Page 34 of Devil's Marker

He smiled. “All right. Guilty. Thing is, I’m interested in you. Don’t know why exactly. I just am. Something about you I haven’t put my finger on yet.”

“Well, might as well keep it to yourself, because… Did I mention I’m not interested?”

He leaned in a little. “Again, why’s that?”

“Holdin’ out for the real deal.”

“What’s the real deal?”

“A person of substance.”

“You’re gonna have to give me more. You’re circlin’ around somethin’ you don’t want to say outright. What is it?”

“Substance. As in success, status, and I’m not ashamed to say it. Money.”

“Money.”

“Yes.”

“Why do you need money?”

“Same reason people always need money. I want to feel safe.”

“You don’t make good money?”

“I make good money, but I’m lookin’ to hook up with great money.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “And how much money would qualify as great money?”

She pursed her lips so prettily he could almost imagine it was a sexy pout. “Three million dollars.”

“And what would you do with three million dollars if you had it?”

She looked flummoxed. Like she’d never thought about that and was totally unprepared for the answer. “I’d take a trip to Paris and then invest the rest.”

“You don’t make enough to go to Paris?”

“I do,” she said defensively. “I just…” She looked around. “I need to go.” Looking down at her shirt. “I need to change so I can run the rest of my errands.”

“Okay. How far is it to your place?”

She blinked. “My place?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you say you need to go change? I’ll wait for you, then you can drop me back at the clubhouse.”

“I don’t take bikers to my condo.”

“If you could hear how snooty you sound when you say things like that, you’d cringe.”

She gaped. “Listen…”

“It’s no problem, Arcy. I’ll wait with the car while you change.”

She relaxed a little. “It would save me some time.”

“It’s a done deal then.”

On the walk back to the car, she said, “I guess I should say thank you for lunch.”