Page 44 of The Chase
Sleepy eyed after dozing off in the Bentley, I slipped into my babydoll nightdress. I eyed that Coco de Mer lingerie that I’d stripped off and thrown onto the bed, hoping that wasn’t going to have to go back when I returned Tobias’s jacket and scarf.
The Alexander McQueen hung elegantly from a hanger on my bedroom door, and it was hard to pull my gaze away from the satin gown adorned with intricate crystals. That would have to go back, as well.
I picked up his black jacket and buried my face into the lining, sniffing Tobias’s cologne, and imagined him looking at me the same way he’d adoredLa Maja Desnuda.
This infatuation was going to be short-lived.
I tried to tame my excitement from such a whirlwind evening, a decadent adventure I couldn’t wait to tell Clara about.
It felt good to be home.
This southeast flat had once been owned by my mother before she’d married my dad. After her death, Dad had rented it out and then rarely visited it. There was comfort drawn from knowing Mom spent time here. I walked the same pathway she’d taken from the small kitchen to the bedroom or the living room to the bathroom. I wondered if she, like me, ever read in the tub or sipped her morning tea while watching the world awaken.
So many memories had been lost to time.
There were boxes upon boxes back in Dad’s old place that I still had to go through, all of them secured in the basement, and I had the only key. A task I’d put off over countless weekends.
I’d renovated this place back to its original glory of Victorian splendor, with its whitewashed walls reaching high to meet the elaborate crown molding. I’d gone for a fresh vintage decor, with crisp, clean pastels that were charmingly cozy and merged exquisitely with the more modern pieces.
I loved padding around barefoot on the hardwood floors or burying my toes in the faux fur rugs. I’d bought that large blue sofa from another favorite store lost to the spiraling costs of living in this city. The large mahogany bookshelves I’d retrieved from home. The place now poised to go on the market as soon as I was ready to let it go. Though the house was restored, the worth of the land it stood on was remarkable.
My thoughts carried me back to Blandford Palace and a sinking feeling washed over me at my naivety. Still, I’d felt safe beside Wilder and had drawn strength from his tenacity and even now I felt the wake of his charisma.
Tobias no doubt sparked chemistry in every woman who met him. It was his assuredness, his confident swagger, his ability to command without question. That Ivy League education had forged an already brilliant mind and gave him an unfair edge. Money and brains was a heady combination and Tobias wore it well. That arrogant curve of his lips, his bossy bastard demeanor, the way he crushed his body next to mine...
Tobias Wilder was the perfect storm.
And I was glad my feet were back on dry land, home safe, where I belonged.
After folding his scarf into a neat square, I placed it next to his jacket on the back of the chair, near the door. I’d take it into work tomorrow. I should have just handed it over to Cooper tonight and braved the cold from the Bentley to my flat, but I’d been too sleepy to think straight.
Writing my report for Adley was going to take some finagling. The big reveal of Goya’s painting turning up out of the blue was going to set the entire office alight with excitement. Tobias could now bid away with confidence when that portrait went on sale.
I wondered which house he favored more: Sotheby’s or Christie’s.
I’d peeked behind the curtain of aristocracy and still couldn’t believe people dared to get naked in front of each other. Tobias hadn’t blinked an eye at all at that debauchery, though it seemed nothing much fazed him.
Only in the art world could the most decadent of parties be topped by the revelation of a Goya concealed behind another painting.
First thing tomorrow, I was going to make some discreet inquiries into that Goya’s paper trail. It might also explain why a multimillion-dollar piece was hidden away.
A knock at my front door startled me.
At 2:00 a.m. it could only be Cooper. He’d probably realized I’d strolled off with his boss’s jacket and scarf and had come to collect it.
I made my way to the front door and decided with each step there was no way I was mentioning the underwear. The Coco de Mer would serve as my consolation prize.
That thought made me smile.
Peeking through the eyehole I almost bit through my lip. After sliding off the catch I opened the door ajar.
Tobias’s grin widened. “Hope I didn’t disturb you?”
“No, it’s fine.” I’d forgotten how disarming his smile was. “I’ll get your jacket.” I closed the door and headed back toward the chair and lifted off his coat and scarf.
I yelped—
Tobias stood inside my flat with his back pressed against the closed door. “Bad time?”
