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The knowing tone grated on Tai’s nerves for some reason. He pivoted, slipping an arm around Tenaya’s waist and pecked her on the cheek. “I’m the lucky one. From the moment we met, I knew she was the only woman for me. Her being the smarter one, it took her a lot longer to come to the same conclusion.”
Tenaya gazed up at him, eyes luminous. For a wild moment, the rest of the world faded away. Tai’s pulse thrummed, breath catching at the sight of her parted lips. He swayed closer, tempted to discover if they were as soft as they looked...
“I’ll let you newlyweds get settled.” The woman winked and disappeared back into her condo. The door clicked shut behind her.
Tai blinked, heat creeping up his neck. What was he thinking? No matter how convincing, Tenaya was not his to kiss.
He released her and grabbed the suitcases. He had to speed up to make it to her door before she plunged inside. He dropped the suitcases inside the doorway and scrubbed a hand over his face. This assignment just got exponentially more complicated.
“I can’t do this,” Tenaya said the minute he closed the door behind them.
She paced the wide foyer, arms wrapped around her middle. “Silvia and I hardly know each other, and I froze. I’m never going to fool Jarrod or Megan or any of the Steadman Graham staff.”
“We’ll run through some scenarios tonight,” Kate offered over the comlink. “No worries.”
“All you have to do is sketch the outlines,” Fenn coached. “People see what they want to see.”
Tenaya let out a breath, a sad combination of a sigh a moan and a groan.
Tai didn’t have any other words of wisdom to impart, so he prowled the stylish open plan condo, taking in the polished concrete floors and sleek modern furnishings. Despite the view of downtown, floor to ceiling windows made him uneasy. Too exposed.
“We should cover the windows,” he muttered. “Limit sight lines for snipers.”
Over comms, Mason grunted agreement. “I’ll bring blackout curtains tonight.”
Tai turned in a slow circle, gaze tracking over her fancy kitchen. A sleek fridge dominated one wall. The granite countertops were lined with matching cooking gadgets he couldn’t identify.
This place was nothing like his utilitarian cabin. Here, everything looked staged for show, meant to impress. Unlived in. That he hadn’t expected.
Tenaya seemed to read his thoughts. “It’s not really me.”
He turned to find her studying him, a wistful look on her lovely face.
Tai’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t like your own place?”
She waved a hand, wedding ring glinting under the track lighting. “It’s beautiful. But more what I thought a young, successful lawyer should live in than what I would have picked for myself. The firm hired a professional designer to handle things. I’ve been working a hundred hours a week since I started. It’s how we do things in Big Law.”
Surprise flickered through him. Her admission echoed his unspoken thoughts. Once again, Tenaya Washington intrigued him.
She crossed her arms, gaze daring him to disagree. “You don’t have to tiptoe around it. I know it’s not your kind of place.”
Tai bit back a smile, oddly delighted by this new evidence she saw through him just as clearly. “It’s not completely my style,” he allowed.
Her lips quirked. “I’ve seen your place. The outside, anyway. My guess is there’s a serious lack of stainless-steel appliances.”
He nudged a sleek barstool with one booted foot. “Not really my speed.”
She wandered toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. “I’m going to make sure the guest room is ready.”
At the reminder of their awkward situation, some of Tai’s amusement faded. Still, she’d surprised him again. Perhaps they had more in common than he’d thought. Either way, the glimpse inside her world intrigued him.
He watched her move gracefully around the space, sliding laptop and phone charger onto the polished concrete kitchen island. This wasn’t her dream home, but she inhabited it with understated elegance, adapting seamlessly. Much as she had back at the ranch with his teammates. Grace under pressure. One more item on the list of things he admired about her.
A realization struck him. “Where’s all the wedding stuff? Photos and so on?”
She paused, blinking. “Oh! Right.” Then she shrugged. “It’s not like I have guests over. No one’ll know.”
“Your stalker might.” He squinted out the windows, calculating sight lines from various possible areas. “Anybody with a good pair of binos could see into your living room from that park up the street.”
