“Dessert,” he said. “I’m hungry.”
Brad opened her back door and she stepped outside onto her deck before he joined her. He closed the door behind him. She had left Hawk on the couch, placing the remote to her television in his hand. He hadn’t said a word, turning the set on.
“Are you sure he isn’t going to come out here just to make sure I don’t lay a finger on you?” Brad’s voice was amused. Their plan was to walk down to the parking lot together, like a couple on an evening stroll.
Amber breathed in the evening air, enjoying its fresh crispness. “He’s got a remote, hasn’t he? I thought that’s supposed to turn a man into a happy control freak.”
Brad laughed. “I’d never have thought you would get yourself a control freak for a love interest, Amber. You’re so damn organized yourself. How are you going to take someone else taking charge, especially during this sojourn into the wilds?”
She frowned. “Love interest? Is that what he is?” she said it more to herself than to Brad.
They walked down the wooden steps. “My dear, I have never seen you as flustered as you were when you came downstairs into your study, trying to explain the whole situation. I can see why you’re attracted to him, though. Good-looking, smarter than hell, and with great taste, I might add.” He turned and touched her arm, then added quietly, “He isn’t from the Agency, you know. I can tell.”
Anyone working for Jed wasn’t exactly Agency, but she didn’t see any need to tell Brad that. It was better to introduce Jed’s world to as few people as possible. “How?” she asked, curious as to how Brad came to that conclusion.
“The way he took over and strategized. It’s very military, assigning different tasks to everyone. He’s used to ordering teams. He didn’t slouch once while he was sitting at the table, even when he was devouring you and your food with his eyes and mouth.” Brad laughed softly. “I’ll bet you a hundred Euros he’s watching from the window to see what you and I are up to.”
Amber stopped herself from looking up to check whether Brad was right. “You’re silly. We’ve just met. I don’t know him that well.” She didn’t elaborate that they had met under very intimate circumstances and that she had flirted with the man through phone and on the computer. “He’s very unusual, that’s all.”
“You know him well enough to trust him. You have been with him a lot more than you’re telling, Amber.”
She knew that not much escaped Brad’s notice, especially when it came to details about people he interacted with. That was what made him an excellent bureaucrat; he studied the behavior of those around him to gauge things going on under the radar.
“We’ve done a lot of unusual things that couples don’t normally do,” she admitted with a smile. He had been practically naked the first time they’d met. She had rendered him unconscious with a drug. His revenge. The romp around the city when she had spent hours chasing him up and down old walls and dark alleys. Their midnight chats. It seemed crazy, but she did feel closer to Hawk than to any man she had known. “But this is Velesta. It isn’t like anything around here is usual.”
“I’m going to do some background-checking anyway,” Brad said. “He’s more than meets the eyes.”
“But so am I, Brad.”
“Yes. I must admit I felt a little envious tonight.”
Amber stopped in midstride, curling a hand into the crook of his arm. “I’m sorry about you and Lily. But you both need to talk this out. I can’t seem to reach her.”
“I can’t, either. What we both need is to make love the way you guys did upstairs today. Seemed to add a lot of private electricity in the air. From where I was sitting, I was afraid of getting zapped by all those sexy looks.”
“Brad!” Amber protested, half laughing and half embarrassed that he saw so much. Had she really acted that unprofessionally? “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he assured her. “I’m glad to see you finding someone after so long. It’s just too bad we couldn’t be a real couple. We both seem to go after those dark-haired and temperamental types.”
“It’ll work out for you and Lily,” Amber said, crossing her fingers in the dark.
They finally reached Brad’s car. “I’ll call and let you know about the interviews. You try to talk to Lily. We need her for these meetings.”
“I know. I will.” She stood on tiptoe and his hands rested on her shoulders as she gave Brad a goodnight kiss. “By the way, where are you taking me for vacation?” She teased him to put him in a better mood.
She could hear the smile in his reply. “Somewhere we can get totally naked on the beach. Make sure you tell everyone that part of it.”
Especially Hawk, of course. She smiled and they had another friendly goodnight kiss before she turned and retraced her steps, taking her time as she pondered over what Brad had said. She did like Hawk and yes, she did trust him enough. But where was it going?
“Tell me you didn’t kiss him goodnight,” Hawk said from the couch when she went back upstairs.
“Of course I did,” she quipped. “I kiss Brad goodnight all the time.”
“Brush your teeth, or here, have some wine.” He lifted the glass in his hand. “Bureaucrat breath stinks.”
She flopped down beside him. “Are you jealous?”
“Yeah.”
