She lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe I’d try harder if you gave me benefits.”
His smile turned mischievous. “I thought I was the benefit.”
“Not a very useful one.”
“That’s not what you said in the pool that night.”
A tidal wave of emotions hit her. In an instant, she was overcome by the memory of his soft lips against hers, the sloshing of the pool around them, the cling of soaked clothes against their bodies.
“I don’t think I said anything at all, to be honest,” she replied quietly, and now it was his turn to look flustered, a faint flush rising on his neck.
The tension between them buzzed underneath her skin like an electric current. What was wrong with her? A make-out session wasn’t a big deal. She’d had her fair share of hookups and done plenty more with them.
“So,” he said, clearing his throat. As if they’d rehearsed it, theysimultaneously straightened in their seats and blinked the moment from their eyes. “When do we start? I’m in the middle of preparing for my tour. If you need me for training, you’re going to have to schedule around Claire to do it.”
He’s agreeing.Sydney couldn’t suppress the small thrill that shot through her. She crossed her arms and kept her words calm. “Sauda wants us at headquarters tomorrow. Can you do that?”
Winter thought for a moment. “I’m scheduled to head back home for a month, starting today.”
She nodded. “Yes, we figured.”
“Of course you knew that.” He nodded. “I’ll tell Claire I’m visiting friends. Not a lie, really.”
“We like to make sure we know as much as possible,” she replied. “Any chance we can pass by your hotel room later? There’s a set of instructions I need to give you before you arrive at headquarters, and I’d rather we not do that here, as much as we have this shop to ourselves.”
“Oh, um.” He hesitated, and Sydney saw a new, mysterious expression flit across his face. “There’s, ah, someone in my room right now. I’ll find another private place for us to talk.”
Someone else in his room.
All of the tension between them at this table, all of their playful swipes and reminiscing, evaporated into thin air.
Of course, there was someone else.
A rush of embarrassment hit her. Why had she just assumed he would be alone, that he wasn’t seeing anyone? Why had their intel missed this? She bit her cheek and pushed down the spark of jealousy. Had she forgotten who he was? Did she think that a little flirting meant anything to him, that he wasn’t sleeping around with every starlet in sight?
She mustered every bit of her training to keep her face straight, her mask intact even in the face of shocking news. Not that this was that shocking, of course. That was hearing that her passport had beenblacklisted at the airport two hours before she was scheduled to fly out of Cairo. Learning that her contact in Jakarta had been detained and she would need to face Indonesian authorities on her own.
Shocking news wasnotthat Winter Young had slept with someone last night, that this person was still in his hotel room.
“She’s really—” Winter began.
“Not a problem,” Sydney heard herself interrupt, her voice dismissive and nonchalant. Hurt flashed in Winter’s eyes, but she didn’t linger on it. “It’d actually be easier if you already have a date ready to bring with you to the gala.”
At that, Winter seemed to still. “I have to bring a date with me to Singapore?”
Sydney looked down at her mug and sipped her drink before she dared to reply. “Yes,” she said. “It’d be out of the ordinary for you to arrive unattached to a fancy event like this one, so it’d be best if you had a plus one. We’d talked about assigning you a date, but if you’re already seeing someone, then that makes for a better cover. Less paperwork for us.”
He shook his head. “It’s complicated,” he muttered.
“Doesn’t have to be the person in your hotel room,” Sydney said with a cold shrug, “if she wasthatdisappointed with your performance last night.”
Winter lifted an eyebrow. “She wasn’t.”
Sydney hated how his retort stung even more. She forced herself to smile. “Good for you. So bring her. We’re just trying to distract the reporters.”
“Can’t I just go solo? With you as my bodyguard?”
“What, can’t catch a date?”
