“Nadia.” He tried her name on for size, and she liked the sound of it on his lips. His accent made the three-syllable name into two. It sounded more like Nahd-ya. “Come, Nadia. I will see you safely to your destination.”
“Thank you.”
“The Blend is very popular. Am I to assume you are new to the city since you don’t know its location?”
Should she tell the truth? There’s nothing like identifying yourself as a newbie. She might as well tell him she didn’t know anyone in town and was staying at a hotel, so she could set herself up as the perfect murder victim while she was at it.
“You’re smart to be cautious,” he said warmly, correctly guessing the reason for her silence. “I only inquired because if you haven’t found permanent lodgings, I can direct you to my realtor. I’ve recently relocated here myself.”
She smiled for the first time since meeting him.
“A kindred spirit,” she quipped. She liked the idea of forming a bond with someone else in the city. “And I haven’t yet. The few places I’ve looked at should’ve been condemned long ago. I’m still staying at a hotel.”
Luc smiled but, unlike her, didn’t slow his pace.
Nadia increased her speed to keep up with his long stride. “So you’ve already found a place through your realtor?”
“I did. The complex was recently completed, and the flats are selling fast. But I’m sure I can put in a good word for you,” he offered. He shot her a sideways glance and arched a brow. “One kindred spirit to another.”
“I don’t want to trouble you.”
“It’s no trouble, I assure you.” He stopped and nodded to the lit storefront across the road. “The Blend is behind you, just there.”
Nadia looked up into Luc’s arresting face, no longer in shadow. He was breathtakingly handsome, and she couldn’t seem to stop staring. They stood locked in the moment, each studying the other silently.
With a flick of his wrist, he produced a business card. “Gloria will take good care of you.”
“Gloria?”
“My realtor.”
“Oh! Yeah. Right. Thanks.” She accepted the card, and if she hadn’t already looked like a complete tool, she’d have smacked her forehead.
“Goodnight, Nadia. No more running down dark, abandoned walkways, all right?”
“That’s a sound plan. One that I intend to follow,” she assured him with a light laugh. “Thanks again, Luc. I’d still be wandering, lost and terrified, if you hadn’t come along.”
“My pleasure.” He leaned against the lamppost and crossed his arms over his chest as if he had no intention of leaving. The casual pose strained the shoulders of his suit jacket.
Nadia barely curbed an appreciative sigh.
Oddly, she wanted to linger, but she was already late for an interview. At this rate, she’d never get a job. “I have to go,” she said.
His curious gaze traveled the length of her body and settled back on her face.
“Why?”
“Excuse me?” Had he really asked her why she had to go?
“Why do you have to leave? Are you meeting someone? A date, do you call it?”
“In a manner of speaking. It’s a job interview.”
His brows drew together. “At quarter past eight? What company interviews candidates in the evening hours?”
Nadia glanced over her shoulder at the coffeehouse.
His question was the same one she’d asked herself when she set out to find the place a half-hour earlier. “It does seem shady, doesn’t it?”
