Page 34 of Canvas of Lies
“While I’d be delighted to give you more opportunities for carnal bliss, we need to sort at least a few things out, Nico dear. Most pressing, in my opinion, is informing Erin that I’m okay and she doesn’t need to check up on me. If she shows up at myapartment with soup and cold medicine and I’m not there, she’s going to think I was abducted by a serial killer.”
I grimaced. “I know. Just give me a second to mourn the death of my ransom plan.”
“Would you rather have a SWAT team show up outside?” she asked dryly. “If you’re not sending a message to my father and letting him be responsible for keeping Erin from calling the cops, we’ll need to do it ourselves. I’ve almost never taken a day off of work, nevermind being randomly out of touch for days at a time.”
I knew she was right, but shutting the door on all my years of planning was still a harsh blow.
“You never take a day off?” I asked, fully aware that I was stalling.
Kat was equally aware, if her glare was anything to go by. “Not really. Look, we’ll come up with a plan, Nico, I promise you. But it’s not going to be trading me for the painting.”
With a groan, I conceded. “Fine. You can use my phone to call or text her if you really have to.”
She leaned forward and kissed me, the kind of kiss that sent all conscious thought straight out of my brain. When she finally pulled back, I must have looked as dazed as I felt, because she grinned.
“We’ll figure this out. Together.”
I ran my hands along her bare legs, from knee to hip. “You’re right. But first, I don’t think I’ll be able to focus on the problem at hand until you put some pants on.”
Laughing, Kat obliged.
Chapter Twelve
Kat
AfterIreturned,Nicoseemed just as distracted as before. When I questioned him about it, he said it was because he was all too conscious of my naked body hiding beneath a layer of cotton. He even closed his eyes while I made the call to my assistant from his phone.
Erin answered on the first ring, acting like I must be at death’s door to have taken a day off—which was fair, since my last sick day had involved a dangerously high fever and a bout of dehydration requiring IV fluids. It happened only three weeks after Erin started working for me, and it had taken her hours to convince me to go to the clinic in town.
Shit. Maybe Nico was right to mock my rigid routine.
“Boss! I was getting ready to call the hot firefighter down the hall to come check on you. How are you feeling?”
“Better. I should be back on Monday. Everything’s going okay there with the auctions?”
“I’m all over it. If you need another day to recover, I can handle things Monday, too. I don’t want you pushing it when you’re sick.”
Guilt slithered through my belly. “I’ll be okay, but I’ll let you know if things change. Enjoy what’s left of your weekend, boss’s orders.”
She called a cheery farewell that made me feel even worse for lying.
When I tossed Nico the phone and dropped down beside him on the couch, I asked, “Is Pokey just sitting around, waiting for your next instruction or something? Standing on call for your orders?”
Nico burst into startled laughter. “Oh, shit, I can’t wait to tell Gumby you’re calling him that, but no. I sent him home. I just didn’t want your father or any of the neighborhood gossips seeing my car at your shop.”
“So Pokey knows about the painting?”
“He does.”
“And what does he think I’m doing here?” I asked, certain he was hiding something.
“I might’ve given him the impression I was planning some kind of romantic little getaway the entire time, enacting a fantasy of yours. You know, being whisked away to a remote location for a little tryst.”
He was lying—I knew it as surely as I knew he’d lied about putting down two aces during our game of Bullshit. Still, there was something in his eyes, a certain vulnerability, so I was willing to let it slide.
For now. Gumby, Pokey, whoever he was, knew more than Nico was willing to admit.
“You’re the one here making cute little quips about tying me up, you jerk. If anyone’s fantasy is coming into play, it’s yours,” I replied.
