Love on the Vine

by Roxanne Smith

  Cover Copy

  Love is in bloom . . .

  Straightforward Kay Bing has never been one for subterfuge, although she did embellish her resume just a bit to land a design job at Free Leaf Concepts, a cutting edge botanicals firm. Determined to make a good first impression, she’s exploring the highly secure company greenhouse when her assistant—the much too attractive Oliver Pierce—confides that he’s actually working undercover to investigate whether Free Leaf has created a potent new street drug. Kay doesn’t believe it for a minute—until someone plants designer mushrooms in her salad. Suddenly she and her sexy colleague are teaming up to unearth the roots of a dangerous operation . . .

  Oliver not only has a personal stake in the investigation, his entire career in law enforcement is on the line. Stubborn, sensible Kay is a distraction he can’t afford, but as they dig deeper into the case, they discover a chemistry that’s too heated to deny. When even one wrong move could be deadly, Oliver may have to risk it all to keep Kay from harm—and convince her they should be partners for good.

  Visit us at www.kensingtonbooks.com

  Books by Roxanne Smith

  Long Shot Romance

  Men Like This

  Relapse In Paradise

  Running the Numbers

  Bound By Design

  To the Studs

  Love On the Vine

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  Love On the Vine

  Bound By Design

  Roxanne Smith

  LYRICAL PRESS

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  Copyright

  Lyrical Press books are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2017 by Roxanne Smith

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  First Electronic Edition: July 2017

  eISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0083-5

  eISBN-10: 1-5161-0083-2 =

  First Print Edition: July 2017

  ISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0086-6

  ISBN-10: 1-5161-0086-7

  Printed in the United States of America

  Dedication

  Best friend and partner in everything just this side of crime since 1999

  Acknowledgements

  Dawn Dowdle, always.

  Marci Clark, my one and only (and favorite!) editor.

  For this particular book, I owe special thanks to my kids, Brandon and Cheyenne, for letting me ruin their summer, as I spent it writing instead of doing cooler, funner, swimmier things.

  Chapter 1

  Kay Bing sat on the pristine white leather monstrosity deemed a sofa, her arms and legs crossed defensively. “You invited me over to fire me. That’s fantastic, Neve. That’s just great. For once, you could’ve at least been your usual bitchy self about it so I’d have your smart mouth to aim for when I socked you. Duke can quit training you to behave like a normal human being any day now. Really, only one of you is supposed to be the thoughtful, considerate type. Otherwise, it’s cloying. Nobody likes cloying.”

  Neve smiled sweetly. “I can still dismember you with a few words, sweetie. I simply choose not to. Besides, I’m firing you to help you, so maiming you would be counterproductive. And Duke and I could never be cloying,” she added with a disgusted grimace. “I’m emotionally distant, and he’s endearingly frustrated.”

  Kay would never understand the strange dynamic at work between Neve and Duke. She rubbed her forehead and fought off a brewing headache. She was Kay Bing! She was happy and zesty, feisty, fun, and upbeat. Since when did she get headaches and moan? “So move in with him. Close the distance. End the frustration. And quit putting off the wedding. You’re killing the guy.”

  “You look terrible, by the way.” Neve swiftly changed the subject. “Just terrible.”

  “I thought a spray tan would lift my spirits.”

  “Well, it’s dampening mine. Embrace the pale.” She sat forward suddenly and grabbed Kay’s knee, earnestness replacing her faux haughtiness. “I know you think you hate me but that’s because I’ve yet to tell you the reason why you’re about do the exact opposite. In fact, you’re going to declare your undying love for me and challenge Duke to a duel for my affections. Because I, your great mentor and friend, have secured for you a position at one of the most prestigious outfits in the city.”

  “Neve.” Kay dropped her head into her hands so her palms gently cradled her poor forehead. She kept trying to rub away headaches, and now she had a pimple. “If I can’t dredge up any zest as Neve freakin’ Harper’s assistant, what makes you think—”

  “Common sense. Quit crying for three seconds, and get your hands off that zit. It’s like you’re worshipping it.”

  Kay glanced through her fingers at Neve. The woman was her personal hero. The biggest hotshot interior designer in the greater Little Rock area. She was everything Kay aspired to be one day. But sometimes, like now in particular, Kay wanted to stab her in her gorgeous amber eyeballs with a dinner fork. She settled back, crossed her arms, and invited her mentor to continue with an arched brow. Kay wasn’t all that intimidating on the surface, she knew it. But a few close to her, Neve included, had seen what she could do in a tight spot. That had earned her enough respect to arch her brow daringly and not be met with a chorus of scoffs.

  Neve’s smile dazzled. “See how nice it is when your mouth is closed? You should try it more often. Now, what makes me think is difficult to explain, given how most everyone around me suffers from some measure of mental encumbrance.” She gave Kay’s knee a final squeeze and snuggled back into her spot, tucking her feet beneath her bottom. “I called your parents. I found out that once upon a time, before you realized your dream of interior design, you were quite the little gardener. You had an aunt who ran a florist shop, may she rest in peace, and you spent many of your formative years helping her with professional arrangements. Then I learned you actually designed the courtyard of her shop when she had it remodeled, and you did it at the vastly impressive age of sixteen. From what I gather, it was remarkably well done. Your first experience with design hailed from plumerias and peonies. Whether it’s wood or beavertail cactus, the basics are the same. Think about it. It’s all contrast and symmetry. Each flower has a certain shape, their leaves likewise, and each a different shade of green on a massive spectrum. You had to coordinate with not only the flowers and their foliage, but whatever grew alongside it. It’s the same thing you love, just a different medium. You’re an artist, switching from oils to acrylic.”

  Kay knew her mouth was slightly open, but who’d have thought—she stopped herself there. Nev
e. Neve would’ve thought, because Neve’s mind functioned on a different plane of reality than ordinary folks. It was almost a lucky thing she was also cocky, abrasive, rude, and potty-mouthed, because she’d be otherwise perfect. As it was, she was just acerbic enough to be likeable, given one had the right sense of humor.

  “Finn and I split, so you called my parents.” Kay nodded. “Of course you did. I’m almost scared of what you’re going to say next.”

  “You should be.” Neve reached for her coffee mug and took a sip. She licked her lips. “Because I had to pad your résumé a bit. I’m not tooting my own horn or anything, but my recommendation goes a long way. What it can’t do, however, is give you work experience you don’t have. So, my lying fingers did that. I typed you up a fancy résumé—by the way, you worked with Duke on Vale House, the geraniums were a bitch—and now, my dear friend, you have an inspiring job far above your current station as a mere assistant, and something new and fascinating, yet old and dear, to sink your teeth into. Not to mention my prominent word resting on your teeny-tiny shoulders. I’d say no pressure, but it’d be a horrible lie. Don’t make me look like an idiot.”

  Forget open, Kay’s mouth went full guppy. Open and shut. Open and shut. She had nothing and everything to say, starting with what meds Neve might be on. “You faked my résumé—”

  “Lightly padded.” Neve grinned. “And now, you’re the new head designer at the most prestigious high-end landscaping service in the city. The NASA of all things green, responsible for creating some of the most unique, award-winning hybrid plants in the country.”

  Kay covered her mouth. She couldn’t stand looking like a guppy. “You don’t mean…” she mumbled through her fingers.

  “Free Leaf Concepts? Of course I do. Who else? That’s who I call when I get leafy ideas for my jobs. I don’t really do leafy stuff. But you, you’ve got all kinds of leafy experience.”

  Kay chewed her lip and let the idea swim around in her head. Yeah, okay. She did have some leafy experience, didn’t she? In fact, landscaping had been her first bug, the one that bit early. Only later had she decided her interests were more inside than out. But she still had a green thumb hanging around somewhere. It hadn’t been lopped off completely.

  Free Leaf Concepts was the go-to company for designers who wanted anything resembling nature concocted and executed for interior décor. A twenty-foot fountain greeting clients in a five-star hotel lobby, a veritable rain forest inside a restaurant with a three-month waiting list, a spa to appear as though it existed in the maze of a bamboo grove. Designers, they set down the mold. They decided furniture placement, fixtures, layout, and so on. Companies like Free Leaf were hired to come in after that fact and put a sheen of realism over the whole thing. Just as often, they worked with designers side by side, a coalition of paint and petals. Save that corner for an indoor tree to grow up through the ceiling with a sunroof overhead. Design a sink that fits into this pocket of hanging jasmine. Hang wallpaper to match these rare African blooms. It was meticulous, highly detailed, and expensive work.

  Kay blinked a few times, let the idea settle onto her frazzled brain. Was a change of scenery enough to pull her out of her funk?

  She just wasn’t herself lately. The spunky, happy girl she’d always been had gone into hiding since her split from Finn. They’d worked together on a cabin with Neve last year. The place had been a total loss until Neve put her magical touch to it and created a charming, earth-meets-glamour work of art. When the owner, Gavin, decided to sell, Kay and her sexy carpenter boyfriend bought it. Together. Like idiots. Young, doe-eyed idiots. At least they hadn’t eloped or done anything wildly stupid. Just bought a cabin together, that was all. When the relationship ended, Kay couldn’t sell her half fast enough.

  The break-up was proving to be a wrench in the very fabric of her personality. She was different now. She didn’t know how to get back to that girl who was in love with her job, in love with life. She didn’t think she could talk herself to the ledge of anything, let alone take an insane plunge. Neve knew that, so she’d decided to give Kay a little shove.

  Kay pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled a plume of air. “Okay. Okay.” She pressed her lips together and studied Neve. She was obviously pleased with herself. Only a hint of apprehension showed in the wideness of her eyes. She’d gone out on a very precarious limb, and Kay was grateful. She owed it to her friend to at least try. “Maybe you’re right. Going back to my roots. Oh, hey, get it? My roots?”

  Neve hardly cracked a smile. “Look at you. Already getting back to your old self.”

  “You know, just because you and Duke can’t be funny without maiming each other doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to be funny.”

  “Oh, there’s plenty to laugh at.” Neve gave a breathless chuckle and looked at Kay in a way that made her skin prickle. “Like how you start tomorrow.”

  * * * *

  Oliver Pierce stared at his boss, not caring a wink that Cappy Don was mean before his first cup of coffee. Oliver could handle mean. What he couldn’t handle was another kink in the plan. There were so many hurdles, it might as well be a track meet. “Do you want to know what nobody thinks is funny? Last minute complications that look like Tinkerbell.” He tossed the glossy photo down onto Cappy Don’s desk.

  Kay Bing looked like something out of a kid’s picture book. White-blond hair cut into an adorable crop that framed a round face and big colorful eyes that weren’t blue or green, but somehow both at once. Her file had her listed at a hair under five feet. Precious as pudding.

  Cappy Don slurped loudly from his mug, like he took pleasure in the disgusting noise, and smacked his lips as he picked up the photo. “She won’t be a problem, Pierce. She’s young. Twenty-three and fresh from a stint with Neve Harper. If that name doesn’t make your balls shrink, they’re made of sterner stuff than mine. Girl’s probably a shell of a person inside, whittled down to the marrow of what’s left of her self-esteem.” Spindly black eyebrows—they could never quite decide which direction they wanted to go, so they went everywhere at once—rose dramatically as Cappy Don gazed up at Oliver. “Does it bother you to take orders from a woman, is that it? Because the person who sat at this desk before me was a woman, and let me tell you, pal—”

  Oliver sighed. “Of course not. But I had Kay’s predecessor’s file memorized. Not only that, Roscoe and me were drinking buddies, and I’d cleared him already. I’m going in blind with this little girl. Roscoe kept me busy, but not so busy I couldn’t keep up with my more discreet tasks. If she’s the type to micromanage, we might as well toss the whole deal in the trash. I can’t do what I’m supposed to do in there if I’ve got a twelve-year-old hovering over my shoulder.”

  The captain set down his mug and sat up straighter. He slipped the photo neatly into a manila folder containing every scrap of information they’d been able to gather on Kay Bing on short notice. Cappy Don was Mr. Business now. The time for complaints had passed. “Keep telling yourself she’s twelve. That way, you can’t get sidetracked. If you’d gone past her picture, Pierce, you’d have read—”

  “I read it all,” Oliver cut in, careful to keep his tone neutral despite the frustration churning in his stomach. He didn’t need to remind Cappy Don of his eidetic memory or speed-reading-to-comprehension ratio. “For example, I know her résumé was forged.”

  Cappy Don shrugged with a marked lack of concern. “Lightly padded.”

  “Her aunt’s florist shop is the only real experience she has, besides a year working as the second-in-command at Harper Designs,” Oliver pressed. “She’s a go-getter, has a predominately positive attitude, downright bubbly by all accounts, and until recently was half owner of a cabin Neve Harper remodeled for one of Little Rock’s most popular Chamber of Commerce board members, Gavin Chambers, last year. Chambers and Harper also happen to be close personal friends, which means Kay Bing has friends in high places. Could be she has some she shouldn’t. Could b
e she’s close to this. After all, Neve pulled strings to get her this job. Roscoe wasn’t cute, but I can vouch he was clean.”

  “You also read her father is a cop. Worked burglary for years in the city before he retired. I hear he chases kids out of abandoned houses and helps old ladies cross the street these days, but he was a bulldog in his prime.”

  “When has being a cop ever meant anything? Charles Manson’s mom was probably a devout Catholic.”

  Cappy Don gave Oliver an exaggerated smile, showing too many teeth. “Your paranoia is why I like you, Pierce. You’ve got so much going on in your brain, you’re afraid of what’s creeping up behind you. So, you try to look everywhere at once. Your head’s practically spinning twenty-four-seven. It’s a wonder you get any sleep, with the way you’re always watching, looking, hunting...and usually finding, which beyond liking you, makes you my favorite. Must be exhausting in there.” He tapped his temple with a thick finger. “I’ll tell you, your buddy Roscoe wasn’t all puppies and rainbows. That rose-colored memo the top floor sent out on Friday made him sound like he had an important date in Bali, but he got canned for sending dick pics to the receptionist. Start putting that around first thing Monday morning. If somebody else spreads the rumor before his right-hand man, it’ll seem fishy, close as you two were. And don’t ask where I got the information. It’s need to know.” The way he said it, Oliver doubted even the captain knew the identity of their informant within the ranks of Free Leaf Concepts. He picked up Kay’s folder and tossed it at Oliver’s chest like a Frisbee.