Page 57 of The Agent
“I’m expecting the information any minute now. My guy is good.”
“I guess there’s nothing more we can do right now,” Natalie said, letting herself relax into the cradling seat. “So I’ll just look forward to satisfying my curiosity about where you live.”
Tully glanced at her with an odd guardedness. “Why are you curious about that?”
“You’ve seen my place. Every square inch of it, in fact. I think it’s only fair that I see yours.” She ran her finger over the expensive burled wood of the dashboard. “This car tells me something about you. Your home will tell me even more.”
“Don’t you already know enough about me?” His tone was almost defensive.
“I know the fundamental things. You’re a man of integrity and loyalty. You like the good guys to win and you fight to make it happen. You can be counted on.”
“Don’t stop now,” he said in a bantering tone that meant he wanted her to stop. She could see his discomfort with her catalog of his virtues.
She threw him a wicked smile. “You’re terrific in bed.”
“As I hope to demonstrate later on,” he said.
Her blood fizzed in her veins. She reached over and stroked her palm down the hard muscle of his thigh.
“No distracting the driver,” he said after a sharp inhale.
“I’m just indicating my approval of your plans.”
He covered her hand and gave it a squeeze before he grinned. “But first, we’re getting ribs.”
Chapter 15
All Tully had told her about his home was that he lived on the Upper West Side along the river. So Natalie was not prepared when he pulled into an actual driveway that led to an actualhousein Manhattan. No, “house” was too modest a word. It was more of a mansion. He swung the car through a large iron gate that opened at his approach and then closed behind them as he parked in the paved courtyard.
Natalie leaned forward to gawk at the elaborate white marble–clad building that rose up for four stories. “Wow!” was all she could say.
Tully exited the car without a response, coming around to open Natalie’s door before she’d recovered from the shock. “I’ll grab the bags from the back,” he said as she stood and stared.
Tully had insisted on stopping at a boutique to buy Natalie some clothes for her overnight stay. He said he had everything else she might need in his guest room. Not that she expected to sleep there.
“This wasn’t where I pictured you living,” she said, taking the insulated tote of ribs from him. She scanned the ornate carvings and green tile roof. There was even a fanciful little turret with swirling copper cornices.
Tully’s lips slanted into a grimace. “It’s a little over the top for my taste, but I don’t like sharing walls with my neighbors, and I enjoy the view of the river.”
He led her up the marble steps to the entrance, where he pressed his thumb against a black square and typed in a series of numbers on a keypad before he pushed open the massive oak door.
“This is thebackdoor,” Natalie said. “What does the front door look like?”
Tully looked puzzled. “Pretty much the same. Why?”
“Never mind.” Natalie preceded him through the door into a hallway that made her gasp. The floor was marble, the walls were paneled in wood that ran up and across the ceiling in ornate corbels and carvings. The bronze-and-glass light fixtures hung on long chains.
She waited while Tully let his fingers dance over a high-tech panel to reset the alarm system.
They continued walking until they ended up in the main entrance. The vast space held a grand piano, a huge fireplace, and a carved staircase that featured leaded glass windows along its upward slope.
Natalie stood in the middle and slowly turned in a circle before she met Tully’s gaze. “I can’t believe you live here.”
His eyes held a rueful glint. “Sometimes I can’t either. Truth is I don’t spend much time here. And virtually none on this floor. It’s ridiculous.”
“It’s spectacular, but it’s not you. I want a tour of the whole thing!”
Tully’s grin held relief. “Glad to oblige ... after we eat. The smell of those ribs has gotten me mighty hungry.”
