Suspects(23)

“Well, I am,” she said proudly. “I used to love them when I was a little girl. You know what’s funny? You don’t look like a lawyer.” He was embarrassed to be lying to her.

“I don’t? Why not?”

“I don’t know. You look like something bigger. Like a ship’s captain, or a military person, someone you can count on who would keep you safe. Lawyer seems too tame for you.”

“It’s just my height.”

“What did you do in the navy?”

“I flew fighter planes for a while, got a master’s degree, and then I wound up in military intelligence.”

“Was that interesting?” She was intrigued.

“Very.” His eyes came alive as he said it. His intelligence shone brightly, as hers did. He was eleven years older than she was, but they felt the same age and had the same landmarks, or similar ones. “Maybe I should give up law and become a ship captain.” She laughed and they ate most of the banana split.

“It was a perfect dinner. Next time, if you invite me again, I want to try the southern-fried chicken or the meatloaf. But I think we should stick with the banana split.” It was fun and nostalgic for her to be eating American food.

“Agreed. Do you come to New York often?” he asked hopefully.

“Not really. I run it all from Paris. It works very well. I haven’t traveled in a while. I’m trying to get my bearings. This trip was good for me.” She looked at him, and she could tell that he knew the reasons why she hadn’t traveled. She was grateful she didn’t need to tell him. She didn’t want to spoil the evening. She had had fun with him. “Did you play football in college?” she asked. He looked like he might have.

“Yes, for Notre Dame.”

“I thought so.” She smiled at him. “All I did was study my ass off. I spent four years in the library. I didn’t have much fun. I was very serious then.”

“I’m not sure I had fun either. I had a football scholarship for college and joined the navy for graduate school. I liked the navy better, while I was flying fighter planes. And working in military intelligence was exciting.” They smiled at each other and he paid the check. He hated to have the evening end. There was so much more to learn about her. And even without words, they were comfortable. He put an arm around her shoulders lightly when they left the diner, and she didn’t object. Mike was relieved to see her driver was still waiting outside.

“Do you have a driver in Paris?” he asked her seriously, and she looked embarrassed when she nodded.

“I do, and several bodyguards…It’s an unfortunate necessity.”

“Keep it that way, Theo. Be careful, please,” he said gently but with urgency in his voice, and she looked up at him and nodded. She felt so many things with him, so much in common, and she felt so safe standing next to him. She felt protected, and there was a current running between them that she couldn’t explain, like a kind of electricity from a powerful source beyond her control.

“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” she said as he walked her to her car and opened the door.

“Come back soon,” he said, bending down to her, his face close to hers. She was shocked to realize that she would have kissed him if he dared, but she was relieved that he didn’t. It was just meant to be a simple dinner between new friends, but she wasn’t sure what it was now. It had the potential to be something dangerous and wonderful. She wasn’t ready for that and he knew it, and all the reasons why. “Take care of yourself,” he said.

“I will. You too,” she said. “Life can be dangerous, more than you know. Be careful, Mike. I’ll be back for another banana split, and I want to find you here.” She had a terror of people disappearing now.

“You will,” he promised. He stood back from the car, and she waved as they pulled away from the curb. He hailed a cab and thought about her all the way back to his apartment. She was magical, and the evening with her had been amazing, and nothing like what he thought it would be. It was all so simple and easy because she was, and he suddenly believed what they said about soulmates. But how could that be? He was a senior CIA agent, and she was one of the richest women in Europe, and possibly the world. There was no way it could ever be more than what they’d just shared. Dinner at a diner, burgers and a banana split. He felt like a kid as he ran up the stairs to his apartment, three at a time. He hadn’t done that in years.





Chapter 6


Theo flew back to Paris the morning after her dinner with Mike at the diner. She used the card he had given her the night they met for his email address, and sent him an email to thank him. She really had had a lovely time, maybe more than she should have. She felt guilty when she thought about it on the flight. She was so attracted to him, and felt such a strong connection between them. It felt like a betrayal of Matthieu each time she thought about Mike.

But she was also well aware now of what Matthieu had been up to in Moscow with the actress. She had only discovered it after his death, so they had never been able to talk about it. She was sure he would have told her that it didn’t mean anything to him. It wasn’t the first time it had happened. He wasn’t a constant cheater, but he had had his forays into infidelity from time to time, and he was very French about it. As far as he was concerned, as long as he didn’t love the girl, it didn’t matter. But it did to Theo, and it mattered now. She still felt like a married woman, and wondered how long that would last. For five years or ten or a lifetime. Even after his death, she considered herself married. But she had never felt as powerful an attraction as she had to Mike. She wasn’t even sure how much they had in common. They came from different backgrounds. He was a lawyer, an interesting, educated person with a varied history. He seemed very understanding about human foibles, and the vagaries of fate.