Soon we are in his fancy sports car, my curiosity about the garment bag sliding away, with my excitement for the trip, but Kace doesn’t make any attempt to drive away. He pulls his phone from his pocket. “I’ll order coffee on my app if you’ll run in and grab the order so I don’t have to park?”
“Deal,” I say. “Coffee sounds wonderful.”
“Same thing you ordered at the bakery?”
“You remember what I ordered at the bakery?”
“You ordered my drink, baby. Yes, I remember.”
My lips curve. “Yes. I want the same thing as at the bakery.”
He punches in the order. “We have about five minutes. You have to try the bread. And you have to be starving. I damn sure am.”
“I am, but don’t we need to move from in front of the building?”
“The perks of being a massive tenant are sometimes worth taking advantage of. They’ll tell us if it’s a problem and we’ll move.” He grabs a napkin and loads it with a slice of bread for me and then does the same for himself. “Try the bread.”
We both take a bite and I moan my approval. “It’s delicious, and I really was starving.”
“It is,” he says, downing half a slice before he cranks the engine. “But we’re going to choke if I don’t get us that coffee. We’ll grab some real food when we land before I faceoff with Nix.”
He places the car in drive, and by the time we’re idled in front of Starbucks, my bread is gone and so is his. “I’ll be back,” I say. “If I’m not, I made a run for it with the coffees.”
To my surprise, he catches my arm. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t run, Aria.”
I rotate to face him and press my hand to his face. “Are you going to give me a reason to run?”
“You have no idea.”
“At least wait until I have another slice of that bread. And coffee.” I kiss his cheek. “Please.”
He cups my head and gives me a toe-curling kiss before he says, “Get the coffee and bring you sweet little ass back here now.”
My lips curve, and this time when I reach for the door, he lets me. But as I steep into the chill of the air, I wonder what it is he feels I’ll discover, what he believes will make me run, because it’s clear there’s something there. But then, I have my own demons. Maybe it will be him who runs, not me. For now, I set all that aside.
I hurry to grab our order, and I’m back in a flash. “How many slices of bread did you have in the three minutes I was gone?”
“One more,” he said. “but I’m not done.”
I laugh and hand him his coffee. He sips and sets it down before he revs the engine and we’re on the road. I spy a charger and plug in my phone while he maneuvers us through traffic, mastering the car with the same ease he does his violin. Man and beast. They go together.
“My older brother, Gio, would love this car,” I say, eyeing Kace as he turns us down a new road. “You’d like my brother. He’d like you.”
He casts me a sideways look, a smile in his eyes. “Introduce me and we’ll find out.”
Just that easily, he tells me that the weekend isn’t just a weekend to him. It doesn’t end here. Unless it does, I caution myself. Only the weekend will really tell. “Gio’s off hunting treasures,” I say. “He and I don’t just own the business together. We own the building. We bought the place five years ago and had the upper level above our business renovated into two private apartments, so we each own one.”
“I consider my band to be family and I pretty much lived with them for years. I love those guys. I’ll miss seeing them on the road.”
“A change of heart already?”
“No,” he says firmly. “They’re family. That won’t change because we aren’t touring anymore. You’ll see why tomorrow in Austin.” He cuts down yet another street and glances over at me. “What am I sensing when you talk about your brother?”
“That obvious, is it?”
“To me, baby, but we’ve spent enough time together now that I might not know what’s beneath your surface, but I know it’s messing with you.”
“I’m just not happy with him right now. He’s not just gone. He’s not communicating at all.”
“And he normally communicates?”
“Unless he believes what he hunts puts him at odds with me. And by that, I don’t mean something illegal, but high value, yes. And high value comes with danger at times. He’s driven. If a client wants something and it’s worth a big payday, he takes risks.”
“And what does he want right now?”
“I don’t know his exact obsession,” I say, “but in this case, I’m not sure it’s an object. I’m fairly certain her name is Sofia.”
He cast me a sideways look. “Ah,” he says. “That’s why you asked me about Sofia. Is she a client?”
“All I know is not much,” I say, biting back my urge to say much more. I’ve only known Kace for a few weeks. I don’t know him well enough to trust him. Not with this. Not yet.
“You said she told him about the auction.”
“Or maybe he told her. I could have it backwards. I know they communicated about the violin. I know they’re romantically involved.”
“Perhaps she’s associated with the seller.”
“Who sold a fake instrument? That doesn’t make me feel better about him and her.”
“Obviously you’re worried about him with her. I’ll ask around and see what I can find out about her.”
“No,” I say quickly, aware now that I’ve said too much, I’m afraid of bringing attention to us we both don’t need. “No,” I repeat, “I don’t want Gio to feel that I don’t trust him, but thank you. And I admit to being a bit protective, but if you knew Gio, you’d think that was silly. He’s a player who is off doing what players do. And if anyone can take care of himself, it’s my brother.”
“For now,” he says, pulling us into a small airport, “you can get on a chopper with me and forget all that worry.” He pulls us into a parking spot and kills the engine. “Our adventure begins. You can tell Gio all the G rated moments when you both get home.”
My mind shifts in rapid speed from worry over Gio to me, the control freak, about to get in a helicopter. Nerves flutter in my belly and by the time he’s at my door, I’ve already opened it and I’m standing up. “I’ve never been on a chopper. I’m suddenly very nervous.”
He catches my hip and walks me to him. “Don’t be nervous. I’ve been on hundreds of choppers. We’ll be perfectly safe. Trust me, baby. I’ll take good care of you.” There is that crazy mix of wicked tenderness to those words that pool heat low in my belly and stir emotions in my chest.