Aphrodite's Kiss (24 page)

Attack the wrong one, and his plans could be foiled forever.

It was better to bide his time.

To watch, to wait.

To see if he could get the tracking‘ device to work more precisely.

Sooner or later, the two would split up. And all he’d have to do then would be follow the little green blip.

“So ... how’s the seduction going?” Deena asked in a hiss, her eager expression making clear that only the dirty details would do. Tessa had insisted on having a moment with “her boys,” so Deena and Zoë had been banished to the far side of the yard. Zoë’d been leery, but Deena had dragged her away, practically jumping at the chance to get her alone.

With a mischievous little grin, Zoë dropped down onto the grass. “Do I look like the kind of girl to kiss and tell?”

Deena immediately joined her, kneeling and leaning forward, her loose skirt draped more or less modestly over her legs. “You
kissed
him?”

“How was it? Did your mouth explode?” She leaned closer, as if looking for lip shrapnel.

“No, we just—”

“What did it feel like? I bet it was like a billion of those little Pop Rocks candies fizzling in your mouth. But a good fizzle. Warm and tingly and—”

“We haven’t really kissed yet. Just had sort of a lip-brush thing.”

Deflated, Deena scooted back. “Well, damn. No tongue? Why not?”

Zoë‘ shrugged. “It’s not for lack of wanting, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, really?” Her voice rose with interest. “So you’ve decided to go for it?”

“
It
? No. I haven’t decided to go for
that
.” Her cheeks warmed. “But the kissing part... well, I’ve decided to go for that.”

Deena grinned. “I can see why he’d be hard to resist. He
is
a cutie, isn’t he?”

“Not just that, it’s the way he looks at me. Like I’m the whole world.”

“I
knew
it. I knew you two would be perfect for each other.” She bounced a little. “So why no smoochies?”

Zoë felt her cheeks heat. Why not indeed? Would that slight brush of his lips against hers have simmered into a true-blue, down-and-dirty kiss if it hadn’t been for Mordi?

Would she have kissed him back?

Oh, yeah.
Her lips might not have made it there yet, but her head was definitely well into the kissing part of the evening. And despite the significant probability of a serious Pop Rocks moment, Zoë was all for her lips catching up with her imagination.

But what would happen after, in that quiet time in his arms, when lovers were supposed to share secrets? If she couldn’t share, maybe she shouldn’t kiss.

Deena waved a hand in front of Zoë’s face, then grinned when Zoë looked up. “Quit fantasizing and give me details.”

Caught, she flashed a sheepish grin. “I’m feeling a little like a high school girl with a crush—not sure if he really likes me, and, if he does, not sure if I should do anything about it.”

Deena made a show of shaking her head toward the heavens and rolling her eyes. “Hello? The answer to both questions is
yes
, and you know it.”

Yes
. She liked the sound of that.
Damn the torpedoes, yada, yada
. Except.. .

She shrugged. “It’s easy when I’m with him to not think about the consequences, but when Taylor’s not around, I start to wonder if it’s the right thing to do.”

“You mean because of your issues?”

Zoë nodded. Already she knew that walking away from Taylor would be hard. If. they got even more serious, if these feelings of lust and wonder and affection turned out to be love, leaving Taylor would probably kill her. And the kicker was, she might not be the one doing the leaving. Tessa had left Donis, after all.

Mom’s afraid of risks. Taylor isn‘t.

Maybe
. But could she take that to the bank?

She glanced up and caught Deena watching her, one eyebrow raised. “Well?”

“I want him,” Zoë said. “I really do. But I still don’t know if it’s the right thing.”

“That is such a pathetic excuse. I mean, if you’re scared to have sex that’s one thing .. . and not hopping into bed with some guy just to get it over with is understandable too. But that’s not really what’s going on here.”

Zoë couldn’t help it; she laughed. “Gee, Deen, don’t hold back. I mean, tell me what you really think.”

“It’s just that you two are perfect for each other. I don’t want you to let something stupid stand in the way of true love and all that.”

“Something stupid? Deen, haven’t you heard anything I’ve told you? My world isn’t normal. There’s an opinionated ferret hanging out in my apartment. My brother can be invisible, my dad can change into a dog—”

At that, Deena’s eyes widened, but Zoë didn’t stop to explain.

“—I’ve got these powers, my senses. And I’ve got obligations. Save-the-world kind of stuff.”

“So? Everybody’s got issues. I used to see fairies and my sister-in-law’s a cat.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, she’s not a cat now, but she was when he met her.”

Zoë tilted her head, not exactly sure how to respond.

Deena didn’t give her the chance. “But that’s another story. My point is, if you’re looking for excuses, you’ll find them. And if you’re looking for love, you’ll find it.”

“I can’t be in love with him. Not yet. I mean, I don’t really even know him.”

Those words were more to convince herself than Deena. Love at first sight might be all the rage in books and movies, but in real life it seemed a little dicey. This fuzzy feeling in her stomach whenever she thought about Taylor, looked at him,
touched
him . . . well, that feeling was nothing but lust.

The whole situation was frustrating. When she fought bad guys with Hale or her dad, she’d never had any fear, just an icy surge of adrenaline. But with Taylor—
oh, sweet Hera
—her knees went wobbly and her palms turned sweaty.

Apparently the whole superhero thing was a big zero when it came to fixing matters of the heart.

With a little sigh, Zoë stood up and brushed grass off her behind. “We better get back and rescue the guys. If we’re not careful, Mom will have us both engaged.”

“Works for me,” Deena said. “I’m sharing the bathroom and the refrigerator, but I still haven’t got the ring.”

“Yeah, well, Hoop knows my mom. It’s a safe bet he won’t scream and run in terror. Taylor, on the other hand...”

She let the thought trail off, and Deena grinned. “You may have a point. We’d better go rescue your date before he escapes, and you don’t get any snuggle time.”

Zoë blushed, ashamed that she didn’t feel more ashamed about wanting exactly that.

“And you still haven’t answered my question,” Deena said, as they trudged toward Tessa’s bench.

“I haven’t?” Zoë asked, trying to sound innocent. “What question was that?”

Deena scowled. “You know perfectly well,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter because I already know the answer. The question was, don’t you want Taylor?”

“And the answer?”

“Is yes,” Deena said, still trudging, but shooting Zoë a dirty look. “Isn’t it?”

Zoë just hummed, sure she was driving Deena nuts, but having a pretty good time doing it.

“Zoë...”

“You win.” Her cheeks did their flaming thing again. “The answer is yes.”

“I knew it.”

Zoë hummed louder, trying to sound innocent. “There’s more, you know.” She tapped the bridge of her glasses and grinned, wide and mischievous. “I took a little peek.”

Deena stopped dead, grabbing Zoë’s sleeve and pulling her to a halt. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Zoë fought back a burst of laughter. It took a heck of a lot to render Deena speechless.

She remembered fondly
exactly
what she’d seen during her sneak peek.

Yup. . . a whole heck of a lot.

“The girls are coming back,” Hoop said.

Taylor spun around, the now-familiar warmth spreading through him as he watched Zoë cross back toward them from the far side of lawn. His sportcoat hung on her frame, revealing none of her dress, just her lovely legs, and creating the illusion that there was absolutely nothing else under that coat.

His mouth twitched. Maybe before the night was over, there wouldn’t be.

She was sweet and genuine and beautiful, and maybe she wasn’t as normal as—“You never did tell me how you and Zoë met,” Tessa said, drawing Taylor out of his thoughts.

“Gee, I wonder why?” Hoop muttered so that only Taylor could hear him.

He shot his friend a stern glance, but Hoop only shrugged.

“Just askin‘,” he said.

“Tell me quick before Zoë gets here or else she’ll make you stop,” Tessa said.

Taylor blinked. “Why?” Other than the obvious reason that their relationship was imaginary. But Tessa didn’t know that.

“Because I’m her mother and I’m nosy.”

“No, I mean why will she make you stop?”

“Oh. That.” Tessa scooted over on the bench and patted the space next to her.

Taylor moved toward it, but Hoop beat him there.

“You snooze, you lose,” Hoop said, grinning.

Taylor rolled his eyes.

“Zoë’s always been a private girl,” Tessa said, ignoring their antics. “She likes to keep secrets. Even from her own mother.”

Taylor nodded. He’d known Zoë for only a blink in time, and he’d already figured out that she liked being enigmatic. “That’s okay. I’m good at learning secrets. It’s what I do best.”

“That’s right. You’re a detective.”

“
Was
a detective. Now I’m a private investigator.”

“And a damn good one, too,” Hoop said.

“A private
detective
,” Tessa said. “Same difference. All that sneaking around.” She looked up at him, her eyes stern. “Do you work undercover?”

“Occasionally.”

She tilted her head, and he had the impression she was studying him, like an art student might look at a Monet, or a math major might look at some particularly puzzling theorem. “Are you undercover now?”

Taylor balked, not exactly sure how to answer that. He was himself, true, but he was playing a role. Still, it was a role he wanted for keeps. “No. What you see is what you get.”

She nodded, apparently satisfied, but her eyes looked a little sad. “Good.”

He took her hand, and she smiled up at him. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Your meeting?”

Taylor frowned. “Excuse me?”

“She wants to know how you and Zoë met,” Hoop interjected. “Keep with the program, man.”

“Right.” He shot Hoop a “thanks for nothing” look. “Thanks,” he said, then started trying to concoct a story. “Well, you see—”

“Taylor was hot on the trail of this kidnapped little girl,” Hoop began.

“How awful,” Tessa said, glancing between Hoop and Taylor.

“Right,” said Hoop. “It was.”

Taylor gaped, then mouthed,
Kidnapped
?

“Um,” said Hoop, apparently backtracking. “Actually, it would’ve been awful, except it wasn’t really a little girl.”

“It wasn’t?” asked Tessa.

“It wasn’t?” asked Taylor at exactly the same time.

“Nope,” Hoop said, sounding annoyed.

“Oh. Right,” said Taylor, totally clueless, but willing to trust him. Not out of some sense of moral obligation, but just because he didn’t have a better plan. “It
wasn’t
a little girl.”

Tessa looked from Taylor to Hoop and then back to Taylor again. “Well, then, what was it?”

“Ah . ..” Taylor began. He turned to Hoop. “You tell her.”

“Right. I’ll tell her.” He frowned; then his face cleared. “It was a doll.”

“A doll?” Tessa repeated.

Taylor opened his mouth to parrot her, then shut it tight when Hoop gave him a stern glance.

“Yes, a doll.”

Tessa turned to Taylor, the question clear in her eyes. He shrugged, his smile watery. “Quite a story, huh?”

As soon as Hoop finished this absurd tale, Taylor was going to kill him. So much for trust.

“How or why would a doll be kidnapped? And what on earth does Zoë have to do with it?”

Hoop shifted on the bench and stroked his chin. “Well, that’s the thing, see. One of the kids in Zoë’s school said that her friend was missing. And, uh ...”

“The school jumped the gun,” added Taylor, deciding that Hoop’s forte really wasn’t fiction.

“And they thought the missing friend was a little girl, not a doll?”

Hoop hooked an arm around Tessa’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Exactly.”

Tessa frowned, then squinted at each of them in turn. Hoop caught Taylor’s eye and moved his shoulder in the barest of shrugs. Taylor fought the urge to shake his head and sigh.

“But how does Zoë fit in?” Tessa asked.

“Ah, now we get to the meat.” Hoop held out his arm, indicating Taylor. “Do you want to tell her, or should I?”

Taylor tried out a smile, hoping it didn’t look too queasy. “You go ahead.”

“Well, the police didn’t have a lead—”

“I can imagine,” Tessa said.

“—so they called in a private detective.”

“That would be me,” Taylor said, happy to have recognized his cue.

“He was supposed to meet Zoë when he was interviewing the staff. She knew there wasn’t a kid, but no one would listen to her. So she avoided Taylor, and he had to follow her into the ladies’ room, where she told him about the doll.” Hoop was starting to look a little worried that the story wasn’t ever going to end.

Taylor twirled his hand in the air, hoping to speed Hoop’s bardish efforts along.

“Right. Well, then Taylor figured out who’d taken it, and they got the doll back, and everyone lived happily ever after.” Hoop sucked in a deep breath, let it out, and grinned. “And the rest is history.”

“Was it love at first sight?” Tessa asked. “From the moment you saw her in the bathroom?”

“Absolutely,” Taylor said.

“Mmm-hmmm.” She smoothed her skirt, her eyes full of both amusement and annoyance. “Do you think someday I’ll get to hear the real story?”

Taylor stifled a chuckle and caught Hoop’s eye. Clearly Hoop was trying just as hard not to laugh. They both lost the battle.

“Well, it could’ve happened that way,” Hoop said between chortles.