To hammer home the point, he leaned in for a kiss. “We’ll just have to save this for later. Duty calls.”
Activated mocktail hour, the Big G’s mansion
Gabby put on some pants that looked really good but were also really tight. Hopefully, this mission didn’t require any bending or stretching. She could sit carefully, but that was about it. Still, pants seemed more practical than the sexy dress the Disguises department had packed.
Gabby applied some of Jasmine’s makeup samples. With Inner Beauty, she looked basically the same as before, although she had to say that her hair looked pretty good… even if she ate the hair masque instead of using it.
From the other room, Markus said, “Do you have a purse?”
“The fancy beaded one,” Gabby said.
“I’m going to tuck a USB drive in it. Is a taser good enough, or do you want a gun?”
“A taser, please.” She did not want to shoot anyone at dinner tonight.
With a snort, he said, “As I recall, you’re pretty handy with those.”
She laughed. “I know. I really got the hang of it.” She’d tasedMarkus before tying him up last time. “I promise not to use it on you.”
Stomach in, fanny out, she stepped out of the bathroom like it was no big deal, like she always looked like this. She rolled her shoulders back and tried to look casually gorgeous. No big deal. Discreetly, she glanced at Markus, ready to catch his reaction.
But damn him, Markus looked even more like James Bond than usual.
“Markus,” she said, annoyance edging into her voice, “can’t you let me be prettier than you sometimes? I mean, really. It’s not very thoughtful at all.”
A smile spread across his face at her compliment. He knew he looked good. But he gave her an up-and-down, lingering on her hips in a way that sent a spark right through her core.
“It’s not funny. I’m not sure we can go on a real date unless you tone it down a little. This”—she gestured to his whole person—“is too much.”
“Stop being dramatic. You look good enough to eat.” The way he said it, she almost believed him.
“Our first party as a couple,” he said.
“I’m actually a little more worried about the break-in.”
“You’re going to be great.” He offered his arm. “Gia,” he said, leaning into her new name, “you ready?”
“Yes, George. Let’s do this.”
Jasmine and Genesis’s house was an avant-garde structure made of curved glass and steel that overlooked the ocean. The buildingwrapped around a courtyard with a Japanese garden and a stream that ran right under the house, through the courtyard, and spilled over the cliff toward the ocean in a fantastic waterfall. The design was very villain’s lair.
Around ten or fifteen people were mingling in black-tie attire, holding cocktails. Well, not cocktails exactly. They were drinking mocktails with “activated compounds,” whatever that meant. The beverages looked like regular fancy cocktails, and no one looked like they’d just done bath salts, so Gabby took one and hoped for the best.
While finding her shoes, Markus had explained the layout of the house to her. The office was down the hall, close to the bathroom. The plan was simple: pretend she needed the bathroom and slip into the office. Markus would play lookout.
While she scanned the guests, the crowd parted, and Jasmine and Genesis appeared. He was a full head taller than any of the other men and glowing with charisma. Jasmine was on his arm, looking all va-va-voom with long, slim legs, wrapped in an evening gown that was both elegant and daring.
As individuals, they were charismatic; as a couple, they had a gravitational force. The Loves were selling that Power Couple branding without even trying. Jasmine tilted her head back, exposing an elegant neck, and threw back some activated radical molecule drink. Gabby went from suspicion to “I’ll have what she’s having.” Inner-G looked good.
Gabby took a sip.
“Is it hot in here?” she asked Markus, fanning her face.
He shook his head. “Your face looks a little rosy, though.”
She exhaled in frustration. “I might be allergic to Inner Beauty.”
He laughed. “No, you’ve got plenty.”
