When he’d been a kid, he’d been hard pressed to get away with anything. She’d always known what he was up to. But his own hunches had kept him out of scrapes on more than one occasion. Recalling that, Dino bit back a smile and refocused his attention on the colonel.
“Perhaps you could tell me exactly what kind of a job you’re offering. Admiral Maxwell said that it had something to do with a family problem, but he didn’t offer any details.”
Maxwell had been apologetic about that. He’d explained that his friend McGuire hadn’t been forthcoming. All he’d said was that he’d needed the best man Maxwell could come up with. Dino figured that whether or not he was Maxwell’s “best” man was debatable. What couldn’t be argued was that he was available. With his discharge papers from the navy due to come through within the next month, he’d just been pushing papers for Maxwell at the Pentagon.
Frowning, the colonel gave Dino a brief nod as he set the cigar down on the desk. “A family problem. I suppose that’s one way to describe it. My—”
The intercom on his phone interrupted him and a brisk female voice spoke. “Colonel, your daughter is returning your call. She’s on line three.”
“Thank you, Margie.” As he reached for the phone, McGuire met Dino’s eyes. “I have to take this.”
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Dino glanced around the room, absorbing the details. The wall behind him was made of glass and offered a view of the waiting area—a oneway view that allowed Colonel McGuire to see anyone who stepped into the lobby. He wondered how long the colonel had been studying him while he’d been cooling his heels in the lobby.
Through the wall-to-wall window behind McGuire, Dino could see a wintry view of Central Park. The trees were bare of leaves, the ground a dismal brownish-gray, and a serious snowstorm was promised tomorrow. Over a foot of snow was being predicted and Manhattanites were looking forward to a white Christmas. Now that it was almost certain that he was going to be in the Big Apple for the holiday season, Dino was looking forward to it, too. San Francisco had never offered much in the way of white Christmases.
Bookshelves lined the wall to his right, and a large portrait of a woman graced the wall to his left. The brass plaque beneath the painting read: Lucia Merceri. Admiral Maxwell had mentioned her, describing her as the grand matriarch of the Merceri family, a woman with a will of iron. Though she lived in a villa outside of Rome, Lucia kept close track of her family members in New York. In the painting, she wore a black suit, her white hair was pulled up into a ballerina’s knot, and she carried a walking cane in her right hand. But it was the dark, piercing eyes that captured Dino’s attention. This was a woman who took no prisoners.
“Cat, darling, I need to see you today. How about lunch?”
At the abrupt change in the colonel’s tone, Dino shifted his gaze back to him and was struck by how much his stern expression had softened.
“I know how busy you are. A toy store at Christmas—it must be total chaos. But don’t you need a break? I thought I might lure you out to that place on Forty-fifth Street you like so much. You have to eat.”
Dino knew that Cat McGuire was the colonel’s only child by a first marriage. According to Admiral Maxwell, Nancy McGuire had died of MS when Cat was ten, and during the next eight years until Cat had entered college, the colonel had made sure that his daughter had been with him on every assignment barring those that took him directly into combat zones. Even then, McGuire had tried to station his daughter in a place where he could visit her as frequently as possible.
“A delivery?” Disappointment laced the colonel’s tone. “I know there are only five shopping days left until Christmas—yes, right, four and a half. But can’t one of your employees sign for it?”
The almost wheedling note in the colonel’s voice surprised Dino. This man was a sharp right turn from the one who’d fired orders at him a few minutes ago. McGuire chose that moment to glance at him and wave him into a chair. It was only then that Dino realized he’d been standing at attention ever since he’d stopped in front of the desk.
But Cat McGuire evidently didn’t take orders from her father. In fact, she seemed to be doing most of the talking.
Intrigued, Dino settled himself in a comfortable leather chair and stretched out his legs. His admiral’s close relationship with McGuire could be traced back to the fact that they’d grown up together in Toledo, Ohio, and graduated from the same high school. Though one had gone to Annapolis and the other to West Point, their friendship had never faded. Maxwell was even Cat’s godfather.
The admiral had shown him a framed photo of his goddaughter. The moment he’d glanced at it, Dino had experienced a heightening of his senses and he’d known the same way he supposed his mother knew things that the Fates were offering him something he shouldn’t walk away from.
It had been the same when he’d been working special ops under Admiral Maxwell. He’d always sensed which ones to volunteer for. The danger that had lain in wait for him on his last mission had come to him in a vision. On the rare occasions that he experienced one, the image always flashed into his mind like the negative of a black-and-white photo. His preknowledge had probably saved his life.
When he’d been looking at Cat’s picture, he’d also experienced a very strong attraction. He’d tried to rationalize it. After all, it had been a long time since he’d had a woman in his life. The kind of work he’d been doing for the past two years hadn’t left time for anything personal. And she was definitely pretty with long red-blond hair and fair skin. The hint of cheekbones suggested strength and the set of her chin spoke of stubbornness.
But it was her eyes that he’d stared at the longest. They were oval-shaped and in the photo they were a glorious mix of gold and green. Cat’s eyes. A man could get lost in them.
Warning bells had sounded in his mind. He was starting a new phase of his life. He wanted more contact with his family, and he needed to find out if the skills he’d been honing in the navy could be translated into a career in the private sector. That was a lot for a man to have on his plate.
It was the wrong time to become involved with a woman—especially one who pulled him the way Cat McGuire did.
Colonel McGuire picked up the cigar again and tapped it on the desk. “If lunch is out, let’s meet for drinks once you close up shop…eight o’clock? I thought you closed at seven.”
There was a pause, then the colonel continued, “Eight it is. Howabout meeting me midtown at the bar in the Algonquin?”
The cigar tapped in a faster rhythm. “All right, Patty’s Pub it is—right across from your store. Eight o’clock.”
When he hung up the phone, McGuire sank into his chair and sent Dino an exasperated look. “Ninety percent of the people I negotiate with are easier to manage than she is. I swear she lives and breathes that store.”
“The Cheshire Cat.”
“Yes. Alice in Wonderland was her favorite book when she was little.” Setting down his unlit and unsmoked cigar, he narrowed his eyes on Dino. “Did my friend Maxwell fill you in on the name of the store?”
“No. I looked it up myself.” He’d been curious about it, as well as its owner, so he’d paid it a visit early that morning. Merely as a little reconnaissance mission, he’d told himself. The more you knew before you took on a job, the better.
The Cheshire Cat hadn’t opened yet, but he’d checked out the display windows and found himself charmed by the thematic way the toys were arranged in each one. One told a story of pirates, and the other featured a battle between a dragon and a valiant knight.
Then