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the files, and waited for the phone to ring. He had no doubt that it would.

2
    D ELLA SLOWED HER PACE as she approached the restaurant where she was meeting Gabe Ross. She’d been shocked when she’d opened her bag and realized it wasn’t hers. Especially when she’d discovered the stack of papers with the Homeland Security letterhead and his badge inside. She’d closed it as quickly as possible, calling him immediately.
    She’d been so flustered on the plane that she’d clearly grabbed the wrong bag.
    Still, she thought with a smile playing around her lips, it had resulted in her seeing Gabe again. It had taken every ounce of nerve to call him after discovering the mistake and finding his contact information on the luggage tag.
    As she approached the small café with tables on the sidewalk under a charming dark red canopy, she heard her name called and looked up to see Gabe standing by the door.
    Della walked quickly toward him, seeing that he had her case as well.
    “I’m so sorry,” she said, grimacing. “I could have had this sent to you, instead of dragging you all the way up here.”
    He smiled, taking his case as he handed her hers. “This is much better. I wouldn’t have wanted the case in unfamiliar hands.”
    “Oh, yes, I—” she said, dropping her eyes down, then meeting his again. “I didn’t look through your things, of course, but I did open it and saw you work for the government. I promise I only saw the letterhead and your badge and then closed it right away.”
    “I appreciate that,” he said. “Your things should be intact. I didn’t know we’d switched until you called.”
    Then one of the waiters, Gianni, appeared, smiling in her direction.
    “Ciao, Gianni. Come stai? Avete una tavola libera?”
    “Ho sempre una tavolo per voi, bella,”
Gianni said fondly, grabbing menus and leading them to a table on the patio.
    Gabe looked at her. “You speak Italian, too?”
    “Not as well as I’d like to. I have a chance to go to Italy as a visiting lecturer this fall, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. So I practice when I can.”
    “
Grazie
, Gianni,” she said, smiling at the older man. “This is Gabe.”
    “Nice to meet you, Gabe,” the waiter said, and Della almost had to chuckle at how Gianni smiled, but his eyes narrowed on Gabe as he took their drink orders.
    “A close friend?” Gabe inquired when Gianni disappeared back inside.
    “I tutored his youngest daughter so she could improve her math scores for college, and I wrote her a recommendation. I spent several evenings at their home, and here at the restaurant, teaching her, so I did get to be friends with the family. They are a lovely group.”
    “Did she end up getting into the school she wanted?”
    “She did. Full scholarship to Cornell in veterinary science.” Della smiled, proud of her friend, and that she could help.
    “Did you grow up here, in the city?” Gabe asked.
    “No, I was born in Connecticut, and I spent a good deal of my teenage years in Boston.”
    She stopped there, not elaborating that she had spent her teenage years in Massachusetts because she had been admitted to Harvard when she was fifteen. She’d finished her first PhD by the time she was twenty, and then a second at twenty-four.
    “When did you start working at Columbia?”
    “About eight years ago. New York is home now. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
    “But you travel a lot?”
    “I do. I do work as a consultant on several government and private-sector projects in addition to teaching, and I visit universities in different countries. It’s a great excuse to travel.” She paused as Gianni delivered their wine and took their orders, then turned the discussion away from herself. “So, you work for DHS? That has to be exciting.”
    “Actually, most of my work is at my desk. I do a lot of strategic analysis, that kind of thing. Writing analyst reports and giving advice on operations.”
    “Oh, I love logisitics!” Della