“Human is debatable,” I muttered.
His shoulders began to shake with his laugh.
“Hold still,” I commanded and leaned closer to apply the bandage.
He smelled good. Like really expensive cologne. I knew it was expensive because all the cheap ones were overpowering; they smelled too strong. But this one wasn’t like that. It was light and clean with just a hint of spice.
I cleared my throat and sat back. “It’s actually not that bad. The cut, I mean. Those kinds of things always look worse than they are. The swelling will probably be gone in the morning.”
I began gathering up the supplies and wrappers. When I turned from the trashcan, he was inches from me. I gasped. “Just because you can move that fast and apparently silently doesn’t mean you should.”
“Frankie,” he said. He leaned down close, so close I could see the different shades of green that all worked together to create the vibrant shade that made up his eyes. I swallowed; my stupid heart began to race with his closeness.
“What?”
“Don’t forget what you’re supposed to do tonight. At dinner.”
I made a sound of disgust and shoved him away. I swear he laughed beneath his breath. “Oh, I won’t forget.” I promised, leaving the room.
At this point I would tell her anything he wanted just so I could get a little space.
Chapter Thirteen
“Fiber - the parts of grains, fruits, and vegetables that contain cellulose and are not digested by the body. Fiber helps the intestines absorb water, which increases the bulk of the stool and causes it to move more quickly through the colon.”
Charming
We met at a small local pizza place that specialized in wood-fired pizza. Frankie refused to ride with me and I wasn’t going to argue. I had enough of her already to last me an entire lifetime.
I don’t know what I’d been thinking telling her about my abilities. Talk about giving away the home court advantage. One minute she was putting that shit that burned like hell on my face and the next I was answering her questions without even thinking about it.
It had to be the head injury.
It was making me behave foolishly.
But after tonight I wouldn’t have to see her as much. My sister could just be a topic of conversation between the Target and me while we were out on dates. I wasn’t fool enough to think that the minute I announced I wasn’t actually gay she would jump into my wholly available and waiting arms.
I had no doubt that her people would be running background check after background check on me. It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t find anything other than what I wanted them to see. To her I was just a businessman who worked in real estate and property development. I went to an Ivy League college and worked my way up to the self-made millionaire that I was today. I was divorced (because a guy like me would have to be damaged goods to never have been married before) and I had no kids.
In fact, on paper I looked like the perfect guy for a senator’s daughter to date. I would even look good in the family photo.
It was going to be tricky to insert myself in her life so quickly, but I knew I could do it. The key was to move slowly at first, gain her trust, pass all the checks they wanted to do, and appear uninterested in the fact that she was a senator’s daughter and worth a lot of money.
Acting uninterested in her money wouldn’t be hard at all. They would never know it, but I had way more money that she would ever have.
I parked my car in a spot in the back of the lot beneath a streetlight and cut the engine. I sat there and watched as Frankie pulled in and parked that tin can of a Jeep on the other side of the lot. That thing was hideous. It had vinyl seats a basic interior.
I frowned.
It probably wasn’t safe at all.
I shook off the stray thought (I wasn’t hit that hard, but my brain sure was acting scrambled) and got back to business. The hardest thing about this job was going to be acting interested in the Target. She was attractive and I was sure she was well educated and all, but she wasn’t my type. She was one of those girls that people built a glass house around because everyone thought she was important. She probably never had an ounce of fun because of the duties that had been bestowed upon her just because her father chose the career he did.
Maybe that was it. Maybe the key to getting to her heart fast wasn’t romance. Maybe it was fun. Excitement. Maybe I should break down that glass house and show her what life on the outside was all about.
I sighed. I didn’t really know what life was about either. All I did was plot and kill.
I watched Frankie walk across the parking lot. She was wearing a pair of loose-fitting black cotton pants and a pair of heels. The red pea coat she wore flared out around her waist and swung around as she stepped. She would know all about how to have fun. Like I told her before, she was brimming with energy.
But I wasn’t going to involve her any more than necessary. Not like she would cooperate anyway. She was more stubborn than a mule’s ass.
A black BMW pulled into the lot and parked in the row right in front of me. I caught a flash of long dark hair and knew it was the Target. Time to get to work.
I waited until she pushed open her door, and then got out of my car, pressing the lock button on my key fob. The SUV beeped and just like I hoped, she looked over her shoulder at me.
I smiled and held up my hand. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Charming, glad you could make it.” Her eyes swept over me quickly and then settled on my face, or rather the injury that was unnoticeable.
“What on earth happened to you?” she asked just as I fell into step beside her.
“I was at the grocery store earlier and I saw this little old lady trying to reach onto the top shelf for the last box of cereal. I reached up to get it for her and would you believe she thought I was taking it for myself and she clobbered me.”
She laughed. “Actually, I don’t believe that.”
I shook my head. “I had no idea how serious old people were about their fiber.”
She laughed again as we approached the entrance. I stepped ahead to pull open the door and hold it for her. The scent of wood-fired pizza and bread wafted out onto the sidewalk.
“That smells so good,” she said.
We stepped in and my eyes found Frankie immediately. She was sitting in a booth toward the back. She saw us and waved.
When we arrived at the table, the Target slid into the booth, opposite of Frankie, and I wasn’t sure what she would think if I slid in next to her so I gave Frankie a light shove and sat down beside her.