“What about you?”
“What about me what?” I asked in return, sure he’d seen how much I hated the idea of him with her written all over my face, despite my attempt at hiding it.
“Our police chief couldn’t have a bigger crush on you. Why haven’t you ever gotten together with him?”
Every memory of Derek from school ran through my mind, making me smile and probably look like I loved the idea of being with him. “Derek and me? He’s not my type.”
“Why?” Alex asked, more interested in my private life than ever before. It must have been the effect of the alcohol.
I shrugged and tried to find the words that would let me keep my secret while telling the truth. Finally, I said, “I like a man who’s my opposite. Derek isn’t. He’s very much like me.”
Alex’s eyes lit up and with that grin that never failed to make me feel like my insides were melting, he said, “Opposite, huh? Interesting.”
I felt my cheeks warm into a blush at his comment and feared I hadn’t been very successful at keeping my feelings for him a secret. He looked into my eyes like he was searching for some answer to a question only he knew, and even though I wanted to look away, I couldn’t. A few more talks like this, just the two of us together over a few drinks, and nothing I felt would stay hidden for much longer.
Part of me wished that day would come soon, but another part of me was more frightened of that day than any gun waved at me because that day might be the last we spent together as partners.
For now, though, we were Alex and Poppy, partners in crime. And he owed me dinner at Diamanti’s.
“So about that bet. Ready to pay up?” I asked with a chuckle.
Alex smiled and finished his drink. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do tonight than enjoy a great dinner with my partner. Let’s see if we can get a table at Diamanti’s. I’m in the mood for steak.”
Poppy and Alex return in Top of The Hour:
A Poppy McGuire Mystery (Poppy McGuire Mysteries #3)
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About The Author
Anina Collins has always loved a good mystery. From Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective Sherlock Holmes to Dan Brown’s intrepid Professor Robert Langdon, she’s spent some of her favorite reading times with mystery novels. When she’s not writing her favorite mystery couple, she can be found watching entirely too much Supernatural and dreaming about the beach.
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Books by Anina Collins:
The Poppy McGuire Series
The Eleventh Hour (Poppy McGuire Mysteries #1)
After Hours (Poppy McGuire Mysteries #2)
Top of the Hour (Poppy McGuire Mysteries #3)
The Darkest Hour (Poppy McGuire Mysteries #4)
Happy Hour (Poppy McGuire Mysteries #5)
The Witching Hour (Poppy McGuire Mysteries #6)
The Finest Hour (Poppy McGuire Mysteries #7)
Project Artemis Series
In The Darkness
After The Storm
Behind The Scenes
After Hours Page 23