Thinking fast, I set down the mirror and put my hands over his, sliding them down to my ass instead as I turned around to face him.
“Oh yeah?” I said, leaning in to nip at his lower lip. “Do you prefer to check me out from the front or the back?”
“Yes.” He said it with such a serious expression that it took me off guard and a burst of laughter rumbled out of my chest.
“Perfect answer.” I kissed the tip of his nose and went back to browsing, looking for something with any hidden crevices I could use. The tiny metal tube was burning a hole in my pants pocket, and I needed to find a way to get it to my brother even with a stall full of people and watchful eyes.
My adrenaline kicked up a notch as I spotted a hand-carved nativity scene. It was an elaborate piece with several nooks and crannies. I could definitely hide the tube in that without anyone being the wiser.
Now to let Alessio know.
Feigning a gasp, I reached for the carving and spun around, making sure to be loud and excited while showing Dimitri my find.
“Look at this,” I said, holding it up for him, but at an angle I knew Alessio could see. “I can’t imagine how much time it took to create something so exquisite.”
“Two months,” the artist said from behind the table, smiling proudly.
Dimitri raised a brow at me as if to say,Really?Because clearly he wasn’t interested at all, but he said, “Nice,” for the artist’s benefit.
I made up for his lack of enthusiasm by covering my heart with my hand. “Twomonths?Mon Dieu.What a trueartiste. So much time on all of these hidden details…” I ran my finger over one of the wise men bearing gifts and decided the open cove behind him would be the perfect hiding spot. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alessio glance my way and shake his head, and I knew he’d gotten the message.
Now to drop the package.
I gave the nativity a last little pat, and as I turned away from Dimitri, I slid my hand into my pants pocket, letting my coat act as a shield. I grabbed the tube with nimble fingers, leaned forward to set the piece down, and quickly nestled the tube into the cove of the carving.
Bam. Done.Stress level diminished.
Time for a celebratory?—
“Give it to me.” Dimitri held his hand out. “The piece.”
My entire body went still. Perhaps my heart even stopped. Had he seen…? No. There was no way. Unless he could quite literally see right through me, there was no reason to panic.
Or was there?
Still facing away from him, I managed to force a breath through my nose.
“What?” I asked.
Dimitri didn’t bother answering, moving past me and reaching for the carving.
I stepped forward, using my body to block the nativity. “Wait, what are you?—”
“You want it.” It wasn’t a question.
“I…”
He cocked his head to the side as those dark eyes landed on mine. “You always get what you want. You want the piece.”
Holy shit.The sigh of relief I wanted to let out was overwhelming. He thought I wanted to buy it.Of course.
I forced one of my teasing smiles and stepped in close, letting my hand wander down his chest. “There’s something I want a helluva lot more than that carving,” I said, low enough that only he could hear.
“You can have both.”
“I’m greedy, but notthatgreedy.”
Dimitri didn’t look convinced. As a matter of fact, he looked like he was about to grab the damn carving to buy it for mehimself, and that just couldn’t happen. Alessio was burning a hole in my forehead with his stare, and I had to move fast.
