Wade nodded and grabbed his keys off his desk, then waved them in the air. “I’m going to see how the phone call went between Gracie and her sister. I’ll probably take her to dinner or something.” He paused, then asked, “You’ve got Deanna covered, right?”
“If I have to hog-tie her, she’s not going anywhere near Valdez,” he assured him.
Wade chuckled. “Most men wouldn’t even attempt something like that with Deanna, but I think if anybody could manage it, you could.” He frowned. “Which is both reassuring and unsettling at the same time.” Wade headed for the connecting door to his home. “Don’t wait up, dear,” he said.
“Hugs and kisses, princess,” Jonas shot right back.
19
Once Jonas was alone, he was free to think of the dark-haired, brown-eyed siren. He recalled how she had looked when he’d left, standing in the kitchen, tears filling her eyes. That image was killing him. He needed to hear her voice. He needed to see her looking all flushed from arousal, with a sleepy smile on her face and her hair all mussed from his hands.
Hell, he just needed her.
He picked up the phone and dialed her cell phone. She answered after two rings. “Hello?”
“Hi, kitten, you busy?”
“Just finished a late lunch.” There was a pause, and then, “A really late lunch now that I look at the clock. I have a few minutes, but then I need to go. I’m meeting with a potential new client.”
Jonas heard the excitement in her voice and he smiled. “You’re going to be rich if this keeps up.”
Deanna laughed. “Hardly, but it’s nice to have work. This woman was referred by another of my clients.”
“Oh, yeah? What does she want done?”
“It’s a bathroom redesign. I’m going to be using Dean’s construction business for this one, I think. She wants a wall knocked out and a bigger tub installed.”
He whistled low. “That sounds like a big project.”
“In some ways it will be. But I love doing bathrooms, so it should be fun.” There was a beat of silence, and then, “So, uh, did you find out anything about Terrance?”
“I’ve got a driver’s license picture. I’ll bring it over tomorrow so you can see if he’s the same guy.”
“Oh, that sounds good.”
Jonas didn’t want to talk about drug dealers. Instead, he admitted, “I miss you, kitten. I needed to hear your voice.”
Her soft, husky laugh filtered through the phone line and vibrated clear through to his bones. “I just saw you this morning, Jonas. Speaking of that, did you find out whether that woman claiming to be Gracie’s sister is for real?”
“She’s definitely her sister. Actually, she could be Gracie’s twin.” He paused, then added, “And it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a few hours or an entire week, I still miss you.”
She was quiet a moment, and then said, “I miss you too.”
Jonas perked up at her small confession. “Does that mean you’re not still mad at me?”
“I’m not mad. Frustrated, but not mad.”
“Can I come over tonight?”
“No, and don’t push,” she chastised. “I just need a little breathing room. Okay?”
“Okay. One more question and I’ll let you go so you can get to your appointment.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Do you have a webcam and Skype?”
“Uh, yeah, why?”