Yeah, he’d go with her. And frankly, he didn’t need a reason.
Behind them, a band was setting up on a small stage, warming up their instruments. A mix of locals, expats, and university students gathered around the open area.
He led her over and they found a spot near the back as the band launched into a blues number.
Chloe closed her eyes, bobbed her head to the music.
Oh, she was interesting. The kind of interesting that said he didn’t know her at all, really. Not the girl he remembered from Jake’s parties at his parents’ home, her in a pair of shorts, a T-shirt, wet hair from waterskiing, hanging out with her sisters.
He remembered beating the girls’ team in volleyball once. If he recalled right, she’d spiked a ball at him, her eyes on fire.
Maybe that’s when the slow burn had started. He just hadn’t noticed it until it ignited inside him.
When the song ended, she opened her eyes and caught him watching her.
“What?”
“Nothing. You just look . . . happy.”
“I love live music.”
The band started another song. He no longer held her hand, but oh, he wanted to reach out, take it again.
What was going on here?
When the set ended, they applauded. And then she looked at him. “We should go. It’s getting late.”
Maybe too late.
The bazaar was winding down—vendors packing up their stalls, crowds thinning to couples walking hand in hand. The air had cooled, carrying the scent of ylang-ylang from hidden gardens.
“I’d forgotten,” she said quietly.
“Forgotten what?”
“What it feels like to just... enjoy an evening. Without thinking about deadlines or investigations or people who might be in danger.” She glanced at him. “When was the last time you did something just because it was fun?”
“Like go on vacation? Um . . . like . . . never?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I mean—I just got home from a Caribbean island, so does that count?”
“You were working security, so no.”
“I got a tan.”
“I see that.” She smiled. “Still no.”
He laughed. Their steps slowed as they left the main streets behind, moving into the quieter residential area where she lived. Streetlamps cast pools of golden light on the sidewalk. They walked through the villa’s garden gate, the pool glowing turquoise in lantern light.
They climbed the external staircase in silence. Although, weirdly, his heart had started to thump, trying to break out of his chest. She could probably hear it.
At the top, Chloe turned to face him. “Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“Okay, I’ve decided you can come with me to Bangkok.”