Desk Guy’s eyebrows went up at Finn’s under-the-breath curse.
Finn sent him a warning look and then turned to find Liv staring at him with questioning eyes. “Uh, morning,” he said, none too gracefully. “You’re up early.”
“Yeah, I never went back to sleep. I figured I’d get some work done.” Her gaze shifted to the bag over his shoulder and the suitcase. “You’re leaving?”
“Just checked out,” Desk Guy offered. “He’s going to take care of the door for you, ma’am, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
Finn gritted his teeth and shot a look over his shoulder at Mr. Helpful. When he turned back to Liv, she still had the Care to explain yourself? head tilt. Finn sighed. “Let’s grab a table.”
Frown lines bracketed her mouth. “Yeah, okay. I already have one by the window. Come on.”
She led him to a table a few to the right of the elderly man. Her laptop was open, and a cup of coffee sat next to it. She’d probably been away from her table when he’d glanced that way the first time. Plus, in her business suit and heels, her sleek silhouette was something altogether different from the casual version he’d seen last night. Some undercover agent he was.
She leaned over to click a few things on her keyboard and then shut her laptop with a tired sigh.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your work,” he said, his tone gruffer than he’d planned.
She shook her head and sat. “It’s fine. It’s not something I’m going to have time to fix this morning anyway. I should’ve never opened my email.”
She indicated the chair across from her. Finn took a seat and ran a hand over the back of his head, trying to decide what to say and how to say it. Getting out before everyone woke up had seemed like a good idea at the time.
She stared at him, her eyes tired but her lips smirking. “We didn’t sleep together, you know. You don’t have to wear the morning-after, got-caught-sneaking-out look.”
“I’m very aware we didn’t sleep together.” Painfully aware as he let his attention sweep over her. She’d pulled her hair into a low knot at her nape and had lined her eyes dark and glossed her lips red, making her look like a 1950s pinup version of herself. Gone was the vulnerable woman from last night. In her place was a confident, beautiful businesswoman. Liv had her armor on.
Her brows quirked as she sipped her coffee. “So what’s with the cloak-and-dagger routine?”
“There’s no cloak or dagger,” he said, guilt washing through him. “I just—”
“Would rather take a fork to the eye than have breakfast with four old classmates?” She sat back in her chair with a knowing look. Feisty. Ball-busting. That was the girl he remembered.
His attention strayed to how her white-collared shirt gaped, revealing the smooth expanse of her throat, the curve of her neck—the neck he’d almost kissed last night.
He grimaced. Focus, man. “Being social really isn’t my thing. I wouldn’t be good company.”
“Hmm,” she murmured, setting down
her coffee. “When I knew you, you could talk to anyone—would’ve been happy to hold court with four women.”
He grabbed her coffee and took a swig. “Yeah, well, people change.”
He could still hold court when he needed to, slather on the charm and bullshit, but now it was a role, a game, a way to get people to trust him with their secrets. He didn’t know how to be genuine about it anymore and didn’t want to go to breakfast and fake it.
“So I’m learning,” she said, glancing at her cup. “You know, stealing a woman’s coffee this early in the morning is grounds for a beating.”
He smiled and sipped again, keeping his eyes on her. “Worth it. But I’ll make sure to get you more before I leave.”
“So what exactly does leaving entail? I forgot to ask you where you…” Her words drifted off as her attention shifted to a spot over his shoulder, her brow furrowing.
“Liv?”
Her eyes narrowed. “What the hell is he doing?”
“Who?” Finn glanced back to whatever had caught her attention. Front Desk Guy was looking their way from the other side of the breakfast bar, his phone lifted but half hidden between a display of mini cereal boxes and a juice dispenser. Even from a few tables away, Finn heard the faint click of the camera phone. Every muscle in his body tensed.
“Hey!” Liv barked. “Is that shithead taking our picture?”
Finn was already in motion, the chair falling backward behind him as he jumped to his feet and stalked across the room. The guy’s eyes widened at Finn’s approach, and he quickly swung his arm around, tucking his phone in his back pocket.