Page 50 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

“I carry an emergency PowerBar. Lion or shark?”

“Neither?”

“You have to pick one.”

“Then I guess a shark. They generally leave people alone, plus I spend most of my time on land, so it’s more difficult for one to eat me.”

“How many lions are there in San Gallicano?”

“Okay, that’s a fair point. Would you rather go to outer space or the bottom of the ocean?”

“Outer space. Things happen slower there. If anything goes wrong at the bottom of the ocean, you won’t even know it’s the end.”

“Maybe it’s better that way?”

“Even when things look dire, if you keep your head, there’s often a way out.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

“Sailboat or superyacht?”

They carried on with the back and forth through three courses. Bella dodged any personal questions, but she did relax, and Cole managed to build up a better picture of her.She favoured practicality over enjoyment, although he knew from the night they met that she liked to have fun too. She was adventurous, the kind of woman who would pack a bag and head to the airport without a second thought. And she was generous. Not only did she insist on splitting the cost of dinner, but he saw the tip she added to her half of the check. He’d left twenty percent; she left fifty. And when she caught him looking, she shrugged and said, “Rosa has two kids in college.”

Writing obituaries must pay better than he thought. First, there was the Porsche, and then there was the fact that she lived alone. Cole had spoken to a property management company about renting out Uncle Mike’s home when he returned to San Gallicano, just in case he managed to keep it out of the bank’s hands, and he’d been shocked by how much rental prices in the US had increased in the time he’d been away.

Or maybe Bella had gotten money in a divorce? That would also explain her bitterness toward relationships. If he’d known her surname, he would have googled her, but he didn’t think he’d find much. When he’d asked her “Facebook or BuzzHub,” she’d said neither, and when he’d pushed her, she’d said BuzzHub because it ran on a subscription model rather than selling data to anyone who wanted to pay, but she didn’t use social media so it didn’t matter anyway.

“Admit it, that wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be,” he said as he climbed into the back seat of a cab beside her.

“I admit nothing,” she replied, but she was smiling. A genuine smile, not the tight one she’d offered when Rosa asked if the food was okay.

That night in bed, Cole curled around Bella and slid into her from behind, soft and sweet. She didn’t ask for more. But as she came closer to the brink, it felt so natural tomove his hand up to her neck, to wrap his fingers around her throat and tighten them just a little. She pressed back into him, and that was the first time she moaned his name when she came.

And he knew he was in big, big trouble.

CHAPTER 17

JEZEBEL

“Rosa sent raspberry panna cotta.”

Thursday morning, and I dumped the bag on the counter while Marcel did his best to rupture my eardrums.

“Ohmigosh! You went out with himagain?”

“I had to eat. It was no big deal.”

Cole and I had been to Carlo’s twice now, but tonight, Rosa had made a comment about bambinos, so now we could never go back there. We’d also eaten at the Venetian as part of his check-out-the-competition project, plus he’d cooked at home once. His home, not mine, obviously.

And through all that, there had been zero sign of Jimmy or anyone else dubious. I was beginning to think the hit squad had gone to the wrong house.

“Hush your lying mouth. This is ahugedeal. Dusk,” Marcel called. “Dusk!”

“What?” she said from the breakfast table.

“Did you know Jez went on another date with the hot casino guy?”

“Of course.”

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