LITMIR.BIZ

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times without your half-assed advice.”

      “I’m not talking about your solo sessions. Only the times another warm body was involved. And barn animals don’t count.”

      “You’re a riot,” Jack told his closest friend. The bartender, a heavily made-up brunette with a silver hoop in her left eyebrow, took Seth’s beer order and scurried off. “What are you doing here? The NYPD now giving detectives weekends off?”

      Seth scooped a handful of bar nuts from the bowl in front of them. Tossed some into his mouth and shook the ones left in his hand. “Came up for my mom’s birthday tomorrow.”

      “She still pissed about Mother’s Day?”

      “She threatened to sell her house and move in with me if I miss her birthday, and I have to get her a decent gift.”

      Having known Mrs. Valentine since he was in kindergarten, Jack knew she didn’t issue empty threats. “Guess that six-month membership to Weight Watchers wasn’t such a hot idea.”

      “Hey, she’s always moaning about losing twenty pounds. How was I to know it would set her off?” Seth nodded his thanks when his draft was placed in front of him. “What about you?” he asked, wiping his hand on his jeans before picking up his beer. “Where’s Emma?”

      “She’s spending the weekend with her grandparents.”

      Ever since his wife died in a car accident four years ago, Emma spent one weekend a month with Nicole’s parents in New Jersey—Jack wanted his daughter to stay connected to both sides of her family.

      Seth, in the act of raising his beer, stopped suddenly and whistled under his breath. “Hello. Look what just walked in.”

      Jack followed his friend’s line of sight. His stomach did one slow roll.

      Conversation quieted as every eye in the bar zeroed in on Kelsey. With her tight jeans and spiky red hair, she begged attention. She’d changed into a long-sleeved, purple T-shirt and, as she strode into the room, her small breasts bounced beneath the fabric.

      He couldn’t help but enjoy the sight.

      “I’d kill to see those legs in a skirt,” Seth said in an undertone. “A really short skirt with a pair of three-inch heels. And those have got to be the perkiest pair of—”

      “Shut up,” Jack murmured as Kelsey drew near. Her eyes locked on his for a moment as she passed him by. He turned and watched her perch on a stool at the far end of the bar before tearing his gaze away.

      “What?” he asked, noticing Seth smirking at him.

      “Anything you want to tell me?”

      “No.”

      “Then I’ll just ask. Who is she?” Jack finished his soda and set the glass on the bar. “Why so interested? She’s not exactly your type.”

      “I happen to love redheads.”

      “Since when?”

      “Since I found true love with sweet Mary Jane Hanover.”

      Jack snorted out a laugh. “Is this the same Mary Jane whose very large boyfriend kicked your ass for sleeping with her?”

      Seth swallowed a drink of beer. “He wasn’t her boyfriend at the time. I don’t poach.”

      “Unless you won’t get caught.”

      “Unless I won’t get caught,” he agreed. “And I didn’t get my ass kicked. I held back so I wouldn’t hurt that idiot.”

      “Whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, as I remember, sweet Mary Jane wouldn’t give you the time of day, let alone any sexual favors, until I buttered her up for you.”

      “Please—” Seth held a hand out to stop him. “Don’t use expressions like buttered up when talking about Mary Jane. Gives me ideas. And don’t think you can get away with changing the subject, either.”

      Jack hooked his foot on the rung of his stool and debated the chances of getting Seth to drop this discussion. He bit back a sigh. Not going to happen. Seth’s laid-back attitude and humor hid a tenacity unrivaled by mere mortals. “Her name is Kelsey Reagan and she’s Dillon Ward’s sister.”

      “Ward…You mean the guy who lives above the bakery?”

      “One and the same.” He glanced over to see Kelsey talking to the bartender. “She’s only in town for the night.”

      Seth grinned. “Too bad. You could—”

      “Hello, gentlemen,” a female voice purred.

      Jack turned and found himself looking into a pair of darkblue eyes. “How are you, Shannon?” he asked the beautiful blonde.

      “Couldn’t be better,” she replied in her husky smoker’s voice. “I was wondering if I could buy you a drink?”

      “Would you look at the time?” Seth didn’t bother glancing at his watch as he drained his beer. He stood and tossed a five dollar bill on the bar. “I’d better get going.” He flashed a grin at Jack. “Catch you later.”

      Jack clenched his teeth as his ex-friend cheerfully abandoned him. Wasting no time, Shannon claimed the empty stool. Her short, black skirt rode a few inches above her knee to show a good deal of her toned, tanned thigh. She shook her long, golden hair behind her shoulder and looked at him from under her lashes.

      As far as sultry looks go, hers was top-notch. Jack wondered if she practiced it in the mirror.

      “What’ll it be?” she asked.

      He’d have one quick and painless escape, please. Unfortunately, his position as police chief, and hers as the wife of a prominent city councilman, made running like hell an impossibility.

      Too bad.

      “Thanks, but I’m not drinking tonight,” he said.

      She looked pointedly at his empty glass.

      “That’s fine,” she assured him, leaning forward. Though he suspected she was giving him a clear view down the V-neck of her silky white shirt, he kept his gaze on her face. “I wanted to talk to you about the security for the country club’s Harvest Ball.”

      Sure she did. And thirteen-year-old boys snuck peeks at Playboy for the articles.

      The headache he thought he’d got rid of earlier began to come back. He blamed it on Shannon’s perfume, something floral and overly sweet. Remembering Kelsey’s fresh, sexy scent, he glanced in her direction. Humor lit her expression as their eyes met.

      Jack broke eye contact first and turned his attention back to Shannon. “Everything’s all set for the dance. If you have any questions, we can go over them at next week’s meeting.”

      “Those meetings are always so hectic.” She pouted and laid a well-manicured hand high up on his thigh, her red fingernails stark against his jeans. “Why don’t we go back to my house? We can discuss it now.”

      Her lips said discuss, but her eyes said let’s get naked and do the nasty.

      Jack groaned inwardly. Polite tact was lost on Shannon. He lifted her hand off and stood.

      “I’m sorry but I already have plans.” He kept his voice low, controlled and, though it almost killed him, pleasant. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I see someone I need to speak with.”

      Ignoring the angry flush staining Shannon’s cheeks, he turned and walked to the end of the bar. He wasn’t sure which was worse, the way Shannon blatantly came on to him whenever they were in the same room together. Or the fact that to escape Shannon, he was heading straight for Kelsey Reagan.

      He stopped next to Kelsey’s stool and waited until she looked up. “Mind if I join you?”

      Kelsey glanced behind

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