LITMIR.BIZ

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can I?”

      Lexie laughed. “Heredity can be a bitch sometimes, but in your case, it was a blessing.”

      “Only in the looks department,” Toni said. “At least you don’t have the complications I do, dealing with a mixed heritage.”

      “You’re right. Life isn’t perfect for any of us, is it?”

      “Ooh, you’re in one of those moods, huh?”

      Lexie scooted back her chair and turned it so that she faced the window instead of the room. With her back to Toni, she said, “I went for my six-month checkup yesterday, and the news was pretty much what I expected.”

      “No change?” Toni’s voice held just a hint of pity.

      Lexie shook her head. “No change. And after all this time, there isn’t likely to be any further improvement.” Emotion welled up inside her, tightening her throat. But she didn’t cry. Wouldn’t cry. At this point in her life, tears would be a waste.

      Toni came across the room and stood behind Lexie. “Do you want the pep talk now, or should I save it for later?”

      “Now would be good.” Lexie heaved a deep sigh.

      “You’re young, beautiful, have a job you love and friends who adore you, and even if you can’t run, you can walk.” Toni let her hands drift down from where she’d been gripping the back of the chair to touch Lexie’s shoulders. She gave her a reassuring squeeze, then grabbed the chair again and whirled Lexie around to face her. “And the only reason you don’t have a man in your bed is because you won’t make the effort. How many times has Lieutenant Desmond asked you out on a date this past year?”

      “You could have stopped before bringing up Bain Desmond. From now on, he’s off limits during any pep talk.”

      “Why?” Easing her hips against the side of Lexie’s desk, Toni sat on the edge.

      “Why? You know why.”

      “Explain it to me again.”

      “Because Bain Desmond isn’t the type of man I want as a boyfriend,” Lexie said. “He’s a police detective. He carries a gun. He shoots people.” She had an aversion to guns and to the men who carried them, especially in a professional capacity. “Besides that, actually dating Bain would ruin our friendship.”

      “What’s wrong with Farris Richardson? He wouldn’t know one end of a gun from the other.”

      Lexie wrinkled her nose. “If you like our accountant so much, why don’t you date him?”

      “I have Jafari now. Why would I ever want anyone else? But you, on the other hand, have no one warming your bed at night.”

      “When did finding a man for me become your goal in life?”

      Toni sighed dreamily. “Since I’ve fallen in love. I suppose I think all my best friends should be as happy as I am.” She looked Lexie right in the eyes. “Of course, you might not find a guy as wonderful as Jafari. He’s definitely one of a kind.”

      “I’ll make you a deal. If you can put Jafari out of your mind for a few hours, I’ll do my best to forget my visit with Dr. Burns yesterday. Then we can actually get some work done before lunch. I’m meeting with Cara at one. Would you order lunch in for the three of us? I want you to sit in on this meeting and tell her some of your ideas about the charity auction she’s hosting to raise funds.”

      “I have a lunch date with Jafari, but since we’re having dinner together this evening, he won’t mind if I cancel.” Toni eased off Lexie’s desk and headed for the door. “Want me to order something now and then pick it up around noon?”

      “That would be great. Thanks.” Just as Toni opened the office door, Lexie called, “Let Robert, Vega and Malik know that I’m going to bring Ms. Bedell by today to say hello to everyone.”

      “Will do. I’ll forewarn the workers that the Queen Bee will be buzzing through on her way in and out this afternoon.”

      “Look, Toni, despite your personal feelings about the human rights policies of some of Bedell, Inc.’ s worldwide business partners, you need to remember that Cara Bedell signs your paycheck and mine. And she only took over her father’s business two years ago. She can’t change everything overnight. Give her credit where credit is due. Okay?”

      Toni shrugged. “Okay.”

      Alone again in her office, Lexie reached over to where her cane leaned against the edge of her desk. Using the cane to brace herself, she lifted her body slowly and stood. Discomfort, but no pain. Pain was in the past, as was the struggle to relearn how to walk. After several operations and five years of physical therapy, she had gone from being an invalid to a partial invalid to completely mobile. Except for a decided limp and the use of a cane, Lexie was for all intents and purposes normal. As Toni had pointed out, she couldn’t run, but she could walk. Considering how close the bullet had come to severing her spine, she was damn lucky she wasn’t paralyzed from the waist down.

      Just as she took a couple of steps, her cell phone rang. During working hours, she kept it on her desk, just in case she received any personal calls. Leaning on the cane with one hand, she reached out with the other, picked up the phone and checked the caller ID.

      Smiling, she flipped open the phone and said, “Hello, Lieutenant Desmond.”

      “Hello, beautiful.”

      “Thank you, sir. You certainly know how to make a girl’s day.”

      “I should hope so.” He chuckled. “Look, the reason I’m calling is…well, I need to do some of my Christmas shopping, and I thought you might help me get started tonight. What do you say?”

      “Only if you buy me supper first.”

      “It’s a small price to pay for your assistance.”

      “This is not a date,” she warned him. “It’s just two friends getting together.”

      “That’s right. You and me. Just buddies.” Bain chuckled again. “You really don’t have to go over the same territory every time we go out. No matter how charming and persuasive I am, you’re not going to have sex with me.”

      Ignoring his last comment completely, she said, “And you won’t wear your gun.”

      “I’ll be off duty tonight, so that won’t be a problem.”

      “Good. Then pick me up here around six and we’ll grab burgers at Steak and Shake before we hit Hamilton Place Mall.”

      “You got it.”

      After they ended their conversation, Lexie made her way across the room slowly, carefully, until she reached the row of file cabinets on the opposite wall. As much as she liked Bain, they really were just friends and nothing more. She didn’t know why she felt compelled to keep reminding him of that fact. Although they’d never talked about it, they each knew the other was in love with someone else. He with a woman he wouldn’t admit he loved and she with a man she didn’t know—a man with smoky-gray eyes.

      She had met Bain through a chance encounter. About eighteen months ago, she and Cara had run into the CPD lieutenant and his date one evening at a local restaurant. Bain Desmond had been the lead detective during the investigation into Cara’s half sister’s death, which had turned out to be the responsibility, albeit accidental, of her own father. And, unable to cope with what had happened to his daughter Audrey, Edward Bedell had committed suicide. As his only remaining child, Cara had inherited the vast Bedell, Inc. conglomerate and all the responsibilities that entailed. Lexie would have had to be blind to have missed the sexual vibes radiating between Cara and Bain. And she would have had to be an idiot not to realize that both of them were pretending—to each other and to themselves—that there were no vibes.

      After propping her cane against the wall, Lexie opened the middle file cabinet and flipped through until she found the Gs.

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