He sighed heavily and shoved a hand through his hair, like a bulldozer. “No. No. No. I didn’t find you last night. I didn’t know who you were at all. And besides, if you may recall,” he said, tapping his chest, “I was at the Pink Pelican already. You walked in.”
Damn, he made a good point. He hadn’t been following her last night, and she was the one who’d left the trail of clues behind for him today. Chalk one up in his favor in the honesty column. “Fine. True,” she admitted. “But don’t you see how this looks? Like you knew who I was and you were trying to get info from me.”
“Here’s the reality. I saw you at the bar, thought you were stunning. We talked, we kissed, we had a good time. This was all totally separate from the job, because I didn’t have a clue who you were last night. I wanted to see you again, plain and simple. Hell, I didn’t even know your name. Then, I happened to spot you at breakfast with your stepdad at Tristan’s—”
“You were following me?”
“No. I was in the area doing some recon work,” he said, his voice firm, making it clear he didn’t like her accusation. “Anyway, when I saw you finishing breakfast with him, I asked Andrew who you were. He told me, and now it turns out we’re both, for all intents and purposes, working for the same people. You on your own for your mom. Me for Andrew. We’re both looking out for the people who got screwed. I only made up the part about my sister texting me your photo. Everything else was true, especially the part about my telling her I met a woman last night who I wanted to see again.”
She let his words soak in. She liked the ones where he said he wanted to see her again, because she’d sure wanted to see him, too. She’d been lingering over all the possibilities of him before she even saw him today. Still, she felt tricked. “You’re saying none of that last night at the bar was an act? What about the kiss on the beach? Was that an act?”
He laughed loudly and shook his head. He gestured to his lap. “Did it feel like an act? Did you think I was faking it? That it was a few stuffed socks in my pants?”
She pressed her lips together, fighting hard to resist chuckling. “No, it didn’t feel like a sock. But is a hard-on evidence that you didn’t set me up?”
“What did I set you up for? Tell me. What on earth am I setting you up for?” he asked, holding his arms out wide. “I had an amazing time last night. Kissing you rocked my world, and I wanted more.” He paused, then leaned closer and lowered his voice to a rough and sexy whisper. “A lot more.”
A shiver ran down her spine, heating her up and turning her on in seconds. “I wanted more, too,” she said, and he locked eyes with her, looking at her as if he were picturing her naked. She liked him looking at her that way. “I want all the bad things.”
“I’m very good at doing bad things,” he said in a rough, dirty tone. She dug her fingernails into her palms so she wouldn’t launch herself across the table and ride him hard here at the restaurant.
OK, she really wouldn’t do that. But maybe grab him and tug him into the ladies’ room and pull him snug against her. Let him grab her wrists, pin them over her head, hike up her dress, and just take her. It had been so long, and she was willing to bet he could deliver everything she wanted.
But even so, she didn’t know how to trust Jake, or anyone for that matter. She drop-kicked all those naughty thoughts away. “I’m sure you are quite skilled in the dirty department, but you’re really telling me none of this was planned?” she asked, narrowing her eyes, maintaining her skeptical stare.
“Look, things got complicated today when I learned who you were. I’m not going to deny that. But I’m still here. Still talking to you.” He tapped the table with his finger. “Because, maybe, we should work together to find the jewels. We’re on the same team.”
Her body said, “Yes.” Her brain said, “Don’t be stupid, girl.” She wouldn’t be fooled by lust. She had to remain focused. “Why should I work with you? What do I need from you? I’m the one who was invited into Eli’s house later this week. I can just find them myself. I don’t have to, you know, break in,” she said, whispering the last words sarcastically. She might want the man, but that didn’t mean she was going to team up with someone she just met twenty-four hours ago.
“What if they’re not there?” he suggested casually. “What if they’re, say, in the nightclub?”
“Then I’ll find them there,” she said, though admittedly, her task would be harder if they were in Sapphire. Still, she needed to stay the course and do this on her own. Maybe she wouldn’t find a big, huge bag of diamonds. But perhaps she could find a way to get back her mom’s money and even unearth evidence that Eli wasn’t the man who’d so coolly dismissed her reasonable request at brunch. She wanted him to be the man who’d hugged her, who’d reminded her that he would have helped her business if she had asked. That’s who she’d known him to be, and he’d shown her that inkling today. She held tight to it. Dipping her hand into her bag, she fished for some bills and set them on the table. “I’d better go. I have work to do.”
As she stood, a willowy redhead appeared.
“Steph!”
“Sandy!”
Sandy wrapped her in a hug. “So good to see you. I missed you around here.”