Ms. Olsen gives me another cool smile as she looks me up and down. “I think I’ll tell my bosses that they had better keep Lars and Stella under observation for now.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “Just wait until he hears about this.”
She gives a tiny yap of laughter. “If you tell him, if you tell anyone, we will expose you. No one will even remember the story you tell because they will all be focused on the story of Sylvie Martin. And oh, what a story it is…”
I lift my chin. “I don’t know what you are talking about. Please, leave my apartment!”
She purses her lips. “We both know that isn’t true, Sylvie.”
Tears prick my eyes. “I mean it. I will call emergency services back.”
She sticks her hands in her pockets, moving forward slowly. I can’t step back so I stand my ground. Her eyes twinkle for a moment as she pulls one of her hands out, revealing a basic flip phone. She reaches out to me as she comes to stand in front of me.
“We will be in touch. Take care of Lars, Sylvie.”
My beat beats like a jackhammer in my chest. “I don’t want your phone.”
Ms. Olsen navigates around me, heading down the stairs. “Keep it close.”
As I look over my shoulder, she raises down the stairs and out the front entrance of my building. Glancing down at the black phone in my hand, I realize that I am shaking.
Who is Ms. Olsen?
What does she want?
Staring at the phone, I can’t come up with a single answer that makes sense.
12
Lars
“Try not to look like the car in front of you has done something to personally offend you,” I whisper into Pippa’s ear.
She blinks a few times, blushing as she looks at me. She clears her throat and runs a hand down her light pink dress, licking her lips. “Sorry,” she whispers back.
“And this car is the very first automobile to have rubberized wheels!” the older man leading our tour says. “You might think that the wheels look the same as they did in the last model, but I assure you they are not.”
Pippa looks around the massive white tent where we have been learning about Denmark’s part in the automotive boom. I check out Pippa while she isn’t looking, finding the way that pink fabric clings to her ass much more interesting than the history of cars.
We’ve been extremely awkward since she spent the night in my bed last week. I’ve been kicking myself for blowing my one chance with the woman of my dreams.
And Pippa has seemed wrapped up in something else altogether. I guess it’s better that way.
“Now if we move on to the next car, you will see that the shape looks a bit different…”
Pippa glances at me. I raise a brow. She leans close. “Please don’t make me listen to any more. I’m begging you, Lars.”
I can’t help but smile. “What, you’re not riveted to our guide’s dissertation on how some old cars were made of wood and…” I pretend to fall asleep, snoring mid-sentence.
She rolls her eyes. “Come on. If anybody asks, I’ll tell them I am not feeling well.”
My lips curve upward. “You deceptive little minx. Lead the way.”
One corner of Pippa’s mouth tugs down but she just sighs silently. Turning on her heel, she spins and makes her way toward the tent’s exit. I follow her as she weaves her way around half a dozen more old cars, then duck out of the tent into the bright sunshine. There are even more cars parked here, rows upon rows.
And these cars are much newer, much sexier, and much sportier than anything parked inside. Pippa glances back at me, arching a brow. “Isn’t this one of the cars that James Bond used to drive in the 1960s?”
I wander towards the baby blue Aston Martin, feeling cooler just by being near it. I run my hand along the door, whistling. “Yes, I believe it is.”
She wrinkles her nose. “You boys and your toys.” She steps closer to me, bringing her hand up to my neck to straighten my tie. “At least you look the part.”
My stomach sort of flip flops when she touches me. I play it cool, not reacting outwardly. “What? Devastatingly handsome?”
Her snort of good humor warms a little of the frost I’ve been feeling coming from her direction. “I just meant you were wearing a suit.”
I put my hands behind my back, twisting my spine to survey