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When she faced him, her breasts brushed against his chest, shooting fire through his veins.
Her breath caught on a gasp, and she backed away so quickly she stumbled.
Ace grabbed her arms and pulled her against him to steady her.
She rested her hands against his chest but didn’t push him away. For a long moment, he stared down into her green eyes, the years apart fading away.
They were the two young people who’d met on vacation at a café in Athens and kissed for the first time in the moonlight on the steps of the Parthenon.
His gaze moved from her eyes to her full, rosy lips, the kiss as fresh on his mind as that first evening in Athens. As natural now as it had been then, his head lowered until his lips were but a breath away from hers. Just like then.
He wanted to kiss her. If she wanted the same, she’d rise to meet him. She had...back then.
A second passed.
Jasmine drew in a breath, let it out and rose on her bare feet until her lips brushed against his.
A sound behind Ace broke through the trance.
He spun and braced for attack.
The sales assistant stood with her hands pressed over her heart, her face creased in a happy smile. She said something in Greek and backed away, waving her hand.
Jasmine chuckled. “She apologized for interrupting and wishes us to carry on.”
When he turned back to do just that, Jasmine had ducked back into the dressing room and closed the door between them.
Ace wanted to follow her into the dressing room, take her into his arms and finish the kiss. He took one step in that direction and stopped.
What if the brief brush of her lips was all she’d wanted? What if it was enough to tell her there wasn’t anything left in her heart for him? The fact she’d gone into the dressing room made it obvious she didn’t want to pick up where they’d left off before the clerk’s interruption.
Thoughts, doubts and regrets whirled through Ace’s thoughts as he stood staring at the closed door.
The door opened, and Jasmine stepped out, wearing the black trousers and blazer and carrying the tourist’s clothes, her face devoid of emotion. “All I need is shoes, and we can work on your disguise.” She stepped past him and found the flustered clerk. The woman appeared to be apologizing all over again.
After stowing the clothes she carried in the suitcase, Jasmine affixed the luggage tags she’d saved to the handle. Speaking in Greek, she pointed to the suitcase. The clerk nodded and rolled it behind the counter, then led Jasmine to the shoe display.
The helpful woman selected a shiny black, high-heeled pump. Jasmine nodded, and the clerk disappeared through a door, returning a minute later with a pair in her size and fitted them on Jasmine’s feet.
Her outfit complete, the former Sayeret Matkal soldier paid the clerk with a wad of cash she’d magicked from somewhere and headed for the exit.
At the door, she paused and waited for Ace to catch up and open the door for her like a good bodyguard would.
Once again, he was amazed at how she’d transformed from the quiet interpreter on the movie set to the happy tourist from the States to Francesca Giordano, the Italian heiress.
He grinned and pushed open the door.
When she started to walk through, he held out his hand, stopping her. “Me first.” He walked out into the late afternoon Athens sunshine and scanned the street, sidewalks and shadows. When he was certain no threats awaited his “client,” he held the door for her to emerge from the store.
“Did you give the suitcase to the clerk?” he asked as she turned to the right.
Jasmine nodded. “I asked her to have it sent to the airport lost luggage and have it shipped to the address on the tag.”
Ace shook his head. The woman’s son was being held hostage, and she’d made the effort to get the suitcase back to its rightful owner. He’d bet she’d tucked some of the wad of cash into the case to help make up for the trouble she’d caused the unsuspecting tourist.
“Where are we going?” he asked as they walked along the sidewalk.
“Dmytro said there was a men’s clothing store two blocks from here,” she said, walking surprisingly fast in the high heels. “We’ll need to hurry. He arranged for a limousine to pick us up at the men’s store in thirty minutes. It will carry us to the casino.”
