Have Gown, Need Groom by Rita Herron Page B

decided on a six o’clock closing due to Thanksgiving the next day. Another commercialized holiday, Jake thought sourly.
    Wiley wandered out of the cement-and-glass building which housed the offices, waving at his daughters. Mimi threw her arms around her father, waving exuberantly toward Joey DeLito. Wiley’s right-hand man had settled himself inside to indulge his coffee and chocolate-bar fetish while he wrote up the five sales he’d made that day. Jake had observed him from a distance all day, cataloguing every movement Joey made. He intended to follow up on Joey’s record sales by running a check on all of DeLito’s customers. He’d managed to use his miniature camera and had taken snapshots of each one. As soon as he could, he’d compare them to every criminal in the police database.
    Oddly, Hannah didn’t rush to hug her father. The two of them spoke with a slight hesitancy between them just as they had at the hospital. Strange—what was going on between Hannah and Wiley?
    Not that he cared personally, he told himself. But if they’d had a rift or if tension existed between them, their awkwardness might have something to do with the case.
    Berta exhaled noisily as if she realized she’d lost his attention. “I guess I’ll just have to talk to Wiley myself.” With a shake of her head reminiscent of a mother hen with her feathers ruffled, she turned and stalked toward the office, her leopard-print purse banging her ripe hips as she strutted. Jake averted his thoughts—she reminded him of turkey on Wiley’s latest TV commercial. Jake had seen the early-bird special ad at breakfast and nearly choked on his coffee. So far, the commercial had worked though—the dealership had been swamped all morning with early Christmas shoppers hoping to save a buck. As clumsy with his sales technique as a rookie with a Glock, Jake had actually managed to sell two cars in spite of himself.
    Berta launched herself at Wiley and Hannah glanced at him, her blue-eyed gaze wary but full of something else—desire. Unwanted, even hooded, but he definitely saw the spark of sexual arousal in those vibrant blue eyes.
    Wiley suddenly wove an arm around Berta’s ample frame, whispering something that made the woman blush. Wiley certainly did know how to schmooze. Within seconds, Berta hurried inside the glass-enclosed offices, obviously ready to make a deal. He heard Wiley agree to meet her shortly and realized he’d been staring at Hannah. The fading sunlight dappled her hair and face with a soft glow, the darkening sky creating sultry shadows around her feminine curves.
    Not wanting Wiley to guess his intentions toward his oldest daughter, he scanned the parking lot for another customer but remembered they’d closed the lot. Determined to overhear if Wiley and Hannah discussed business, he spotted the string of Christmas lights Wiley wanted around the building, grabbed the ladder, climbed to the top and began to drape the colorful lights.
    Mimi sauntered inside to meet Joey. Through the front glass, Jake saw her plant a lip-lock on his mouth.
    “Jake, look who’s here!” Wiley yelled, ushering Hannah toward him.
    Jake stuck his finger with a tack and yelped.
    “Are you all right?” Hannah asked.
    Why was he forever getting hurt around this woman?
    “Fine.”
    “I’m not sure you should be up there, Mr. Tippins, not with your injury.”
    So, she’d reverted to Mr. Tippins again?
    He shot her a sexy grin meant to rattle her. Although, when her lips parted slightly, his own breath hitched. He tried to steady himself by inhaling, almost lost his balance and nearly toppled off the ladder. His legs swung wildly, his hands gripping the metal rungs in a deathgrip.
    Hannah and Wiley grabbed the ladder just in time to save him from falling on his face.
    “See what I mean,” Hannah said in that irritating professional voice.
    The streetlight flickered on, illuminating her golden hair; his gaze was drawn to her rosy mouth. Her