d Andrea staring at
him. Oh, well. Had Mandi somehow missed the fact that he'd been wearing a belt
knife all this time?
He decided that was unlikely and finished opening the champagne, then poured
some into each of the three plastic cups Andrea silently lined up on the desk.
In truth, he detested champagne, but he'd only ever met one woman who felt the
same way about it.
Handing glasses to the ladies, he picked up his own and said, "Mandi, you're
the honcho here, so you make the toast."
Andrea snickered and Mandi laughed, "Gee, thanks. Okay. Let's keep it
simple. Here's to all good things. May there always be many and may they never
end."
After clunking their cups together and sipping, Mandi sat back down on the
bed and said, "I talked to John this afternoon; he now knows you've been
converted." Noddingly indicating Andrea, she said, "Andrea's your instructor.
That's all he knows and that's all he needs to know."
She sipped again and said, "We have time for dinner before I leave for
Vegas. Any suggestions about where to eat?"
"Yes," said Andrea. "A buffet steakhouse just opened near my neighborhood.
Since Ed's got a convertee appetite, we may as well go there."
"Works for me," said Cade. "Andrea, what do you do?"
"As in work? I'm a research scientist with the CDC."
"That sounds a lot more important than selling jewelry on the net and
writing science fiction. Would you rather I call to make arrangements for my
cats and stay up here with you this week? It wouldn't be a problem."
Shaking her head, she said, "No way. I haven't had a whole week away from
that place in over a year. You're stuck with me, Ed. You have cats?"
"Three. You like cats?"
She nodded. "Oh, sure. I'd have one if I were home more."
Turning to Mandi, she said, "I think I like this guy already. He has cats."
Returning her gaze to Cade, she asked, "How do you feel about horses?"
"Had one until I was fifteen. Didn't use a saddle most of the time. He
especially liked bubblegum and mulberry leaves."
Andrea's grin widened. "Yeah, we'll get along fine, Mandi."
A quick knocking at the door made Cade put his drink down and go answer it.
Cody Barnes from the ops room entered the room to stand by Mandi's luggage.
"Ma'am," he said, "John sent me for your luggage."
"It's all right there, Cody. Thanks."
"Oh, no problem, ma'am. I'll have it UPS'd tomorrow."
He grabbed th