His Captivating Confidante (Secret Sentinels) Read Online Free Page B

she’d seen flare in his eyes.
    Those eyes snared hers now, melting her heart and vaporizing her annoyance.
    “Come on. I’ll take you back to the charity gala,” he offered.
    It was a tempting suggestion, but she was dangerously close to overdosing on his potent blend of charm. Going back to the ballroom with him would not be a prudent plan.
    “I’ve had enough mixing and mingling for one day,” she declined, softening her refusal of his invitation with a warm smile. “Since I’ve accomplished what I needed to, I’m going to call it a night.”
    “Did you have a chance to get anything to eat before I interrupted your evening?”
    She shook her head. “No, but that’s okay. I’ll grab something when I get home.”
    “I was planning on ordering a pizza from Luigi’s. Why don’t you come back to my penthouse and share it with me? I’ll even sweeten the deal by tossing in one of their famous tiramisus for dessert.”
    Her stomach voiced its approval of his suggestion with an appreciative grumble, and her willpower executed a major nosedive. Even if she had the resolve to resist the double temptation of pizza from her favorite restaurant and Frank’s company—which she didn’t—the tiramisu would have dealt a deathblow to her tenaciously shored-up reserves. So much for extracting herself from the danger zone.
    While her tummy and taste buds rejoiced in anticipation of feasting on slices of pure Italian mastery and the sugary decadence that would follow, other parts of her anatomy stood up and cheered at the thought of having dinner with the epitome of masculine deliciousness. There was no way she could refuse him now.
    “You had me at Luigi’s,” she told him with a grin.
    He led her to where he’d parked his racy black Ferrari, then opened her door and saw her seated before going around to the driver’s side. Soon he was steering the car out of the city and toward the New York suburb where his penthouse was located.
    Surreptitiously drinking in his handsome profile as he drove, she decided she would be better equipped to deal with his unexpected appearance and unwanted interference if she knew where she stood with him.
    Frank had been doing his best to avoid her since he’d left his post at the CIA to join Sentinels. Learning from someone other than her that her work as a librarian was merely a cover career for her real vocation as an agent for the protection firm had hurt him. She got that. She’d simply assumed he would understand the need for secrecy, given his CIA background.
    And she had intended to tell him.
    Despite his assurances that he didn’t hold her decision to keep the truth about her real vocation from him against her, the fallout from her actions still hung awkwardly between them. She needed to clear the air, and she might never have a better opportunity to revisit the subject they’d only scratched the surface of earlier than right now.
    “I’m really sorry I didn’t have a chance to tell you about my work with Sentinels before you found out from Liz,” she dove in, picking up the thread of their previous conversation before she lost her nerve. “I hadn’t planned on keeping it a secret from you. I was just waiting for the right opportunity to explain, but then Liz unwittingly beat me to it and . . .” she trailed off, suddenly uncertain how to give voice to her regret.
    Frank hurriedly filled the verbal gap. “Hey, it’s okay. I get it. And you certainly don’t owe me an explanation. I wish you would have trusted me to keep your confidence, but I understand why you felt you couldn’t clue me in to your career choice. I’ve already told you—I’m not upset with you.”
    As much as she wanted to believe him, his words didn’t ring true. Up until tonight, it had certainly felt like he’d been doing his best not to spend time with her. And, to be fair, she’d been avoiding him, too. She harbored more than a little guilt over botching their first assignment together.