“If you ever come to New York, let me know, and I’ll see that you don’t get lost.”
“Or stolen?” she asked, her eyes laughing.
“Yes.”
“How about strayed?”
“Well,” Hale deliberated, and glanced at me. A smirk began forming about the comers of his mouth. “If you stay with me, you won’t stray very far.”
“No-o-o-o?” she asked with just the right rising inflection, using her eyes.
Hale laughed as though he’d received a shot of vitamins. “I like this drink, Lam. I like it very much. I’m certainly glad you called my attention to it. I like this New Orleans type of nightclub, so cosy, so intimate, so typical of the French Quarter. There’s a certain distinctive, informal atmosphere which you wouldn’t find anywhere else, eh?”
I grinned across at Marilyn and said, “I’ll give you one guess as to who’s having a good time.”
“I don’t think you are.”
“What makes you think so?”