But he must’ve exhausted his word count for the afternoon, because he returned to monosyllables in the next breath. “Sure. But no.”
“Gee, you’re about the most talkative guy I’ve ever met.”
He glanced at me. “I didn’t know that was a job requirement.”
“I guess it’s not.” As we reached the gallery, I saw the Closed sign in the front door. “Damn.” I leaned close to the glass and shaded my eyes. I couldn’t see much inside, just a lot of shadows and a couple of paintings and statues. Very modern, all sleek lines and bright colors and amorphous shapes that were probably supposed to symbolize something. “Guess I’m out of luck.”
Rafe stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels like he was bored. I turned to go, but just then the door opened a crack and a pretty young woman with shaggy brown hair stuck her head out.
“Hi! Can I help you?”
“Are you open?” My mind raced. I hadn’t prepared a reason for being here.
“I’m sorry, we’re not. We have a private showing later today and we’re getting ready for that. We’re usually only open by appointment.”
“Does Angela Mason work here?”
The girl’s face brightened. “She does. Angie’s my roommate. She doesn’t come in ‘til this afternoon, though. I’m Dani.” She started to say something else and then stopped. “Angie’s catching up on her sleep. She’s kind of a night owl.”
I found that hard to believe, having seen Angela’s energy in action the last two mornings, but I just nodded. Like Charlie had told Grace, I could read people. I knew Dani was lying, knew she was probably covering for her roommate, who might be catching up on something right now, but it sure wasn’t sleep.
“I just thought I might run into her,” I said with a big smile. “She said she’d moved into the area, and I live down the block. Could you tell her Tori stopped by? From yoga class.”
“Oh, totally! I will.”
“I work at Tunes and ‘Tudes,” I added. “It’s around the corner. We have a really good happy hour on Fridays. You guys should come by.”
“Sounds good.” She gave Rafe a funny look, as if trying to figure out if we were together, or we just happened to be on the sidewalk at the same time, or if he was planning on putting a bag over my head and kidnapping me as soon as she closed the door. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” But she was already gone, the lock flipped behind her with a loud click.
So much for my grand plan. I stood there in the sun, plotting my next move. I’d never thought much about the process of befriending someone. I mean, in grade school you had the same teacher or rode the same bus or took the same karate lessons. In college you met at fraternity parties or in lecture halls. As an adult you crossed paths at work or a bar, exchanged numbers, and started hanging out. Or maybe you just lived in the same neighborhood and ran into each other so many times your paths became entwined.
But forcing a friendship, creating it out of artificial bits and pieces when you didn’t have other things in common, was a different story. I began to understand why Grace’s clients paid so well.
“Now where to?” Rafe asked.
I shrugged and kept walking. I lived in a nice neighborhood with lots of shops and restaurants, and I didn’t have any reason to go home. I took my time, looking inside store windows and making mental notes of the things I’d buy when I finished my first job. A designer handbag, for sure. And a pair of kick ass stiletto boots. Maybe I’d take a trip to Mexico or a cruise to the Caribbean islands.
Lost in my daydreams, I tripped over my own feet for the second time in three days. It was one of those spectacular slow-motion falls, where you know it’s coming and can’t do a thing to stop it. I caught the edge of one toe on the curb, pinwheeled my arms, tried to catch myself, and landed on my ass instead. All the breath left my lungs, and I bit down on my tongue hard enough to draw blood.
“Oh, my goodness. Are you okay?” A pair of trousered legs appeared beside me, attached to a kind voice. Neither belonged to Rafe. Where was my bodyguard at a time like this? Shouldn’t he have been scooping me up, making sure I was still intact? But no, he was down the block somewhere behind me.
“Thanks. I’m such an idiot.” I took the hand offered to me and looked up into the face of none other than Congressman Reynolds.
Well, hell.My jaw snapped shut, and I felt the blood drain from my face. What was a Congressman doing in a residential neighborhood on a weekday morning? Shouldn’t he have been in meetings on Capitol Hill? Or in bed with Angela?
“Is this yours?” He bent and retrieved my phone, which had skittered across the ground along with my lipstick and a tampon.Fabulous.I really needed to remember to zip my purse when out in public.
Over his shoulder I saw Rafe standing a few feet away. He was talking on his phone and watching the scene unfold with apparently little concern.Brute. Ass.Honestly, being trailed by someone built like a pro wrestler should’ve come in handy at a time like this. Instead I was being taken care of by the man whose affair I’d been hired to end.
“Thanks again.” I stuffed my things back into place as the Congressman studied me.
“Sure you’re okay? You took quite a tumble.” He frowned with concern, looking more like a kind father than a sneaky, cheating son of a bitch.
“I’m fine. Sometimes I get lost in my own thoughts and don’t watch where I’m going.” I cast my lashes down, hoping I looked like a fragile coquette and not someone having a seizure.
“Glad I was here to help.”
