“You’ll have to wait and see.”
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. He was actually surprised that she agreed.
“Now put your phone away. Please.”
She raised a brow, but complied.
“Ready?”
When she nodded, Aleks pulled a napkin from the bag and carefully grabbed one of the treats he’d picked up at the bakery. He handed her the spiced bun. Golden brown, still warm from the bakery, it smelled like home to him.
She took it with her free hand and studied it. “What is it?”
“Breakfast,” he said with a laugh.
She rolled her eyes at him. “It looks kind of like a cinnamon roll.” Lifting it to her nose, she delicately sniffed it. Her eyes flew wide. “It smells... floral?”
He nodded. “Try it first.”
“Fine,” she huffed. She raised the pastry to her lips and took a delicate bite. “Oh my god, it’s so good. It’s kind of... peppery?”
“Cardamom,” he informed her.
Her next bite wasn’t delicate at all. She moaned in appreciation and the sound traveled straight to his heart.Oh, that was bad.
“It’s a cardamom bun,” he told her. “They’re very similar to a traditional Swedish pastry.”
“It’s delicious,” she said. She shoved the last piece into her mouth. When she finished chewing, she asked, “Do you have another?”
He held the bag open for her as she grabbed another pastry. Then he took the last treat in the bag.
“What’s that?” she asked around bites.
“Cinnamon roll. I wasn’t sure whether you’d like the cardamom buns or not, so I got something more traditional.”
“Not like,love,” she said.
His heart went boom. “Shall we?” He gestured toward the sidewalk, desperate to ignore whatever that feeling had been.
They walked in silence several minutes. He could get used to this. Early morning walks with this beautiful woman. Exploring the city as it woke up.
He shook his head. It was an impossible dream.
“I always assumed you’d have newsies camped outside your door.” He hadn’t seen any as he’d approached her building. If the paparazzi caught them together and identified him, it could be catastrophic for both of them. The newsies would have a field day with the speculation about the Tremaine CEO and a Solveig Consortium employee.
The best of all the bad options would be if he simply lost his job. The worst option would be everything, including his mission, blowing up. So he just wouldn’t let that happen.
Her smile was more of a grimace. “Is that what it’s like in Sweden?”
His overactive brain conjured up armies of newsies camped outside the Solveigs’ city apartment. He laughed at the image. “Uh, no.”
“They’re more polite?” Portia asked.
“Not exactly.” Aleks tilted his head, considering everything he knew about them, which wasn’t a lot. He wasn’t really allowed to deal with the press, legitimate or not. “I think it’s more that the Solv—” He caught himself and corrected quickly, “The corporations in Sweden are more boring.”
Portia laughed. The full-bodied throaty sound was so at odds with the woman he’d expected to meet on this trip.
“Of course, I expect that the number of newsies will change drastically when Dizzie goes back with me.” Aleks spoke without thinking.
