The Book Stops Here (16 page)

“I don’t have much family,” Alex said. “Just an aunt who lives back east.”

She didn’t say much more about her past, just talked about the brokerage firm and some of the charity work she enjoyed.

“Shall I open another bottle of wine?” I asked.

“No, I should be going.” She glanced down at the floor. “And who’s this little darling?”

I followed Alex’s gaze and saw my kitten tugging at her orange shoelace. “Oh, that’s our newest resident. We haven’t named her yet.”

“She’s adorable.” Alex tweaked the kitty’s nose, then glanced at me. “Kittens should have happy names.”

“I agree.” I was pretty sure Alex could carve and slice up a business opponent with almost no effort, but I had a feeling that she was also cursed with a soft marshmallow middle. I could relate, and it made me like her even more.

With my friend Robin living so far away, it would be nice to have a new friend close by. Although I couldn’t help but wonder how Alex would react when my mother got ahold of her and tried to read her aura or tickle her chakras.

I reached out to pet the kitten, who batted my hand with her tiny paw. “What do you think of the name Cupcake?”

“I like it.” Alex laughed.

•   •   •

A
lex insisted that I keep the entire tiered tray of cupcakes for Derek and me to enjoy. That was how awesome friendships were created and nurtured.

Still, I made a weak attempt to convince her that I couldn’t possibly eat all the cupcakes. She simply gazed at me in silence and eventually I just sighed. Who was I kidding? Of course I could eat them. And Derek would help.

Alex was long gone and I was getting ready for bed when Derek finally finished up his conference call.

We talked as he hung up his suit jacket and undressed. He mentioned a new client his company was working with. I told him all about Alex, her cupcakes, her job.

I held back any mention of the naked man. Instead I said, “I forgot to tell you that I invited her to the party.”

“That was neighborly of you.” He glanced over at me. “Alex is short for what? Alexis? Alexandra?”

“Alexandra,” I said. “Alexandra Monroe.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Monroe. That name sounds familiar.”

“James Monroe was one of our Founding Fathers and an American president.”

“Thank you for that history lesson,” he said dryly.

“Marilyn Monroe was an iconic American actress of the nineteen fifties and sixties.”

He shook his head.

“Monroe. It’s both a doctrine and a shock absorber. And our new neighbor.”

“You’re a sassy wench.”

I laughed as the words rolled off his tongue. Amazing how
that British accent could make a cheeky insult sound like a heartfelt compliment.

“We have a lot in common,” I said, trying to return to the subject of the moment.

“You and James Monroe?”

“No, you nutball,” I said, still laughing. “Me and Alex. Our neighbor. I think you’ll like her. She loves books and reading and wine and good food. Wait till you try her cupcakes.”

“I plan to have one for breakfast.”

“Great idea.”

“I have a million great ideas. Here’s another one.” He climbed into bed, turned off the light, and pulled me close. It was late and I was sleepy and content, but something he’d said a minute ago was gnawing at a tiny corner of my brain. Finally, it hit me.

“You’re going to investigate her,” I said, affronted.

“Hmm?”

“That’s why you asked about her last name. You’re going to vet her, whether I agree to it or not. I think I should be insulted.”

Ever since someone I liked very much and invited into my home had turned out to be a vicious killer, Derek had been overly cautious about the people I allowed myself to befriend. I appreciated his concern but I believed I’d become a lot more discerning since then.

“Go to sleep, love.” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck and I didn’t want to think too much after that. But I was so going to give him grief in the morning.

Chapter Ten

Over coffee, eggs, and, yes,
cupcakes
the next morning, Derek and I discussed the last-minute plans for Saturday’s party. It promised to be a beautiful day in the Bay Area. The food order had been placed with Piccolo, our favorite local Italian deli, and the guest list was finalized. And speaking of guests, I broached the sore subject of him insisting on investigating Alex. “You should trust my judgment and leave her alone. I have a good feeling about her.”

But Derek wasn’t about to bend to my wishes. I could tell by the cute way he furrowed his brow. He probably considered it more of a stern look than a cute one, but what did he know?

“I do trust your judgment, darling, but this isn’t about that at all.” He reached out and caressed my cheek. “Indulge me. I’m merely concerned about keeping both you and our home safe from harm.”

I didn’t know how to counter that. Naturally, I appreciated his concern. I had suffered too many perilous moments over the past year, and we’d had several actual break-ins by bad people who’d damaged my stuff and scared me to death.

And in case my short-term memory was slipping, I had been
threatened twice just in the past few days. And the other person who’d been threatened along with me was dead!

Still, I was annoyed on general principle. I liked Alex a lot and I was sort of afraid that if Derek did investigate her, he might find something to prove me wrong about her. But it looked like I was going to have to live with the annoyance.

“All right, fine. But I hope she doesn’t find out about it.”

“She won’t find out,” he assured me. “It’s a normal background check, the sort that’s done when someone applies for a job or rents an apartment.”

“If you say so,” I muttered, knowing Derek’s background check was probably going to be a lot more thorough than he would admit. By tonight, thanks to his friends in high places like Interpol, MI6, the FBI, and the NSA, he would know what size shoe Alex wore, who her third-grade teacher was, and whether or not she had cheated on any spelling tests. Derek took our security very seriously. And who could blame him? Not me.

“When you meet Alex,” I said staunchly, “you’ll realize that all of this intrigue is unnecessary. She’s a good person.”

His eyes warmed. “I’m already feeling kindly toward her after tasting this cupcake.”

“Aren’t they amazing?”

“Yes,” he said, wiping away a few cake crumbs. “Truly amazing. Do you think she’ll bring more to the party?”

His voice was so tentative and hopeful that I began to laugh. “I’ll ask her.”

“And that’s why I love you.”

As I walked with him to the door a few minutes later, I remembered a subject I’d completely forgotten to bring up the night before. I didn’t quite know how to broach the subject, so I decided to take the direct route. “Derek, how do you feel about handcuffs?”

“They’re necessary in certain circumstances,” he said absently. He stopped at my desk, set down his briefcase, and opened it to
shift around some files. “They’re essential when apprehending a particular type of criminal. I try to leave it to the cops, but I do have a pair of my own in case of emergency.”

“You do? Right, of course you do.” I chewed on my lip, trying to figure out how to rephrase the question. “But I mean, have you ever worn them yourself?”

“Have I worn handcuffs?” He looked at me as if I had grown horns. “Of course not. And I hope I never do. The thought of being arrested and incarcerated sounds like the lowest circle of hell to me.”

“Boy, you’re right about that.” Feeling stupid now, I decided it was best to drop the subject. “Well, have a fun day at work.”

He snapped his briefcase shut and gazed at me. “What’s this all about, Brooklyn? Why the sudden interest in handcuffs?”

Oh, rats
. He wasn’t going to let it go. “All I meant was, do you like them, you know, for fun?”

“Handcuffs? For fun?” He stared at me for a long, weighty moment. Then he nodded slowly. “Ah.”

“What do you mean,
ah
? It’s nothing. Never mind.”

He took two pantherlike steps toward me, wearing a look that suggested he was still hungry and I was a yummy cupcake, and wrapped his hands around my upper arms. “Is there something you’d like to share with me, darling?”

“Share with you? No.” I blinked. “Oh. No! No, it’s not about me. Really, no. I was only asking because . . .” But I was suddenly reminded that he was intending to run a background check on Alex, so why should I give him any extra ammunition to use against her? “It’s nothing. Never mind. Oh, look at the time. You’re going to be late. Better go. Love you. Bye-bye.”

He laughed and began to run his hands slowly up and down my arms. “Do you honestly think I’m going to leave you now, with that subject hanging there in the wind?”

“What subject? Nothing’s hanging. There’s no wind. Off you
go now. Ciao.” I tried to push him toward the door. “
Hasta la vista,
baby. See you later. Go on. Am-scray.”

He yanked me into his arms and kissed me like no other man had ever kissed me before. I was breathless by the time he lifted his lips from mine.

He kissed my earlobe, then moved on to that tender spot under my jaw. He whispered, “Are you going to tell me why you’re so intrigued by the idea of wearing handcuffs?” The sensation of his breath against my neck was causing my knees to wobble.

“Okay, okay,” I said, giving in. It was no surprise to hear how gravelly my voice was and I had to cough to clear my throat. “This isn’t about you and me, I promise.”

Although I was willing to give it a try if he was. But wait: he was on his way to work and I had things to do.

What were we talking about? Oh yes. I had to take another deep breath and let it go before I could speak.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night,” I said, “but when I first went over to Alex’s place, I didn’t see her. Instead, I saw a man sitting all alone on her sofa.”

“A man?” His eyes narrowed. “What does this have to do with handcuffs?”

“He was . . . wearing them.”

“Wearing them. Handcuffs?”

“Yes, his hands were cuffed behind his back. And there was a piece of thick tape across his mouth.”

“What the—? Did you call the police?”

I shook my head. “No. I just left and came home.”

“You left him there?”

“I should, um, probably mention that he was naked.”

Derek stared at me, nonplussed. I believed this might have been the first time I’d ever seen him at a loss for words. It made me smile.

“Okay, I admit I was worried at first, but then he winked at
me. That’s all,” I said briskly. “End of story. Bye-bye. Enjoy your day.”

“Yes, I really should get going,” he said slowly. “But first I want to make sure I have a clear picture of what happened.”

“Okay.” He still had a grip on my arms and wasn’t going anywhere. And neither was I.

His gaze was trained on me. “You walked into Alex Monroe’s apartment last night and saw a naked man wearing handcuffs with a piece of tape over his mouth. And you didn’t tell me?”

“I meant to, but you were on that conference call and I didn’t want to disturb you. Besides, the guy looked perfectly happy. Like I said, he winked at me.”

“He winked at you.”

“Yes. It turns out he wasn’t in any danger.”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, there was the winking, plus he gave me the thumbs-up sign. And later, Alex told me all about it. She said she likes submissive men. So I guess that’s where the handcuffs question came from. Because, you know, inquiring minds want to know.”

He frowned. “You wanted to know if I was submissive?”

“Oh, God, no,” I said with a laugh. “You’re the last person in the world I’d call submissive. But still, I wasn’t sure about the whole naked, handcuff-wearing question.”

He tilted his head and pierced me with a questioning look. “So you’re asking whether I would be interested in getting naked, being bound and gagged, and then agreeing to sit passively on a couch as though I didn’t have a care in the world? While you did . . . what?”

I tried not to smile. “I hereby withdraw the question.”

“Not fair.”

“Alex says they do a role-playing game. She’s the Black Ops interrogator and he’s . . . well, I made her stop talking, so I’m not sure what role he gets to play.”

“Probably just as well,” he murmured. “But let’s be clear. I’m not submissive.”

I laughed. “That was clear from the first minute we met.”

Derek Stone was indeed the last person in the world I would ever call submissive. He was—how had Alex put it last night? He was a domineering alpha type and proud of it. Derek was the Big Dog. Leader of the Pack. He ruled not only the porch but the entire yard and all the fields beyond.

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad we’ve straightened that out.” He shot me a look. “We have straightened it out, haven’t we?”

“Yes, we have.” I nodded smartly.

“Excellent. But now this begs the question.”

I didn’t like that gleam in his eye. “What question would that be?”

He leaned closer and pressed his forehead against mine in an intimate gesture I had always found endearing. “How would
you
like to be naked on a couch, wearing handcuffs, darling Brooklyn?”

A shiver zigzagged up my spine and across my shoulders. “The handcuffs don’t appeal to me,” I said carefully. “But we could talk about the rest.”

He grinned wolfishly and kissed me once more. “That visual will stay with me all day.”

•   •   •

S
aturday was one of those exquisitely warm October days in San Francisco that made all the dreary cold and rainy days of winter worth it. The sky was a deep blue with barely a cloud to be seen from here to the horizon. A slight breeze blew in from the East Bay with just enough oomph to remind us that we did indeed live in cool San Francisco and not in some insipidly warm place down south.

It was so pretty outside that Derek and I decided to start the party upstairs on the rooftop patio. I dressed in a pale crocheted
top; a long, crinkly skirt; and strappy sandals. Derek seemed to approve.