“YOU took this shot today?”
I looked up at Raúl, who stood in front of my desk. Dressed in a plain black suit, he had the steady, watchful gaze of a man who made his living by seeing and hearing everything.
“Yes,” he answered. “Not more than an hour ago.”
I returned my attention to the photo in front of me. It was difficult looking at Anne Lucas. The sight of her foxlike face, with its sharp chin and sharper eyes, brought back memories I wished I could erase from my mind. Not just of her, but of her brother, who’d been similar in ways that made my skin crawl.
“Eva said the woman had long hair,” I murmured, noting that Anne still had cropped hair. I remembered the plastic feel of it, the sharp-gelled spikes scratching my thighs as she deep-throated my cock, working desperately to get me hard enough to fuck her.
I handed the tablet back to Raúl. “Find out who it was.”
“Will do.”
“Did Eva call you?”
He frowned. “No.” But he pulled out his smartphone and checked it. “No,” he said again.
“She may wait until you fly out to San Diego. She wants you to find a friend of hers.”
“No problem. I’ll take care of it.”
“Take care of her,” I said, holding his gaze.
“Doesn’t need to be said.”
“I know. Thank you.”
As he left my office, I sat back in my chair. There were a number of women in my past who might cause problems for me with my wife. The women I’d slept with were aggressive by nature, ones who put me in the position of needing to take the upper hand. Eva was the only woman who’d ever grabbed the lead and made me want more.
It was getting harder to let her be away from me, not easier.
“The team from Envoy is here,” Scott said through the speaker.
“Send them in.”
I powered through my day, wrapping up the week’s agenda and laying the groundwork for more to come. There was a lot I needed to get off my plate before I could take time off with Eva. Our daylong honeymoon had been perfect, but far too short. I wanted at least two weeks away with her, preferably a month. Someplace far away from work and other commitments, where I could have her all to myself with no interruptions.
My smartphone vibrated on my desktop and I looked at it, surprised to see my sister’s face on the screen. I’d texted Ireland earlier to let her know about the engagement. Her reply had been a short and simple, Yay! Stoked. Congrats, bro!
I’d barely answered the call with a quick hello when she cut me off.
“I’m so fucking excited!” she yelled, forcing me to pull the phone away from my ear.
“Watch the mouth.”
“Are you kidding? I’m seventeen, not seven. This is so awesome. I’ve wanted a sister forever, but figured I’d be old and gray before you and Christopher stopped bouncing around and settled down.”
I sat back in my chair. “I live to serve.”
“Ha. Yeah, right. You done good, you know. Eva’s a keeper.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Thanks to her, I get to harass you now. Always a highlight of my day.”
My chest tightened, forcing me to take a minute before I could reply in an easy tone of voice. “Oddly enough, it’s a highlight of mine as well.”
“Well, yeah. It should be.” Her voice lowered. “I heard Mom losing her shit over it earlier. She told Dad she went to your work and you guys got in a fight or something. I think she’s kinda jealous. She’ll get over it.”
“Don’t worry about it. Everything’s fine.”
“I know. It just sucks that she couldn’t keep it together today of all days. Anyway, I’m thrilled and wanted you to know that.”
“Thank you.”
“But I’m not going to be the flower girl. I’m too old for that. I’m up for being a bridesmaid, though. Even a groomswoman or whatever. Just sayin’.”
“All right.” My mouth curved. “I’ll pass that along to Eva.”