Shopping is Murder (McKinley Mysteries Book 6) by Carolyn Arnold Page A

She blushed as she put a hand on her chest. “Wow, what an honor to finally meet you.” She shot to her feet and extended her hand. She shook Sean’s and Jimmy’s first, leaving Sara for last. She held on for a few seconds. Only when Sara glanced at Sean did the receptionist seem to notice how she was letting the grip linger.
    “Oh. Sorry.” She took her hand back and awkwardly tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind an ear—all of it was slicked back into a ponytail. “It’s just, you’re so beautiful.”
    This woman had called it right. Sara was the most beautiful woman Sean knew—but he’d been aware of that for years now. And not only was she a work of art on the outside, but her inner beauty was an equal match.
    He put his arm around her and she pressed in to his side. As much as she joked around about using her looks to an advantage, her modesty often had her taking a back seat.
    “Thank you—” Sara began, arching the sentiment to extract a name.
    “Jessica.”
    “Nice to meet you.”
    “You too.” Jessica rearranged paperwork, as if her nerves wouldn’t allow her to remain still. Or maybe she clued in that they were the owners and, by extension, her bosses and perhaps she should appear busy.
    “Would you be able to let Daniel Lewis and Adam Laverty know that we’re coming up to see them?” Sara asked.
    Jimmy shoved between Sean and Sara. “Daniel Lewis? The actor is working for you?”
    “The actor?”
    “Yeah, you know, he’s from England. He played the lead in the movie Lincoln . ”
    “There was a movie named after a president?”
    Jimmy let out a deep sigh and shook his head. “She’s beautiful but seems to live under a rock.”
    “Hey.” Sara spun to face Jimmy.
    Jessica let out a laugh that could curl toes. It was high-pitched, with a whirl at the end—both irritating and contagious. “I’ll let them know. Go on ahead. I assume you know where you’re going.”
    “We do. Thank you.” Sean tapped the counter and turned to leave.

    Sara and Jimmy were already in the lead to the elevator banks. Over the clicking of Sara ’s heels, Sean could hear her say, “What do you mean I live under a rock?”

 

     
    Wager’s In Place
     
    THEY GOT OFF THE ELEVATOR on the fiftieth floor, and Sean walked close to Sara. “How did you know the CEO’s name?”
    “You have to ask me how I remember something—still? You should know once I hear or see something, it’s usually there. You told me when we were in Europe. You got an email.” She paused a second. “I remember things, remember?” She winked at him and picked up her stride toward Daniel’s and Adam’s office.
    She was about to go through the doorway, when she came face to face with a man.
    His eyes were soft and brown, and the crease lines on his face appeared to have come from smiling a lot in his life. He had a mane of graying hair, but struck her as being late forties. He braced his hands on her shoulders to soften the impact .
    She ran her hands over her skirt. “We’re looking for Daniel Lewis and Adam Laverty.” The volume of her speaking was low, but it boomed in her ears in the otherwise silent space.
    “I’m—” He caught her eyes and stopped talking.
    “Sara?”
    The handsome stranger moved to the side, and she drew her eyes from him to Adam. She lit up when she saw him, and rushed to throw her arms around him. He had become like family over the last while and she hadn ’t seen him since the start of summer, at their wedding reception.
    “What are you all doing here?” Adam noticed Jimmy and bobbed his head in acknowledgment.
    “I’m just glad to see you’re using our first names, Adam.” For the longest while, nerves made Adam address them formally. Sean gave him a meaty handshake, but Adam pulled him in for a quick hug, which resulted in both men doing back pats before they parted.
    Sara turned and saw Jimmy shaking hands with the stranger in the doorway.
    “Seems we found him, Sara,” Jimmy