Page 39 of Kiss Me Forever

She shifted a little uncomfortably under his gaze. "Why?"

"Because if he doesn't keep his guard up, you'll have him on the ropes."

"Is that a boxing metaphor?"

"I suppose it is," he said with a grin. "But then life is a battle, isn't it? You have to learn to roll with the punches."

She smiled back at him. "You have a bunch of those, don't you?"

"I could go on all day, but I won't. I have a class starting in a few minutes."

"Well, I appreciate your time. If I have more questions, can I speak to you again?"

"Why don't you come back Wednesday night? I'm starting a new self-defense class for women. We're trying to make the gym a little less testosterone heavy."

"If I take the class, will you tell me more about Alex?"

"Tell you what, I'll answer one question for each woman you bring."

"Really? And that wouldn't be disloyal to Alex?"

"Well, I can't promise you'll like all my answers, but I'll do my best to give you a little more insight."

She stood up. "Okay, you've got yourself a deal, Mick."

"Good. I'll see you Wednesday."

She turned toward the door, then glanced back at him. "Are you going to tell Alex about our agreement?"

"I'll let you do that."

"He won't like it."

"Well, that's his problem, isn't it?"

"I guess it is."

* * *

Andrea spent the rest of Sunday writing up what she knew about Alex so far and then searching the Internet for more details. Unfortunately, every news report on Alex was the same. He'd told a similar story to every reporter in every single interview. She supposed she should feel a little special that at least he'd taken her to meet Mick and see the gym and had also shared his love of airplanes and airports with her, but she still needed more.

After a restless night of sleep, she went into her office on Monday with a new plan. As soon as she got to her desk, she put in a call to the magazine's private investigator. Joe was not only an ex-cop, he had excellent cyber skills, and he could usually get information no one else could find, although even he had come up short in trying to locate her source on the car seat story.

"Andrea, I told you I'd call you if I came up with anything," Joe said shortly.

"I'm not calling about that. But I don't understand how a man could disappear off the face of the earth."

"I admit I'm stumped," Joe said. "But I haven't given up."

"Good."

"So what do you need today?"

"Information on another interview subject—Alexander Donovan. He's our cover for theMan of the Yearissue."

"Donovan is a fairly public figure. Do you think there's something he's hiding?"

"That's what I want you to find out." There were often shadows behind Alex's smile, and she really wanted to know where they came from. "I need the information as soon as possible."

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