“If I did, would you say yes?”
She stared at him, allowing a small smile to tug on her lips. “If you’re willing to take the chance, I guess we’ll inevitably find out.”
Luca’s smile widened. “That sounded like a challenge to me.” And it didn’t look like he considered that to be a bad thing.
Oh boy, she might have just walked herself into being his latest mission. She needed to pivot this conversation fast. “Thanks again for breakfast.”
“Off to work?”
“Not tonight.” She shook her head.
“Plans?”
“The doctor gave me the impression that the patient will be arriving tonight, unexpectedly. So I suspect we’ll be called in to the hospital anyway.” She shrugged. “Keeping my schedule loose.”
Which made her sound like an interesting person, when in fact, having him come over was the most interesting thing that had happened to her in months. And he seemed to want to continue hanging out with her. She needed at least a week to figure out how to deal with that.
She stood. “I should get ready for the day—or night.”
“Thanks for letting me in.”
“Thanks again for breakfast.”
They reached the front door, and he turned to her. Very slowly, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You’re welcome.”
He closed the door behind him and was gone. Leaving her standing in her entryway, trying to figure out why it felt different in here now.
As if something was missing.
Eight
“Hey.” Deputy Marshal Ethan Butler held out his hand, his dark hair damp against his forehead thanks to the rain.
Luca shook with him, and they headed inside the hospital’s main building. “Everything ready?”
In the end, it had been another day before the call indicating the patient was arriving. The marshal had told him to meet up at the west wing, side door. An entrance rarely used by people coming and going from the hospital. After Luca’s evaluation of the hospital, he had decided this was the best entrance to use for their patient. From here, it was straight to the elevator and up two floors.
Now that they were inside, he could see that maintenance had blocked off this entrance to keep people from using it and the closest elevator.
“Good to go.” Butler nodded.
Luca spotted a scratch on the side of the man’s neck. “Did you get in a fight today?”
Butler shook his head. “I went kayaking this morning and scratched myself on a branch.” He touched the scratch with two fingers and winced.
“You should get a doctor to look at that.”
He smelled her perfume before he realized she had approached them. “Get a doctor to look at what?” Kira reacted to her own question. “Never mind, maybe I don’t want to know.”
Luca smiled at her. “It’s just the scratch on his neck.”
She peered at the side of Butler’s head. “You should clean that. Put some antibiotic cream on it.” She thumbed over her shoulder. “I have some Hello Kitty bandages in my office, if you want.”
Butler snorted. “I’m good, but thanks.” He looked at his watch. “We have about five minutes before the detail is bringing your patient in, Dr. Yassan.”
“Great.”
Luca had been sent some basic details, just so he knew they were protecting the right person. Fifty-eight years old, Mexican descent. Suffering from a rare blood disorder. There hadn’t been a photo included in the dossier, however. Evidently, even his appearance was being kept under wraps.