She laughed.
He loved the sound of her laugh even more than he loved truffles.
He took a bite and tasted silky dark chocolate flavored with slivers of nuts and coffee beans.
“Let's head up to my studio on the second floor.” She popped another truffle in her mouth before leaving the box behind and ascending the stairs. Halfway up, she paused.
He came to a stop a few steps below.
More chewing as she looked at him. Beneath the freckles, her skin was like white porcelain. She wore a navy sweater, wide jeans, and red-orange sneakers that matched the color of her hair. Her side ponytail somehow looked fashionable instead of untidy. She swallowed. “I keep forgetting to mention this on the phone, but thank you very much for asking your friend at the FBI about my grandmother's coded message.”
“You're welcome. Was Professor Rusk able to help you?”
“He was. Gracie's code saidBox in northwest corner under dormer. The box in the attic under that dormer held letters between her and my great-grandfather and clothes from their wedding day. It made her happy to see those things again.”
“Good.”
She braced a hand on the banister. “I often get asked for perfume recommendations, as well as free samples of perfume, body cream, and bubble bath. Do you often get hit up the way I hit you up? For FBI perks?”
“FBI perks?”
“Yeah like,Hey, can you help me out by running some fingerprints?” She did an impression of a male mafia voice. “Or,Hey, can you wiretap my cheating girlfriend's phone?”
“I don't get hit up often for FBI perks, but my brother was recently in a situation where my connections did come in handy.”
“Really? Which brother? Jeremiah the racecar driver? Or Max the business tycoon?”
During their conversations, Gemma had made it clear that she'd put in time researching his family. Which left him both pleased and uncomfortable. “Jeremiah.”
“Oh? How did you assist?”
“He was looking into the circumstances of his wife's death, and I knew someone who could help.”
“That's so vague, Jude! What were the circumstances of his wife's death? What did you discover?”
“In the interest of his privacy, I can't go into it.”
“You!” She shook her fist. “So circumspect!”
“I just ate a second helping of chocolate.”
“Too circumspect,” she insisted.
His lips twitched with amusement. “You should thank me for that—”
“I'm annoyed with you for that! I want all the juicy details!”
“—because if someone asks me for juicy details about you,” he said, “you can be sure I'll protect your privacy.”
“You helped your brother, and you helped me, and you like doing so, I can tell.”
He shrugged.
“Understated and humble you are,” she declared.
“Is there a reason why you’re now speaking like Yoda?”
“Nope. No particular reason.” She continued up the stairs and made her way through the door there. “This is my inner sanctum. I bring very few people here.”
