Page 19 of An Eye For Illusion

“I’m trying to do my job, Ms. Foster, but you are about to blow my cover.” My breath whispers over her cheek with every word.

She doesn’t back down either as she takes me in. Her eyes rake over my collared white shirt and down to my dress pants before coming back up. The top two buttons on the shirt are undone, and I’ve rolled the sleeves up my forearms. I hate collared shirts, but I dressed a little nicer tonight because of the restaurant they chose.

Her eyes linger on my forearms for a split second before shooting back up to my face. “You won’t find what we need sitting here watching him with me,” she says with venom in her tone.

I raise an eyebrow at how much her demeanor has changed from only moments ago with Moore. Then she was carefree and seemingly happy. Right now? She looks almost desperate and a little unhinged.

“You’d be surprised how much I can find out on a night like this.” My caveman brain wants me to throw it in her face that I just overheard his phone call. However, doing so will only have her asking questions, and it might change how she acts with him, tipping him off she knows something. Instead, I hold off. “Trust me, Jade. I’ve been doing this for a very long time. Are you two going home together?”

That same churning in my gut from earlier in the night makes another appearance as I wait on pins and needles for her answer.

She scoffs. “No. He says he still has work to do.”

“Good. I’ll be ready to follow him then. Go back to the table before he comes out here and finds you talking to a sinfully handsome man,” I say with a wink to ease the command.

She rolls her eyes at my antics. “Fine. Not because you told me to, but because I want to.”

Surely, she knows how childish that sounds given the fact that, if she didn’t “want to” and instead stayed to be a defiant ass, her fiancé would see us talking and want to know who I am.

She turns with a petulant huff as she makes her way back to their table. Her long legs and toned calves eat up the distance. I watch her perky ass sway just a little more as she walks back, torturing me before she sits.

Moore comes out of the bathroom moments later and hastily walks to their table. Instead of sitting, he stops next to Jade’s chair and leans down. He places a kiss on her cheek and whispers something in her ear that I can’t make out.

Her face stays in a perfect mask of indifference as he stands up and apologizes. “I hate to leave you like this, snookums, but work just called again. It’s an emergency.”

Her responding smile is as fake as they come.

Snookums? What in the hell kind of nickname is that?

“Call me later?” she asks.

“Of course. Love you,” he replies curtly.

It doesn’t go unnoticed that she never tells him she loves him before he leaves, nor does he ever look back at her as he walks to the front of the restaurant.

Well, that’s interesting…

I quickly pull out some bills to pay for my drink. Jade watches me as I head toward her table first. I’m sure she’s confused as to why I approach her instead of following Moore. She’ll know soon enough, and I’m sure she’ll be pissed. Something about that thought excites me more than anything else.

“What are you doi—”

I cut her off when I lean toward her. Her eyes widen comically before narrowing into slits. My face is just inches from hers. I can smell her intoxicating vanilla scent and hear her faint breathing. Before I lean in any closer and do something stupid like kiss her, I reach into the potted plant behind her.

Her head whips around to see what I’m doing. I quickly grab the listening device, closing my fingers around it carefully. She sputters, and a pretty pink color spreads across her cheeks.

“Were you… Were you listening to us?” she hisses.

Now isn’t the time to hash this out. I take a calculated risk that Moore won’t turn back as I lean down, my mouth brushing the shell of her ear.

A shiver races through her body, and for a reason I couldn’t identify if I tried, I let loose the words that I’ve been dying to say all night.

“You look gorgeous tonight, Jade.”

Her quick intake of breath is the only noise she makes as I rise to my full height and discreetly make my way after Moore.

Before I reach the exit, I look back to find Jade watching me intently with a look of pure and unbridled hope brimming in her eyes, not anger like I expected.

Whatever is going on here is bigger than I originally thought, and I plan to get to the fucking bottom of it.

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