“Still planning on coming back here on Monday?”

“Yeah, we have the art auction people coming. Reed is sending one of their guys out to keep an eye on things Monday, too.” Reed was part of the security firm that worked with Alliance and many of their rich clients. They monitored the security system at her ranch in Texas and had wired the Hamptons home as well. Although, the camera system in New York was limited to the front and back doors and a burglar alarm. No need for them to go overboard when no one was living there.

“Perfect. Maybe we can get whoever shows up to do some of the dirty work in the office if we can’t get ahold of your maid.”

“Thanks for the visual.”

“Sorry. Okay, I’m going. This drive requires my full attention.”

“Talk tomorrow.”

“Ciao.” Avery hung up.

Trina went ahead and plugged her phone in by her bed before she left the room.

She found Wade in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hands.

“I thought I slept late,” he said when he saw her.

“I was up at five,” she teased. “I’m still not sleeping right since Italy.”

“I tossed and turned a lot myself.” His eyes traveled her frame and he grinned. “Good morning.”

She stepped closer.

With a sly smile, she reached for his cup and tilted it to her lips. “Mmm.”

He chuckled. “I can get you your own.”

Trina shook her head. “Yours tastes better.” It felt good to flirt.

Wade reached for his cup and moved it aside. He stepped even closer and lifted her chin with one finger. “Good morning, little lady.”

She licked her lips. “Good morning.”

He kissed her, just like the night before . . . slowly, sweetly. The taste of coffee on his lips and the scent of the soap he used was a lethal combination.

“Goooood morning,” she said again, slowly.

“I could get used to that,” he said, only inches from her face.

That made two of them.

“Coffee?” he asked.

“Please.”

He crossed the kitchen and poured her a cup. “Anything in it?”

“Black is fine.” She took a sip. “When does this party get started?”

“The caterers will be here in an hour, food goes on the grill by noon, and people will start showing up anytime.”

“Am I dressed okay?” She opened her arms and invited his comments.

“You show those curves off any more and I might have to fight off a few of my friends.”

She took that as a yes. “You’ll have to point out the people I should know but probably don’t.”

“The only one you should know is me. I’ll introduce you to the rest. Ike and Jeb, you’ve already met, and they are the men to go to if you can’t find me and feel overwhelmed. Not that I plan on leaving your side.”

“It’s a party. I do know how to mingle.”

“I have no doubt you’ll hold your own, but people can be a bit possessive and downright nosy. Possessive about me and my time and nosy about you.”

“You mean us,” she said.

“Probably,” he agreed. “I don’t expect anyone to step out of line, but if they do, come right to me, and I’ll take care of it.”

“Like the ex?”

He frowned. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she takes one look at us and leaves.”

Trina could hope. “I’ve been warned.”

He set his empty cup aside and slid a little closer. “How do you feel about public displays of affection?”

She blushed. Damn if he didn’t notice and brush the back of his hand against her cheek. “As long as the people displaying their affection don’t look like they need a room . . .”

He slid the hand from her cheek to her shoulder. “Darlin’, every time I look at you, I feel the need for a room.”

Okay, yeah . . . the heat factor leveled up with the sparkle in his blue eyes.

They stared, Trina with heat tingling up her spine and Wade emitting some kind of pheromone, willing her to step closer.

“There you are!” Vicki’s words broke the spell.

Trina stepped back.

Wade chuckled.

“Mornin’, Mama.”

Vicki bounced in, wearing a black midcalf western skirt, a tank top that barely covered her breasts, and a fringed light jacket. She ended the ensemble with blinged out cowboy boots. Trina was fairly certain a hat would adorn the woman’s head by the time the guests arrived.

Wade greeted his mother with a kiss to the cheek.

“So good to have you home.” Vicki turned to Trina. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did, thank you.”

Vicki’s smile matched Wade’s. “I don’t think we got off to the right start, and I wanted to apologize if I came off as standoffish. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting Wade to bring a friend.”

An apology with a but was never sincere. I’m sorry, but I have a reason.

“I didn’t take offense.”

“Any friend of Wade’s is a friend of mine.”

That sounded a little better.

“Thank you, Vicki.”

“I would love to know how you two met.”

“Hotel bar, actually.” The minute the words came out of her mouth, Trina knew they sounded seedy. “Which isn’t as bad as that sounds.”

Vicki held her smile.

Wade stepped closer, placed his hand on the counter behind Trina’s back. “It was midnight and we had both missed dinner. Trina had ordered a meal fit for a small village, and the kitchen had closed before I could order a beer.”

“It wasn’t that much food,” Trina defended herself.

“Yes, it was.”

Trina pushed against his chest to shut him up. “It wasn’t. Okay, it was more than I was going to eat, which turned out well for your son.”

Vicki’s gaze bounced between the two of them.

“Then after I told her who I was she said the craziest thing I ever heard,” Wade told his mom while looking at Trina.

“What’s that?” Vicki asked.

“She said, ‘Am I supposed to know that name?’ At first I thought she was pulling my chain.”

Trina watched Wade’s expression when he told his mother the story.

“I wasn’t interested in pulling a chain, I was hungry.”

Wade laughed.

They were lost in the memory and smiling at each other when Vicki said, “Well, that’s nice. I suppose it’s good for you.”

“It sucked for my ego,” he said. “Here I was, trying to impress her, and nothin’.”

“Yet here we are,” Trina said.

Wade inched his hand on her waist in the slightest touch.

“That’s sweet.” Vicki broke the spell. “So what is it that you do?”

Trina held her breath. Revealing who she was sparked an entire conversation she’d just as soon avoid.

“Trina is—”

“A flight attendant,” she interrupted Wade, placing a hand on his arm, hoping he’d get the hint. “Was . . . I’m in the process of building a business around attendants for private charters.”

“That sounds very ambitious. Are you looking for investors for this start-up company?”

“No. I have that figured out.” Which was true if she actually went through with it.

“Uh-huh.” Vicki glanced at her son, doubt on her face flashing for only a second before her smile returned.

That’s when Trina realized the fuel behind Vicki’s fire.

“So you’re technically unemployed right now.”

“I have a pretty good savings,” Trina told her.

Wade laughed under his breath.

“Well, good for you. There needs to be more women in business. Depending upon a man can often be disappointing.”

“Mama.”

“Present company excluded, of course.”

She glanced out the kitchen window, toward the back of the house. “Looks like some of the help have arrived, I should get to work.”

“Can I do anything?” Trina offered.

“Oh, no. I’ve got it, hon. You take care of you. Take all the time you need to change before the party.”

Oh, God . . . I’m not wearing the right outfit. “I didn’t bring . . .”

Vicki backpedaled. “You’re fine.”

“I came from New York.”

Vicki narrowed her eyes. “You live in New York?” She made the state sound like a disease.

“No. I live close to Houston . . . where I have the right outfit, but I didn’t have time to stop by—”

Wade squeezed her waist with his hand.

“Darlin’, you’re fine. Don’t think another thing about it. You’ll blend right in. Don’t worry.”

Sure.

Right.

Don’t worry.

Chapter Sixteen

There should be a special license one needed to drive on the streets of Manhattan. One Avery never wanted to obtain. She ditched the car at the first available parking garage and shouldered her oversize mom bag. New York was one of the safest cities in the world, in her opinion. It might not feel that safe if she announced the fact her purse was loaded with some pretty pricey stuff. But to the average person watching her walk by, she was just another smartly dressed woman on a mission.