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I’ve met plenty of women in this town who are nice on the surface, but that doesn’t stop them from being manipulative gold diggers beneath it.”

    Lauren flushed with anger. “My sister isn’t a gold digger.”

    “I guess time will tell, won’t it? Either the newlyweds show up together with an explanation for the missing key, or my dad shows up alone, while his new wife scampers off with the spoils of her brief but profitable marriage.”

    She refrained from hitting him, but just barely. “And your dad’s office still hasn’t heard from him?”

    “It happens. You’re talking about the Playboy of the Potomac.”

    Gerald sighed. “In other words, we wait.”

    Great. Another day of listening to Drew’s cynical views on women in general, and Meg in particular. Or, worse yet, risking the disturbing effect of his quiet blue gaze piercing hers. Causing the very sort of wild feelings Meg sought from life, and look where that hadgotten her—married to a notorious, skirt-chasing playboy twice her age, raising eyebrows and suspicions, and leaving it to sensible Lauren to straighten out the mess.

    No, thank you. Lauren would choose her perfectly ordered life over that sort of chaos any day. In fact, she’d be glad to go home right now and leave Drew to break up the misguided marriage if it weren’t for the fact that Meg’s disappearance had Lauren worried.

    She’d stay just long enough to ensure that Meg was safe. Jeff wouldn’t like it, but he’d understand that it was the responsible thing to do. In fact, he’d just lectured her on the virtue of taking responsibility.

    Thank goodness she was engaged to a reasonable man.

    And in the meantime, she didn’t have to listen to Drew’s cynical opinions.

    “I’ll be upstairs,” she told Gerald. “I brought some work with me from the office. Let me know as soon as you hear from Meg or Senator Creighton.”

    She’d almost reached the doorway when Drew called, “Enjoy your phone sex with Jeff.”

    There was no way she’d give him the shocked reaction he was looking for. “Thanks, I will.”

    “Who’s Jeff?” Gerald asked behind her.

    She strained to catch Drew’s careless reply. “No one special.”

    She waited until nine o’clock, when Jeff would be at his desk, finishing his second cup of coffee. He dealt with problems better after a good dose of caffeine.

    “What do you mean, you aren’t coming back today?”Lauren could almost hear his scowl through the phone. “I thought we agreed that you would change your plane reservations.”

    “Actually, you suggested it; we didn’t agree. I want to be sure Meg is okay before I leave.”

    A long moment of silence followed. Lauren knew Jeff was taking a deep, meditative breath to calm himself. “Okay. We can still salvage our trip. Instead of just sitting around waiting to hear from Meg, you can rent a car and drive to my aunt and uncle’s house in Virginia. They’ve wanted to meet you for over a year now, ever since we got engaged. It’ll be a nice, relaxing drive, and you can forget about Meg for a while.”

    She didn’t
want
to forget about Meg, she just wanted to know her sister was safe.

    “I can’t do that, Jeff. I wanted to stick around here in case she calls.”

    “For Pete’s sake, can’t anyone there take a message?”

    After dealing with Drew, Lauren didn’t feel up to an argument with Jeff. She refrained from commenting as he laid out the reasons why a two hour drive to the Virginia countryside to see John and Betty Duchaine would be a good way to spend her time. As he finished, Jeff added, “I’ll be free tonight between dinner and my racquet ball game. Give me a call at eight fifteen, okay? I want to hear how your visit went.”

    “Hmmm,” Lauren said, still wondering how to tell him she’d rather sit in Georgetown and worry about Meg than drive to Virginia to see people she didn’t know. Still, the evening phone call to him could ease part of her problems.