the colorful flowers Karen Donovan favored.
Pushing off the stool, Lucy wandered over for a closer look. The plant’s broad leaves brought back memories of the jungle.
Half cautious, half intrigued, she reached for the envelope and extracted the message inside, a tremor in her fingers.
To Lucy, my love. Keep it alive.
With a startled glance at the sturdy-looking plant, she recalled what she’d said to him on their last day at the casita. People like us don’t do relationships. I can’t keep a houseplant alive.
Stroking a dark leaf, she found it silky to the touch and oddly comforting. She’d do better than just keep it alive. A determined smile touched the edges of her mouth.
Glancing up, she caught Drake’s thoughtful gaze and grinned at him.
Cell phones weren’t allowed in the CIA’s new headquarters building. While debriefing her boss and attending meetings that had anything to do with South America, Lucy stored her phone in the glove compartment of her new SUV, a Toyota Land Cruiser. Checking for missed calls was the first thing she did at the end of each day. Today, she eyed the number of her single missed call with a prick of hope.
A shiver of anticipation rippled through her as she accessed her voice mail. At the sound of Gus’s velvety baritone, she closed her eyes in relief. Finally! He had kept his promise.
“So, Luce,” he said, sounding hesitant and excited at the same time, “how about that date you promised me? Call me back,” he said succinctly.
Good thing she wasn’t expecting hearts and flowers. Hitting the TALK button, she started up her vehicle, prepared to drive whatever distance was required to see him.
“Is that you, Ethel?” he answered with a smile in his voice.
“Hey, Freddy,” she replied, her heart leaping with joy. “You wanted to see me?”
“Hell, yes, I want to see you.” His urgency was reassuring. “Can you make it to the Mellow Mushroom in Tyson’s Corner in an hour?”
He was here in northern Virginia? Lucy glanced at her car clock. “I can make it in fifteen minutes,” she told him, her heart pounding.
“I’ll be waiting,” he said, hanging up.
With a glance over her shoulder, Lucy peeled out of her parking place, laying rubber on the asphalt as she raced for the exit. Speeding along the George Washington Parkway, she glanced at her reflection and grinned.
Life was good. Two weeks in civilization had put some badly needed flesh on her bones. Her skin, once ravaged by insect bites, looked smooth and clear. Vitamin supplements had put the sheen back in her dark hair. She would have liked to have worn something sexier than this lavender linen suit, but it would do for a first date.
Twelve minutes later, she exited the Beltway at Tyson’s Corner. The Mellow Mushroom, a new restaurant, stood adjacent to the shooting gallery where she’d qualified as an expert markswoman seven years straight. With a minute to spare, she bounced into the parking lot, pulling her SUV into a spot near the back, close to a beat-up black Honda.
She’d bet her next paycheck the car belonged to Gus.
Looping her purse on her shoulder, she paused long enough to strap her Ruger onto her thigh—Never leave home without it. Never again, anyway. Then she marched toward the restaurant’s entrance, projecting confidence.
They could do this. In spite of what they both did for a living, they could make a relationship work. Sparing a smile for the hostess, she brushed past her, searching the bohemian-style restaurant for Gus’s dark head.
Across the room, their gazes collided, and Lucy’s heart stopped, resuming its beat with a thud.
From a table topped with a dozen roses, Gus shot to his feet and grinned as she bore down on him. In lieu of jungle cammies, he wore a tan knit shirt and jeans. His jaw was clean-shaven, his hair shorn and combed. He looked so ordinary and domesticated that she had to laugh as she threw herself at him.
“What?” he said, grinning as he folded her into his embrace in front of the handful of spectators. He kissed her soundly on the lips. “You look beautiful,” he murmured, pulling her close again.
“I was thinking the same thing,” she purred, wishing they were alone somewhere. His scent, his touch notched her desire to dangerous levels.
He seemed suddenly conscious of the attention they were getting. “Have a seat,” he said, pulling out a chair for her. “I’ve been sitting here a while waiting for your call.”
Lucy eyed the spray of red roses with amazement.