I made a funny face at him. “You saw that in the hotel room.” Heat pinched my cheeks.
“I love it when you’re shy and wrinkle your nose.”
“So, tell me some of the things you like. Color? One place you would love to travel to? Anything. We know each other but really don’t.” I stuck my fork into a piece of chicken.
“My favorite color is burgundy. I would love to visit Ireland, where my ancestors are from. Sarah had been obsessed with the country when she became old enough to learn she was Irish.”
The mood darkened all of a sudden.
I laid a hand on his thigh, which felt powerful yet shaky. “I’m here for you.”
I began to think of my father and how, if not for my brothers, I could’ve ended up like Sarah. Duke had busted his ass at an early age to make money for food. Oh, my dad brought home a paycheck and paid the mortgage, but then he drank the rest away.
Brian chewed on his food.
“Did you find Sabine?” I asked.
Brian wanted to retrieve his folder because it contained his personal papers, but he also really wanted the only picture he had of Sarah.
I didn’t want to hate Sabine. For all we knew, she could be hurt in a hospital, though Brian assured me that was unlikely, based on his information from a detective in Nashville.
“I didn’t,” he said. “But I don’t want to talk about that. My apologies for souring the mood.”
“You didn’t. We’re talking and learning more about each other.” I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Now, what would you like to do after we eat?”
In a flash, he had a mischievous grin, cute yet sexy. “If you’re up for it, I have something in mind.”
“Intriguing. What is it?”
“You’ll see,” he said.
The curiosity was killing me. I’d never been good at waiting until Christmas to open gifts from my brothers, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Whatever Brian was up to, I could wait.
At this moment, I was basking in a fleeting sense of hope and clinging to the elusive feeling of happiness that had evaded me for so long.
23
BRIAN
I’d wanted to take Grace to a nice restaurant to make it a proper date. But frankly, I was beginning to despise restaurants because of the people and the noise. She had to feel the same way, since she worked at Yvonne’s. Besides, I’d been exhausted and pissed when I got off the plane. Damn Sabine was nowhere to be found. It was like she disappeared off the face of the earth. I went to Rogues but found out she hadn’t shown up for work in over a week. I even drove through the drug-infested neighborhoods and asked around for her son, Harris. I’d struck out.
I couldn’t waste my time anymore. But Detective Stuart assured me he would keep his ears open and call if he heard anything.
Grace was in my bedroom, on the phone. She’d gotten a call as we were cleaning up from dinner. Oh, the temptation to stride in there and strip her naked was almost beyond my control. I hungered to feel what it would be like to be buried balls deep inside her.
As we ate dinner, I thought about pampering her with a candlelit bubble bath. But if she wasn’t ready for that next step,I didn’t want to assume anything. It would be best if we kept our clothes on. So plan B was watching a movie. Not exactly novel, but I’d never curled up with a female, except for my daughter, to watch anything, and Fran didn’t count.
I foundThe Notebookon Netflix, switched on the gas fireplace, and brought the bottle of wine we had yet to finish to the living room then waited for Grace.
With the remote in hand, I sat on the couch, glancing out at the twinkling city lights. My stomach in knots, I felt like a teenager in love.
Her footsteps clicked on the wood floor. “So, we’re watching a movie?”
I cringed at the sadness in her tone. “I thought this would be cozy.”
She kicked off her shoes. “Sorry, that was Duke. Apparently, he checked in with Knox, who’s down in the lobby.”
“Ah, say no more. Duke will come around.”
