I pretended to glare at him, but it was a pathetic effort. Now that the shock had worn off, my heart was about to explode with happiness.
I stood aside, letting him pass, then closed the door.
‘You’d think you’d be better at surveillance by now,’ I teased, following him into the lounge, ‘what with you being a super spy and all.’
He faced me, the left side of his mouth hitched in amusement – that special Tommy smile – and my stomach flipped.
‘You would think that, wouldn’t you?’ he replied, his eyes creasing at the corners. Then he listened out. ‘Are you running a bath?’
‘Oh, fuck.’ I dashed into the bathroom just in time to shut off the bath before it overflowed.
Tommy had followed me and when I turned around, he was looking right at my arse.
‘Excuse you.’
‘Sorry,’ he said. He wasn’t, the cheeky bugger.
I shooed him into the lounge, and he backed up, his hands raised in surrender. Then he burst out laughing.
‘What’s so funny?’ I asked, my lips quirking.
He sighed heavily, clasping the back of his neck with both hands. ‘Nothing. Everything.’ Which was fair – I’d more or less said the same thing to Trudy on the yacht. There are times you just needed to laugh and release the tension.
Tommy dropped his hands, sighing again, only less forcefully. ‘Do you mind if I…?’ he asked, indicating the minibar.
‘No, no, help yourself,’ I replied.
I sat on one of the sofas, tucking my feet beneath me, and watched as he checked what was on offer. He’d changed out of the uniform, now wearing well-worn jeans and a light-grey T-shirt that showed off his wide shoulders and slim hips. Fuck, he was sexy.
‘Okay to open this?’ He held up a bottle of red. ‘It’s a… mandi… Mandilaria,’ he added, reading the label –badly.
‘Open whatever you like.’
‘Are you having a glass?’
‘God, yes.’
With a chuckle, he took two glasses from the shelf above and filled them halfway. He crossed the room, handing me my wine before sitting on the other end of the sofa. I watched his graceful movements closely, acutely aware of how easy it would be to fall hopelessly back in love with him. Easy, but dangerous.
But that was something to think about another time – or never.
‘What should we toast to?’ I asked just as the rim of the glass touched his lips.
‘Oh, sorry. Uh…’
‘To a successful operation?’ I offered.
‘That’ll do.’ He reached over and we tapped glasses, then sipped in unison.
‘I wasn’t sure I would see you tonight,’ I said after a few moments of watching him stare off.
His faraway look vanished. ‘I gathered that from your outfit.’
‘Which one – completely nude or bath-linen chic?’
‘I reallyamsorry.’
I shrugged. ‘It’s not like you haven’t seen it before – and recently.’
