Naveen got to his feet and shook out his arms. “I’ll stretch.”
She paused. “Stretch?”
“I’m not about to throw my back out trying to tackle someone again.”
Her smile was small. Mira walked Emi to the door and paused there for a moment. “Thank you for helping us.”
“I told you. I owe you.”
And you care about me. “I think we’re pretty even after this.”
Emi leaned against the door frame. “I talked to my mom last night. Mentioned I saw you. She said she was proud of us. Two accountants.”
Mira almost choked. “Your mom thinks you’re an accountant?”
“Nobody asks questions when you say you’re an accountant.” Emi fiddled with the strings of her hoodie. She’d swapped her leather for comfortable cotton at some point during the night. “She said we’d come so far from high school. And I realized, I hadn’t. Like, you had. But not me. If helping you is my good deed for the year, I don’t mind.”
“I’ve come far professionally. Not personally.” She thought of Naveen, and all the men in the past. Perfectly good men, whom she’d bolted from.
“We won’t even get into my personal life. At least you’re trying.”
“Am I?” She shook her head. “I say I’m looking for stability, then chase off perfectly stable men.”
“Maybe because you think they’ll see the parts of you that are ‘unstable.’ You reject them before they can reject you.”
Mira drew in a deep, shaky breath. Not a groundbreaking note, but a real one, from a real friend.
We should table any talk of a romantic relationship. Naveen had only been repeating what she’d said. It shouldn’t have hurt her, but it did. Because it was easier to leave than be left. “Yeah.”
“Been there. Done that. Naveen seems cool, though.”
“He is, but, you know, it would be far too complicated.” Would it? Even now, with her original reason for why it couldn’t work, because of his brother’s money, gone?
Emi’s lips twisted. “Can I pass on some advice my mom gave me that I didn’t listen to? Whatever action you’re taking, take it toward something you want instead of running away from something you don’t. You might get better results.”
Where had that advice been when she’d started her matrimonial quest? “Your mom remains cool.”
“She does.”
Mira hated to pressure Emi, but she did have some contacts in tech. “If you’re interested, ever, in moving toward something positive, I could try to help you get a lucrative job. I know a few people in the industry who would certainly at least give you an interview. You’d have to figure out other ways to feed your need for excitement, but you’d get good benefits, and it would help you with your mom.”
“I do like the sound of that. I need the money.”
“If there was a real way to access that crypto . . .” Mira shrugged at Emi’s surprised look. “I’m aware it’s misbegotten, but if you could crack it, and give your mom enough to live comfortably, I’d be game.”
“Little Miss Black-and-White is seeing shades of gray? I’m stunned,” Emi said.
“I can evolve. And so can you.”
“You’re determined to make sure we’re never actually even, huh?”
“No. We’re even. So anything we do for each other after this, or if we keep in touch, it can be purely because we want to. Not because we’re obligated to or as part of a transaction.” She couldn’t hide the hope in her voice.
Emi pursed her lips, then nodded. “Deal.” Her friend’s manner turned more brisk. “Okay, go crush this. Remember, I’ll be listening below, even if you can’t hear me.”
“Where is Sunil?” She’d thought for sure he would have listened in on Cobra’s call, but the tablet Emi carried had been dark.
“I don’t know. He was in my ear before Cobra called, said he got a message from someone and needed to answer it.” Emi shrugged. “He’ll call back and listen, too, remotely, in case they make me. I like that guy. Anyway, you’re good?”
Mira inhaled, then exhaled. “Yes. Good. We’re moving toward something.”
Emi wiggled her fingers. “In this one isolated case, literally running away is okay, too. Especially if they do bring those guns.”
Chapter Eighteen
Can you stop tapping?” Mira asked Naveen.
He flattened his hand on his thigh. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
The pause was pregnant between them. “What is taking these people so long? It’s been longer than ten minutes.”
“Parking on the Strip.” Mira adjusted the tea kettle on the coffee table in front of them. The fully serviced kitchen in the suite had had a beautiful silver set, and she’d needed to keep busy. “Everything’s farther than it appears.”
“I’m going to guess that a notorious crime boss is not going to navigate a parking garage and walk through a casino lobby with their kidnap victim like a regular Joe. No, something’s up.” Naveen’s face was tight and pinched, and her own teeth ached for how hard he must be grinding his.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” she said, as calm as she could possibly be when her heartbeat was pounding in her own ears.
“Yeah, you’re right. This’ll be over before we know it.” He fixed the pen in his shirt pocket. “Are you okay?”
“Nope.” She held her hand out, and it was rock steady. “Working on my tell, though. No fidgeting.”
He smiled. “I told you, I doubt anyone else can see it. Soon, I’ll introduce you to my grandpa, and you can try your poker face out on him.”
She readjusted her spot on the couch. Did that mean he was now anticipating her being in his life? “I’m going to meet your grandfather?”
“Of course.” Naveen’s eyes darkened. “I mean. If you want to.”
Did she want to? “I thought we agreed we weren’t going to try for anything more.”
“The reason for that no longer exists.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. “Doesn’t it?” Didn’t some reason exist?
He turned to face her completely. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, we should talk about this later, when we’re not exhausted.”
The muscle in his jaw jumped. “I won’t change my mind later. I want us to try again.”
“Why?”
“Why do I want to date you?”
“Yes. You proposed getting back together with me because it made sense.” Her feelings were no longer in bottles, and they oozed around inside her, getting on everything. “I look good on paper, which I know I’m a hypocrite for complaining about, because I had a whole fucking spreadsheet for my ideal mate, but being wanted for my surface qualities isn’t enough for me anymore. You may never love me. And then where will I be?”
It was only when the room grew completely silent that she realized how cringey she’d sounded, bleating her fears out. She rubbed her fingers under her nose. “I mean, uh—”