“Hello, Stuart,” Simone said.
“Ma’am.”
In went her bags before they climbed into the SUV. There, she crossed her legs, eyed the shoes. “These are beautiful.”
He laid a possessive hand on her shapely thigh. “They look great on you.”
“I’m not dating you for your money,” she murmured.
When his gaze found hers, worry filled her eyes. “I know that,” he said. “You have money.”
“How do you know?”
“I ran a background check?—”
Her eyebrows crashed into her forehead. “On my finances?”
“You were stalking me for weeks. I had no idea who you were.”
She nuzzled close, leaned up, and murmured, “And now you know my brother got all the fashion sense. You saw his condo. He has a sense of style I don’t have.”
“You know what looks good on you and what doesn’t.”
“That’s kind of basic, don’t you think?”
“You’d be surprised.”
She smiled. He loved the way her eyes lit up, the way she held his gaze. “I’m more like my dad. He’s very practical when it comes to clothing. And you’re right, I have money, but I’m more of a saver than a spender. I spent more in my twenties?—”
“Wait, you aren’t still in your twenties?” Luciano asked. “I can’t date a woman?—”
She shot him a little smile. “If you know how much money I have, then you definitely know how old I am.”
He kissed her hand, then set their clasped hands on his lap. “I know I like being with you.” They came together in a tender kiss,her soft moan filling his ears. “I like how you respond to me, how you feel in my arms.”
“I like you, Luciano Santini. You zhuzh me up like no one I’ve ever known.”
“You make me feel hopeful,” he murmured.
She shifted toward him. “I have to tell you something.”
He waited.
“It’s about Peter Hirzog.”
He curled his lip. “Was I right about him?”
“You might be.”
That got his full attention.
“I went in with a plan?—”
“I would expect nothing less.”
She smiled. “He invited me to lunch to apologize for the spying thing. I confided that I’d left the Bureau for ALPHA, headed up The Bomb Maker mission, and was the lone survivor.”
“You put it out there.”
