Brown-Eyed Girl (Travis Family #4)(59)

“I’m leaving for a girls’ night out” came Sofia’s voice as I went downstairs.

“With who?”

“Val and some other friends.” Sofia was busy rummaging through her handbag. “Dinner, a movie, and probably drinks afterward.” She glanced at me and grinned. “I may crash at Val’s place. You’ll want the whole house to yourself once Joe sees you in that outfit.”

“He may tell me off for the prank I pulled, and leave right afterward.”

“I don’t think so.” Sofia blew me a kiss. “Remember the plane,” she said, and left.

Wandering around the empty house, I turned down most of the lights, lit some candles in blown-glass votives, and poured a glass of wine. As I sat on the sofa in front of the TV, Coco climbed up a little set of steps to sit next to me.

We were about a third of the way into a movie when the doorbell rang.

Coco trotted down the sofa steps and hurried to the front door with an abbreviated yap. My nerves jangled wildly as I stood and followed, carrying my wineglass. After taking a deep breath, I cracked open the door to find Joe leaning against the door frame. He was heart-stoppingly handsome in a dark suit, dress shirt, and tie.

“Oh, hello,” I said in a tone of mild surprise, opening the door a couple of inches wider. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m supposed to take pictures at a fund-raising event tonight. But just as I was leaving, I found out my camera bag was empty. Except for this.” Joe held up a piece of paper covered with letters that had been cut from a magazine and arranged ransom-note style. It read:

Call me or the camera gets it.

“Happen to know anything about this?” he asked.

“I might.” As I stared into his dark eyes, I saw to my relief that he wasn’t angry. In fact, I got the impression that he was considerably entertained.

“This was an inside job,” Joe said. “Jack has a key to my place, but he knows better. So it had to be Ella who helped you.”

“I admit nothing.” I opened the door fully. “Would you like to come in for a glass of wine?”

Joe was about to reply, but his gaze had flickered to the valley of my cleavage and my half-exposed breasts, and then he couldn’t seem to look away.

“Wine?” I prompted.

Joe blinked and forced his gaze back up to my face. He had to clear his throat before replying. “Please.”

Coco trotted back to the sofa as Joe and I went to the kitchen.

“You were expecting company?” Joe asked, seeing the extra wineglass waiting beside the open bottle.

“One never knows.”

“One knows the chances are pretty high when a three-thousand-dollar Nikon is missing.”

“It’s safe.” I poured some chilled pinot grigio and gave it to him.

Joe took a swallow, the crystal stem of the wineglass glimmering in his strong fingers.

Being with him again, having him within arm’s reach, filled me with an emotion bordering on exhilaration. For me, happiness was as elusive and fragile as one of those balloons Eli had once brought Sofia. At the moment, however, it seemed to have been woven all through me, stitched deep in my bones and muscles, enriching my blood.

“I hope I’m not making you late for your event,” I said.

“It was canceled.”

“When?”

A smile touched his lips. “About a minute and a half ago.” He set aside his wine, then took off his jacket and draped it over the backrest of a bar stool. Next the shirt cuffs were unbuttoned and rolled up twice, revealing forearms dusted with dark hair. Excited flutters awakened in my stomach as he proceeded to remove his tie.

After unfastening his top shirt button, Joe picked up his wineglass and gave me a level glance. “I haven’t called because I’ve been trying to give you space.”

I tried to sound injured. “There’s a difference between giving someone space and ignoring them.”

“Honey, I’m not ignoring you, I’m trying not to act like a stalker.”

“Why didn’t you kiss me after we went out the other day?”

The creases at the outer corners of his eyes deepened. “Because I knew that if I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop. You may have noticed that I have trouble putting on the brakes with you.” He stood and took hold of the sides of my chair, effectively caging me. “Now that you’ve taken my camera hostage… what kind of ransom are we talking about?”

I had to work up my nerve before replying. “I think we should negotiate upstairs. In my bedroom.”

Joe contemplated me for a long moment before shaking his head. “Avery… when it happens, I’m going to want things that are hard for you to give. It’ll be different from the first time. And I can’t take the chance that you’re not ready.”

I rested my hands on his forearms, taut with corded strength. “I’ve missed you,” I said. “I missed talking to you at night and hearing about your day, and telling you about mine. I’ve even been dreaming about you. Since you’re already occupying some of my head space, we might as well sleep together.”

Joe was very still, his gaze locked on my reddening face. By now he knew how difficult it was for me to admit how I felt.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” I continued, “but I know that I trust you. And I know that I want to wake up with a man in my bed tomorrow morning. Specifically you. So if you —”