The Accidental Assassin
Page 2
I shuddered as I passed the hallway that led to the building’s parking garage. I had tried to drive Danny’s car my second day here and had hated every second of it. Everything was backward. The steering column was on the wrong side. I had to drive on the wrong side of the road. Combine that with all of the roundabouts and new-city-confusion, and it spelled disaster. I’d made it to the airport to pick up the luggage that had been delayed, but when I got back, I drank half a bottle of wine to calm my nerves. I’d never thought I’d have such a hard time doing something different. Then again, I did prefer to stick to my routine.
Which is exactly why I was here in London, trying to shake things up. After my college graduation, I’d found myself in a rut. My degree seemed useless and I still hadn’t left the aircraft builder’s office where I’d been working during school. I still drove the same car, used the same shampoo, and did everything the exact same as I had when I first left for college. And then Danny proposed to Tess. And Tess, one of my rocks, said yes. Before I knew it, I was helping her pick out dresses and look at flats—ha! I got it right that time—online. As I watched her move forward, I realized that I was going nowhere. The more I delved into my life, the more static it started to seem. I even realized that the men I had dated over the years had all been the same. Boring, predictable, and even more lackluster in bed. In my mind I had thought that meant stable, but it really just meant…mind-numbing.
Coffee smells wafted from the little café at the corner of the street and I smiled. So far, I’d tried eight new drinks. Rachel, the barista, always brightened when I came in. She said that most people ordered the same thing every time, but that I was always a surprise.
“There she is! How are you, Ava?” Rachel leaned a hip against the counter. Her bright dreadlocks swayed around her head and her nose piercing shined brightly.
“Good, you?” I stepped around a mother wiping up her daughter’s spilt juice.
“Excellent. What are you going to try today?”
“I’m not sure.” I looked up at the board above her head. “Why don’t you surprise me?”
“Really?” She stood up straight. “Anything you don’t want?”
I almost said tea, but bit my tongue. “Nope. You make it, I’ll try it.”
“Have I mentioned how much I love it when you come in here?” she asked. “And not just because of your cute American accent.” She rubbed her hands together. “I get to experiment on you.”
“I prefer to think of it as expressing your creativity.”
“Same thing, isn’t it?” She moved over to her machines and started mixing things in a cup. I watched and tried to pick out the ingredients. When she brought it over to me, she watched expectantly, so I took a test sip.
“Caramel.” I took another sip. “Pumpkin?”
“Got it. Better than the raspberry?”
“Definitely.” The raspberry coffee had made me want to gag. Fruit and coffee was apparently not my thing. I handed her some money and waved for her to keep the change. Rachel was one of the few people that I had met the past week who had become familiar. Mostly because she was a sucker for my accent. Which was funny, because I was a sucker for hers.
The first couple of days I’d sat at the same table when I came in, but when I realized I was falling into yet another safe routine, I’d started picking random spots. The chair closest to one of the open windows called my name, so I decided it would do for the day. My eyes drifted over to the seat I’d used yesterday and froze. A man in a suit sat in the corner, his arm draped over the back of the chair, a paper in his hand. Sharp cheek bones, combined with a light sprinkling of stubble and piercing green eyes, combined for a heavy shot of lust.
As if sensing my scrutiny, he looked up and met my gaze. There was a quick zing that zipped through my body as our regard held. I jerked my eyes away guiltily before chastising myself. It was an instant reaction to being caught ogling, but I should have just smiled and looked down. I couldn’t bring myself to look back over at him, so I focused on pulling my laptop out and connecting to the internet. I didn’t realize he had left the café until I saw him walk past my window. He smiled at me when I looked up, but didn’t say anything. I watched his back with interest as he headed down the street. It was a rather nice backside and it had been a while since I’d enjoyed a good romp in bed. I was a bit surprised by the immediate attraction though. All of the men I’d dated in the past had been a bit callous, rough around the edges, but this one had been very nicely put together.
“Looks like you’ve got an admirer.” Rachel sat a new cup down on the table.
“What?” I looked up at her, confused.
“The hottie got this for you. Said to get you another cup of whatever had made you smile.” She grinned broadly at me.
“Hottie?”I looked at the cup and felt my cheeks grow hot. He had definitely noticed me staring.
“I saw you checking him out. Not that I blame you. Those eyes were to die for.” She cocked her head to the side. “Had a dangerous feel to him, too. Rugged, but not in a mountain man sort of way.”
“Caught.” I held up my hands in defeat. “Sexy. He was sexy.”
“And he knew it.”
“They usually do.” I shook my head and looked at the cup.
“Don’t worry. I made it, so it’s not drugged or anything.” Rachel laughed.
Which is exactly why I was here in London, trying to shake things up. After my college graduation, I’d found myself in a rut. My degree seemed useless and I still hadn’t left the aircraft builder’s office where I’d been working during school. I still drove the same car, used the same shampoo, and did everything the exact same as I had when I first left for college. And then Danny proposed to Tess. And Tess, one of my rocks, said yes. Before I knew it, I was helping her pick out dresses and look at flats—ha! I got it right that time—online. As I watched her move forward, I realized that I was going nowhere. The more I delved into my life, the more static it started to seem. I even realized that the men I had dated over the years had all been the same. Boring, predictable, and even more lackluster in bed. In my mind I had thought that meant stable, but it really just meant…mind-numbing.
Coffee smells wafted from the little café at the corner of the street and I smiled. So far, I’d tried eight new drinks. Rachel, the barista, always brightened when I came in. She said that most people ordered the same thing every time, but that I was always a surprise.
“There she is! How are you, Ava?” Rachel leaned a hip against the counter. Her bright dreadlocks swayed around her head and her nose piercing shined brightly.
“Good, you?” I stepped around a mother wiping up her daughter’s spilt juice.
“Excellent. What are you going to try today?”
“I’m not sure.” I looked up at the board above her head. “Why don’t you surprise me?”
“Really?” She stood up straight. “Anything you don’t want?”
I almost said tea, but bit my tongue. “Nope. You make it, I’ll try it.”
“Have I mentioned how much I love it when you come in here?” she asked. “And not just because of your cute American accent.” She rubbed her hands together. “I get to experiment on you.”
“I prefer to think of it as expressing your creativity.”
“Same thing, isn’t it?” She moved over to her machines and started mixing things in a cup. I watched and tried to pick out the ingredients. When she brought it over to me, she watched expectantly, so I took a test sip.
“Caramel.” I took another sip. “Pumpkin?”
“Got it. Better than the raspberry?”
“Definitely.” The raspberry coffee had made me want to gag. Fruit and coffee was apparently not my thing. I handed her some money and waved for her to keep the change. Rachel was one of the few people that I had met the past week who had become familiar. Mostly because she was a sucker for my accent. Which was funny, because I was a sucker for hers.
The first couple of days I’d sat at the same table when I came in, but when I realized I was falling into yet another safe routine, I’d started picking random spots. The chair closest to one of the open windows called my name, so I decided it would do for the day. My eyes drifted over to the seat I’d used yesterday and froze. A man in a suit sat in the corner, his arm draped over the back of the chair, a paper in his hand. Sharp cheek bones, combined with a light sprinkling of stubble and piercing green eyes, combined for a heavy shot of lust.
As if sensing my scrutiny, he looked up and met my gaze. There was a quick zing that zipped through my body as our regard held. I jerked my eyes away guiltily before chastising myself. It was an instant reaction to being caught ogling, but I should have just smiled and looked down. I couldn’t bring myself to look back over at him, so I focused on pulling my laptop out and connecting to the internet. I didn’t realize he had left the café until I saw him walk past my window. He smiled at me when I looked up, but didn’t say anything. I watched his back with interest as he headed down the street. It was a rather nice backside and it had been a while since I’d enjoyed a good romp in bed. I was a bit surprised by the immediate attraction though. All of the men I’d dated in the past had been a bit callous, rough around the edges, but this one had been very nicely put together.
“Looks like you’ve got an admirer.” Rachel sat a new cup down on the table.
“What?” I looked up at her, confused.
“The hottie got this for you. Said to get you another cup of whatever had made you smile.” She grinned broadly at me.
“Hottie?”I looked at the cup and felt my cheeks grow hot. He had definitely noticed me staring.
“I saw you checking him out. Not that I blame you. Those eyes were to die for.” She cocked her head to the side. “Had a dangerous feel to him, too. Rugged, but not in a mountain man sort of way.”
“Caught.” I held up my hands in defeat. “Sexy. He was sexy.”
“And he knew it.”
“They usually do.” I shook my head and looked at the cup.
“Don’t worry. I made it, so it’s not drugged or anything.” Rachel laughed.
