One-Click Buy: February 2010 Harlequin Blaze

by Betina Krahn

  He focused that laser beam blue gaze on her, compelling her heart to kick up its rhythm. “Never.”

  “Maybe I’m just perceptive.” Especially when it came to him. She’d spent many high school lunch hours hiding behind a book she was pretending to read while really watching every smile, laugh and frown that crossed his face as he sat at the next table over.

  Shaking away the uncomfortable memory, she said, “You’re luring material, too. I’ll bet Mrs. Jackson is thrilled to have you on the case instead of Sheriff Caldwell. Maybe she stole the set herself to get you over there.”

  He leaned toward her. “You think?”

  As always, his attention made her feel self-conscious. She fought for a light tone. “Maybe.” She grinned, then added, “Personally, I found the disguise route works wonders.”

  “And you chose to put your devious plan into motion for me instead of Kirk.” He paused significantly. “Or Carr Hamilton.”

  “I did.”

  “Why?”

  “I already told you why.”

  “I’m your fantasy.”

  “You were.”

  “But not anymore?”

  She swallowed. How had they traveled down this road again? His smile, his body and his wit added layers and layers of heat to an attraction that was already a blazing bonfire. The idea of touching him again was beyond tempting; it was a fever she worried she’d suffer from forever.

  “Andrea?” he prompted in a low voice that made her tingle from head to toe.

  As a stall tactic—and not an incredibly clever one—she sipped her wine. “I thought we were here for a business meeting.”

  “We are. Does that mean all other subjects are off-limits?”

  “No, but can we talk about the case first?”

  He shrugged, opening the folder on the bar in front of him, then sliding it over. “You were the one who brought up disguises.”

  “So I was.” With more reluctance than she wished she felt, she broke her gaze from his and focused on the pictures of the tea set. “The detail and variety of angles on the shots are nice. I never got a close-up look in person.”

  “Mrs. Jackson’s insurance agent is very efficient.”

  “Could you e-mail me copies, too? They’ll be helpful when I’m contacting colleagues.”

  “No problem.”

  “You certainly need to get it back. It’s a lovely representation of Revere’s work.”

  “Revere?” He made a choking sound, causing her to look at him. “You mean as in Paul Revere?”

  “Yes. See here?” She pointed at a picture of the back of a teaspoon, the initials PR in italic lettering and appearing slightly raised. “I’ll have to do a bit more research, but we can generally narrow down the time frame to the late 1700s.”

  “The British are coming, the British are coming. That dude made this?”

  “Yes, though that’s not exactly what he said. Still—”

  “No wonder everybody’s losing their mind over a bit of silver.”

  Having regular contact with insurance executives who cared much more for the bottom line than the beauty of the pieces they represented, she smiled. “I expect somebody from the island historical society will be bending your ear about this case very soon.”

  “Sister Mary Katherine came by already.”

  “She’s not one for hanging in the background. Do you have any leads?”

  “I checked out Mrs. Jackson’s nephew.”

  “Simon?”

  “You know him?”

  Dweeb, she thought. But since she’d been called the same thing many times, she didn’t voice this word. “In passing.”

  “He certainly had the opportunity to take it, but he claims they have a good relationship, and he has a stable job and a good credit rating. I need to do some more digging to be sure.”

  He sighed, and Andrea wished she felt comfortable offering him a hug. This whole plan to have her fantasy and move on was failing miserably.

  “So besides considering Mrs. Jackson stashed the thing under the bed just for the sake of drama,” he continued, “I’ve checked with pawnshops all over the area. But knowing about the Revere angle makes that even less likely than I originally thought.”

  “Which is what led you to me.”

  “Right.”

  Sammy brought the sandwiches, which Tyler pronounced excellent, sending the bartender back to his other customers with a proud smile.

  Tyler sipped his beer. “If we’re working with the angle that the thief knew the value and significance of what he was taking, then he likely either wanted it for himself or he has a discrete buyer already lined up.”

  “That would make the most sense. I know collectors out there who might want something and not ask too many questions about where it came from.”

  Surprise flashed in his eyes. “Collectors you know personally?”

  “We’re not best buddies or anything, but yes. I even know a couple of thieves.”

  “They actually make a living stealing things?”

  “Not anymore. And not ever on paper, if you know what I mean. But when something’s missing, they’re the first people I call.”

  “Next time try calling the cops.”

  “No way. These guys are valuable sources.” When he opened his mouth to argue, she shook her head. “One of them actually spent some time in prison, but neither has done anything illegal I know about.”

  “Lately.”

  She hid her smile by sipping her wine. “Lately,” she confirmed after a pause. “Regardless of how I know them, the important thing for you is that I can ask around about the tea set in places you don’t have access to.”

  “Make sure you tell your sources you’re sleeping with a cop.”

  “I doubt they’d be interested in my one-night stand.”

  Clearly irritated, he shoved his empty plate to the side. “Is there a particular reason you’re determined to diminish our relationship?”

  “We don’t have a—” She stopped at the fiery burst of anger in his eyes. “We can’t make anything from a night of lies,” she said quietly, even reasonably, considering he seemed determined to cover the same ground over and over.

  “I don’t see why not. I’d rather you were honest with me from here on out, but the way we started shouldn’t matter.” His gaze searched hers. “In fact, I think we started out pretty great. Have dinner with me.”

  “I just did.”

  He inched closer, so one of his legs slid intimately between hers, then laid his arm across the back of her stool. “On purpose this time, not using work as an excuse.”

  Her heart started its familiar racing whenever he was close. “I think that’s a really bad idea.”

  “Why? What—” He stopped, staring at her. “Wait a second. There is a particular reason. It’s not that you don’t want me. You want me too much.”

  Not liking the realization that he was way too close to the truth, she tried to be annoyed. “That’s some ego you’ve got there, Deputy.”

  “So you don’t want me.”

  She couldn’t look into his eyes and continue to pretend she didn’t want him more than she wanted to breathe, so she stared at the floor. Protecting her heart from him was an instinct she’d been giving in to for so long, she didn’t know how to be any other way. “It won’t work between us.”

  “Dammit, Andrea.”

  Startled, she lifted her head.

  He rose, tossing some bills on the bar. “Call me if you get any leads on the case.”

  Then he turned and walked away, shoving open the bar’s patio door and stalking across the dimly lit back deck and disappearing down the stairs to the beach.

  TYLER CONSIDERED HIMSELF stubborn, but he’d never been the type to bang his head against a wall.

  But then he couldn’t ever remember being this frustrated in his entire life.

  Frankly, most things came to him pretty easily. He was naturally athletic, so sports and the physical challenges
of the military had been met with focus and determination. He was popular with women and had plenty of friends of both sexes. His intelligence was sufficient to do his job, and he was a good problem solver. Even the high school math Andrea had tutored him in hadn’t been caused by lack of understanding so much as time management with all the other things going on in his life.

  Until a few months ago his life was near perfect.

  Until he’d made a poor decision and cost three men their lives.

  So was he going to walk away from this challenge? Away from her the way he’d retired from his job? Was he going to accept another failure?

  Could he?

  With the glowing moon overhead and a few floodlights from houses as his only guide, he continued aimlessly strolling through the sand. Was he being cosmically or divinely punished for the mistakes he’d made during his last mission?

  He couldn’t feel more pain and regret or do more than give up the goals and leadership that had been the driving force all his adult life. Much as he’d like to, he couldn’t rewrite the past.

  When he sensed someone walking behind him, he turned without much curiosity. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anybody.

  He stopped and nearly stumbled when he saw Andrea, walking barefoot and briskly in his shadow, carrying her shoes, her bright pink sundress flapping in the breeze.

  “Would it really bother you if I was sleeping with Carr?” she asked the moment she reached him.

  Frustrating, confusing and completely unpredictable—that was Andrea Hastings. Not knowing where this was going, but seeing no reason not to be honest, he nodded. “Hell, yes.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not sharing.”

  “Me in particular or anybody?”

  He had no idea where this conversation was going, but he sensed if he gave the wrong answer, she’d turn around and march back the way she’d come.

  Since he had no idea what answer she wanted, he figured the only thing he had was the truth. Hadn’t she told him about her teenage fantasy and the reason she’d kept her identity a secret?

  “I’ve been in exclusive relationships before, but not in years. My work has been my biggest priority. Women are…” He shrugged as he trailed off. It seemed callous to be so indifferent about his love life.

  “Just there?” she finished for him.

  “Yeah.” He shoved his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “They were. Until I met you.”

  “What’s different about me?”

  “You’re everywhere.” When she stood silent, watching him, he realized that hadn’t made any sense at all, though his reasoning seemed clear to him. Stepping close to her and wishing he could touch her without being rejected, he drew a deep breath. “I can’t stop thinking about you. My interest in my job, finding the silver set, even the election keeps waning. I swear I smell your perfume when I’m in the office and nothing’s really there except the ancient scent of coffee and doughnuts. Every time I see the color green, I compare it to the shade of your eyes. I barely slept last night wondering what you were doing, who you were having dinner with. When I walked in tonight and saw you sitting next to another guy, I wanted to punch him and—”

  She tossed her shoes in the sand, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  Apparently, he’d given the right answer.

  He held her against his chest, angling his head to deepen the kiss, sliding his tongue against hers, reveling in the beating of her heart in rapid time with his.

  He was already addicted to her touch, and the idea of her walking away from him was so painful to consider, he deliberately blocked out the memory of the despair he’d been feeling just moments ago.

  “What does my perfume smell like?” she asked when she pulled back, breathing hard.

  Ducking his head, he drew in the scent clinging to her skin just below her ear, even though he could have described it easily from memory. “Oranges, plus something sweet and fresh like herbs.”

  She smiled. “It’s called Citrus Breeze.”

  He smoothed her windblown hair back from her face. “My senses have always been pretty acute.”

  “Also…” After picking up her shoes, she took his hand and led him farther down the beach, away from the bar and toward her house, which he realized must be only a couple of blocks away. “I’ll help you find the silver. Carr and I are currently friends and have always been just friends. Last night I had dinner with Finn, my younger brother.”

  Relief flooded him. “Your brother.”

  “Yep. He’s also an ex-thief, though not either of the ones I was talking about earlier. He was in a gang and convicted of grand theft auto. Six months ago, he was given early parole, which is why I moved home to work on a consulting basis and cut back on my travel.”

  “Your parents?” he asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer. Why else would a sister feel solely responsible for her younger sibling?

  “They died in a car accident two years ago.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Thanks. It’s been hard, but their sudden deaths brought about a big change in Finn. He was really haunted by the idea that they’d died thinking of him as a criminal. With Carr’s help, I found an attorney who could help him work toward getting paroled.”

  “And part of that plan was you moving back to the island?”

  “It was my idea. I traveled a lot of years without responsibility to anybody but myself. I couldn’t do that anymore,” she said, her tone a little wistful. “Mostly, I like being home again. I have friends and Sister Mary Katherine here to back me up. She gave Finn’s job at the rectory, doing maintenance projects and running errands. And I love my house.”

  “I think you’re pretty amazing to sacrifice so much for your brother.”

  “You’d do the same for your sisters.”

  His head whipped toward her. “How did you know I have sisters?”

  “Teresa and Tammy, six and three years older than you respectively,” she said proudly. “Your mom’s name is Sophia and your father’s is John, which is also your middle name. They live at 403 East 8th Avenue. Oh, and your grandfather was Sheriff Austin Landry, who served back in the day before Sloan’s dad.” Obviously noticing the shocked expression on his face, she added, “I used to study you with much more intensity than everybody thought I did math.”

  He wasn’t sure how to reply to that. An uncomfortable silence fell—at least on his part. “Okay, that’s a little weird,” he said finally.

  “Yeah, I guess so.” But she didn’t seem bothered by it.

  “I already apologized for not noticing you then, didn’t I?”

  “You did.” With a determined nod, she said, “It’s fine. I’ve got to stop living in the past—no matter how much being home brings it all back.”

  “If I could change the past, I would.”

  They’d reached her house, and she stopped, turning to face him in a circle of illumination from a floodlight. The focus and devotion on her upturned face startled him. She was letting down the wall she’d put up between them.

  “You would?” she asked softly.

  “Sure.”

  Studying her beautiful features and wondering if he’d simply been blind or stupid at eighteen, he wrapped his arms around her waist. All day he’d been trying to pinpoint the exact shade of her eyes and now realized they reminded him of a trip once to Figi. The ocean there was pure and clear and, in shallow water, the exact same pale green.

  Not long after those brief, idyllic days, he’d been called to the mission that had ended his career. And lives.

  Maybe you don’t deserve her.

  Panic washed over him for a crazy moment before he suppressed the emotion. She didn’t have to know what he’d done.

  “I think you’re pretty amazing,” he said, cupping her cheek in his hand.

  Her gaze, a pool of liquid green he wanted to drown in, held his before she spoke. “That’s beginning to sink in. By the
way,” she added, angling her face so her mouth was near his. “I’d love to have dinner with you sometime.”

  “It’s a little late for dinner.”

  “How about dessert?”

  6

  SINCE HE’D STARTED the day with a nun in his office giving him theoretical hell about solving a case of missing historic silver, and he was ending it by sitting in a hot tub with a bikini-clad blonde he was nuts about, Tyler considered his near-perfect life firmly back on track.

  “Comfy?” Andrea asked, sitting several feet away but occasionally tangling her legs with his under the water.

  He adjusted his boxers, which were substituting for his swimsuit. “How likely is it your brother’ll drop by tonight?”

  “He has a strict curfew and his own apartment on church grounds. I wouldn’t say there’s a zero chance, but I work in insurance, so I never do.”

  “I like absolutes. Part of that pesky military training.” Narrowing his eyes, he scooted closer to her. “Where is he?”

  “Why?”

  “I’d like to actually meet him before he finds me seducing his sister in the hot tub.”

  “He’s helping the nuns set up a youth sleepover at the church.”

  “Sleepover? I don’t recall any sleepovers.”

  “They don’t really sleep. The kids hang out and play video games and volleyball in the gym all night. The Sisters supervise. It’s all fun and innocent. Strawberry?” she asked, holding a plate of fruit between them.

  Even with only the accent lighting shining up the stalks of the palm trees and the ethereal, bubbling blue of the water, he could easily see the laughter on her face. Her humor was just one of the many reasons she was irresistible.

  After taking a strawberry, he set the plate on the deck beside them. He took a bite of the fruit, then offered the other half to her.

  When she opened her mouth, he replaced the strawberry with his lips. She sighed against him, laying her palm on his bare chest. He indulged in the sweet taste of her tongue, striving to calm the anxiety he could feel vibrating through her body.

  “Are you nervous about being alone with me?” he whispered against her lips.