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He crossed the threshold and stopped. The intimate, sensual zing of awareness that she had experienced earlier in the restaurant was a thousand times more intense here in her territory. Luke was not especially tall, nor was he bulked up with gym-engineered muscle, but he somehow managed to suck up all the oxygen in the space. She was suddenly not sure what to do with him.
So much for cool, smooth, and businesslike.
She had been a serial dater most of her adult life—commitment issues, according to her old therapist. This was not the first time she had invited a man into her apartment, but she had never allowed one to spend the night. It was time to deal with the duffel bag.
“The hotel wouldn’t let you check in early?” she asked, trying for subtle.
“What?” He followed her gaze to the duffel. Understanding struck. “Right. The hotel gave me an early check-in, but I didn’t want to leave anything behind. I’ve been living out of this bag and the pack since the amnesia event. Keeping it close at hand has become a habit.”
It was her turn to get hit with a jolt of understanding. “They are your go bags, aren’t they? You don’t know who you can trust and you don’t know if the people who ran the experiment on you are searching for you. You’re ready to disappear at a moment’s notice.”
“That pretty much sums up my life for the past three months.”
“Believe me, I understand,” she said. “You can leave your thingson the floor next to the door. I’ll take your jacket. Did you park on the street or in a garage?”
“My hotel is only a few blocks away. I decided to walk.” He set down the duffel, pack, and the pretty box and handed her his jacket.
“Good idea.” She took the jacket. “Parking is hard to find in this neighborhood, and very expensive.”
Now she was babbling.Get a grip, woman.
His leather jacket was infused with the heat of his body and a faint scent that was all male and all Luke Rand. She realized she was trying to take a surreptitious sniff and gave herself a mental slap.Don’t go there. Don’t even think about going there. You do not need the complications.
She pulled herself together, hung up the jacket, and waved Luke toward the long dining bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. “Why don’t you set up there with your phone? The coffee will be ready in a minute.”
“Sounds good,” he said. He collected the yellow and white box and headed for the dining bar. “Out of curiosity, do you have any idea why Hatch charged you a lot less than she charged me?”
“Probably because she is a true fan ofThe Lost Night Files.” Talia went into the kitchen and took the coffeepot off the burner. “I think she contacted me directly instead of one of the others because she feels a certain kinship with me. Something to do with my talent, maybe.”
“Makes sense,” Luke said. “The only thing I picked up from her texts was the fact that she was scared.”
“Now we know that she had good reason.”
“She planned to run but she intended to go off the grid, so she needed cash,” Luke said. He angled himself onto one of the barstools and braced a foot on the floor. “She was going to disappear.”
“But someone grabbed her before she could execute her plan.” Talia poured two coffees and set one mug on the bar in front of Luke. She glanced at the yellow and white box and saw the name of a bakery. “I see you brought a snack for yourself. Good idea. I don’t have much in the way of food on hand at the moment. I was planning to do some grocery shopping this afternoon, but I don’t need to stock up now, since I’ll be gone for a few days. I’ll be using up what’s left in the refrigerator today.”
Luke glanced at the baked goods box as he reached for the mug. “That’s for you.”
“Me?”
Startled, she stared at the box as if it had just materialized out of thin air. She removed the lid and smiled when she saw the half dozen cupcakes inside. Each was decorated with mounds of yellow frosting and the wordsHappy Birthday. An unfamiliar warmth whispered through her.
“Thank you,” she said. “I can’t remember the last time anyone brought me a birthday cake.”
“It’s not a birthday cake,” Luke said. “Just a half dozen cupcakes. No way to know how long they were sitting in the case at the bakery. They’re probably from yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re stale.”
“Let’s find out.” She picked up one of the cupcakes and prepared to take a bite.
“You just ate two biscuits a couple of hours ago,” Luke said.
“This is just a taste test.” She took a bite of the cupcake and grabbed a paper napkin to wipe the frosting off her mouth. “Not stale at all. Try one.”
Luke selected a cupcake and took a healthy bite. He chewed, swallowed, and then nodded, evidently satisfied. “Nope, not stale.”
She watched him reach for a napkin. He had nice hands. Strong hands. Competent hands. She had never paid much attention to a man’s hands before today.
“It was very thoughtful of you to take the time to pick up the cupcakes,” she said.
