At least not primarily with sex.

He walked beside her through the parking lot toward the street beyond. “Then perhaps you could elaborate on your concerns?”

“Really?”

“Please. I’m utterly at a loss.”

With a huff, she focused on the station’s sprawling single-story design across the street. Very little had been done to update the buttery yellow brick so popular in the late sixties and early seventies and the box hedges were exceptionally bland, but the giant American flag waving atop the building at least gave a touch of color. “Please take this in the spirit it’s intended, but you work for a man who’s suspected of leading a growing crime family. I don’t think me telling you where I live is a good idea.”

“1023 South Franklin Avenue.”

Cassie stopped so hard she wobbled slightly in her heels. “How did you... I mean, I only just moved in there.”

His smile softened and his words were offered with gentle deliberateness. “I’m a very thorough man, Cassie. You can’t possibly think I wouldn’t learn everything I could about a person before I shared important information with them.”

Very thorough.

Frighteningly so.

She shook the foreboding off and resumed her trek to the station, albeit on slightly less stable legs. “All the more reason for us to meet someplace public.”

“All right. Then I’ll pick you up and take you somewhere.”

“Not necessary.” She checked both ways on the street and hurried across. “Just tell me where you want to talk, and I’ll meet you there.”

“I’m afraid my retrieving you and escorting you is nonnegotiable.”

She frowned at him, but kept going. “You’ve got a lot of points you won’t negotiate. Tell me why this one’s one of them.”

“Because while I’m very much interested in hearing what you have to share, I’m not interested in anyone else hearing. The best way to ensure our privacy is to make sure no one else knows where we’re going—including you.”

She stopped just six feet from the station’s front door. “You don’t trust me?”

“Should I?”

Hmm. He did kind of have a point. And given how she’d stiffed him after their second date, he still might be wondering if she’d simply used him. “Fine. Pick me up at my place tomorrow at eight. But don’t pick any place fancy. A coffee shop, or someplace simple. And not Starbucks either. It’s criminal what they charge for coffee.”

His mouth twitched as if it were all he could do to keep a wisecrack trapped behind his lips. “You seem determined to expose me to establishments with limited standards.” He nodded, the picture of gentility and confidence. “I’ll endeavor to pick a location that suits your expectations.” He held out his hand, palm up. “Until tomorrow, then.”

He had great hands. Not too smooth like someone trapped in an office, but a man’s hands. Slightly calloused, with long fingers and blunt fingertips. Of all the things she’d replayed from their time together, his touch had been the most frequent. Which was exactly why she’d be smart to avoid any and all physical contact with him going forward.