The Sapphire Affair (Jewel #1)(52)

Steph swatted his arm. Jake’s very strong, very muscular, very toned arm. “No! She didn’t join me in the bathroom. But she waited for me. To give me a goddamn sex toy,” she said, thrusting the velvet pouch at him.

Jake raised his eyebrows. “Tell me more.”

She shot him a stare that could crumble steel. “Go ahead. Look inside. Feel free.”

He shrugged happily and opened the drawstring. “That’s what we call sneaking in through the back door.”

Despite her irritation, she managed a small laugh. “For a minute there, I almost thought we had the answer to where the diamonds are. But this gem is fake.”

“Somewhere out there, though, someone is making gold-plated dildos. Diamond-encrusted vibrators. Rabbits filled with real pearls,” he said, shaking his head in mock wistfulness as they headed to her car. “Speaking of diamonds in the house, did you have any success?”

She cut him off, slicing her hand through the air. “No. No. No. And more no. Did you not hear me? The sex-toy mistress practically clung to me, and then I was very nearly subjected to a discussion of Eli’s predilections.” She dragged a hand through her hair in frustration. “I did not find the bowlful of diamonds, so we’ll have to go back again, and my champagne buzz is nearly gone, so I could really use a Cherry Popsicle.”

“Is that code for a ruby-encrusted—”

“No. There’s a bar along the beach that serves frozen cherry margaritas and they’re called Cherry Popsicles because they’re made around a frozen block of cherry ice, and when you get to the end you can suck on the Popsicle in the middle of it, and if I do not get one stat, my brain will be permanently branded with images of my stepfather’s fiancée holding that thing,” she said, gesturing wildly at the black pouch.

“Fair enough. To the Cherry Popsicle purveyor we go. Do they have ice cream? I do love a good ice-cream cone.”

“I’ll find you ice cream, Jake.”

“By the way, what’s a bandage dress? Is that like a dress made out of Band Aids?”

She heaved a sigh. “No. It’s a style. It’s very clingy and tight, but the fabric is sturdy,” she said, stopping to point to her breasts as if to show how a bandage dress would hug her curves.

He cleared his throat, and when she looked up, she saw him looking down.

At her boobs.

“I forgot. You’re a boob starer. Didn’t mean to tempt you, since you’re trying to stay on the wagon.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “One, you say that like it’s a bad thing. Two, you have fantastic breasts. And three, do you blame me? You were waving your hands in front of them. I had no choice but to stare at them.”

She tugged his arm and resumed her walk, wishing she didn’t like it so much that he enjoyed the view.

Once inside the car, he smiled at her like a cat who’d caught the tastiest mouse in the universe.

“What?” She held her arms out wide. “What’s the smile for? The velvet pouch? The boob stare?”

“Just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

His grin spread across his whole handsome face. It lit up his eyes. They twinkled with mischief. “The diamonds aren’t in the house. We don’t have to go back.”

She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“You did an excellent job.”

“At what?” The hair on her arms stood on end.

“At getting info about the first floor of the house.”

“Jake, what are you getting at? Just say it,” she said. “What do you mean about the first floor?”

He shrugged happily. “I took care of the second floor.”

Her eyes popped, her jaw dropped, and her brain went haywire. “What?”

“I climbed in through the second-story window and checked out his office. Want to know what he keeps in his safe?”

Equal parts surprise and curiosity ripped through her. “You were in there the whole time I was there, and you didn’t tell me?”

“I wanted you to be able to act natural and not worry about my poking around upstairs and trying to break into a safe.”

“You tricked me again!” she shouted, grateful they were in her car, parked at the end of the block.

“That’s one way to look at it. But I like to think I was protecting you.”

“From what?” She crossed her arms.

“From you inadvertently letting on that the guy you’re teamed up with was sneaking around upstairs and cracking your stepdad’s safe.”

She shook her head and breathed out hard. She couldn’t believe that’s what he had been up to while she was parked in the midst of the sex-toy ladies. But yet, she couldn’t deny his plan was brilliant. Nor could she deny her curiosity any longer.

“What did you find?”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. The wrapper said it was from Ecuador. “He has a few dozen of these in his safe, along with his passport. I grabbed one from the top. Didn’t want him to notice they were gone and start worrying.”

She studied the chocolate, tapping the bar. “That’s the chocolate he invested in that went belly-up, right?”