Best In Show (Mina's Adventures Book 6)

by Maria Grazia Swan

  BEST IN SHOW

  Maria Grazia Swan

  Best In Show

  Copyright © 2015 Maria Grazia Swan

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment. It may not be resold or given away. If you would like to share this ebook, please purchase an additional copy for each person with whom you want to share it. If you're reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, please return to the bookseller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

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  Disclaimer

  A Cat to Die For is a work of fiction, a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance or similarity to any actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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  Editing by www.editingcrew.com

  Formatting and Cover design by Debora Lewis

  arenapublishing.org

  Cover photos courtesy of Shutterstock.com

  Table of Contents

  Big thanks to all the people who generously shared their knowledge of Persian cats.

  To my grandparents.

  Forever The Best in my show.

  BEST IN SHOW

  Chapter One

  The moonlight no longer lit the room, and dawn was still a flicker, a tease on the eastern horizon. Mina guessed all that by the lack of glow outlining the objects in her bedroom and by recalling the many sleepless and lonely hours she’d spent at times, waiting for the night to end.

  Not this night.

  She had awakened in the dark, startled to see Houdini, her cat, staring into her face. Diego’s arm had tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. She nestled against the warmth of his body and in her drowsy state heard him whisper something in her ear. “Red dress.” Was he talking in his sleep?

  Later when sunlight seeped into the room without being invited, Mina cursed the unavoidable beginning of the day.

  Will he stay, or will he once again leave for her own good?

  It always amazed her to see how people’s good intentions more often than not ended up hurting the ones they loved most.

  Did he love her?

  In the heat of the night, love was a given. But as daylight unfolded, her insecurities found their path to her heart. Mina didn’t move, afraid the slightest shifting might wake him. His chest rose and fell against her back as he breathed peacefully. Their bodies touched, connected in a perfect fit. A match made in heaven she repeated to herself, in heaven but not on earth?

  The longing she felt for him transcended sex and lust. Eyes closed, she revisited their good-bye two years ago in the cemetery in Italy, and that sense of unconditional love he’d brought into her life. It was the kind of love Mina assumed girls customarily expected from a father, a brother, a kin. But that was only a guess, a yearning, since she’d grown up without parents or siblings, so she had never experienced such love, until then, during that magical Italian summer.

  Diego stirred and brushed his lips up and down the nap of her neck. “Missed you,” he whispered.

  Now wide-awake, Mina quipped, “You missed me? How?”

  “How?” In one fluid motion he spun her around, her body pressed against his. “How did I miss you?’ He paused, his eyes burning from a surge of passion she hadn’t seen coming. “For the last two years I carried with me the image of you in your red dress. The way you looked the last time I was near you. It’s branded in my soul. I couldn’t rid myself of it. Even now a glimpse of a red dress would arouse me. I’d be aroused not by the woman wearing it, but by the memory of you in that red dress.”

  The red dress she wore to the charity gala. And all this time she thought he would only remember her running over his Harley with her car.

  “Did you know?” She swallowed, searching for the right words. “Did you know I would be there?”

  He shook his head. “We were on our way to a political event, work related. Kalinda—don’t know if you remember her...” His voice was pained, his face somber.

  Kalinda, the Matchmaker to the Stars. “I do.” Her tone echoing his. “Poor thing. How is she doing?”

  He hid his face in her hair. “Good, she’s good. She lives in Maui most of the time. Gino didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Why he was in Maui? By your reaction I take that as a no.” He shook his head. “That Gino, he’s brilliant in a mad scientist sort of way, but sometimes he makes me wonder.”

  “You? Why? About what?”

  “Nothing for you to worry about. I think he should take his work more seriously, but I’m guessing he’s where he wants to be. And he is obviously taken by—Margo? Did you introduce them?”

  Mina found herself smiling recalling their first encounter. “She went to the airport with me when he arrived. It was love at first sight. The minute he kissed her hand, that was it.”

  “He kissed her hand? Yes, that’s Gino. I bet he never had a woman attempt to run him over with her car.” Diego nuzzled her behind her ear.

  “Hey, you had it coming.”

  Diego chuckled. “I’m surprised you still have the Bug. To remind you of the deed?”

  She shrugged and a wave of memories washed over her.

  He must have felt her change of mood. “Didn’t mean to make you sad,” he said. “Kalinda had the grill of her De Lorean shipped to her after the investigation was over and had it mounted as a sculpture she keeps in her living room in Maui.”

  “I still feel responsible for what happened to her.”

  “You? Mina, you had absolutely nothing to do with it. Actually, your red dress saved my life. It’s true. Don’t give me that look. Kalinda figured out what was going on pretty quickly. So she made up the excuse about having to go, to give me an out, guessing I’d rather go home with you than go to the political event. You know the explosive was meant for me, right? It was under the passenger seat of the De Lorean. Didn’t kill her but took her legs. I don’t want to talk about things that make you sad. My day is yours, what would you…” A soft chime came from Diego’s side of the bed.

  His phone?

  “Not now.” He sighed. He turned and, half dangling off the bed, patted the floor where his clothes lay.

  Mina was pretty sure some of hers were in the same pile. She ran her fingers the length of his old scars. He must have found the phone, grabbing her hand as he straightened up to answer.

  “Kalinda? Speak of the devil...” He turned and winked at Mina, bringing her palm against his bare chest. “Kalinda, what’s wrong?”

  Mina could hear a woman’s voice but couldn’t make out what she was saying.

  “Sweetheart, you need to calm down, I can’t understand you—Kalinda—stop it. Tell me what’s going on.” He sounded more concerned than annoyed, and to Mina’s surprise she wasn’t disturbed that he’d called Kalinda sweetheart. Progress. She freed her hand from his hold, smiled when he tried to pull her close, and slid off the bed, heading to the bathroom. Something told her Kalinda wasn’t the kind of gal to call people that early in the morning just to discuss the weather. And she didn’t want Diego to feel guilty for talking to an old friend in need.

  By the time she came back to the bedroom with her robe on, her cats, Aria and Houdini, were waiting for her. Before heading downstairs she heard a flustered Diego say, “Kalinda, you need to calm down. None of this makes any sense.”

  She closed the bedroom door softly. What was it that her wise old friend Emilia had told her when she first met Diego? “If you can accept him the way he is, you may have something together.” Two years without him had taught Mina acceptance, and then some.

  She fed her furry
babies, then realized she had nothing to offer to her guest but coffee and toast. Coffee and toast it would be…and Nutella, for old time’s sake. Mina loaded the steaming mugs and the toasted bread on a tray and headed back upstairs. Why had she closed the bedroom door? Silly of her, but she managed to get it open with her elbow.

  Diego sat on the bed, phone in his hand. He looked in deep thought, but when he noticed her his face lit up. “You made breakfast?”

  “Since it’s my house, I figured it was only fair. Don’t get too excited. You’ve seen inside my refrigerator.” She knelt by his side of the bed and set the tray on top of the duvet, between them. He ignored the offering, dropped the phone, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her.

  “Let’s go away. Italy. Together. You and me. No phones. What do you say?”

  “It’s tempting, very tempting, and thank you for asking. Now drink your coffee, and let’s face the real world. What’s up with Kalinda? Bad news?”

  “Come sit next to me; I don’t want you to kneel.” He helped her up, grabbing his mug with one hand while holding her close with his other hand.

  “I think it’s the Nutella,” Mina mused aloud.

  “Nutella? What?”

  “All this talk about Italy. Remember the fresh rolls delivered to the front door of the condo in Italy?”

  “I remember every minute I’ve ever spent with you.” His eyes told her he wasn’t lying. “Mina, I left my bike at the curb below your place. How are your neighbors? Will they call it in?”

  She shrugged. “I doubt it. Why don’t you put it in the garage? There’s plenty of room since Margo’s car isn’t here.”

  “Don’t you have live-in help? Where’s she parked?”

  “Oh, you mean Millie? She has a one-car garage below her living quarters. Used to be Margo’s place, but she preferred to park in the main garage. And if Gino moves to Los Angeles I doubt she’ll want to come back here.”

  “He won’t be in Los Angeles. It’s Long Beach, Los Angeles County.”

  “Oh?”

  “You sound disappointed. Why?”

  “Huh, I assumed he was going to work for the Italian Consulate, you know. After all he’s a lawyer, and he’s bilingual…”

  Diego laughed and poked her nose. “How about we go see his work place later today? Would you like that? Damn…when I’m around you I forget my duties. Mina, may I use your phone to call Gino?”

  “Sure, help yourself—it’s right…” A strange noise came from downstairs. Someone coming up? She watched Diego’s body stiffen, and he lunged for something under the bed. “Diego, it’s nothing, Aria and Houdini are chasing each other.” Right then the two cats appeared and hopped on the bed, causing some of the coffee to spill onto the tray. Mina wiped it with a napkin. “Were you looking for your gun?” No need to wait for an answer. She knew the drill. There were rarely answers. “Diego, you need to get used to noises when you live in a house with pets. Didn’t Nadya’s cat—”

  He put his hand on her lips. “Shush, I’ll make you a deal—we never, ever mention her again, and I’ll forget about the Corvette man.”

  “Ah, you had to mention that damn Corvette. ” And remind her of her old suitor. “Who told you about it?”

  “About what?” he said innocently.

  “I hate that car—hate it, hate it.”

  “Well, I’m glad we had this conversation. I was thinking about getting you one since I heard rumors about you coveting a sport car.”

  She hit him with a pillow, and that really got the cats riled up.

  Diego laughed, moved the tray out of the way, and pulled her close, then stopped. “Sorry, bella. I really need to talk to Gino.” He reached over and picked up her phone from the night table.

  “Is your phone dead?” she asked him.

  “No. I just don’t want anyone to connect the dots in case someone is paying attention. Sorry. I mean it’s better if you’re not associated with my business connections. Gino is your friend. No one would question you calling him, correct?”

  She nodded. For her own good, of course.

  Diego spoke into the phone, “Hey, it’s me. Yes, I know—I’m over at Mina’s place. Listen, I need you to call in some flight tickets from Maui to Los Angeles. There’s a flight leaving Maui in an hour. It’s for Kalinda, and she’ll need special accommodations. Yes, she insisted on Eva accompanying her. Something’s up. Don’t know if it’s serious, or if something spooked her. She doesn’t scare easily. Can you pick them up? Get something outfitted for a wheelchair. I have to come by to change anyhow, and then we can all have dinner together at your new business. Mina’s coming with me in case someone needs to hold your woman’s hand. Have you told her yet? Sort of? I figured. Later.” He hung up and shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking. Who am I to assume you’ll go to Los Angeles and spend the evening with me, right?”

  “Nah, I was wondering what I should wear to impress you, and whether before heading to L.A. I should run by the adoption booth to see how Linda’s doing. But I have plenty of time for that. There are clean towels if you want to take a shower.”

  Mina was in her office thinking of the best way to introduce Diego to Millie when he came downstairs, his hair still damp, wearing the same clothes he’d had on when he arrived. She noticed his jacket and her heart sank.

  “I need to run out for a while. I’ll call you when I’m on my way back so you can let me in, okay?”

  Smile Mina, don’t show your emotions.

  “You’re not upset are you? You can introduce me to your helper when I return.” He kissed her lightly on the lips and left.

  She made sure Houdini didn’t follow him out the door. The two men in her life were prone to disappearing on her.

  Chapter Two

  Not ready to acknowledge that Diego had left her, already, again, Mina lingered, her back propped against the front door, the knot in her stomach growing harder by the minute.

  Houdini circled around her feet a couple of times, always the optimist. At some point he must have understood she wasn’t going to let him out so he walked away and joined Aria, stretched out in a sunny spot in the living room. Apparently the cat had more common sense than Mina did. He knew when to give up.

  She fiddled around in her office for a while then called her Furry Friends Foundation to make sure all was running smooth. It was. This being Sunday only two people staffed the shelter, and Linda and a volunteer would be bringing a few puppies with them to the adoption booth.

  Mina found herself incapable of concentrating, refusing to admit the chance that Diego wasn’t coming back. Pain, anger, and disappointment, a toxic cocktail she’d tasted many times before, fueled her thoughts. She must do something.

  She climbed the stairs two steps at a time, went into her room, and started to yank sheets and blankets from the bed in a futile effort to erase the night’s memories. Anything and everything that reminded her of him had to go. Now.

  Her house phone rang. Not Margo again. Her friend needed a lot of hand-holding. Oh, what the hell. “Yes?”

  “Can you let me in? I’m at the gate.”

  Diego—at the gate? Her gate. She blinked and glanced around at the mess she’d just made. Her bedroom looked like a tornado had gone through it.

  “Mina? Are you there? The gate?”

  She clicked the number that activated the gate and hurried downstairs to open the garage door, still numb but overjoyed. He was back. Diego had come back. Like he said he would.

  The Harley rumbled into the garage, the best sound her heart could wish for. Mina pointed to the empty space next to her Volkswagen. She had trouble managing her sense of exhilaration, and guilt at having doubted him. Going from the depth of despair to unbridled joy in less than a minute wasn’t easy to conceal. Side effects tended to linger.

  Diego parked the bike, dismounted, and removed his helmet, resting it on the seat. In the dimly lit garage, her lover looked all smiles and good spirits as he walked over to where sh
e stood.

  Her lack of trust pained her to no end. How could she be so self-centered? So uncaring? Never giving him a chance to prove himself before passing judgment?

  “I hoped to find a place to get you a helmet so we could ride up the coast, but it’s Sunday, and I didn’t have much luck. And frankly, I didn’t want to be gone too long or you might think I wasn’t coming back.” He said all that while holding her tightly, his warm breath sending goose bumps up and down her spine. At his last comment she stiffened. He could read her so well. Her response didn’t go unnoticed. He stepped back to look at her. “You thought I wasn’t coming back, didn’t you?” His smile faded and his eyes darkened while he watched her.

  “I’m sorry.” No place to hide her emotions.

  He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “Mina. We must get past our trust issues. We’re lucky. Getting a second chance, I mean.” He nuzzled her hair. “Talk to me. Ask questions. I want to be with you. It’s time.”

  She hid her face against his shoulder, overwhelmed by the chain of events. They stood entwined in perfect silence. A persistent scratching came from the door to the house. They looked at each other.

  Mina shook her head. Diego chuckled, and they both said, “Houdini.”

  “I don’t think he’ll give up. Should I open the door?” Mina asked.

  Diego’s eyes had that amused glint that came from inside. “Wait, I need to get my things from the bike.” He walked back to the Harley and lifted something.

  Mina had no idea Harleys came with storage space, if ever so limited. The only thing Diego came back with was a small bunch of flowers. They looked like wild flowers but she knew they were store-bought.

  He winked and handed them to her. “Sunday morning in a beach town, limited choices.”

  She had forgotten she was still in her long robe until she tripped on the hem as she reached for the flowers, and pitched forward. He caught her, the flowers pressed between them. He kissed her lips so softly that she wanted the world to stop. When he let her go she noticed his shirt collar under his leather jacket.