don’t want to go.” She tried to give the impression his invitation
was a matter of supreme indifference to her, yet her pounding heart
continued to disclose something completely different.

“
You said you were here
for some R&R. Why not kick up your heels and enjoy
yourself?”

She regarded him with an incredulous
gaze. “First of all, R&R means rest and relaxation—not, ‘kick
up your heels,’ and secondly—”

With one swift movement, Rad stood,
and gently but firmly, pulled her off the bench. “Oh come on. Don’t
go getting all technical on me. I have no plans, and yours seem
vague, so why not?”

“
But I
don’t even
know
you!”

Lauren peered around for help, but Rad
merely stopped and cocked his head. “Yes you do. We met his
morning, remember?” He checked his watch. “We’ve known each other
more than two hours now.” He chuckled and gave her such a charming
smile she allowed him to lead her down the Boardwalk. She had
pretty good instincts about people, and even though she remained
suspicious about his actions, he didn’t strike her as the
dangerous, sinister type. What could he do to her in broad daylight
with all these people around anyway?

“
Why don’t your buddies go
with you?” Lauren walked fast, trying to keep up with his long
strides.

“
They’ve all been there.”
He paused and stepped aside for an elderly woman on a bike before
resuming his brisk pace. “I’m the only one who’s never been to this
beach before.”

“
But
seriously,” Lauren tried to reason with him. “How do I know you
even
have
any buddies? How do I know you’re not—?”

“
Tell you what. You can
meet them tonight.” He looked back at her playfully and winked.
“They’re having a little party on the beach.”

Lauren reached out and pulled him to a
stop. “Oh? And I’m going?”

He threw his hands up in the air as if
exasperated, even though his eyes were laughing. “You just
insinuated you wanted to meet them, right?” He put his hands on his
hips. “Anyway, I told them you’d be there. I hope you’re not going
to stand me up in front of my buddies. Believe me, I’d never live
it down.”

Lauren shook her head and started
walking again. Two hours ago she had never met this man, and now he
was trying to make her feel guilty if she didn’t go meet his
friends. Should she be worried? Or excited? She glanced up at his
carefree smile and tried to relax, yet still the questions kept on
coming. Should she trust her instincts? Keep up her guard? Maybe
things like this happened all the time in the United States now.
Certainly things had changed since the last time she had touched
down here.

But things weren’t adding
up.
There’s no way a man this good-looking
can be unmarried or unattached.

Lauren decided the best course of
action was to come right out and ask him. “Okay. So level with
me.”

“
Sure.” He didn’t stop
moving, and she wondered if he wanted to get her far enough from
her hotel room that she wouldn’t be likely to change her mind and
go back.

“
Not to get personal or
anything, but I don’t see a wedding ring, and I’m
wondering—”

He didn’t let her finish, glancing
down at her with an unperturbed expression. “I don’t see a ring on
your finger either.”

Lauren frowned. “That’s
different.”

“
How?” He came to a stop
and crossed his arms as he stared at her with a penetrating
gaze.

“
B-b-because, I-I travel a
lot.”

He turned and began walking again. “So
do I as a matter of fact. What else do you want to know?” Before
she had time to answer he came to a halt again—so abruptly—she
almost ran into him. “Hey, maybe we could be friends on Facebook or
something.”

“
No. Actually, we
couldn’t.” Lauren gave him a look of annoyance. “I’m not on
Facebook.”

“
Yeah, me
neither.”

Lauren grabbed his arm before he could
take off again. “Then why did you ask?”

He merely shrugged. “I dunno. It was
just a thought. You know, since we both travel.”

“
Okay. So let me get this
straight.” She shook her head in exasperation. “You’re not married.
And you’re not attached. And you’re not on Facebook—”

“
Same as you.”

Lauren frowned since he made a good
point, but kept right on with her questioning. “So maybe you’re on
the rebound—just need someone to talk to. And I’ll be the first to
tell you I’m not the most sociable—”

“
Good one!” For the first
time he actually laughed out loud. “But no, for the record, I’m not
on the rebound.”

When he noticed she wasn’t laughing
with him, he got serious and pulled her to the side of the
Boardwalk, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Sorry if I’m being
pushy and forward.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Seriously.
I’m not usually like this.”

Lauren stared up at him and tried to
read the sincerity in his eyes. When she saw how distraught he
seemed, she softened her tone. “Yeah, well, I know I’m not the most
trusting person in the world.”

He smiled with a cockeyed grin. “I’ve
noticed that, Miss Lauren.”

Lauren wasn’t the type of person to
rush headlong into anything, but neither was she the type to run
away from something that alarmed her. She actually enjoyed the
thrill of the unknown. And when the unknown came in the form of a
tall, dark, handsome stranger, it seemed perfectly natural she
should take a slight leap of faith.

What was the worst thing that could
happen? Would it really matter if she discovered this infatuation
was superficial? That he wasn’t the type of guy she ever wanted to
see again?

The opposite scenario—the one that
could have far greater consequences—never entered her mind because
love him or hate him, she’d be leaving in the morning.

The thought of getting on
that plane and heading half way around the world almost made her
shudder.
Why not throw reason to the wind
and have a good time while I can? Heaven knows there will be no
handsome, charming men to socialize with where I’m
going.

“
Tell you what.” His deep
voice interrupted her thoughts. “If it helps any, we can lay some
ground rules.”

She looked up at him curiously and
felt impaled by his steady gaze. “Like what?”

“
Like, you don’t have to
feel obligated to tell me anything about yourself you don’t want
to.”

Lauren’s heart skipped a beat. “And
vice versa, I suppose?”

He grinned out of the side of his
mouth. “Of course.”

She mulled it over a moment. “Okay.
Deal. Except I do have one question I’d like you to
answer.”

He glanced at her
suspiciously.

“
It’s just a yes or no
answer—nothing too revealing.”

“
In that case,
okay.”

Lauren studied him, her brows creased.
“You’re not an escaped convict, right?”

Rad put his head back and laughed.
“No.” He held up his hands, palms out, to show his innocence. “No
criminal record. Scout’s honor.”

His smile was so irresistible, Lauren
had to chuckle too. “That makes me feel a little
better.”

“
It’s good to be cautious,
I guess.” Rad shook his head.

“
Can’t blame a girl for
being careful.” Lauren hoped her cheeks weren’t as red as they
felt.

“
No. I don’t.”

His voice was soft, and the sincerity
in his gaze made her heart throb in her throat again. Taking a deep
breath to steady it, Lauren made her decision. With an attraction
she could not account for and feelings she could not control, it
seemed reasonable to ignore her usual suspicions and let down her
guard. “I guess I should let loose and just go with it,
right?”

“
Yes, ma’am.” He smiled
and winked. “Let’s just go with it.”

Chapter 3

Lauren relaxed a little as
she took in the old familiar sites of the Boardwalk that never
failed to flood her with happy memories. It was such a friendly,
happy atmosphere, she found it impossible to feel anything but a
sense of comfort and contentment.

“
Here we are.”

Lauren glanced up at the big red sign
of the Ripley museum when Rad interrupted her thoughts.

“
Two, please.” He handed
the cashier his cash, but Lauren grabbed his arm. “I can pay for my
own.”

“
No, it’s my
pleasure.”

Lauren cocked her head as she gazed at
him. Something about how he said the words made them sound sensuous
and intimate, leaving her spellbound—but Rad didn’t notice. He
clasped her by the wrist and led her through the turnstiles. “Here
we go. Off to the Odditorium!”

His high spirits and childlike
enthusiasm were contagious. For the first time in five years,
Lauren forgot about her duties, her problems, her
responsibilities—and even her upcoming trip as she followed Rad up
the stairs to the first landing of the museum.

After pausing to read about the
different exhibits on the way, they both grew quiet and meditative
as they made it to the first floor and studied pieces of the Berlin
Wall in rapt silence. The huge 10-foot by 10-foot cement blocks lay
stacked to the ceiling in all their enormous severity.

The sign board indicated the original
wall, built to separate East and West Berlin in 1961, was eleven to
thirteen feet high and stretched twenty-eight miles. More than one
hundred thousand people attempted to escape over it, but only a few
thousand were successful.

Colorful graffiti still
adorned the blocks, and one section in particular caught their
attention. Written in huge scrawling letters was the phrase,
Don’t Go With The Flow.
This powerful message from the past made Lauren stop and catch
her breath. She felt as if the words were speaking to her, like a
voice from beyond.