Christmas Romance (Best Christmas Romances of 2013) by Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes Page B
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Rich left Pemsky in the lobby of the building.
Curiosity plagued Rich. Halo acted nervous in the elevator. Could Pemsky be the reason? Halo had at least a fifteen minute head start, but it couldn’t hurt to drive around. He might get lucky. She hadn’t looked his way when she drove by the front of the building, but he recognized her in a lemon-yellow Bug.
He’d only gone four blocks when he spotted puffs of blue smoke coming from under the hood of her car in a supermarket parking lot. She looked defeated with an empty jug of water in her hand.
He parked his car and got out. She didn’t notice him at first. She kicked the tires and mumbled something about taking “Sunshine” to the junkyard.
“Halo, looks like Sunshine needs more than a little water to fix her,” he said, and watched her eyes go from frightened to relieved, in a split second.
“You keep turning up in unexpected places. Were you following me?” she asked with suspicion in her voice, and closed the hood of her car.
“No. I hoped I’d run into you again though. Speaking of running into someone, Mr. Pemsky wasn’t too happy that you quit your job. What happened?” Rich waited for her to respond.
“My assignment’s almost over so I can tell you I work undercover for Green Hornet Investigations. The Western Washington Dog Show suspected Pemsky of stealing pedigree dogs and then selling them back to their owners. I found the records implicating him and one of the dog handlers.”
“Pemsky sounds like an unscrupulous guy. You better be careful.”
“I know and he has a terrible temper,” Halo said and looked around.
“You can’t go to the police with these files because you copied them without Pemsky’s permission. What are you going to do with them?”
“The President of WWDS will do the investigation, not us. Their organization is a tight knit group of people and wants to handle this internally—whatever that means.”
“As long as Pemsky doesn’t figure out you were involved. I have a feeling he suspects something, though.”
“I know. He’s a pretty scary guy. When he thought I’d been in his office, he shook me a little.”
“What do you mean he shook you?” Rich’s temper simmered at the thought of Pemsky hurting Halo.
“High heels are hard to get used to. I tripped, hit my head, and he grabbed me when I was already on the floor.”
“Halo, let me see it. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He gently ran his hand over a good size lump on her head.
“It’s just a bump on the head. I’ll be fine.”
He wanted to throttle Pemsky.
“I need to get these files to Corny, my boss. Unfortunately, my car went capoot on me. I hate to ask, but can you give me a lift? My office isn’t far from here.”
“Yes, of course. So… you’re a private investigator?” That’s the last profession he would’ve pictured Halo in.
“Well, I’m more like a pet detective in training,” Halo explained.
Rich opened the passenger door, took her bag, and laid it on the seat. He moved a step closer, wanting another taste of her lips. He pressed his body into hers, holding her tight against the side of the car.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
She put her hands on his chest. He didn’t think she intended to push him away.
“Just one taste,” he said as he lowered his head and softly kissed her beautiful lips. He didn’t want to rush her, so he rested his forehead against hers. After a moment, he studied her soulful eyes. She had moisture building, ready to spill over.
“You have the most beautiful eyes. Why do they look sad?”
“Bad timing is all,” she said and looked away.
“Okay, I’ll slow down. Climb in. Which direction are we headed?” he asked, to lighten the mood.
“Green Hornet Investigations is off of Second Avenue near Green Lake. I should call Corny and let her know what happened, but my phone’s dead. I hate it when I forget to charge the darn thing.”
He handed Halo his phone. “Use
Curiosity plagued Rich. Halo acted nervous in the elevator. Could Pemsky be the reason? Halo had at least a fifteen minute head start, but it couldn’t hurt to drive around. He might get lucky. She hadn’t looked his way when she drove by the front of the building, but he recognized her in a lemon-yellow Bug.
He’d only gone four blocks when he spotted puffs of blue smoke coming from under the hood of her car in a supermarket parking lot. She looked defeated with an empty jug of water in her hand.
He parked his car and got out. She didn’t notice him at first. She kicked the tires and mumbled something about taking “Sunshine” to the junkyard.
“Halo, looks like Sunshine needs more than a little water to fix her,” he said, and watched her eyes go from frightened to relieved, in a split second.
“You keep turning up in unexpected places. Were you following me?” she asked with suspicion in her voice, and closed the hood of her car.
“No. I hoped I’d run into you again though. Speaking of running into someone, Mr. Pemsky wasn’t too happy that you quit your job. What happened?” Rich waited for her to respond.
“My assignment’s almost over so I can tell you I work undercover for Green Hornet Investigations. The Western Washington Dog Show suspected Pemsky of stealing pedigree dogs and then selling them back to their owners. I found the records implicating him and one of the dog handlers.”
“Pemsky sounds like an unscrupulous guy. You better be careful.”
“I know and he has a terrible temper,” Halo said and looked around.
“You can’t go to the police with these files because you copied them without Pemsky’s permission. What are you going to do with them?”
“The President of WWDS will do the investigation, not us. Their organization is a tight knit group of people and wants to handle this internally—whatever that means.”
“As long as Pemsky doesn’t figure out you were involved. I have a feeling he suspects something, though.”
“I know. He’s a pretty scary guy. When he thought I’d been in his office, he shook me a little.”
“What do you mean he shook you?” Rich’s temper simmered at the thought of Pemsky hurting Halo.
“High heels are hard to get used to. I tripped, hit my head, and he grabbed me when I was already on the floor.”
“Halo, let me see it. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He gently ran his hand over a good size lump on her head.
“It’s just a bump on the head. I’ll be fine.”
He wanted to throttle Pemsky.
“I need to get these files to Corny, my boss. Unfortunately, my car went capoot on me. I hate to ask, but can you give me a lift? My office isn’t far from here.”
“Yes, of course. So… you’re a private investigator?” That’s the last profession he would’ve pictured Halo in.
“Well, I’m more like a pet detective in training,” Halo explained.
Rich opened the passenger door, took her bag, and laid it on the seat. He moved a step closer, wanting another taste of her lips. He pressed his body into hers, holding her tight against the side of the car.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
She put her hands on his chest. He didn’t think she intended to push him away.
“Just one taste,” he said as he lowered his head and softly kissed her beautiful lips. He didn’t want to rush her, so he rested his forehead against hers. After a moment, he studied her soulful eyes. She had moisture building, ready to spill over.
“You have the most beautiful eyes. Why do they look sad?”
“Bad timing is all,” she said and looked away.
“Okay, I’ll slow down. Climb in. Which direction are we headed?” he asked, to lighten the mood.
“Green Hornet Investigations is off of Second Avenue near Green Lake. I should call Corny and let her know what happened, but my phone’s dead. I hate it when I forget to charge the darn thing.”
He handed Halo his phone. “Use
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