“I very carefully had only two drinks before we got to your hotel, which is hardly too much alcohol. And I’m not in the habit of bedding the nearest beautiful woman when I’ve had a good day.”
“Not that you couldn’t if you wanted to.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Beth said that you were … ” She pulled her hand away and covered her mouth. “Oh, God, never mind. I think I’ve had too much wine tonight. Go back to what you were saying.”
“No, I’m finished with my confession. Sounds like you have one to make, too.” He settled back into the couch and half-smiled. “What’d Beth say?”
“Do I have to?”
He nodded.
She sighed. “All right. She said you were a person of interest, I guess would be a good description, with the women in the DA’s office and the police department.” She was twirling her wine glass by the stem, not looking him in the eye.
“And … ?”
“She said something about a virus.”
That made him sit bolt upright. “Oh, for chrissake, she didn’t tell you about that.”
“You know about the Alessandro virus?”
“Yeah, a couple guys I work with found out about it and made sure they told me. In front of a whole lot of other guys I work with. It was fun.” His expression said otherwise.
“She told me I looked like I had a bad case of it. Said I looked at you like you were dessert. I told her we were old friends but I don’t think she believed me. Neither did Danny, for that matter.”
“We are old friends. Now, we’re more than that. Is that bad?”
“No, Tony. It’s good.”
He stood up and held out his hand. “So, now that we’ve both gotten our confessions out of the way, I’m ready to be distracted. How about dessert?”
“I think I’ll pass, if you don’t mind. I ate too much pasta.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I thought Beth said you looked at me … ”
“Oh, that kind of dessert.”
• • •
Somewhere in the middle of the night she woke, unsure where she was for a few minutes until she saw Tony sleeping next to her. She tried to go back to sleep but she couldn’t get her mind to turn off. It was like having a head full of possessed hamsters running around on squeaky wheels, pestering her with questions.
She eased her way out of bed, grabbed the first piece of clothing she found and went out to the darkened living room wearing Tony’s T-shirt. She flicked on a small lamp and looked for something to read that might quiet the damned hamsters. But nothing among his criminal justice textbooks, sports biographies and paperback thrillers looked interesting enough to divert the little devils.
The view from the balcony caught her attention. She turned out the lamp and stood at the sliding glass door mesmerized by the lights of the city and lost in thought until she felt him slide his arms around her waist and nuzzle her neck.