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She scoffed, but now her neck was flushed, too. I’d finally figured her out. She liked a gentleman outside of the bedroom, but when it was time to get freaky, it turned her on to surrender.
Clearing her throat, she passed me her phone. “Just your number, please.”
I gave her a playful look as I typed into her phone. “I’m not anI told you sokind of guy,” I said. “If you want to text me your fantasies about wearing sexy lingerie all day at work that you’ll get to show me that night, I’ll just enjoy the fuck out of it.”
She stood and passed my phone back after entering her number. “You need to go spend some quality time with your hand, Ford.”
I grinned. “Excellent idea. Want to know what I’ll be thinking about?”
She hesitated before saying, “No.”
My smile widened. “You paused.”
“I did notpause,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Hell yeah,” I said, pumping my fist in the air. “That was like a full two seconds of thinking about whether you should say yes or no. We both know you wanted to say yes.”
“Stop being obnoxious.”
“Yes, Ford.Yes.Try it out. It’ll feel really good.”
She furrowed her brow, frustrated. “You’re supposed to be the serious member of your team. Never a prankster, always a diplomat.”
Why did that sound so familiar? I considered for a second and then broke into a victorious grin.
“You read the profile of me theChronicle’ssports guy wrote. I’m flattered. Since you’re obviously intrigued by me, what else do you want to know?”
She exhaled dramatically. “I’m going inside now. Please text me if anything comes up with my brother and keep all other quips and horny thoughts to yourself.”
“I’ll try, but if you hear groaning through your bedroom wall”
“Oh my god, stop.”
I grinned. “Night, Eleanor.”
“Good night, Ford.”
CHAPTERTEN
Elle
The Hamptons’home sat on top of a hill, and it looked more like a castle than a conventional house. The sprawling structure was made of stone, hundreds of lights illuminating the impeccable landscaping.
I took my ticket from a valet and followed the line of people crossing a wood bridge over a creek and then taking a wide stone walkway that led to the front doors. Fall flowers and ornamental grasses filled decorative urns, and lights twinkled from above. A formally dressed string quartet played soft music nearby.
Everyone else wore masks, so I pulled my silver Mardi Gras mask from my bag and put it on, tying the two strips of ribbon beneath my simple updo. I wore a sleeveless sapphire gown I’d owned for years. This dress had come through for me many times. It was elegant, well cut, and easy to pair with different shawls and shoes.
Tonight, I wore a pair of silver open-toe Jimmy Choo sandals with a four-inch heel that my grandma had given me for Christmas last year and a lightweight black shawl that she’d handed down to me after decades of wearing it to social events. She’d left a simple silver brooch attached to it, which I loved more than any piece of expensive jewelry she owned, because I remembered seeing it on her when I was a kid.
As soon as I walked through massive entrance to their home, Steve and Marla Hampton greeted me warmly.
“I’m Eleanor Lawrence from theChronicle,” I said. “Thank you for the invite. Your home is lovely.”
“I love your columns,” Steve said. “I’m with you on formation of that special taxing district downtown.”
Marla’s gaze went straight to my bare ring finger. “Are you single? You should meet our son Darrell.”
“Let the poor thing get in the door before you start trying to play matchmaker,” Steve said gently.
