Page 16 of Just One Look

He shook his head. “I promised you a dinner date.”

“We can do dinner another night.”

“You’re probably starved.” Devlin pulled away from the curb. “Tomorrow morning will be soon enough to deal with the aftermath of the fire. I’m sure Stuart will be fine once the adrenaline rush dies down.”

“You keep telling yourself that.” She leaned back in her seat. This man was proving to be very interesting in ways she’d never imagined. “Let’s try something different.”

“I’m all ears.” He kept his gaze on the road ahead.

“We’ll go to the hospital. You can do whatever you need to. Then I have an idea for where to go for dinner.”

His gaze shifted to level with hers. “You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. Friends are important and you’ll feel better once you see for yourself that all is in order.”

“I guess you’re about to get a tour of the ER at County Medical.”

The smile on his face made giving up a fancy night out worth it. Watching Devlin stroll into the hospital like he owned the place was not what she’d expected once they arrived. Though, now that she thought about it, she knew his family name was a big deal, she should have known he, and all the other Barons probably did own half the city.

“I’m looking for Stuart Whitman.”

The woman at the desk began clacking on the keyboard. “Are you family?”

Devlin shook his head.

“I’m sorry sir. I’m only allowed to give information to immediate family.”

This time, Devlin nodded and turned away.

For a split second Liz thought that was all there was to it. They would leave and get something to eat and Devlin would call Stuart or whoever in the morning. Only Devlin didn’t walk to the door, he stopped in the hall and pulled out his phone. Whether he was talking to the real governor or his grandfather, she didn’t know. What she did know was that when Devlin finished with two more short phone calls, a distinguished man in a suit with graying temples came up to them. A handshake and a few quick words, and the hospital director escorted them into the ER.

Liz was getting an up close and personal tour, not of the hospital, but of the influence the Baron name held. Try as she might, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it all. Though she was pretty sure about at least one thing. This man wasn’t going through the motions of doing the right thing, he clearly really cared about people. All of his questions were not just about the treatment everyone was getting, he was concerned if they all had enough health insurance, he put in a few calls to people about speeding up the insurance claim for the building, and by the time they’d made it back to the car, he’d already made arrangements for a temporary location for the restaurant to open in so that none of the employees would be out of work.

Damn that man was good. Too good to be true.

“Now I’m starving.” Sliding into the car, Devlin leaned back against the headrest for just a second.

“A good day’s work will do that to you. Is your life always this… intense?”

“Intense?”

“Having your new spec house broken into was quite a bit of excitement for one night, but no, you had a break in and a fire. It’s enough to make a person’s head spin. Or buy a rabbit’s foot.”

He chuckled at the lucky rabbit’s foot, though she had a point, he might just have to buy one. His mind still racing at a thousand miles an hour, he shook his head. There was still so much to work out in order for Steer’s Den to move forward, for him the next twenty-four hours didn’t hold out hope of being any easier. “Thank God, no. I feel like today has had seventy-two hours in it. And to make matters worse, most restaurants are closed now.”

“Not all. I think I have the perfect solution for your latest dilemma.” Liz shifted in her seat, her gaze straight ahead.

“Where to?” No doubt, Liz had to be starving now too.

“You’ll see when we get there.” A hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, she clasped her hands together and continued to keep her eyes forward.

“A secretive streak?” This woman was full of surprises.

She shrugged at him and her smile widened. “Take Westminster to Marietta.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Normally, he would be taken aback by the secretiveness. Being taken blind into a situation was not in his comfort zone, but right now he was more intrigued than irritated. Maybe it was because he was exhausted, or maybe it was the company. Either way, he was looking forward to finding out where she was taking him to eat. Actually, he was downright intrigued by the prospect of being led into the unknown. How ridiculous was that.

On Marietta Avenue and a few more turns had them deep in the heart of one of the oldest Houston neighborhoods. Between work and time with family at the ranch, it had been years since he’d been down this way.

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