“Yes,” he said, wiping away a few cake crumbs. “Truly amazing. Do you think she’ll bring more to the party?”
His voice was so tentative and hopeful that I began to laugh. “I’ll ask her.”
“And that’s why I love you.”
As I walked with him to the door a few minutes later, I remembered a subject I’d completely forgotten to bring up the night before. I didn’t quite know how to broach the subject, so I decided to take the direct route. “Derek, how do you feel about handcuffs?”
“They’re necessary in certain circumstances,” he said absently. He stopped at my desk, set down his briefcase, and opened it to shift around some files. “They’re essential when apprehending a particular type of criminal. I try to leave it to the cops, but I do have a pair of my own in case of emergency.”
“You do? Right, of course you do.” I chewed on my lip, trying to figure out how to rephrase the question. “But I mean, have you ever worn them yourself?”
“Have I worn handcuffs?” He looked at me as if I had grown horns. “Of course not. And I hope I never do. The thought of being arrested and incarcerated sounds like the lowest circle of hell to me.”
“Boy, you’re right about that.” Feeling stupid now, I decided it was best to drop the subject. “Well, have a fun day at work.”
He snapped his briefcase shut and gazed at me. “What’s this all about, Brooklyn? Why the sudden interest in handcuffs?”
Oh, rats. He wasn’t going to let it go. “All I meant was, do you like them, you know, for fun?”
“Handcuffs? For fun?” He stared at me for a long, weighty moment. Then he nodded slowly. “Ah.”
“What do you mean, ah? It’s nothing. Never mind.”
He took two pantherlike steps toward me, wearing a look that suggested he was still hungry and I was a yummy cupcake, and wrapped his hands around my upper arms. “Is there something you’d like to share with me, darling?”
“Share with you? No.” I blinked. “Oh. No! No, it’s not about me. Really, no. I was only asking because . . .” But I was suddenly reminded that he was intending to run a background check on Alex, so why should I give him any extra ammunition to use against her? “It’s nothing. Never mind. Oh, look at the time. You’re going to be late. Better go. Love you. Bye-bye.”
He laughed and began to run his hands slowly up and down my arms. “Do you honestly think I’m going to leave you now, with that subject hanging there in the wind?”
“What subject? Nothing’s hanging. There’s no wind. Off you go now. Ciao.” I tried to push him toward the door. “Hasta la vista, baby. See you later. Go on. Am-scray.”
He yanked me into his arms and kissed me like no other man had ever kissed me before. I was breathless by the time he lifted his lips from mine.
He kissed my earlobe, then moved on to that tender spot under my jaw. He whispered, “Are you going to tell me why you’re so intrigued by the idea of wearing handcuffs?” The sensation of his breath against my neck was causing my knees to wobble.
“Okay, okay,” I said, giving in. It was no surprise to hear how gravelly my voice was and I had to cough to clear my throat. “This isn’t about you and me, I promise.”
Although I was willing to give it a try if he was. But wait: he was on his way to work and I had things to do.
What were we talking about? Oh yes. I had to take another deep breath and let it go before I could speak.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night,” I said, “but when I first went over to Alex’s place, I didn’t see her. Instead, I saw a man sitting all alone on her sofa.”
“A man?” His eyes narrowed. “What does this have to do with handcuffs?”
“He was . . . wearing them.”
“Wearing them. Handcuffs?”
“Yes, his hands were cuffed behind his back. And there was a piece of thick tape across his mouth.”
“What the—? Did you call the police?”
I shook my head. “No. I just left and came home.”
“You left him there?”
“I should, um, probably mention that he was naked.”
Derek stared at me, nonplussed. I believed this might have been the first time I’d ever seen him at a loss for words. It made me smile.
“Okay, I admit I was worried at first, but then he winked at me. That’s all,” I said briskly. “End of story. Bye-bye. Enjoy your day.”
“Yes, I really should get going,” he said slowly. “But first I want to make sure I have a clear picture of what happened.”
“Okay.” He still had a grip on my arms and wasn’t going anywhere. And neither was I.
His gaze was trained on me. “You walked into Alex Monroe’s apartment last night and saw a naked man wearing handcuffs with a piece of tape over his mouth. And you didn’t tell me?”
“I meant to, but you were on that conference call and I didn’t want to disturb you. Besides, the guy looked perfectly happy. Like I said, he winked at me.”
“He winked at you.”
“Yes. It turns out he wasn’t in any danger.”