Chapter 10

Carly Simon? Why was Carly Simon singing in her bedroom? Blake grumbled, turning over and putting a pillow over her head until the music stopped. A moment later, it started up again, dragging her from sleep.

Her hand blindly searched around on the nightstand until it closed over her phone, and she sat up as she answered. The sudden movement made her head spin, and Blake groaned in lieu of saying hello.

Ryan’s cheerful laugh filled the line. “Blake! How’s one of my two favorite sisters?”

A little man was trying to jackhammer his way out of her head, so she’d had better mornings. “You seriously don’t have to shout,” she mumbled, putting a hand to her head.

Her brother chuckled. “I told you that you didn’t need a third daiquiri last night, lightweight. I’d think you would have learned to listen to me by now.”

“Last night?” It started coming back to her in fuzzy chunks.

“Yeah, last night. Don’t tell me you don’t remember.”

“Of course I remember.” Kind of. She remembered lots of daiquiris and singing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” She remembered seeing the Langs. And she remembered Sean, along with his spicy scent when he’d hugged her close.

“So everybody got home okay last night?” Ryan asked. “I came back to take you guys home, but you were gone.”

“Yeah.” She rubbed her hand over her cheek and chin. “Micah brought us home.”

Kyle stumbled into her bedroom at that moment, carrying two mugs of coffee and balancing a plate of brownies. “I heard your voice.” She sat on the bed and pulled her feet up under her.

Blake tapped the speaker button on the phone and set it down so she could take one of the coffee mugs from her sister.

“Kyle’s listening,” she said before taking a sip.

“How’s my other favorite sister?”

Kyle rolled her eyes. “You don’t sound hungover at all. So not fair.”

“That’s because we had other fun besides drinking.”

Blake could almost hear Ryan smiling through the phone, and her stomach heaved. “Oh God, please don’t. Seriously. If you start talking about your love life, I’ll gag, and I’d really prefer not to spew over my new comforter.”

“Are you at the hospital?” Kyle asked through a mouthful of brownie. “You really need to come over here. Blake made brownies, and they are to die for.” She closed her eyes and moaned as if to prove the point.

“I’m actually headed there right now. I had to drop the twins off at a birthday party.”

Blake glanced at the clock on her phone and saw that it was after ten o’clock in the morning. She really needed to go over and visit her niece and nephew sometime soon. They reminded her so much of Ryan and Kyle when they were little. The kids had the signature Harper blue eyes that she shared with her own siblings, and they had their mom’s dark hair, giving them truly striking features. They were the most adorable children Blake had ever seen in her life, not that she was partial.

“Well, I need to bring a batch of the brownies over to Rachel. She would love them.”

“You can actually bring me a batch tonight if you want. I was thinking it’s been a few days since I’ve really bonded with my sisters, so I thought you guys might want to go out for a late dinner after I get off.”

“I can’t,” Kyle said, licking chocolate off her fingers. “Jason and I already have a date night planned.”

“Jason can join us,” Ryan offered.

“No, we’re actually hoping for some, uh, alone time.” Kyle’s cheeks flushed as she reached for another brownie.

Blake grinned. “I guess you just get me, Ryan. Where do you want to go?”

“Well,” he said sheepishly, “it is prime rib night at Sliced.”

Blake’s mouth watered at the thought. “That sounds perfect.”

After they had finalized their plans and hung up, Kyle got up and brushed off her hands. “I better get moving. The chief called a meeting for eleven a.m. I need to get home so I can shower and change.”

“Nice. Walk of shame from your sister’s house.” Blake took a sip of coffee, stifling a giggle as Kyle stuck out her tongue.

After a few sips of coffee took the edge off her headache, Blake got up and fixed a plate of brownies for her sister to take home. Then she leaned in to give Kyle a hug as she was leaving. She wanted to ask Kyle if she was going to try to get a hold of Todd Lang again. Blake would have given her favorite coffee mug to find out what he and Sabrina had been talking about. But maybe Kyle could work on Sean instead. “Sean’s interview’s this afternoon, right?”

Kyle nodded, and she gave Blake a fierce look. “I know what you’re thinking, Blake. I can’t share a ton of information, no matter what I find out. Remember what I said about staying out of the investigation? Besides, the chief is breathing down my neck right now. He’s really annoyed we haven’t made an arrest.” She searched Blake’s face. “I’m serious, Blake. Just don’t go around asking a bunch of questions. You don’t need to be drawing attention to yourself. Okay?”

With a sigh, Blake conceded. “Fine. I will try really hard not to stick my nose in.”

“I mean it.” Kyle gave her one more hug before she left.

Blake bolted the door behind her then turned around, leaning against it. Ninja walked up, purring and nuzzling against her leg. “I really am going to try.” She picked up her cat, stroking his soft fur. “But I can’t make any promises.”

Blake spent the day making batches of pastries for the café and putting them in the freezer. Having a big stash of them would really help save time when she reopened, especially since she was so shorthanded.

Before going to meet her brother that evening, she took a shower to wash the flour out of her hair. She wasn’t sure how she managed to get the ingredients in her hair every time she baked. Thank goodness she hadn’t made anything with caramel.

She felt more like herself than she had when she’d woken up that morning, but exhaustion overcame her as she sat down in front of her vanity to put on makeup. She really just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. She thought about calling Ryan to cancel, but she hadn’t had any one-on-one time with her brother in a while, so she decided to suck it up and go. Hopefully, they could make it an early night since she planned to go to the Mystery Cup early the next day and get everything ready to reopen Monday morning. Even though Kyle had sent people in to clean up, Blake knew she would still have a lot to do.

When she walked into Sliced a little later, she didn’t see Ryan, so she sat in one of the booths along the side of the restaurant where she could watch the door. Molly and Micah were nowhere to be found—no shocks of red hair bobbing behind the counter. Her guess was that Molly was home, nursing her hangover. But Micah hadn’t had that much to drink, and he was usually there in the evenings.

A teenage boy, Silas, who worked part-time for them, was manning the register. When one of Sliced’s managers, Saffron Holcomb, came over to take her order, Blake looked up at her in surprise. The purple wash on Saffron’s gray hair created a colorful tint, and it was wrapped up in a flamboyant red scarf. Saffron was Wilton’s resident hippie and town gossip, and for some reason, she enjoyed telling people she was conceived while her mother was high on acid in the sixties.

Glancing at the older woman’s name tag, Blake knew immediately that she wasn’t in a good mood. On the days when Saffron was feeling ultra chipper, she took a Sharpie and changed her name to “Rainbow” or “Sunshine.” Today, however, she was just “Saffron.”

“What are you doing here, Saffron? You’re not usually here at this time of day. Where’s everyone else?”

Although Saffron was in her fifties, most days, her level of energy made her seem younger. But that night, the older woman’s brown eyes looked tired. Even so, her face was warm when she smiled down at Blake. “Well, Christina’s working the back section of the restaurant, but Sophie called in sick, so here I am. Micah went home early because he’s not feeling well, either. I really hope there isn’t anything going around.”

Blake tried to contain her giggle. The only thing going around was a case of way too much tequila.

Saffron fiddled with her pen for a moment as she looked around, and Blake didn’t recall ever seeing the older woman look so nervous. “Is something wrong?”

Tucking the pen behind her ear, Saffron glanced over her shoulder before she leaned in and lowered her voice. “Well, I’m not one to gossip.”

Blake’s laugh bubbled up, but she pushed it back down. That was how Saffron liked to start every bit of gossip.

The older woman continued. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about if you have a minute.” Her face was serious, worried lines creasing her forehead.

Blake was immediately concerned. “Of course, Saffron, what is it?” She motioned for the woman to sit down.

“Hey, there’s my little sister.”

She hadn’t seen Ryan come in, but he bent down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Saffron offered him a smile and straightened back up. “Hi, Dr. Harper. What can I get you to drink?”

Ryan slid into the booth. “Just water for me. I’ve already had so much coffee today that I probably won’t be able to sleep for a week.” He poked his wire-rimmed glasses up on his nose and looked at Blake with blue eyes that matched her own. His light-brown hair was constantly askew, but somehow on him, that just made him look adorable.

Saffron shot Blake a look and mumbled that they would talk later before she rushed off to the kitchen.

Ryan looked at Blake, arching an eyebrow. “What was that about?”

“I have no idea.” Her eyes followed Saffron until she turned down the short hall that led to the kitchen. “She seems to have something on her mind. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Her brother stretched out his lanky frame and propped his arm across the back of the booth. His eyes held a twinkle, which Blake had become wary of. That usually meant he was up to something.

“What?” she asked.

Ryan lifted a shoulder and grinned. “Nothing. I was just wondering about your new neighbor. Rachel said you two got chummy last night. I hear he’s either a murderer or your new boyfriend. Which is it?”

Blake’s mouth parted in surprise, but she quickly recovered and narrowed her eyes at Ryan. “How did Rachel—never mind. He’s neither.” At least, she hoped he wasn’t a murderer. “And you certainly don’t waste any time sticking your nose into my business, Ryan. I thought I told you to stay far, far away from my love life after the last guy you found who was ‘perfect for me.’” She made air quotes around that last part, and a shiver went through her as she remembered Dr. Doughboy flossing at the table when they’d gone out to dinner.

Saffron dropped off their waters, and Blake thanked her, happy to have something to do with her nervous hands. When had she become so fidgety?

Ryan took a sip of his water. “First off, that was not my fault. He seemed totally normal at work. And second… well, I don’t think you should swear off men after one bad date.”

“It was more than just one—wait a second.” Dread took hold of her stomach. She offered her brother a glare, and he looked down. Oh, crap. She remembered the talk around town of the new doctor at the hospital. Before Nikki’s death, Blake had been avoiding her brother for fear he was going to try a sneaky setup. “Ryan, no. No more blind dates. If this is about—”

“Hey, guys.” The rich chocolate voice startled her, and she looked up to see a man standing next to their table—a Norse god of a man with sandy-blond hair that was slightly tousled and eyes that were the color of a stormy sea. He had to be a good six-two, and he had the lean physique of a runner. The light-blue button-down shirt he wore untucked from his jeans did nothing to hide his sculpted physique. The man’s angular face was relaxed as he smiled down at her. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Late?” Oh no, there was the breathy voice that came out of her whenever a cute guy got her attention. She really needed to figure out how to stop doing that.

“No problem.” Ryan slid out of his seat so the blond man could slide into his side of the booth. “I was just telling Blake about you.”

Her brother sat down next to her, which pleased her because he was close enough that she could kick him. He let out a satisfying ooph when her foot connected with his ankle, then cut her a sharp look before the smile returned to his face. “Blake, this is Adam Bryant. He’s the new trauma specialist at the hospital.”

She was upset that Ryan had ambushed her, and part of her wanted nothing more than to get up and run. But the other part of her was drawn into the stormy eyes and broad grin of the man sitting across from her. “It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Bryant.”

He returned her smile. “Please, call me Adam.”

Saffron returned to their table, holding a large carryout bag. “Dr. Harper, here are the two prime rib dinners you called in earlier to go. Do you need anything else?”

To-go orders?

Ryan’s face flushed a bit as he slid out of the booth. “Nope, that’s it, but thanks, Saffron.” He took his wallet out and put money on the table—more than enough to cover all of their dinners.

She really had been ambushed. “Seriously, Ryan? You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I can’t stay. Rachel called before I got here, and she needs me to come home. But you two stay and enjoy yourselves. Get to know each other.” He tapped the money on the table. “Dinner’s on me.” He offered a quick wave before rushing out the door, leaving Blake and Adam to stare after him with stunned expressions.

She couldn’t believe he’d set her up… well, she could believe it, but did he have to be so obvious about it? Embarrassment filled her as she looked back at Adam.

He gave her a kind smile and spoke again in that velvety voice. “You didn’t know about this, did you?”

She could feel her face heating up and dropped her eyes to her fingers, which were absently shredding a napkin. “Uh, no. No, I didn’t.”

He blew out a breath and shook his head. “I really am sorry, Blake. I had no idea. Ryan asked me to meet you two for dinner, and… well, he made it sound like you knew I was coming.”

So Ryan had ambushed him too. For some reason, that made her feel a little better.

“We don’t have to do this,” Adam said. “I’d like to get to know you, but not when you’ve been forced into it.” When he started to slide out of the booth, Blake looked up at his kind face. He seemed nice, and when was the last time she’d had dinner with a nice man?

“No, wait, Adam. I don’t want you to go.” She was surprised to find that she actually meant it. Adam struck her as a good guy, and despite her whole “I don’t need a man” speech that she gave to her siblings at least bi-monthly, the truth was that it would be nice to have someone of the opposite sex to spend time with… someone who didn’t share her DNA… and who wasn’t a suspect in a murder investigation.

Adam regarded her for a moment. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I am. Ryan just tries to set me up a lot, and I haven’t always had the best experiences.” And why am I telling him that? “But that doesn’t matter.” She gestured to the money her brother had left on the table. “Besides, we have a free dinner. It’d be a shame to waste that.”

Saffron returned, saving Adam from having to respond. Both of them decided to just order dessert since it was already after nine.

“So Ryan has told me a lot about you.” Adam cut into his apple pie and took a bite. Blake tried not to watch his mouth as he slid the fork past his full lips, which looked extremely kissable.

She gave her head a little shake and reached for her own fork, realizing her hand was shaking. It really had been way too long since she’d been kissed. “Uh, like what?”

“He told me you love animals, that you like to go to the theatre, that you’re a great cook, and that your one true love is coffee.” His eyes twinkled when he spoke. It wasn’t fair for a guy to be so good-looking. And hadn’t she thought the same thing about Sean just days earlier?

“Oh!” Adam continued. “He also said you’re a member of Buttkick. I’ve never seen you there before.”

She took a bite of her banana cream pie so she had time to think of how to respond. Buttkick was the lone gym in town. She’d been a member for five years, but she just didn’t have time to go often… or ever. “I guess I just go at odd hours, depending on when I have time. You know, with the café.” That was sort of the truth. The one time she’d gone, it’d been late at night after closing up the café.

“Of course.” A cloud passed in front of Adam’s face. “Blake, I heard about the girl that was murdered. I really am sorry. Do they have any leads?”

She set her fork down on her plate and wiped her mouth with a napkin as she shook her head. “I can’t seem to get a lot out of Kyle, so I’m not sure. I’ve been trying to call her all evening, but I can’t get a hold of her.” Maybe that was why she felt so on edge. Kyle was supposed to meet with Sean at four o’clock that afternoon. Blake had probably tried to call her twenty times since then to see what she found out, but Kyle was either super busy or, more likely, avoiding her.

“Right, your sister, the detective. I met her one day when she came by the hospital,” he said as Blake finished her pie. “She’s the one who told me that your one true love is coffee.”

A smile played at Blake’s lips. “Well, that part is true, at least. I still say you can’t trust someone who doesn’t drink coffee. That’s just wrong.”

Adam’s face fell, alarming her.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Uh, I’m allergic to coffee.” His features firmed in a serious expression. “I never touch it.”

Blake felt her stomach sink. She’d been joking, of course, but coffee was her whole life. “Really?” she squeaked.

The twinkle in Adam’s eyes was back, and he boomed out a laugh. “No, not really. I’m just kidding, sugar.”

She blew out a breath, embarrassed at the relief that filled her.

“Sorry, I was just trying to break the ice.” Adam tilted his head as he looked across the table at her. “What did you mean ‘at least that part is true’? Was there another part that wasn’t?”

She bit her lip sheepishly. “Um… well, I—”

“Hi, Blake.”

She practically jumped at the sound of Sean’s voice and turned her head to see him standing at the table, glaring down at her. He wasn’t smiling. What was that about? At the bar, he’d been more than friendly, but now his face was closed off as he gave her an icy look.

“Uh, Sean. Hi.” She looked up into his piercing eyes, but he said nothing.

Adam cleared his throat, startling Blake out of her trance. “Oh goodness, I’m sorry. Sean Larson, this is Dr. Adam Bryant. Adam, Sean owns Macabre Reads across the street.”

Adam held out his hand, and Sean finally looked away from Blake as the two men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

“Um, you’re here late,” she said when Sean made no attempt to walk away.

“Well, I was at the police station for longer than I anticipated this afternoon. I decided calling in an order here was quicker than fixing something at home.”

“Right.” Blake noticed that her fingers were nervously tapping on the table, and she yanked her hand down in her lap. “How did it go at the police station?”

One dark eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly. “It went well. Should it not have gone well, Blake?”

She blinked at him and squirmed in her seat, unsure of why Sean was making her feel so uncomfortable. “Uh, yes… I mean no… I mean I’m glad it went well.”

Adam seemed oblivious to the tension at the table. “So, Mr. Larson, when does your store open? I’ve been looking for a new mystery series.”

Sean dragged his attention away from Blake, and she studied him as he and Adam discussed several popular mystery novels. His dark denim jeans made his long legs look even longer, and he wore a black long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, revealing the tattoo that curled its way up his arm. It didn’t seem to matter where he was or what he wore, the man exuded all kinds of sexy. When she felt her face heat up, Blake yanked her gaze away and focused intently on her glass of water.

“I should open in the next few weeks,” Sean was saying, “but I have to hire some employees first.” His eyes shot to Blake. “Because right now, I’m not working with anyone.”

She could feel the blood drain from her face as she sucked in a breath. His insinuation was clear. Kyle must have said something about Blake’s theory that Sean and Todd were working together. Whatever her sister had said, he obviously knew it had come from Blake.

“Here you go, Mr. Larson.” Saffron’s voice saved her from having to make any more awkward conversation. She handed Sean a large sack with the Sliced logo on the front. “Enjoy!”

Sean gave her a little smile. “Thanks.” He turned back to Blake. “It was good to see you, Blake.” He nodded at Adam. “Dr. Bryant.”

Adam returned the nod, and Sean walked out.

Blake exhaled, feeling as though her entire body was trembling.

“What was that about?” Adam looked at her then at the door where Sean had just exited. “The tension was pretty thick there.”

She folded her arms on the table, resisting the urge to lay her head down. Then she followed Adam’s gaze to the door. “I wish I knew.”

Adam’s expression became serious as he studied her. He started to reach across the table to touch her hand but stopped and pulled his hand away. “So tell me what’s wrong.”

Blake shoved a hand through her hair, a habit she needed to stop since it only seemed to increase the volume of her hair exponentially. But she knew she couldn’t sit there and pretend to be whoever her brother had made her out to be. Briefly, she wondered if maybe that was why so many of her previous blind dates had failed. Ryan had built men up to believe that Blake was something she wasn’t. When they found out the truth, of course they were disappointed.

“The truth is, Adam, that ‘animal lover’ really just means that I have a very finicky cat named Ninja, who likes to claw my couch. And my ‘love for the theatre’ means that I have a rather twisted fascination with horror movies. I am a member of Buttkick gym. But I think I’ve been once since I joined, which was five years ago.” She avoided his gaze. “The coffee lover part was true, though,” she finished weakly. “I guess Ryan’s so anxious to couple me off that he’s resorted to lying to people.” She started to scoot out of the booth. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

This time, Adam did reach across to rest a hand on hers. “I love horror movies.”

She looked up at him, surprised. “You do?”

He nodded. “Mmm-hmm. And cats. So look at that—we do have some things in common.”

“I…” She didn’t know what to say.

“Look, Blake. I’ll let you go.” He took his hand away. “I know you have an early morning tomorrow with getting your café back up and running. But I would like to get to know you. On our own terms.” He fingered the bills Ryan had left on the table. “So what do you say we take this fifty bucks and go see the new slasher flick that just came out? We’ll have to drive to the theater in Lee’s Summit, but I’d love to take you. What do you say? Next Saturday night? You, me, and a masked man hacking up babysitters.”

She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. “Really?”

“Really.” Adam grinned, and her heart beat just a little faster. “A real date. One that your brother’s not involved in. I’ll even splurge for popcorn.”

“That sounds… great. I do prefer to leave my brother home for most of my dates.”

Adam laughed as he slid out of the booth and reached for her hand. When Blake stood up, she only came to Adam’s shoulders. She didn’t know what had caused the sudden influx of tall hot bachelors in Wilton, but she wasn’t complaining.

Adam double-checked that he’d left enough money on the table for their desserts then put his hand on the small of Blake’s back to guide her to the door. His touch warmed her, and she felt that telltale flutter in her tummy.

Before they left, she looked around for Saffron but didn’t see her. She checked with Silas at the register, who told her Saffron had just gone on break. Blake made a mental note to check in with her the next day to make sure everything was okay, then she let Adam guide her out of the restaurant.

When they stopped at Adam’s Range Rover, he looked around the street. “Where’s your car?”

“Oh, I parked in the alley behind the café. Force of habit, I guess.” When she thought about it, parking in a dark alley probably wasn’t the smartest idea with a killer on the loose, but she’d parked there for years. Losing that feeling of safety annoyed her.

A look of concern crossed Adam’s handsome face. “Let me walk you back there, sugar. I don’t like the idea of you walking in a dark alley at night.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. I don’t walk around to the alley. There’s a path right there in between the café and the bookstore.” She pointed to the little walkway between the two buildings.

He looked unsure. “Blake, I’d feel better if—” A buzzing noise interrupted them, and Adam took a step back to take his phone out of his pocket. He read the text on his phone, and his mouth firmed into a line.

“Is everything okay?”

“No.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket and pulled out his keys. “There’s an emergency at the hospital. I need to get back.” He cast another glance at the pathway between the buildings then looked back at her. “Blake, let me—”

“I’ll be fine, Adam. Go. We’ll talk before next Saturday.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.” He leaned in, his strong arms enveloping her. Blake reveled in the lingering hug he gave her before he climbed behind the wheel of his Range Rover. He gave her one last little wave before he backed out of his parking space and drove off.

She exhaled, looking down the street, well after his taillights were out of sight. “Wow, Blake. That is one unexpected turn of events,” she murmured. A smile played at her lips as she walked down the narrow pathway that separated the buildings housing Mystery Cup and Macabre Reads.

For the first time in the last few days, she had one moment where she wasn’t thinking about crime and murder and bad guys… and then that moment was gone.