by Debbie Mason
He smiled and nodded. “Yeah. And I didn’t tell you the rest of my news. Maggie’s going to let me rent a room at her place.”
“Wow, that so great. Maggie’s the best, isn’t she? And talk about talented.” She turned to hand him his hot chocolate. He was off the stool and at the door. “Lenny, what’s wrong?”
“Gotta go. I’ll see you around,” he said, and slipped outside. Head bent and shoulders bowed, he disappeared past her shop window. She was staring after him when her door chimed.
“What was he doing in here? And why did he take off as soon as he saw me coming?”
“Maybe because you’re in uniform and you look a little intimidating when you scowl like that.”
“Yeah, you look terrified.” Aidan leaned across the counter and wrapped his cold hand around her neck, drawing her in for a kiss. “You taste good.”
“You look good. I love a man in uniform.” It was true, but she probably should have kept it to herself. The uniform was a sore spot for Aidan. He’d figured Paul would forget about putting him in a patrol car once he’d served his suspension. He didn’t, and Julia knew why. She’d yet to fill in Aidan though.
“Sorry, babe. I don’t plan to be wearing one for long.”
She debated whether or not to tell him about her conversation with Paul. They had so little time together that she hated to bring it up. But… “Have you asked Paul when he plans to reinstate you as a detective?”
His eyes narrowed. “No, have you?”
“Not exactly. But you know the day he came in and I talked to him about your dad and Maggie, and he so graciously agreed to back off because he’s a nice man and friends with your father?”
Aidan bowed his head and took a deep breath before giving her a long and drawn-out “Yes.”
“Okay, so he told me why he has a problem with you.”
“That was a week ago tomorrow, and you’re just telling me about it now?”
“It’s not exactly the kind of thing you tell someone over the phone or when they stop by on their break or for a quick lunch, and we haven’t had any more time than that.”
“Because, thanks to you, we sold our house, and I have two weeks to take care of the concerns listed in the inspector’s report. You know the only way I can get everything done is to work after my shifts and on weekends. We could have spent last Saturday together, but you were busy playing Santa’s little helper and giving me a hard time for not bringing Ella Rose.”
“Yes, and rightly so. She missed out on a special day with her family. Talk about stealing the joy out of the holidays. Do the three of you walk around saying bah humbug for the entire month of December?”
“We’ve talked about this, and it didn’t go well, so maybe we should just agree to disagree, okay?”
“Fine. Here.” She handed him the hot chocolate. “We’ve been dating for a whole week. We should celebrate.”
His mouth twitched, and he put the cup on the counter. Leaning in, he framed her face with his hands. “Happy anniversary, sugarplum,” he said, and kissed her.
Five minutes later, she came up for air. “Keep kissing me like that and I might forgive you for spending all your free time with your ex.” She winced. “That sounded like I’m jealous of Harper, and I’m not. I just wish we had more time together. Are you sure you’re not just using getting the house ready as an excuse? I’d rather you be honest if—” He shut her up with a kiss that wasn’t soft and tender. It was demanding and deep.
“Was that honest enough for you? I’m thirty-seven, Julia. I don’t play games. If I don’t want to date you, I’ll tell you. I expect you to do the same.”
“You’re mad at me.”
“Yeah, I am. Look, I’m as frustrated as you are. I thought we’d have last Saturday and Sunday together. I didn’t know Harper planned to break the news to Ella Rose on Saturday or that she expected me to check out every house for sale in Harmony Harbor and the adjoining counties on Sunday. But we should be good for this Saturday.”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You have another Christmas thing?”
“You could come with me. We’re going caroling.”
“Nice try.” He checked his watch. “Break’s almost over. Are you going to tell me what Benson said?”
She gave him the skinny on the conversation, minus the promise she’d made Paul. “It’s just a thought, but if he thinks you need to learn to control your temper, how about taking an anger management course? You know, I’ve been thinking about taking one lately. Hey, I have a great idea. Why don’t we take the class together?”
“You, taking an anger management course?” She could tell he was trying not to laugh, but he was only able to hold out for so long.
“I don’t know why you find it so unbelievable that I get angry, Aidan. I’ve gotten angry at you.”
“Right, you get in a snit, tell me I’m a jerk in ASL, and then less than an hour later, you’re kissing me under the mistletoe. You don’t have anger issues, babe.”
“But you do?”
“I dealt with violent people when I was undercover. Sometimes, that’s the only thing they respect. But that part of my life is over. I’m good, Julia. If I didn’t think I was, I’d talk to someone about it.”
“Paul thinks you keep your anger contained, and one day it’s going to explode.”
“Benson doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’m no different from half the guys you know. When I need a release, I work out.”
She smiled and leaned over the counter to squeeze his biceps through his jacket. “Do you work out at Fun Fitness?”
He laughed. “No, I work out at the Y with a couple of guys. We do MMA. Mixed Martial Arts,” he clarified.
“I was going to suggest we work out together, but that sounds a little hard-core for me. Maybe you could change it up once in a while and do yoga with me. We could work on alleviating our stress together.”
“As much fun as that sounds, sugarplum, I have a better idea.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. She shivered not only because his warm breath tickled but because his idea involved them naked and in a bed and in other interesting locations she hadn’t thought about. It sounded like he was going to be an adventurous lover. Maybe she should have had him advise her on other parts of her manuscript.
“I think we need to be in the same room for longer than ten minutes for that to happen,” she told him, fanning her warm face. There were other parts of her that were warm, but fanning them probably wasn’t a good idea.
“Definitely need all day and all night for what I have planned. What do you say we work on that?”
Enthusiastically nodding in response to his question while at the same time imagining exactly what that day and night might entail, she must have missed whatever he said given that he was frowning at her and repeating her name. She glanced at the twenty in his hand. “Lenny left it,” she said, and then told Aidan his news. “Isn’t that fantastic?”
“Yeah, but I can almost guarantee my dad won’t be happy to hear Maggie’s renting him a room.”
“Please don’t say anything. I don’t want this to come between Maggie and your dad.”
“I don’t see that happening. They’re in a pretty good place right now. I overheard him on the phone with Maggie this morning. He told her he loved her too.”
“Wow, I thought it would take longer. This is… this is the most amazing news.” She pressed her hands to her chest, rapidly blinking back the tears welling in her eyes. She couldn’t cry in front of Aidan. He’d want to know why the news affected her so deeply. “Your dad got another happily-ever-after.”
“I guess he did.”
“Are you happy?”
“About my dad and Maggie? Yeah.”
“Well, yes, but I was thinking more about you personally. Are you happy?”
He seemed to have to think about it a minute, and then he gave her one of his slow smiles that curled her t
oes. “Yeah, I’m happy, sugarplum. And you played a part in that. So thanks. Now I really do need to go or someone will rat me out to the chief. Don’t get rowdy tonight. I wouldn’t want to have to arrest you.”
She smiled and mentally hung up her fairy godmother wings. She’d done it. She’d fulfilled her vow to Josh with three weeks to spare.
* * *
“Patrol car six, there’s been a disturbance reported at Books and Beans.”
Aidan bowed his head. “Copy that.” If it’d been a call for any place other than Julia’s, he would have been more than happy to hear the dispatcher’s voice. There hadn’t been much action in town, and his shift was dragging. It would have been worse if he hadn’t brought his notes along.
Unbeknownst to the chief or Aidan’s family, he was looking deeper into his mother and sister’s accident. He’d found something he hadn’t seen before. Probably because he’d been grief-stricken when he’d asked to see the evidence within days of the accident.
Looking through the file with fresh eyes, he’d found a notation that blue paint had been found on the rear bumper of his mom’s white car. But more promising was a new eyewitness.
The officer at the scene had taken the man’s contact information, but from what Aidan could tell, they’d never been able to reach him. After trying several times over the course of two years, they appeared to have given up. Aidan had finally gotten a lead on the man yesterday. Within a week of the accident, the witness had received an offer for a new job and moved from Boston to LA. He’d left no forwarding address. And over the intervening years, he had changed companies and moved two more times. Aidan had worked his contacts to get the information he needed. Now he just hoped it paid off. He’d left a message on the guy’s voice mail earlier today.
Aidan passed two horse-drawn sleighs at the bottom of the hill as he drove to Books and Beans. He pulled into a spot at the end of Main Street, which was closed to traffic for another hour. Obviously, he could park his patrol car wherever he wanted, but he didn’t trust the groups of women weaving along the street not to walk into or in front of his vehicle. He’d forgotten about the signature drinks.
“This should be fun,” he said as he got out of the patrol car.
“You may want to call for backup, son,” said one of the older men sitting in a sleigh. “Anyone who says men are hard to handle when they get liquored up hasn’t spent much time with those gals.”
“I should be good, thanks.” Aidan questioned the validity of that statement two doors down from Books and Beans when raised voices filtered onto the street. If they sounded raised out here, it meant there was screaming going on inside. He briefly wondered if he should radio in for backup. But he didn’t want to do anything that might reflect badly on Julia and her business. The woman worked too hard to have him making the wrong call and messing things up for her.
As soon as he opened the door to Books and Beans, he knew someone was already trying to do just that. He recognized Old Lady Bradford yelling, “I’m telling you, my daughter just bought this book, and it’s pornography pure and simple. The only reason you’re defending her, Ava DiRossi, is because you’re married to a Gallagher and the hussy is dating one.”
A group of women, including the two baristas, were watching the show from under the arch between the coffee shop and bookstore. He remembered the older barista from when she filled in for Julia. “Donna.” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the mayor, who, at that moment, was doing a good job of defending Julia against Mrs. Bradford’s charges. “Donna.”
The woman turned, and he nodded at the cash register.
“Oh, sorry, Officer. I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have left the cash unattended.” She hurried back around the counter. “I’m so glad you’re here. Poor Julia. They were all having such a wonderful time until Mrs. Bradford and her posse showed up. She’s just looking for an excuse to get Julia kicked off as head of the Christmas committee, you know. Jealous old battle-ax.” She flushed. “I know that’s not very Christian, but she’s a mean-spirited old woman.”
“It’s all right. I’ll go—” There were several loud thuds followed by shocked gasps. So much for thinking Hazel had it handled. He’d been hanging back in hopes they wouldn’t need him. He was pretty sure that as soon as Mrs. Bradford saw a uniform, the situation would go from bad to worse.
Delaney pushed past the women crowded under the archway. “Donna, try calling the police again—” She spotted Aidan. “What are you doing standing out here? Get in there before the fight between Hazel and Mrs. Bradford gets physical.” She grabbed him by the arm.
He peeled her fingers from his forearm as they made their way through the throng of women.
“I swear to God, I’m going to strangle Julia. It’s as if she’s determined to ruin Hazel’s reputation. How am I supposed to explain the videos of Hazel defending a woman who sells porn?”
“She doesn’t sell porn, Delaney.”
On the other side of the shop, near the electric fireplace hanging on the wall, he spotted Hazel facing down Old Lady Bradford and her friends. His sisters-in-law and the owners of the bakery, flower shop, and bridal store were helping Julia pick up books from the floor.
Julia stood with a bunch of paperbacks in her arms. She wore a red dress and black boots and had her hair in a messy knot. It didn’t matter that the dress clinging to her curves was as sexy as her high-heeled boots; she still managed to project an air of innocence.
He was thinking she was too sweet for her own good when she said, “Mrs. Bradford, this is the last time I’ll ask you and your friends to leave. If you refuse, I’ll have you charged with defamation of character, destruction of private property, and ruining a perfectly lovely evening with your petty vindictiveness. If this is all because I was named chair of the Christmas committee, then I quit. I don’t need a silly title or position.”
Mrs. Bradford looked torn until ninety percent of the women in attendance loudly begged Julia not to quit. Then she spotted him. “Officer, arrest her! She’s selling pornography.”
He ignored Mrs. Bradford and walked to Julia’s side. “You okay?”
She nodded, but the disheartened expression on her face said she was far from okay.
“Mrs. Bradford, leave quietly as Julia asked, or I will charge you with destruction of private property.” He took one of the books—Warrior’s Kiss by J. L. Winters—from Julia and held it up. The cover had been damaged.
“Don’t think you can intimidate me, young man. This time I will not only ask that you be suspended, but I’ll have your badge. There are laws against selling… smut.” She grabbed the book from Aidan’s hand and went to rip it up.
He closed his hand over her wrist and brought her arm behind her back as he loudly read Mrs. Bradford her rights. Since she was yelling for her friends to take pictures for evidence in court, he had a feeling she didn’t hear him.
“Ma’am, don’t worry about it,” Lexi, his ex-sister-in-law and a former military cop, said, holding up her phone. “I’ve been recording the entire time. I even got you pushing Julia out of the way just before you threw the books off the shelf.”
“You’ll see. You’ll all see. When I’m done with her, she’ll be behind bars for selling pornography.”
“Mrs. Bradford, a judge will laugh this out of court. Julia doesn’t write porn. I read the second book in her series, and it was great. Steamy, but definitely not porn.” He glanced at Julia. “What did you call it? An urban fantasy romance?” Her mouth opened and closed. He imagined she was surprised that he’d just admitted not only to his sisters-in-law but at least forty-five other women that he’d read a romance. He was kind of surprised himself, but he was tired of Old Lady Bradford besmirching Julia’s reputation. This was a small town with old-fashioned values, and this needed to be cleared up ASAP.
It was like the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. The women were all staring at him without making a sound. It was so quiet he could hear his heart beat,
and it was starting to beat louder and faster because, as he caught the expressions on the faces of Julia and his sisters-in-law, he realized what he’d done.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, after hauling Mrs. Bradford to the station, Aidan returned to Main Street. He got out of the patrol car and walked to where the old man was sitting on the sleigh. “Any chance I can borrow your horse and sleigh for half an hour? I’ll give you a hundred bucks.” It ended up costing him two hundred.
Aidan brought the horse to a stop in front of Books and Beans, the jingle of its bells loud in the still night air. He texted Julia. Will you come for a ride in my sleigh tonight?
He watched the screen for what felt like an hour but was probably only a couple of minutes. His phone kept dinging with incoming texts. They weren’t from Julia. His brothers were having a laugh at his expense. Lexi had gotten his romance-reading confession on video.
The door to Books and Beans opened. Julia had her head bent looking at her keys and then her back to him as she locked the door.
He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until she turned to walk to the sleigh with a sweet smile on her face. “How did you know this is exactly what I needed?”
It would have been worth a thousand bucks just to see that smile on her face and know she’d forgiven him for outing her as author J. L. Winters.
“You organized the event, so I figured it was something you’d like,” he said as he helped her into the sleigh.
When he got in beside her, she snuggled against him. “Thank you for being so sweet.” She laughed when he pressed his lips together. “I’m not mad, you know. You were just trying to help.”
“And I managed to make everything a whole lot worse. I really am sorry, babe. The last thing I wanted to do is hurt you and your business.”
“Hazel loved that I used J. L. Winters as my pen name. She’s always thought of me as her daughter-in-law, and this made it seem real. In the end, your reputation probably took a bigger hit than mine. I sold every single copy of Warrior’s Kiss except the one Mrs. Bradford ripped.”