Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
“Well,” she rasped. Should she invite him in? Shouldn’t she?
“Well,” he echoed. With his chin down and his eyes locked on her, he backed her against the door. His big, calloused hands cupped her jaw. He brushed his thumbs over the rise of her cheeks. “Don’t invite me in,” he told her, as if reading her mind. “I’ll say yes, and I shouldn’t.”
Heart thundering in her chest, she licked her lips. “Why shouldn’t you?”
“If you’re questioning whether to do it or not, you’re not ready. And I can wait. I’m happy to wait. Until then…” He lowered his head and kissed her.
Oh, did he kiss her. Jane could do nothing but cling and kiss him back.
Okay, so, I might be falling for him.
CHAPTER NINE
“Victory comes with an up-front cost, yes, but defeat comes with a high interest rate.”
Lucy Chang, loan officer
Bang, bang, bang.
No! No, no, no. Not again. Groaning, Jane blinked open an eye to glance at the clock on her phone. 3:53 a.m. Ugh. One hour and seven minutes until her alarm went off. What’s more, multiple texts awaited her review. The first three came from Conrad.
Hello. Talk about an instant wake up. She jolted upright, the intruder forgotten. What did the special agent have to say? Something about their explosive end of date kiss?
Bang, bang, bang.
Another groan escaped her. Intruder remembered. “Why me?” Jane asked the ceiling. “What did I do to deserve another morning visitor who prevents me from reading my boyfriend’s correspondence?”
Bang, bang, gang.
“Hold your horses,” she muttered, tossing the phone aside and climbing from the bed. Donning her robe, she padded into the living room. Who would it be this time?
Rolex jumped from the mattress to follow and guard her. Such a good kitty.
“Jane! Jane! It’s Lucy. Lucy Chang.” The loan officer’s frantic voice filled the foyer.
Concern quickened her step. Jane opened up, and Lucy burst inside the cottage, bringing a chilly breeze with her. A big overnight bag hung over her shoulder. No, not a bag, after all, but a pretty pink and white cat carrier.
“Shut the door, shut the door!” Lucy commanded.
“What’s going on?” she demanded as she obeyed. “Are you in danger?”
“Yes! Oliver tried to sneak into my house only an hour ago!”
“Your ex-boyfriend?” Jane asked, doing her best to connect the dots while still half asleep.
The other woman nodded. “He planned to steal Cartier, I know it. I can’t let him have her again, Jane, I just can’t.” The words rushed from her, tinged with panic. “He doesn’t even like her. And he certainly doesn’t feed her the right food. Doesn’t care that the cheap stuff irritates her digestive tract. He doesn’t even give her the pets she so richly deserves. Nope, he only wants to punish me for breaking up with him, because that’s the kind of guy he is. You’ve got to keep her for me. Just for a little while. Just until I know it’s safe.”
Choking sounds left Jane. She needed to process a probable cat nabbing without a drop of caffeine in her system?
Lucy set the carrier on the floor and scrubbed a hand over her face, upset radiating from her every pore. “I’m sorry. We barely know each other, and here I am, requesting you protect the love of my life. I just… I wasn’t sure what else to do. And I knew how much you love cats.”
Rolex prowled around the carrier, sniffing the mesh sides. When he pawed at the zipper, Cartier hissed.
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. So get comfortable,” Jane said, giving her guest a little nudge toward the couch. “You stay here while the cats introduce themselves, and I’ll brew up some caramel apple coffee.” A new blend she was excited to try.
“Yes. Okay.” Relief poured from the other woman. “Thank you.”
Jane popped into her bedroom to collect her phone before entering the kitchen. As the sweet smelling ambrosia brewed, she checked the messages from Conrad at long last.
Agent Spice: Good morning, sweetheart. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.
Her heart fluttered. Thanks to this amazing man, she’d tossed and turned most of the night.
Agent Spice: Because I know you’re curious, I’ll tell you Belfry is behind bars. For now. Bail hearing is later today. Circumstantial evidence is stacking up, but there’s not yet enough to arrest him for murder. Probably only a matter of time. Fiona and Beau can rest easy.
Hmm. Jane wasn’t convinced Reggie Belfry did the crime. Yes, he topped her list of suspects. But so did others. Her gut told her there were new dramas and depths to be plumbed here. Of course, Jane’s gut might be compromised. Last night, she’d let herself think, briefly, that she was falling for a city boy. The sheer lunacy of such a notion!
Agent Spice: One last thing. Since we both know you’re spooked and going to put me on ice for the next few days, I might as well confess. I miss you already.