Doppelgangster - Laura Resnick [37]
“I never suspected her of reading tabloids.” Lopez frowned. “I wonder if my dad knows?”
“I guess everyone’s got a dark secret.”
He sniffed the air and asked hopefully, “Is the coffee ready?”
I realized I didn’t know how he took it. We were still so new to each other. I held up the milk and sugar, and I raised my eyebrows in silent query.
He shook his head. “Just black.”
“Look on the bright side,” I said, handing him a full mug. “It seems certain that as long as we’re dating, she’ll never suggest you think about getting married.”
“Good point.”
That led me to something I wanted to get off my chest. “Look, I’m sorry I told everyone at Stella’s that you’re my boyfriend. And, um, that they think we’re engaged. It’s just that I needed—”
“Oh, I don’t care about that.” He waved away my apology. “I mean, I know why you said it.”
“You do?”
“Sure. A place full of heavily armed wiseguys pinching you, hitting on you, and getting too pushy after they’ve had a few drinks?” He shrugged. “A cop boyfriend probably comes in handy pretty often at Stella’s.”
I nodded. “In a nutshell.”
“And since I don’t want those guys pinching you, hitting on you, and so on,” he added, “I’m glad you told them about me.”
“Oh.” I smiled. “Okay.”
He smiled, too, then sat down at my kitchen table, half of which was in my living room. That’s a Manhattan apartment for you.
After a moment, though, his expression turned serious. “We have to talk about last night.”
I slid into the chair next to him. “I told you exactly what I saw. I’m not lying to you.”
“Then I need to find out what you’re leaving out.”
“Here we go,” I muttered.
He reached over to me, slid his hand into my hair, and gently pulled my head closer to his. “Look, I shouldn’t even be here. And I definitely shouldn’t have just spent three hours in your bed.”
“We didn’t do anything,” I reminded him.
He kissed me. All of a sudden, without preamble. His mouth was hot, and his tongue was silky, and it was a really long, intense, leading-straight-to-steamy-sex kind of kiss. He needed a shave, but his jaw was just rough enough to feel sexy, not uncomfortable.
When he was finally done, I was dizzy and couldn’t speak or move or catch my breath. I just sat there waiting for him to do it again. I think I whimpered a little.
“I didn’t do anything,” he whispered, breathing hard, “because I was just too damn tired.”
“How can you kiss a woman like that . . .” I panted for air, “. . . right after talking to your mother?”
He blinked. “Okay, when you put it that way, I suddenly feel too tired again.”
“Forget I mentioned it.” I leaned forward to kiss him again.
“No, listen to me,” he whispered, putting his hands on my face to make me hold still.
“Ow.” I winced. “Nelli’s scratches.”
“Oh!” He brushed his fingertips over my cheek, feather light, to soothe my skin. “Sorry.”
“You could kiss it and make it better,” I suggested.
He shook his head. “We have to talk.”
“I don’t feel like talking,” I said pointedly.
“Neither do I.” He shied away from my mouth again, his eyes heavy-lidded and his breath still coming fast. “But we have to.”
“You’re the one who—”
“I know.” His puff of laughter brushed across my face. “I was just making a point. It backfired on me, though.”
“Hmph.” I sat back in my chair. “Okay, fine. Have it your way. Let’s talk.”
“We need to go over . . .” He paused, looking distracted, then said, “Wait. First, just tell me. Why is your face blue?”
“Oh, I forgot about that!” I looked down at my blue arm. “Wow, I must be hot, if you can kiss me like that when my face is blue.”
“Well, as you may remember, you were green all over the first time I ever saw you. I guess I find you sexy in different colors.”
We had met the night Lopez questioned the cast of Sorcerer! backstage after Golly Gee disappeared; I was in lots of body make-up and hardly any costume as a green forest nymph.
He asked, “So how did you get so blue today?”
I considered the ramifications of lying and decided to just tell him the truth.
7
“Nelli scared Lucky,” I said. “Lucky