Page 25 of Undercover
Yeah, I still missed my studies and my colleagues and having the confidence that came with doing something productive and interesting in the world. But that all fell away for the moment. I hadn’t texted Alec; he’d actually reached out to me.
God, I was pathetic.
But at least I had a hot lunch date. I actually whistled on my way to get changed.
Alec
Gabe sighed in satisfaction as we strolled out of the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant he’d promised made the bestphoin Vermont. He hadn’t been lying. The day had been a little cooler than average for May, but I felt pleasantly warm and relaxed from the food. The strip mall sat only a few blocks from his condo, and it wasn’t a busy neighborhood. A few people out and about, a couple of cars passing. Clear skies, but windy. Pleasant. I drew a deep breath, getting mostly fresh air with only a little tang of car exhaust. Some days, Burlington almost managed to be bearable.
And Gabe…he managed to be more than bearable. Every time I saw him, he got more so. Usually I hated people after having to talk to them for more than ten minutes. Fifteen, on a good day. But the way Gabe smiled made me want to smile more than I had in years—and it hadn’t taken me long to figure out how vulnerable he was, under the hair and the piercings and the cocky, fuck-me attitude he put on a lot of the time. It made me careful with him, kinder and less abrasive than I tended to be.
More than that, it made mewantto be careful with him, and not out of some calculated act. Just because he deserved it.
“So what are you doing this weekend?” I asked. Christ, I was so lame. Standing here next to him, with the whole evening ahead of us if we wanted, and I’d already started thinking ahead to the next time I could see him.
Beside me, Gabe went a little tense, and I went from mellow to on alert in a second. No, I didn’t really think he had any nefarious plans, but…not completely out of the question. On the other hand, a date with another guy seemed far more likely.
And what the fuck was wrong with me, crack FBI special agent that I managed to be most of the time, that the former possibility bothered me way, way less than the latter?
“I have something on Friday night, but I’m mostly free,” he said after a moment, sounding a little strained.
Definitely full alert.
“Yeah? Should I call you on Saturday, or is this the kind of ‘something’ that goes into the next morning?”
Gabe stopped and looked up at me, his lips parted like his mouth had actually fallen open in shock.
Yeah, okay, I’d sounded like a jealous asshole, there. And I hadn’t even slept with him. What kind of crazy person kept sex off the table and then freaked out when the guy he’d been seeing got some elsewhere?
Oh, yeah. The kind of guy who’d gone undercover and couldn’t fuck his target without being an even huger dick.
“Are you seriously asking me if I’m planning to get laid on Friday night?” He sounded more shocked than pissed. I figured pissed would be coming next. “Because I could be, ifyouwanted to sleep with me,” he added, with a glare to really drive his point home. Yep, there it was.
“You said it was okay if we took it slowly, Gabe.” And he had, when I’d come over to his place to watch a movie the other day.
That didn’t mean he had to take it slowly with anyone else, though.
“And I meant that,” he said. “But—oh, forget it.” His shoulders slumped, and he turned away, gesturing up the hill. “Head back to my place, maybe?”
I fell into step with him, though I didn’t press my luck by trying to take his hand. “Look, if you have a date, it’s okay. But I’d like to know either way.”
“It’s not a date. It’s a family thing.”
Ah. That explained his attitude, and I felt like a hundred-pound weight had just lifted off my shoulders.
“Some swanky party for an investor my dad’s trying to schmooze,” Gabe added disconsolately.
My heart started to thump for a set of reasons totally different from the usual where Gabe was concerned. Fuck,finally. I’d been waiting to try to bring up the subject of his family’s company. For one, I’d needed to wait until he felt more comfortable with me, and for two, I’d needed a good opening. I’d hoped that after another week or two I might be able to casually broach the idea of visiting the company headquarters, hopefully by pretending an interest in the manufacturing aspect of the business—although his disgust for boats in general made that dicey. But maybe his interest in me would outweigh his distaste for anything with a hull.
I hadn’t even dared to hope for Gabe to introduce the subject himself.
“Sounds kind of boring,” I ventured, trying not to sound too eager. And it did, honestly, if I’d meant to pay attention to the party itself. Outside of work obligations, I’d rather babysit my sister’s kids after they’d spent the whole day eating pure sugar than fake-smile my way through a corporate cocktail party. “Where is this thing? Somewhere nice, at least?”
“At the factory, attached to the corporate office. They clear a space for parties, it’s actually really nice, and it gives the guests an inside view of the company’s operations. But it’s such bullshit. I always hate these things.”
The thumping went into triple-time. It couldn’t be more perfect. There would be all kinds of people wandering around and I could blend right into the crowd. Lots of strangers. Lots of people who didn’t work there, wandering off and getting ‘lost’ looking for the bathroom or a place to have a smoke. Even if someone caught me going where I wasn’t supposed to, it wouldn’t be that suspicious.
And I could scope out the company’s executives, maybe get a feel for them in person. Look for tall, dark-haired men who worked for Middleton and might match the photos in my file.
