“They’re inside the bar.”
Zander focused on Spencer, who was waiting for him on the sidewalk outside of Octavia’s.
He really hated leaving Caroline behind. It was for the best, of course. There was no way she could come here and not be recognized. But he knew she felt left out. He had no qualms about her staying at Trahan’s. The guys would not only take great care of her, but they'd make sure she had a good time. Still, he’d have to make it up to her later.
His body hummed with anticipation. Which was also selfish. But he wanted her more than he wanted his next breath, and if he couldn't let her be a part of this reconnaissance mission then he could at least show her a good time tonight. Trahan’s would be fun for her and then they’d go do something fun before he took her home and fucked her until she couldn’t move.
“Hello? Zander?”
He focused on Spencer. “It's just two of them so far?”
“Yeah, looks like they’re waiting at the bar for the table to be ready and the other two to join them.”
“Were you able to get us a table?”
“Yeah, but of course I have no idea how close we’ll be to them.”
“It’ll be up to Max to get as much information as she can.”
“Yeah, great. Our intel is in the hands of a cop-hating journalist who bribed us to tag along tonight,” Spencer said dryly.
Zander laughed. “More specifically an agent-hating journalist.”
“You think she likes you?”
“I think she likes me more than she likes you.”
“She doesn’t hate cops. Or agents. In general.”
They both turned as Max approached them from the corner of the restaurant.
“She wouldn’t like you no matter what your profession was. If that makes you feel better,” Max said, coming to stand in front of them.
Spencer didn’t reply right away. Because he was staring at her.
Zander understood why.
She looked amazing.
But Spencer frowned. “Seriously?”
She looked down at herself then up at him. “What?”
“I thought you were going for sad and pathetic and not noticeable.”
She looked down again. She was wearing an animal print skirt with a silky black blouse and ankle-high black boots. Her hair was in two braids and she carried a large black nondescript bag.
“Don't worry, I’ve got this.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of glasses that she slipped on her nose. The black rims made her green eyes look even bigger. Then she withdrew a huge paperback book of crossword puzzles and a pencil that she tucked behind her ear.
“Crossword puzzles?” Spencer asked.
“I'll have you know that I'm a champion.”
“A champion what?”
“A crossword puzzle champion.”
“How does being really good at crosswords do anything for us?”
“I’m not just really good. I’m a champion,” she told him. “I won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament last year. And the year before. I’m also the champion of the Louisiana crossword puzzle league for the fourth year in a row.”
“You don't even say that with a hint of humor.”
“That's because I'm not joking.”
Spencer just blinked at her. Max tipped her head and studied him.
“You don't think the skirt is a little on the nose?” he finally asked.
So they were done talking about crossword puzzles. Zander found all of this far more amusing than he should, he knew. But he couldn’t wait to tell his brothers about Spencer having the hots for a girl who did crosswords for fun. And took her champion status very seriously. And probably had a vocabulary twenty times bigger than his own.
Zander wondered if she had trophies.
“I told you it was going to be a conversation starter,” Max said, smoothing a hand over her shirt.
“You're just gonna walk up to them and start talking about cheetahs because you’re wearing that skirt?”
“Probably not. Since this is a leopard print,” she said with an eyeroll.
“For fuck’s sake,” Spencer muttered.
“I'm going to go sit by them at the bar with my earbuds in—without any music of course—and do my crossword puzzles and act like I’m being stood up. I'm going to just be a dorky girl who’s not worth them even paying any attention to. Trust me, I’ve got this.”
“But you think they’ll talk about all of this animal stuff with you sitting right there?”
“I think my skirt will make them make some stupid comment which will lead into the conversation. But because I’m a young woman, who seems beneath them, it won’t even occur to them that I have any interest in the conversation. Rich white men have a way of running their mouths, and their egos often get in the way of being careful.”
“I think you’re a little crazy,” Spencer told her.
Max pushed the glasses up her nose with her middle finger. “Better men than you have told me that.”
“I'm sure that's true.” He sighed. “I'm going to say okay to this. Only because I don't have a better plan at the moment.”
“I don't really care if you're okay with it or not.” She turned on her heel and started for the door.
“And by the way,” Spencer called after her. “Not sure you really understand the blending in thing. You look very…noticeable.”
She shot him a grin. “I actually think that's just you, Special Agent.”
Then she disappeared into the restaurant.
Zander watched Spencer watch her through the large windows. The entire way to the bar. Every single step.
Zander pulled his phone from his pocket and texted Caroline.
Does Max really not know she's gorgeous?
A moment later Caroline replied. LOL. She really doesn't. Grew up the skinny redheaded nerd. Don’t think she’s really grown out of that idea.
Well, Spencer’s noticed.
And so have you, apparently.
Yeah, but just in passing. I go for blondes. In tiaras. Who steal lions.
That’s too bad. I had a lion, but he wasn't stolen. He was a gift.
Zander was grinning as Spencer punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Come on.”
Zander pocketed his phone and worked on focusing.
But twenty minutes later, he was restless and annoyed. Not only could he not hear anything the men were saying, but he’d just spent twenty minutes eating overpriced meat and drinking iced tea and watching Max work on crossword puzzles. And there was no way he was getting Caroline out of his head.
“Dude, what the fuck?” Spencer asked crossly.
“What?”
“You're like a little kid who needs to pee in the middle church. What the hell? Sit still.”
“Sorry. Did you want me looking into your eyes lovingly so everyone thinks that we’re in a deeply committed relationship?” Zander asked.
“We could…talk,” Spencer said.
Zander snorted. “Well, let’s not get crazy.”
Spencer fiddled with his fork, his gaze on Max.
“So you're pretty crazy about her?” Spencer asked.
Zander looked at his cousin in surprise. “I’m going to assume you’re talking about Caroline and not Max.”