Chapter 75

He was sitting on the bench beneath the lime tree, one leg crossed languidly over the other in the way that only really tall people seemed able to manage. He was diddling with a Device but he looked up as Cole skidded to a halt and smiled at her. Not his usual polite, half-smile, but a real one, all heat and unhindered pleasure.

She'd given him that.

“So this is you?” His eyes did the full sweep, making her shiver. His unrestrained attention wasn’t quite comfortable—Cole was too worried about coming up short—but it was somehow exciting at the same time. She wanted to be worth looking at. For him.

“Cole, reporting for duty, sir.” She threw a pretty camp-looking salute. “Did I make it?”

For a moment, she thought it might have been nothing but an empty game, but he glanced down at his screen, checking the time, before he answered. “Yes. Four minutes, sixteen seconds.”

“What if I hadn’t?”

“That would be telling.” He tucked his tech