“Where was your job interview?” His voice rumbled through the room.
“A jewelry designer.” I sighed. “I really wanted it, too.”
“Is that what you were doing at the café? Filling out job applications?”
My cheeks heated at the reminder that he had been watching me. “Yeah. I didn’t expect to hear back from them so quickly.”
“When did you hear from them?” His eyes narrowed.
“This morning. I barely had enough time to get ready.” I stirred the pot on the stove. “I wonder if I would’ve gotten the job?”
“Had you made it, I’m betting they wouldn’t have had any idea why you were there.”
“What do you mean?” I turned to look at him, for a moment thinking he was implying I wasn’t good enough for the position.
“It was a set up. They were drawing you out so they could make the hit.”
“But—”
“Think about it, Ava. What are the odds that someone would call you before normal business hours to ask you to come in for an interview?” His head cocked to the side. “They were hoping to take you out without causing a scene. The garage was typically empty at that time of the morning.”
My mouth opened and then closed. “How could they…”
“Hacking into email isn’t difficult.” He walked to the sink and rinsed his bowl. “I should know.”
“But—but.” I shook my head. “So I didn’t get the job interview?”
“Is that the part that upsets you the most?” His smile mocked me and I glared at him.
“I really wanted it. I wanted to get a job so I could get a work visa.” I leaned my hip against the counter and crossed my arms.
“You don’t plan on going back to the States?”
“I won’t have a choice if I can’t find a job.” I turned back to the stove and stirred the pot again. I was still shocked that I had been set up, that my computer had been hacked, and I had no idea. How long had the woman in red heels been following me? The doorman had been at the building since I’d arrived during a thunderstorm with nothing but my carry-on bags.
“Don’t you have a job and family back home?” He moved a little closer and I could feel his eyes on me like a caress. It was so odd to look at him and find the balance between the murderous monster that lurked behind his eyes and the gentle manner with which he looked at me.
I shrugged.
“No?”
“No family. Quit my job.” I looked up at him, surprised that he was so close. “When Tess got married I realized I needed to change. Stop doing all of the same things. Try something new.”
“Seems like you’re accomplishing your goal.” The laughter in his voice made me meet his stare.
“I guess so.” I felt the corners of my mouth turning up. “Killing people in garages, a mad car chase through London…guess I can mark those off my to-do list now. You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”
“And I’m not even trying yet.”
“Yet?” Did my voice sound heavy? I looked up at him.
“Yet.” Hunger lit his eyes. Oh my.
“That so?” I bit my bottom lip.
“So.” He reached out and brushed some of the hair away from my face.
We stood there like that for a few minutes, our gazes locked as we contemplated each other. The hiss of the soup boiling over broke the moment and I turned around to turn the stove off. Owen grabbed a rag from the sink and cleaned up the mess while I dished food into our bowls.
“Is there any reason someone would be after your friend?” Owen leaned against the corner before spooning some of the soup into his mouth.
“Tess? God, no. Everyone loves her.” I pursed my lips. “I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt her.”
“What about her husband?”
“Danny?” My initial reaction was to say the same thing. Danny was funny, personable, and put everyone at ease. But the truth was, I didn’t know him very well. He and Tess had only dated for a few months before deciding to elope. “I don’t know.”
“What does he do?” Owen set his empty bowl in the sink.
“He’s a contractor. Builds things.”
“What type of things?” Owen cocked his head to the side. “Maybe he’s upset someone.”
“Upset someone? Danny is one of the easiest guys to get along with, I can’t imagine he would do something that would upset someone that badly without trying to make it right.” I needed to talk to Tess. I was terrified she would wander into a terrible situation and be completely blind.
“Maybe he doesn’t know that he’s done something wrong.”
“Then I’m not going to know what it is.” I shook my head and added my empty bowl to the sink. “For that matter, maybe I’ve done something and I just don’t know what it is.”
“Have you gone anywhere unusual, met any abnormal people?” He turned the water on and started cleaning the dishes. “Other than me?” He threw me a smile that had me shaking my head.
“Not that I know of.” I plucked the clean bowl from his hand and the towel from his shoulder. I thought it over as I dried and he cleaned. Where all had I been, what had I done? Nothing outlandish or uncommon came to mind. The typical tourist traps and landmarks in London, but hadn’t really had much contact with anyone other than Rachel at the café.