Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(5)
“A pleasure, Miss Cain.” She smiled, and two dimples indented her cheeks reminding me of Gabe’s. She turned toward Vance, and they set in a bit deeper. “And you must be Vance DeLuca.” She giggled.
Vance smiled wide, and his large hand swallowed hers. Her lacquered fingernails were a deep aubergine, a stark contrast against her creamy skin. “I am. It’s very nice to meet you.”
They both stood motionless, staring at each other. An irrational desire to smack their hands apart came over me, but I cleared my throat instead. She laughed again and released his hand.
“Anyway, welcome,” she purred. “Oliver just got back from meeting with a trainer and a masseuse. He’s showering. Make yourselves comfortable, and he’ll be down in a minute. Can I get you something while you wait?”
“No, thank you, we’re fine,” I said for the both of us.
She waved her arm, welcoming us into a spacious living room while a phone rang in her palm. She raised it to her ear. “Oliver Pierce’s phone.” It was said with such fluidity, she must have spoken it a thousand times.
Vance and I walked across large, wooden-looking tiles as Cici stepped into the kitchen. The walls were an inviting shade, and random pieces of original artwork were hung about. A sofa floated near a twisted staircase and sat next to ceiling-high windows looking out onto a private wrap balcony. Outside was a breathtaking view of Kentucky and the restaurants lining their shores.
Cici covered the mouthpiece of the phone and whispered, “Have a seat if you’d like.” She walked up the flight of stairs near the couch to the second level. Her square heeled boots tapped on each step until she reached the top where they became muted. Vance took a seat in an overstuffed, coffee-colored leather chair facing the windows, and I stood next to him with my arms crossed.
“Really nice.”
Vance looked at me with pinched brows. “What?”
I dropped my voice low to mimic his. “‘It’s very nice to meet you.’ And you were reminding me that we were working.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Like you don’t know. She’s probably eighteen, barely legal.”
His eyes opened wide. “Um, okay. I shook the girl’s hand and said hi. If you saw something else going on, I think that’s something in your girl brain.”
I groaned. “Your eyes practically bulged out of your head, but whatever. Try to keep it professional.”
He shook his head and acted like I was crazy, but I know what I saw. I walked over to the double doors leading to the balcony, turning my back to him, and watched a barge creep down the river. From above, I heard the first real sounds of Oliver Pierce’s voice. Deep baritone and smooth, it grew louder as he descended the stairs. The closer he got, the harder my heart pounded. The opportunity most women would kill for was about to be mine.
“Sorry to keep you guys waiting,” he said as his bare foot touched the floor beside me. I squeezed my fists to keep them from shaking. Perfectly tattered, faded jeans hugged his hips, and a white oxford shirt was open enough to give a peek at his well-muscled chest. His usual brown hair was damp, but showed subtle blonde highlights on the tips, something new added to his appearance for his current role. “I’m moving a little bit slower this morning after the accident last night.” He held out his hand. “Oliver Pierce, but please call me Oliver. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Diana…Cain. It’s really nice to meet you too.” I shook his hand and reveled in the fact that I was really touching him. “I heard about your accident this morning. Glad to see you weren’t hurt.” I smiled so big my cheeks started to hurt.
“Yeah, me too.” He chuckled, flashing me a smile more striking than anything I’d seen on the big screen. “I’m sure the director would have loved a delay in filming before filming got started.”
My mind raced with a million things to say, but every time I opened my mouth nothing came out. Thousands of people had probably uttered the same flattering and completely unoriginal phrases. “Um, this is Vance DeLuca,” was what I finally settled on. Vance had appeared at my side chuckling under his breath.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Oliver took his hand. “I was going to try to stay under the media radar and lay low this trip, but after last night, I more or less broadcast my presence to the entire city, shooting my lofty ambitions into oblivion. My assistant called around. Your company has quite the reputation.”
“Diana and I are the best you can get, rest assured.”
“Happy to have you two watching my back.” He sat on the couch and rested his elbows on his knees.
Vance reached into his pocket. “Before we get started, I wanted to offer you something new from our company, if you’re interested.” He handed him something small and rectangular.
“What’s this?” Oliver inspected it.
“It has a tracking chip embedded in it. If you’re ever separated from us, we’ll be able to find you.” Vance glanced at me and saw my pinched expression. “I’ll tell you all about it later. You missed the meeting.”
Oliver looked it over a bit more and frowned. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’d need something like this. Maybe sometime I won’t want to be found.” He twitched his brows and flashed a half-smile.