“I can’t.”
“You’re not blushing, are you?”
He narrowed his eyes and put his war face on. “Enough of this. Is it your claim that Owen gave you the winning lottery ticket?”
“It’s not a claim, it’s the truth.”
“Fine.” He slapped the notebook shut. “If you don’t want to cooperate with this investigation, I’ll note that in my report.”
“You do that.” She took a sip of the tea she’d poured for him. “What report is that? The one on me? It must be getting pretty thick by now.”
“And that pleases you, doesn’t it?”
She shrugged and took another sip.
The tea left her lips damp and made him want to kiss her again. Her gaze caught his. The air between them radiated sex.
“Back off, mean man!” a voice barked.
It took Nathan a second to realize that the person with the pipes of a Paris Island Marine Corps drill instructor was none other than Skye’s half-pint daughter. She bared her teeth at him. The kid, not Skye.
“It’s okay.” Skye smoothed her daughter’s hair back, inadvertently tilting the little girl’s tiara even more. “I thought you were sleeping.”
What kind of mom had their kid sleeping in a tiara and a tutu with tights?
“I heard voices.”
“Want some tea?” Skye offered her mug to the little girl, who drank while eyeing him suspiciously. She handed the tea back to her mother before ordering, “Make him go away.”
“I was just leaving,” Nathan muttered. He never muttered. Until he’d met Skye.
“My name is Toni and I don’t want you bullying my mommy,” Toni told him, hands on her tiny hips. “You do that again and she’ll turn you into a toad. She’s got a spinning wheel just like Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty wasn’t just a princess. She had a business empire. Tell him, Mommy.”
“I don’t think he wants to hear a fairy-tale.”
“Is he a troll?”
“No.” Skye shook her head. “He’s an authority figure.”
“We don’t like those, right?”
Skye nodded. “We question their authority, yes.”
Nathan couldn’t let that one pass. “That’s a nice lesson to teach a kid.”
“Toni and I learn from each other.”
“So, how does that work? You learn tantrums from her and she learns bad behavior from you?”
“Don’t insult my kid.” Skye’s face reflected her anger.
Toni jumped up and down in excitement, the tiara flying right off her head. “Get him, Mommy. Get him! Turn him into a toad!”
“He’s already a toad,” Skye said.
Toni paused to stare at him. “No, he’s not. Toads look like mean frogs. He still looks like a mean man. I bite,” Toni warned Nathan.
“So do I,” he growled right back at her.
Great. Now he was in a pissing contest with a little kid. Real mature. Real professional.
He had to get out of there. Before making an even bigger idiot of himself than he’d already done.
As Nathan slammed the door on his way out, he heard the sexy mother and her undisciplined kid giggling. At him. The supposed authority figure. Too bad the only thing he seemed to be an authority on lately was losing control. That had to stop.
“Did you arrest her?” Milton was waiting at the sheriff ’s station early the next morning, pouncing on him the instant Nathan entered the front door.
“No.” Nathan hadn’t gotten much sleep last night and he wasn’t in the best of moods by a long shot. He should have used the employees’ back entrance, but he hadn’t been thinking straight.
“You didn’t arrest her?” Milton was furious. “Why not?”
“Because she didn’t commit a crime.”
“She stole that lottery ticket!”
“Not according to Owen. It was his ticket. He could do what he wanted with it. And he wanted to give it to her. In fact, he alleges that she bought the ticket in the first place as a gift for him.”
Milton trailed Nathan into his office, ignoring protests by Celeste. “And you believed that?”
“Why would your uncle lie?”
“To protect her.”
Nathan
“You’re not blushing, are you?”
He narrowed his eyes and put his war face on. “Enough of this. Is it your claim that Owen gave you the winning lottery ticket?”
“It’s not a claim, it’s the truth.”
“Fine.” He slapped the notebook shut. “If you don’t want to cooperate with this investigation, I’ll note that in my report.”
“You do that.” She took a sip of the tea she’d poured for him. “What report is that? The one on me? It must be getting pretty thick by now.”
“And that pleases you, doesn’t it?”
She shrugged and took another sip.
The tea left her lips damp and made him want to kiss her again. Her gaze caught his. The air between them radiated sex.
“Back off, mean man!” a voice barked.
It took Nathan a second to realize that the person with the pipes of a Paris Island Marine Corps drill instructor was none other than Skye’s half-pint daughter. She bared her teeth at him. The kid, not Skye.
“It’s okay.” Skye smoothed her daughter’s hair back, inadvertently tilting the little girl’s tiara even more. “I thought you were sleeping.”
What kind of mom had their kid sleeping in a tiara and a tutu with tights?
“I heard voices.”
“Want some tea?” Skye offered her mug to the little girl, who drank while eyeing him suspiciously. She handed the tea back to her mother before ordering, “Make him go away.”
“I was just leaving,” Nathan muttered. He never muttered. Until he’d met Skye.
“My name is Toni and I don’t want you bullying my mommy,” Toni told him, hands on her tiny hips. “You do that again and she’ll turn you into a toad. She’s got a spinning wheel just like Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty wasn’t just a princess. She had a business empire. Tell him, Mommy.”
“I don’t think he wants to hear a fairy-tale.”
“Is he a troll?”
“No.” Skye shook her head. “He’s an authority figure.”
“We don’t like those, right?”
Skye nodded. “We question their authority, yes.”
Nathan couldn’t let that one pass. “That’s a nice lesson to teach a kid.”
“Toni and I learn from each other.”
“So, how does that work? You learn tantrums from her and she learns bad behavior from you?”
“Don’t insult my kid.” Skye’s face reflected her anger.
Toni jumped up and down in excitement, the tiara flying right off her head. “Get him, Mommy. Get him! Turn him into a toad!”
“He’s already a toad,” Skye said.
Toni paused to stare at him. “No, he’s not. Toads look like mean frogs. He still looks like a mean man. I bite,” Toni warned Nathan.
“So do I,” he growled right back at her.
Great. Now he was in a pissing contest with a little kid. Real mature. Real professional.
He had to get out of there. Before making an even bigger idiot of himself than he’d already done.
As Nathan slammed the door on his way out, he heard the sexy mother and her undisciplined kid giggling. At him. The supposed authority figure. Too bad the only thing he seemed to be an authority on lately was losing control. That had to stop.
“Did you arrest her?” Milton was waiting at the sheriff ’s station early the next morning, pouncing on him the instant Nathan entered the front door.
“No.” Nathan hadn’t gotten much sleep last night and he wasn’t in the best of moods by a long shot. He should have used the employees’ back entrance, but he hadn’t been thinking straight.
“You didn’t arrest her?” Milton was furious. “Why not?”
“Because she didn’t commit a crime.”
“She stole that lottery ticket!”
“Not according to Owen. It was his ticket. He could do what he wanted with it. And he wanted to give it to her. In fact, he alleges that she bought the ticket in the first place as a gift for him.”
Milton trailed Nathan into his office, ignoring protests by Celeste. “And you believed that?”
“Why would your uncle lie?”
“To protect her.”
Nathan
Similar Books
