Page 8 of Blood Money

Gray returned his attention to the wine list. “Red or white?”

“Red. Something spicy.”

“Spicy?” He lowered his voice and arched a brow. “I had no idea you were so wild and adventurous.”

She arched a brow in return. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.” Like the fact that she hadn’t flirted with a man in so long she thought she’d forgotten how.

“I look forward to learning more.” He held her gaze a moment longer than necessary, then cleared his throat and concentrated again on the wine selection, which only served to draw her attention to his mesmerizing silver-gray eyes. Icy in color, yet warm and gentle when he looked at her.

“You’ll have to help me out here.” He handed her the wine list. “I’m not exactly a wine aficionado. My taste hasn’t changed since I was a kid.”

“Beer?” Alex asked.

“Beer,” he confirmed with a grin.

She wanted to laugh, but not because he didn’t know wine. It was because she couldn’t imagine Gray as a kid. He was a very large, very powerful man. Nearly two hundred pounds, she figured, and judging by the way his arms and thighs filled out his suit she’d also guess he had a body ripped with muscle.

She stifled a giggle as she absorbed the irony of how such a badass New York City detective wasn’t intimidated in the slightest by asking her for assistance choosing a good wine.

“Happy to help.” She reached for the booklet Gray held out, and their fingers touched. Her breath hitched at the smoldering look in his eyes. Alex swallowed then licked her lips as she tugged the booklet from his hand.

Concentrate. Wine. Pick. A. Wine. You used to know good wine.

But right now she could hardly string together a cohesive thought that didn’t have Gray’s body in it. Or the seductive way he smelled.

Hands shaking, she balanced the wine list on the table and tried to focus. She finally decided on a reasonably priced wine she knew well. “How about a Cline Cellars Zinfandel?”

With the slightest flick of his finger, Gray signaled for the waiter. Barely two seconds later, an attentive young man wearing a nametag that said “Eduardo” rushed to their table.

“The lady,” Gray said as he nodded to her, “recommends the Cline Cellars Zinfandel.”

“Excellent choice.” Eduardo seemed eager to please Gray, something she noticed many people did. Gray had an authoritative manner that commanded people to do his bidding, without making it an outright order. “I’ll bring that right over for you.”

Eduardo hustled away so quickly that Alex snickered.

“What?” Gray reached over and clasped her hand.

“You have a way with people.” She glanced down at their linked hands, absorbing his warmth and noting how his callused fingers contrasted with the smoothness of hers.

“Not always.” He began to rub her hand with the pad of his thumb, and her brain stumbled over its own gray matter.

“It’s true.” She focused on his eyes. If she looked at what his thumb was doing, she’d be a goner. “No matter who you’re talking to, you always get what you’re after. You’re so kick-ass and self-assured.”

“I’m not.” He laughed when Alex arched a speculative brow. “Okay, I admit where the job is concerned I’m pretty damn confident. But I seriously wasn’t sure you’d say yes when I asked you out.”

Eduardo took that moment to deliver their Zinfandel. He expertly uncorked the bottle and handed the cork to Gray.

Gray put it under his nose and sniffed it. “Yup, that’s a cork.”

All three of them laughed, then Eduardo poured a small amount of wine into a glass and handed that to him next.

Gray took the glass and passed it to Alex. “I’ll let the lady decide.”

“How gallant you are.” Alex took a sip, allowing the rich, spicy wine to tantalize her tongue. “Perfect.”

Eduardo added more wine to Alex’s glass, then filled one for Gray. “I’ll be right back to take your order.”

“No hurry.” Gray sent him a meaningful look, and the young man scurried away. “Cheers.” He held up his glass and waited for her to do the same. They clinked glasses and took a sip. “And for the record, I wanted to ask you out months ago, but you weren’t ready.”