She looked away and inhaled a deep, calming breath. "What else did you find out?"
Much to her relief, he didn't pursue the emotional issue and smoothly veered back into their business discussion. "According to some bank information I was able to trace, Valerie made a five-hundred-dollar cash withdrawal from her savings account on Friday." He closed his portfolio and laid it back on the coffee table. "All those purchases and that cash advance happened last week, which leads me to believe that she was preparing for a trip."
His believable theory eased Liz's worry, but she wasn't willing to stake her cousin's life on an assumption, and she doubted Steve would, either. She needed to locate Valerie, hear her voice, and be reassured that she was safe and off somewhere of her own free will-before her Aunt Sally called again and put Liz into the position of lying to her or revealing the truth and admitting that Valerie had taken off with a man she knew nothing about, doing Lord knew what.
"What do we do from here?" she asked, trusting him to guide her through the next phase of his investigation.
He placed his palm on her jean-clad thigh and squeezed gently. "We follow through on our original plan with The Ultimate Fantasy."
She found his touch not only reassuring but sensual as well, since he didn't remove his hand after branding her with that warm and comforting gesture. The heat of his fingers seeped through her jeans, singeing her skin and senses. Her pulse fluttered in her throat as she vividly remembered the exquisite feel of those fingers stroking over her body, petting her. The way they'd slipped deep inside her sex and set her on fire.
"Nothing's changed if you want more in-depth information about your cousin's whereabouts," he went on, oblivious to her aroused thoughts. "Other than what I've told you, I'm at a dead end with Valerie, which means the rest of this case, and finding your cousin, hinges on the man she's supposedly with. And all we have to go on is The Ultimate Fantasy and getting invited to one of those parties so we can at least find out a last name for Rob, so I can investigate who he is and put a trace on him, which will, hopefully, lead to your cousin."
She nodded, knowing he was right.
"Ohmigosh, is that you, Steve?" A light, feminine voice drifted toward them, her tone full of bubbly surprise. "I'll be damned; it is you."
The sudden appearance of a regular Daily Grind customer coming to a stop beside Steve jolted through Liz, making her excruciatingly aware of the intimacy of their position, and the familiarity evident in those possessive fingers of his curling around her thigh. She attempted to shift casually away, to give him the opportunity to remove his hand just as nonchalantly, but the pressure he exerted with his palm forced her to remain just where she was.
"Hello, Jill," Steve said with an affable smile as he glanced up at the other woman. "Fancy meeting you here."
Since Jill was a frequent patron, Liz knew her first name, too, and had grown to like the other woman who was always so friendly when she came into the cafe. She wondered what Jill's connection to Steve was, since they appeared to know each other quite well.
"I should say the same for you." Jill lifted an inquiring brow at Steve, her green eyes sparkling with amusement. "I didn't think froufrou drinks were your style. What are you doing here?"
He took no offense to her teasing his manhood. "I'm enjoying the drinks and the atmosphere," he drawled, his words easily infused with double meaning, depending on how the recipient chose to analyze the situation.
Jill glanced from his drink on the table to Liz and grinned. "Hmm, so I see," she said, obviously drawing her own conclusions about what the atmosphere had to offer.
Steve's thumb absently stroked back and forth along Liz's thigh, but his gaze remained on Jill. "And what are you doing here?"
Jill adjusted the thin strap of her designer purse over her shoulder. "Eric and I went out for dinner to celebrate a big advertising account I finished that's kept me tied up for the past month, and we both thought coffee sounded good before we headed home."
Liz took that as her cue to make a smooth getaway. "I guess I should get those drinks for you."
"Stay put." Jill held out a manicured hand to stop Liz before she could stand up, her expression firm. "You look like you're enjoying your break, and that's what you have extra employees here for, isn't it?" Without waiting for a reply, she motioned Katie over with a smile.
"She's a take-charge kind of woman," Steve said out of the corner of his mouth, though he didn't bother to keep his comment from Jill's listening ears.
"Only when I need to be." Jill tossed back her sleek auburn hair and winked conspiratorially at Liz. "I've learned with these Wilde men that I have to take charge when the opportunity presents itself."
Boy, could Liz ever relate to that with Steve, who seemed to hold tight to the reins of control when it came to the two of them. Obviously, the dominating trait ran in the family.
While Jill placed her order with Katie, Steve stood up and dragged two nearby chairs over to their corner spot, as if he was resigned to the fact that their guest would remain, invited or not. Once Jill was seated and Steve slid back into his spot next to Liz, he glanced from Liz to the woman sitting across from them.
"I take it the two of you already know one another?" he guessed.
"We're on a first-name basis," Liz said, and rubbed the tingly spot on her thigh now that Steve's hand was no longer there. "She's a fairly frequent customer in the mornings, though I had no idea that the two of you knew one another." A shameless throwaway comment that begged for more information, which Jill was only too happy to supply.
"I'm dating his brother, Eric."
One of the brothers Liz had been so curious about earlier. What a small world it was. She recalled seeing Jill with a dark-haired, good-looking guy a time or two, and had always assumed it was her boyfriend by the way the other man had doted on her, their affection for one another tangible.
Katie arrived with two chilled lattes, and when Jill went to pull her wallet from her purse to pay for her order, Liz waved away her attempt. "Your drinks are on the house tonight."
Appreciation brightened Jill's eyes. "How kind. Thank you."
Steve stretched his arm across the back of the sofa, his fingers grazing the back of Liz's neck and causing a smattering of goose bumps to rise on her skin. Was he deliberately throwing her off balance? If so, he was doing a darn good job of keeping her very aware of him, and not bothering to hide his attraction to her.
"So, where is my brother?" he asked Jill.
"He dropped me off out front, and since all the parking spaces were taken, he had to drive around back and find one there. He should be here any second." Jill glanced toward the front of the cafe, and her expression lit up when a tall, well-built man strolled in. Unlike Steve, who seemed to live in jeans, his brother wore a neatly pressed shirt, khakis, and loafers.
Searching blue eyes, just as striking as Steve's, swept over the customers in the establishment, and Jill waved to get his attention. Just as Steve had walked through the cafe with single-minded purpose earlier and hadn't seemed to notice the other women ogling him, Eric did the same, his gaze locked on his girlfriend as he approached-until he caught sight of Steve sitting on the couch across from Jill.
"Well, what do we have here?" Eric assessed his brother with interest and a flash of humor as he sat in the chair next to Jill's. "I didn't know they allowed riffraff in this place."
"If they allow you in, they'll obviously allow anyone in," Steve countered smoothly, though it was obvious their ribbing was based in mutual masculine comradery.
Jill rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Knock it off, you two," she chastised lightly, then laid a hand on Eric's arm and launched into introductions. "Eric, you remember Liz, the owner of the cafe."
"Sure do." He grinned, his gorgeous features reflecting those superior, sexy Wilde genes that apparently ran in the family. And just like his older brother, Eric oozed charm and plenty of sex appeal. "It's nice to see you off your feet for a change, instead of always working so hard."