Page 16 of Asher's Assignment

After a moment, she glanced away and cleared her throat. “I’m going to put this away and change.”

Once again, those brown eyes raked over her body. A cocky smile lifted one side of his mouth. “Don’t change on my account. I kinda like the look. It’s real, you know?”

Her insides warmed as his rakish smile turned more genuine. Ducking her head, she nodded. “Well, I’m sweaty and have been cleaning most of the afternoon. I’ll be right back.” She gave the vacuum a push and rolled it away.

Out of sight in the hallway, she paused and closed her eyes, drawing in a steadying breath. Mr. Hot Stuff needed to leave. She knew she’d told Edie he would drive her nuts rather quickly, but it wasn’t because of his gilded tongue. It was that damn smile. It did things to her insides.

But isn’t that what you wanted?

Esther clenched her teeth and told her inner voice to shut up. Asher was not the man she wanted. She didn’t know who she wanted, but it wasn’t one who lived thousands of miles away.

With a nod of affirmation to herself, she gave the vacuum a firm push toward the hall closet.

Seven

Asher took off his sodden jacket and laid it over the back of a dining chair. Running a hand over his hair, water droplets sprayed, dotting his light blue long-sleeved shirt. He wiped his hand on his jeans and glanced around.

Esther’s house wasn’t large, but it was homey. From the front door, the living room was to his right. A khaki sofa faced the side wall, which housed a fireplace and a TV mounted above it. A dark leather recliner sat to the couch’s left. To the right was an overstuffed chair in the same light brown as the couch. Gold accent tables sat next to both chairs, and a maple coffee table occupied the area in front of the sofa. Light oak floors ran throughout the main floor, interspersed with rugs.

To his left was the dining area. The maple table and white upholstered chairs seated six. A gold pendant light hung above it. On the taupe walls, she had a series of wooden shelves covered in plants.

Beyond the dining area, an island separated the space from the kitchen. The speckled granite counters sparkled in the overhead lighting, which also gave some shine to the eggshell gray cabinets. More plants sat on a shelf above the sink.

He wandered into the living room, glancing down the hallway. The stairs turned off to the left. Two doors went off to the right, and he assumed one went to a closet, because there was no vacuum sitting in the middle of the floor. At the end of the hall was a door that led outside.

Asher perched on the couch and took out his phone to send a quick text to Edie. I’m here.

Dots appeared on his screen, then, Did she let you in?

He smirked and responded. She did. Not sure how long it’ll last. She was cleaning and went to change. We haven’t talked yet.

Don’t let her throw you out. She needs you. I know you feel the weirdness too.

She wasn’t wrong. He wasn’t sure he was as convinced about the danger as Edie, but he definitely wanted to investigate more.

I’ll do my best. Try not to worry.

Sure. An eye roll emoji accompanied her reply.

His smile grew. He could almost hear her snort.

Clicking off of his messaging app, he opened his email, thumbing through the work messages that had arrived while he’d been traveling, answering a few. Just because he was a former CIA analyst didn’t mean he was out of the intelligence game. It was just a different kind of intelligence now, and he was more choosy about what he did and who he worked with. Most of his contracts were for companies who wanted to beef up their security. Or for those who had a breach and wanted someone to track the perpetrator down. He liked those the most. Finding someone and waltzing in through their digital back door was extremely satisfying. And now, if he took too long or failed, there were no lives on the line. Just dollars.

The doorbell rang. Standing, Asher pocketed his phone and went to answer it. He hoped Esther had already paid for the pizza. He didn’t have any cash on him. Not American money, anyway. Airport exchange rates sucked, and all the banks were closed by the time he landed in Portland.

Opening the door, Asher greeted the young man in a polo and hat with a national pizza chain’s name emblazoned on them.

“Hi.” The kid smiled and opened the insulated bag he held. He pulled out the pizza box and handed it over.

“Thanks. Did my friend already pay for it and leave you a tip?”

The kid nodded. “It’s been taken care of, yes.”

“Great. Have a good night.”

“You too.”

Asher closed the door and turned, heading for the kitchen. Esther appeared as he set the box on the island.

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