Kiss Me If You Can by Carly Phillips Page A

question is, can you live with that?” She looped her arms around his neck. “Because if so, until then, I’m yours.”
    He replied quickly, sealing his lips against hers in a kiss that was extremely delicious and way too short. He didn’t slip his tongue inside her mouth, but he lingered long enough to tantalize her with his warm touch.
    â€œI’ll take that as a yes,” she murmured.
    â€œThat’s a yes. But I’m leaving before I do something extremely inappropriate in your grandmother’s living room,” he said, a seductive gleam in his eyes.
    â€œI wouldn’t mind.”
    â€œNeither would I,” he murmured. “I have a full schedule for the next few days, but how about you come by my place around eight Friday night?”
    â€œFor work or play?” she asked as she walked him to the door.
    He grinned. “If you’re lucky, maybe a little of both.”
    Â 
    C OOP RETURNED HOME to a clean apartment, his brain flying with ideas and ready to write. Something about being with Lexie and her grandmother had rejuvenated him. Instead of going to bed, he sat down in front of his desktop computer, which luckily the thief had left, and got to work.
    He spent a long time outlining a story loosely based on the theft of a valuable ring by the family chauffeur. Then he logged another hour researching the jewels and the Lancaster family, from whom the jewels had been stolen.
    Lancaster.
    The same name Lexie had remembered. Coop’s gut clenched, but he kept digging until he unearthed another mention of the Lancaster theft, which detailed how everyone at the party had been questioned by the police and later exonerated. Except for the temporary staff, leaving a cold trail. One of them had been a chauffeur who’d driven friends to and from the party for the evening.
    His neck and shoulders ached and he stood up and stretched. But it wasn’t the physical pain that bothered him most. Lexie recalled the Lancaster family despite Charlotte’s claim not to remember. And Charlotte admitted the necklace had been given to her husband in exchange for work done. Chauffeur work. Could all the similarities be a coincidence? Or could Lexie’s grandfather have been a thief after all?
    Coop shook his head, knowing that he couldn’t bring this to her until he’d dug deeper. Maybe his father could get him access to the cold case files and he’d find something fresh the police had missed. Something that exonerated her grandfather. Until he had something definitive, he wasn’t about to burden Lexie with mere speculation.
    Coop glanced at his watch, surprised by the time. Three hours had whizzed by. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to get lost in his writing and research for so long. He knew he had Lexie to thank for igniting his muse, which led to more guilt over where his research might lead.
    Coop groaned and headed for bed. He had to be at the paper early tomorrow and knew he’d have a fitful sleep as it was.
    He managed to grab a few hours and woke up with the same renewed energy he’d had last night. But he didn’t have time for personal research. Thenews never stopped and once at work, he checked the police blotter, noting that last night there had been a benefit for an AIDS charity with local bigwigs. A bracelet had been stolen, at least according to the owner. According to the police, however, a broken clasp or another accident might have been at play, since there was no way the item could have been taken off the victim’s wrist. Coop eliminated the item from the news of the day. There were more valid thefts overnight that would make the paper.
    A few minutes later, he received a phone call informing him that there had been a brutal rape near Central Park, the victim currently en route to the hospital.
    Coop hit the ground running, arriving at the emergency room at the same time as the ambulance. The next few