Read The Shoes Come First: A Jennifer Cloud Novel Page 61

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  Ace and I rang the bell, but no one answered. He’s probably not home, I thought. Now what?

  Ace put his hand on the knob and turned it. The door slid open. “Well, a trustworthy soul does exist.”

  “What are you doing?” I asked. “We can’t go in. That’s trespassing.”

  “Do you want to find your cousin or what?”

  I followed Ace into the apartment. There was a small entry hall with a long mahogany side table positioned against the right wall. It opened up into a living room that held a comfy-looking leather sectional opposite a flat-screen TV. The remote and the sports section of the New York Times were lying on the glass coffee table. The news was blaring over the TV about today’s stock market expectations.

  “This is today’s paper; maybe he just left,” I said doubtfully, since the TV was on, but my brother was always leaving the house and forgetting to turn the TV off, so maybe.

  “You are good at this spy stuff; maybe you should ask for a raise when we get back,” Ace joked. “Let’s split up and see if we can find a clue as to where he might be today.”

  I went down the long hall to the right, and Ace took the kitchen and study. I entered an exercise room. I walked by a top-of-the-line treadmill, exercise bike, and a set of free weights. Mirrors lined the entire wall in front of the treadmill, giving me another horrified look at my messy hair.

  I left the workout room and wandered into the master bedroom. The king-sized bed sat against the far wall. The brown satin sheets were twisted across the bed, looking like Marco had just crawled out of them. A dresser sat across from the bed. I checked out the contents lying on top of his dresser. Black leather wallet, Tagheuser watch, tray with various coins, and a ticket stub from the opera. He likes the opera. So cool for a guy to like opera, I thought, or maybe he was dragged there by a girlfriend. I picked up a bottle of Versace and smelled. He had been wearing the same cologne the night he kissed me. I remembered how wonderful he smelled, and parts south of the border started to tingle.

  As I came out of my daydream, I heard water running. The door next to the dresser was shut. Should I knock? Maybe he was in the shower and wouldn’t hear me. I debated getting Ace, but maybe a quick peek to confirm it was really him before I pulled Ace away from his search was a better idea. Besides, if he was in the shower, I could be really quiet, and he would never know I was there.

  I slowly turned the knob and inched the door open. Steam immediately escaped through the open slit in the door. I poked my head in and saw the shower going. Should I go in? I asked myself. Well, we did share a kiss, and based on the photos from the Internet, I was not passing up a chance to see that body. I couldn’t make out a figure through the frosted glass, so I slowly eased in the room. The steam was so thick, I could barely see. Should I call out? No, maybe I should try to get a closer look to make sure it’s really him. I stepped closer to the glass but still couldn’t see anyone. I reached up to rub some steam away, and a voice startled me.

  “See something you like?”

  I jumped about three feet, then turned to see Marco standing behind me with a white towel wrapped around his waist. He was taller than I expected and had obviously used his exercise equipment extensively since our last meeting. His skin was a deep tan; his wet blond hair was cut shorter but still curled around his face in a Paul Walker sort of way. The big dimple in his chin was covered with a five o’clock shadow.

  “Marco, shit, you scared me,” I said with my hand on my chest.

  “I scared you?” His right eyebrow rose in question, then recognition glinted in his eyes.

  “Jennifer Cloud.”

  “You remember me?” I asked.

  “I wondered how long it would take you to figure out what we had in common.”

  “You knew even then?” I asked in awe.

  “When I kissed you, I knew for sure. No one heats up like that unless she has the gift.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me what I was?”

  “It wasn’t my place to tell.”

  I pondered this for a minute, then my eyes trailed over his biceps, and I lost my train of thought. He laughed, then walked behind me to turn off the shower. Just as we were leaving the bathroom, Ace came blowing in.

  “I can’t find a single thing…” he stammered.

  “Ace,” Marco said.

  “Marco,” Ace said, eyeballing Marco’s chest.

  “Um, let’s wait out in the living room until Marco can talk to us,” I suggested, pushing Ace out the door before his drool hit the floor.