Brownies & Betrayal (Sweet Bites Mysteries, Book 1) by Heather Justesen

there was a killer on the loose.
    I gave the lock a vicious twist. Thanks for the reassurance, detective.

    Getting fingerprinted wasn’t nearly the ordeal I’d expected. The officer at the precinct was friendly, chatting with me about the weather, asked about any hiking trails I’d been on. He sounded interested in the business when I opened it and asked what kind of daily offerings I would have for purchase. I admit, I had expected something out of a hard-boiled detective show with gruff jailers and hard stares pinning the guilt for everything on my shoulders. I’d seen way too much television, I guess.
    I left there grateful that the detour had been quick and that it was over with, then popped by the hardware store to order the paint for my building.
     

 
    Painting, I decided, was not my strong suit. It only took me twenty minutes before I realized I’d gotten in over my head. Maybe renting a sprayer would have been better after all, I thought as I dipped my roller in the paint yet again. I ended up with drips on the newspaper I’d spread across the floor and a lopsided application to the wall.
    I was nearly ready to throw the roller when the bell over the front door rang. I poked my head around the corner to find Shawn standing there in clothes that had seen better days. “Hi. What are you doing here?” I asked.
    His dimple popped into existence with his grin. “You said you were painting this afternoon. I thought maybe you could use a hand.”
    “You’re on vacation and you’ve come over to help me haul around large appliances and paint? What kind of saint are you?”
    “Saint, me? Not hardly.” He walked through to see what I was doing and pressed his lips together, as though trying not to smile. His dimple gave him away, though.
    I nudged him with my elbow, not the least amused. “I’ve never done this before. I thought, hey, it looks simple. How hard could it be?”
    “It is simple; you just need a little direction.” He took the roller from my hand and put it back in the tray on the floor. “First, you want to cut in the edges with a brush.” He lifted the three-inch brush I’d purchased and painted in the edges along the ceiling and outlets. “Then you roll over the edges. That way, you don’t leave as many brush strokes on the wall, and it makes it easier later.” He loaded the roller with paint now, coating it evenly and slid it up and down the wall. “It’s better to put on a little extra up front, and roll it smooth, than to be stingy and realize you have to do another coat because you can see through it. Here, you try it.”
    I felt like a complete idiot. Was I really too stupid to figure out painting on my own? Still, this was my business and I wanted to do everything I could myself, so I took the roller from him. Shawn set his hand over mine on the handle and helped me maneuver the implement. He stood behind me so his breath feathered against my ear and I felt the heat of his chest on my back. He talked to me as we rolled on the paint. His free hand found its way to rest at my waist.
    His lips brushed against my ear. “Like this. How’s that?”
    “Better. Thanks for the lesson.” I tried to keep my voice level, calm, but could hear the shakiness in it. I knew he must be gloating at his effect on me, but I was a little too mesmerized to care.
    “No problem. Does my help get me another date with you?” I felt his minty breath fan across my cheek.
    I smiled despite myself. “Well, I suppose it might.” I turned my head so I looked into his face, inches from my own. “What did you have in mind?”
    His lips curved, and the bell rang over the front door as someone entered.
    “What do you think you’re doing? Who is that?” The voice from across the room was all too familiar.
    I almost dropped the paint roller, but Shawn kept his hand tightly wrapped around mine even as he straightened, shifting his torso a few inches away from mine.
    I didn’t have to look at the intruder.