Willow Camber wants to get away from it all. Her business has taken over her life, and none of the men she's dated recently want her as a person rather than as a mega-corp. Her vacation plan is a time-travel, virtual reality trip into a film noire mystery--Bogie and Bacall writ large and in color- -so different from the twenty-second century life she currently leads.
Eddie Reston needs a break from his hectic life, away from his nagging ex-wife. His passion is old novels about hard-boiled detectives of the 1950s. A Romantek virtual reality vacation is just the ticket for a guy like him, more an early Charles Bronson than a Cary Grant.
When Willow and Eddie meet to solve a murder mystery, their attraction is instant, even though Willow sometimes needs active correction. But Romantek forbids them to give away their true names during the vacation, so they can't pair up in their own century. They struggle to find a way, but it remains elusive. Can Eddie and Willow cheat the Romantek system and set up a real life meeting, or will their new found love be lost when reality intrudes?
The drinks arrived and the man turned back to his table, though his eyes wandered to June every few minutes.
Eddie glowered. "I had no idea you were such a roundheels. Now you’re making bedroom eyes at that joker. Is that what comes of being a lady insurance investigator?"
"I have no idea what you mean." June didn’t know what a “roundheels” was, but she could guess.
The cocktail tasted strongly of alcohol and something sweet. There was a bright red fruit on top. It looked like a cherry in shape, but the color was unlike any cherry she'd seen before. Next to it floated a thin slice of orange.
"I ought to take you to task for flirting so boldly, June."
She snorted. It was unladylike to make that noise, to say the least, but she was mad. Her glances and smiles were harmless enough. Although, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that in this time period, maybe a glance and a smile had more implications. Maybe Eddie had a right to be irritable. They'd hardly exchanged a friendly word since sitting down.
June gulped at her drink and then coughed. It was very strong.
"A gal could get herself in serious trouble the way you're going, June."
This was a dream. What kind of trouble could she get into? "Don't threaten me."
"Look at one more Joe the way you just did and I'll take you over my knee to teach you some manners."
She shot him an icy look. "You wouldn't dare."
He nodded and that hard grin was back. "I wouldn't, huh?"
Maybe he would. But June was ticked off. If she wanted to smile at other men, even flirt with them, Eddie Strong was nothing to her. It might be slightly impolite, but he was a construct. He shouldn't ought to get mad at her, no matter what she did, or whom she did it with. Certainly, Romantek wouldn’t program him to spank. "No."
"I'll finish it all right!" Without thinking, she tossed the cocktail in his face.
He looked incredulous at first, but that expression soon turned very dark. June sat still, horrified that she'd done such a thing as she watched that red berry thing slide down his striped necktie and into his lap with a plop. He was liberally splashed with Manhattan and the evening was ruined. She might have just botched the whole deal.
No. She tried to calm herself. This was a dream. It was supposed to work out.
Eddie brought his white linen napkin to his face and mopped the dripping mess off his chin, rubbing one eye as though it got splashed. He never stopped glowering at her throughout. Finally, he tossed the crumpled napkin on the table and took June by the wrist. She grabbed her purse, but left those idiot gloves, and stood when he pulled her away from the table. Down the aisle they went, pausing only long enough to throw two dollars on the table. He dragged her down under the awning to where the valets waited. It took a minute to get the car from the attendant, but Eddie didn't release her wrist for even one second. Once the car came, he opened the back passenger door. "Get in."