Daniel opened his eyes and Edward was staring at him with what looked like wonder. He dropped his eyes and spotted his glasses on the table. Snatching them up, he quickly pulled them on again and looked at Edward to find the same expression he thought he’d seen.
“How-how’d I do?”
“I wish I could live in your world,” Edward murmured.
“Don’t make fun of me,” Daniel snapped. He pulled his hand free of Edward’s, grabbed his menu, and started to lift it, but Edward reached across and placed his hand in the center, forcing it to remain flat on the table.
“I’m not joking. You make it sound like we’re the only two people in this world.”
Daniel cleared his throat. “I mentioned the three other customers.”
Edward grinned at him and tilted his head toward the two occupied tables. “There are five. Plus two more at the bar behind you. Not to mention the hostess, bartender, and at least two servers that I can see. You knew more about my chair than the woman who’s been making eyes at you since we walked in the door.”
It was hard to keep the smile off his lips. “Yes, well, women have never really been my forte.”
“Fine. You didn’t even notice the bartender who was sure to check out your ass when you sat down.” Edward’s eyes flicked up to glare over Daniel’s shoulder. “And if the man doesn’t stop staring at your ass, I’m going to pull out his fucking eyeballs.”
Daniel snorted at Edward’s harsh and completely unexpected words but forced himself to quickly sober. “Fine. So I don’t do a great job of noticing the world around me.”
Edward’s expression softened. “You do. You notice in great detail the things that interest you, and you gloss over those things that don’t. I’m flattered you even noticed me on the beach in Bermuda.”
It was on the tip of Daniel’s tongue to say that Edward was the only thing he remembered from that day at the beach. Sure, there were vague memories of bright-blue ocean and pale blue sky. White sand. But he could clearly recall every muscle and curve of Edward’s body. The nice tan of his skin and the cut of his black swim trunks. The tantalizing smile that curved on his perfect lips begging to be kissed. Oh, he fucking remembered everything about Edward, but there was no way he was going to feed the man’s ego. Instead, he tried to pick up his menu a second time.
Edward sighed and allowed him to, turning to his own menu.
They ordered tapas plates, sampling so many amazing dishes over a glass of wine. But Edward’s words still played in Daniel’s head. He was sure that everyone distilled their surroundings down to manageable chunks, but it was interesting the things he did notice. And why was Edward the key focus? Was it simply because whether he lived or died over the next couple of days was tied to the skills of this one man? Or was it simply because Daniel was attracted to him?
He nearly groaned at his own thoughts. Wasn’t it enough that he’d gotten laid one night? It was more than his sex life had seen recently. Did he really need to feel Edward’s weight pinning him down or holding him against the wall? His libido was screaming “Fuck, yes!” Unfortunately, his brain was more cautious and skeptical.
After what Edward called a “light snack,” they walked back to the hotel. Daniel wasn’t sure he’d need to eat again later that night, but he was sure that Edward would be able to convince him. His companion knew some great places to grab a bite. Worry over the meeting still weighed heavily on his mind, but the food, wine, and walk helped to chase away some of the fear gnawing at him.
It was only when the hotel room door closed behind Edward that the anxiety came surging back. How the hell was he supposed to do this? He wasn’t a spy. His training at the FBI certainly didn’t cover spy work and what training he’d gotten was from several years ago.
“I don’t think I can do this,” he announced to the room.
“What?” Edward came around him, his dark eyes narrowed.
“This-this meeting. I can’t pretend to be a spy. I don’t know what I’m doing.” The longer he talked, the more his words sped up. “I’m going to get myself killed. You killed. The people at the restaurant killed. It’s going to be a fucking mess.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. You told me to be more mindful, but that’s not enough. I’m not going to know what to say or how to act. I—”
“No!” Edward snapped. “Do you seriously think I’m going to let anything happen to you?”
Edward’s nearly shouted question brought Daniel up short. He wasn’t sure if he was surprised by the man’s tone or the accusation he heard in his voice. “I—”