Page 62 of Deep Tide

“How about tomorrow?”

Now he sounded as desperate as he felt. And he didn’t care. He wanted to see her again, soon, and he was willing to resort to manipulation and flat-out bribery to get her to say yes.

“Tomorrow’s busy, too.”

“Okay, what about a drink when you knock off? Or dinner Sunday?”

She sighed. “I don’t know, Sean.”

“What don’t you know?”

“Whether this is a good idea. Dinner at the Nautilus sounds a lot like a date.”

“And?”

“I don’t date tourists.”

“Didn’t we establish that that’s not why I’m here?” He kept his tone light, hoping to keep her in an agreeable mood.

“You know what I mean.”

He was pretty sure he did, but he didn’t want her to spell it out for him. Once she put it out there, it might be harder to get her to change her stance.

Sean stopped and looked out at the water, where a pair of kayakers were cutting through the surf. Just hearing her voice made him feel good. He hadn’t realized he’d been so worried these past few hours that she wasn’t going to call him back.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day, Leyla. I’d really like to see you again.”

His heart was thudding now, even harder than it had been when he finished his run.

“I’ve been thinking about you, too.”

Relief flooded him. He wasn’t the only one who’d been distracted as hell today, thinking about that kiss. At least he’d gotten her to admit it.

Now he wanted to push his luck. But he sensed the better strategy was to leave the ball in her court. She liked to be in control.

“We don’t have to do the Nautilus if you’d rather keep it causal,” he said. “We could grab a beer somewhere.”

“Let me think about it.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll give you a call, all right?”

“Sounds good.”

“Bye, Sean.”

He watched the kayakers for a moment, then started running again, needing to get rid of his pent-up energy. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this way. It was crazy. And frustrating. And he knew Leyla’s instincts were right—getting involved wasn’t a good idea for either of them. He was going back to D.C., probably sooner than later if this operation went as planned, and he couldn’t afford to let himself get distracted right now.

But he was going to anyway. Leyla was a beautiful, fierce distraction, and he was dying for more of her, if he could just convince her to give him a chance.

His phone buzzed, and he answered it without looking.

“Yeah?”

“Sean?”

It was a woman’s voice, but not Leyla’s. He slowed his pace and checked the number.

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