He kissed my cheek as he leaned over to hand me a coffee.
“Speaking of credits,” I said. “I called my mother while you were out. She said dinner Saturday would be wonderful. She’ll make reservations.”
“Too late. Done.”
“You got reservations for Odessa’s on a Saturday?”
His brows arched. “You think I don’t know how to get a table at a popular restaurant? You forget who you’re talking to, my dear.” He set the tray between us as he climbed in. “Dropping your mother’s name helped.”
“I’m sure it did. She likes you, you know. For me, I mean.”
“Good. Though I was on my best behavior that night, which may have skewed the results.”
“I don’t think so.”
Our eyes met. He nodded. “Good.”
I spread preserves on my toast. “She wants me to invite you to the spring regatta.”
“Rowing? Are you competing?”
“I…” A shrug. “I’m out of practice, so it’ll be strictly a social function for me.”
“There’s still time. Consider it a challenge. Get yourself whipped into shape by spring.”
“Are you going to show your support at 5:30 a.m. practices?”
“Absolutely. From the comfort of my bed, I will be cheering you on wholeheartedly.”
I laughed and took a bite of toast.
“I’ll come out when I can,” he said. “In return for breakfast afterward.”
“Sounds fair.”
“And you can tell your mother I would love to come to the regatta. I’m sure it will be a”-a sly grin my way-“glittering affair.”
“Uh-uh. As my guest, you are forbidden to steal from my mother or any of her friends. I’ll show you who you can steal from, provided a portion of the proceeds go to a charity of my choosing.”
“A finder’s fee?”
“You got it.”
“Fair enough.”
We ate for a few minutes. My paper rested on my tray; his on his lap, both still folded as we perused the lead articles, as if reluctant to open it and make that commitment.
“I made a few more calls this morning,” Karl said.
“Did you phone Lucas? Did he say-?”
His glower cut me short, reminding me that we were leaving that aside until after breakfast.
“A couple of months ago, I talked to Jeremy about relocating.”
It took a moment for me to understand what he meant. The bubble that was keeping last night’s reality at bay also blocked any reminder that we were anything other than two ordinary people.
“Changing my territory,” he prompted.
“Right, yes.” As a Pack werewolf, Karl was allowed to hold territory. The others shared New York State. By choice, he got Massachusetts-a reflection on both his independence and his reluctance to fully join into Pack life.
“The calls I made today were inquiries into a couple of condos in Philadelphia.”
He stopped there, and I had to replay his words before his meaning sunk in.
“You want to move to Philly? Relocate your territory to Pennsylvania?”
“Is that all right?”
“I suppose-I mean, yes. That’s all right. Just…unexpected.”
He reached to take a slice of bacon off my plate, using the excuse to study my expression. Moving territory wasn’t something to be done lightly. Which meant he was serious. About me. About us. And I knew that, I guess. It was just…unexpected.
“It’s really more of a home base than a home,” he said. “I just thought Philadelphia would be more convenient, under the circumstances.”
I nodded.
“I’m particularly interested in a new building about a block from your office.”
I managed a smile. “Ah, the Renaissance Towers. Very classy. Did you know they tore down one of the city’s oldest apartments to build it? Destroyed a heritage building?”
“I believe they preserved part of the facade.”
“And evicted people who’d been living there their entire lives.”
“It has a lovely view.”
“I’m sure it does.”
He sighed. “If I choose it, I’ll donate five percent of the purchase price to a homeless shelter.”
“That’s not really the point.”
“It has a lovely view.”
I shook my head and finished my orange juice.
“Anyway, it would be convenient for you,” he said. “A place for you to eat lunch, instead of brown bagging it at your desk. And a place to sleep if you work late or the weather’s bad.”
“That’d be nice.”
He reached for my uneaten croissant. “You may find it more convenient, at some point, to stay there during the week, and we can spend weekends at your townhouse in Gideon.”
I gave him a look.
“I said, ‘at some point.’”
“I’ve never lived with anyone, Karl.”
“Neither have I.”
“I drool in my sleep.”
“I know. It’s cute.”
As I opened my mouth, the phone blipped on my nightstand. A text message, which meant I didn’t need to answer it immediately, but it made a good excuse.
“Who is it?” he asked, though his tone told me he had a pretty good idea.
“Paige.”
As I skimmed through the message, my fingers tightened around the phone. “She says there was a shooting last night, while they were finding Carlos. They think it’s a member of the gang. She’s warning me that she’s sending the photo separately, so I don’t get a shock opening it, I guess.” I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to check for the second message. “Troy’s stable. And they did find Carlos. She says they’re ‘holding him.’” I glanced at Karl. “In custody? Do they think he’s involved?”
His expression said he didn’t care enough to speculate.
“She’d like me to call her. She probably has some questions about last night.”
“Fine. Tell her you’ll call from the plane.”
“Karl…”
“Don’t you see what he’s doing?”
“Who?”
“Lucas. He’s as sneaky as his father. I told him to call me.”
“It’s my help they need with the photo.”
“He doesn’t even call you himself, but has his wife do it, sending a text message so it sounds as if they’re being considerate, not wanting to disturb you. Just watch. When you call, Paige will invite us out to breakfast, where Lucas will pounce, catch you off guard and talk you into staying to help him.”