Page 83 of Deep Tide

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Stuff I don’t want to talk about right now.” He squeezed her hand, and she gave him an amused smile.

“So”—she sipped her lemonade—“you know there’s a golf tournament tomorrow over at Playa del Rey? It’s this big event for charity.”

Something in her voice put him on guard. “What about it?”

“Luc Gagnon’s assistant called me. Her name’s Jillian.”

Sean halted.

“She asked if we might be able to cater a dinner party after the tournament,” Leyla said.

“She just called you out of the blue?”

“I’ve worked with her before. Remember I told you about the breakfast meeting at the Windjammer?”

Sean stared down at her. “And she just randomly called you?”

“Well, she was returning my call. I’d left her a message yesterday letting her know our catering firm was officially launched and then I sent her a menu.”

Sean’s gut tightened. “You’re actively marketing to him?”

“I’m marketing to everyone at the moment. I’m trying to get my business off the ground.”

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“Anyway, it’s a small group for dinner. Jillian said she was glad to hear from me because the headcount unexpectedly jumped from twelve to twenty at the last minute so—”

“Where is this dinner?”

She pulled back, clearly startled by his tone. “At his house.”

Sean shook his head and looked away.

“What? I thought it might be a good opportunity.”

He glared down at her. “How’s that?”

“Well... it’s his big new house, and almost no one’s been inside,” she said. “He brought in an architect and a decorator from Seattle. He travels with his own staff. I thought, I don’t know, this might be a good opportunity for someone to poke around a little and maybe eavesdrop.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not an agent, Leyla.”

“Not me. I meant you could send someone in. They could pretend to work for me.”

“No.”

She huffed out a breath. “You won’t even consider—”

“No.”

“Fine.” She started down the beach again.

---