Page 60 of Tango

Vivian cleared her throat. “Oh, it was someplace we put on our dream board. Someday.” She smiled. “But in the meantime, I’d love to hear what it’s really like.”

“Have you been there before?” Jay asked Piper.

“I haven’t, no.”

He stood up. “Let me show you on your map app the best option for parking. If you call, you can get a reservation to make sure you have a place. At that time of day, in that area, if you don’t have a reserved space, you’ll end up pretty far away, needing a ride share to get to Frou-Frou.”

Piper held out her phone, and Jay rounded to stand next to her so they could both see the screen.

“Here’s the restaurant. Here’s the bridge over the Potomac with a comfortable walkway. It might be windy. I don’t know if that’s a problem with your hair.”

Piper shook her head.

“And here’s the parking lot where the limos will wait while the executives are eating.” He handed her phone back. “It’s a short walk comparatively.”

Piper pinned it. “Thanks, Jay. Will I see you there?”

He lowered himself back to the quilt. “I’ll be manning the desk in reception tomorrow.”

Wade stood, moved in front of Piper, and dropped his voice. “It was really nice talking with you, Piper. I was wondering if you might like to exchange phone numbers? We could meet for a neighborhood coffee and maybe get to know each other and see if there’s anything there.”

“I mean, you do bring your grilled cheese skills to the table. But you’re right, what I need right now is a plumber. Good luck finding your person.” Piper smiled, hoping it didn’t come off too bitchy. She’d learned to be clear and maybe a little harsh, or the guys didn’t seem to get the message.

As she reached the street, Piper kept looping that last sentence through her head. “I need a plumber?” she muttered. “A plumber?”

Sure, Wade was the one who mentioned that back at her house, but did it sound sexual to him? Did he think she was saying she needed some guy who knew how to lay a pipe?

She stepped off the curb and hustled across the street.

He didn’t think that, did he?

“Shit. I think he thinks that.”

Chapter Sixteen

Ethan

Thursday

Ethan arrived at Alabaster ahead of schedule for the day’s briefing.

When they met, Ethan had been straight up with Tom; he wasn’t going to sign a contract until he had a better feel for what was needed from him.

Ethan was high adrenaline. Constitutionally, he needed to be challenged physically and mentally, same as Tango. Did they expect him to wear a suit and hold doors and packages for the executives’ wives, with Tango sitting quietly and politely by his side?

If that were the case, no—the answer was no.

Ethan wasn’t willing to make that compromise for cash. And he certainly wouldn’t subject Tango to that kind of misery.

Tom had signed a contract with Pickeridge for today and for the party they had coming up, so Ethan’s involvement, protecting the Alabaster executives at Le Canard Frou-Frou, was a go.

Strike Force would be covering Alabaster’s London guests on site.

So at least Ethan had friends watching his six.

And Tango at his side.

Ethan wasn’t sure about how seriously Alabaster took their security duties.