I, Spy? (Sophie Green Mysteries, No. 1) (Sophie Green Mystery)

this?”
    “Most certainly not. That’s what credit is for.”
    We made a stop at Luke’s house for his car and a few tiny electrical things. “Your wire.” He handed it to me and clipped his own to the inside of his shirt.
    “Oh, great, so if I have to seduce him, you can listen in?”
    “I’m going to be in his room. If you seduce him, I can watch.”
    Pervert.
    “Speaking of which,” I said, “where’s that red dress?”
    “Why? You want to try it on for me again?”
    It was obscene that I should find such a comment sexy. Totally obscene. “No, I have to give it back. It’s not mine.”
    Luke made a face. “I wouldn’t hold out much hope of that. It’s at the cleaner’s, but it’s pretty manky.”
    Marvellous.
    “What about the diamonds?”
    “In the safe.”
    He had a safe? Talk about paranoid. “Where’s that?”
    He gave me a look. “I’m not telling you. You can have them later.”
    He’s so mean . I sent a text to Ella to tell her the dress was a little bit of a mess, but I was having it cleaned and would bring it back soon (I hoped). She replied that her Ladyboat would hardly notice. She’d had the dress a few months, so it’d be old hat by now.
    I have to admit to feeling bloody nervous when we walked through the lobby of the Hilton. Harvey’s room was on the first floor and I walked along the corridor, Luke loitering in the stairwell, with my heart beating so hard I swear it must have been deafening him. I had the microphone clipped inside my bra, the transmitter in my bag, and the earpiece in place.
    “How do I get him downstairs?” I asked Luke as I stood outside Harvey’s door, tapping my feet nervously.
    “Tell him they make a great Manhattan.”
    “Do they?”
    “How the hell should I know? Actually, no, he’s from Ohio. Tell him the beer is ice cold.”
    “Isn’t that unfair generalisation?”
    “Yep. Just knock on his bloody door, Sophie. I’m getting strange looks here.”
    “My heart bleeds for you.” My fist knocked on the door. My knees knocked on each other.
    There was no reply.
    “Try again,” Luke suggested, and I did, but there was still no reply.
    “Okay,” he said, “go down to the bar and wait for him. Keep a good view of the lobby so you can see him come in. If you can’t stop him coming up then for God’s sake alert me.”
    I was still shaking as I went down the stairs and I tripped and fell into Luke.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    God, it felt good to be in his arms. He was all warm and hard and, damn him, he smelled glorious. I really had to find out what brand of deodorant and aftershave he used and buy some shares in it. “I’m fine.”
    “You’re shaking.”
    That’s because you’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met in real life, and I really just want to go back to your flat or my flat or break into Harvey’s room and rip all your goddamned clothes off and bite you all over.
    I blinked. This was not good. I had a job to do, I didn’t need the distraction, I needed to prove myself and not act like a silly twittery cliché and I needed to get the hell away from the sexiest man I’d ever seen in real life before I did something really stupid.
    Strong, independent woman. Strong. Independent.
    I needed a drink.
    “That Manhattan sounds like a good idea.”
    Luke grinned. “Atta girl. Only one, though, for Christ’s sake don’t get drunk.”
    “Would I?”
    He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, chucked me under the chin, and sprinted off up the stairs.
    I went to reception and asked if James Harvard was still in residence.
    “Yes,” I was told, “but he’s not in right now. Would you like to leave a message?”
    Déjà vu kicked in and I suddenly remembered the first time I’d met Harvey. He’d been so polite and charming. He couldn’t be a bad guy. He just really couldn’t.
    “Um, yes,” I said. “Tell him I’ll be waiting in the bar for him. Sophie Green.”
    Then I tottered away to get my Manhattan.

Chapter Sixteen
     
    Four hours later and I was learning all sorts of things about cocktails. A Manhattan was nice. A Cosmopolitan was pink. A Blue Lagoon made my tongue go all blue and the bartender thought I was a lush.
    I switched to water a while ago, but I was still feeling sort of fuzzy. Luke had been up in Harvey’s room all this time. He started telling me off for ordering so much so I took my earpiece out. It was making my ear hurt anyway.
    Once or twice I wobbled over to reception to ask if Harvey had