The Fashion Police Read Online Free Page A

stared at the bag as my hands shook. Nope, the bananas weren’t moving at all. It was the ginormous tarantula inside the bag that was moving, tapping on the plastic with its hairy foot. I froze, hardly daring to breathe.
    Omigod! Spider!
    In my mental world, I was screaming my head off, but in the real world, I think my mouth was just wide open with no sound coming out.
    I threw the bag on the floor and rocketed out to the parking lot faster than the speed of light, probably warp factor ten at least.
    I did some deep breathing as I jumped in the car and locked the doors, just to be on the safe side. There was no way, absolutely no sodding way that I was going back in there again while that spider was on the loose. Paul Clark and Brad would just have to wait.
    ****
    I sped all the way home, cursing my life, my new job, and humongous, ugly spiders that shouldn’t even be let in the country. As soon as I pulled up outside my apartment, the heavens opened, sending cascades of water down the back of my T-shirt as I dashed into the building. I cursed that, too, running up the stairs to my apartment, which the estate agent had described as cozy, but which really translated into poky rabbit hutch.
    The smell of fried garlic chicken greeted me as soon as I shoved the door open. That could only mean two things. One, Marmalade Fox, my ginger cat, was cooking his own dinner tonight, or two, Romeo Lopez, my boyfriend, was whipping up one of his culinary creations in the kitchen. I was hoping it was the latter.
    As well as being an amazing cook, Romeo had other sterling attributes, as well. He had hazel eyes, cinnamon skin, and thick black hair, all courtesy of his Spanish father. He looked sexy as hell in just about anything, he knew which buttons to press on the washing machine, and he was pretty good at pushing my buttons, too. Additionally, he was also one of the best cops I had ever worked with. All things considered, this put him firmly in the minority – people who are beautiful on the inside and the outside.
    I kicked off my shoes, one of them nearly knocking over a giant, terracotta plant pot by the front door that I’d never found a home for, and flung my rucksack down next to them. Dripping rainwater on the wooden floor boards, I walked the few steps from the hall to the lounge and ignored the wilted yucca plant on the way, promising myself I’d water it later. 
    Romeo stood in the galley-style kitchen, naked except for an apron. As I watched with appreciation, he poured two glasses of red wine and turned to me. ‘How was your first day?’
    My temperature shot up a few degrees. ‘All the better for finding a naked chef in my kitchen.’ I smiled, took the glass, and stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips.
    He grinned, nuzzling into my neck. ‘I aim to please.’
    ‘You wouldn’t be doing this to persuade me to move in with you by any chance, would you?’
    ‘Don’t know what you mean, but now that you mention it…have you thought any more about my proposal?’
    I flushed and glanced down at the floor, gnawing on my bottom lip.
    ‘Well?’ Romeo prompted me.
    I gulped down my wine. ‘Wow! Look at that rain.’ I pointed out of the window behind him.
    ‘Amber, you’re avoiding this conversation.’
    ‘I am not!’ I tried my best shocked voice. ‘I’ve never seen rain like it. It’s so…droplettyish.’
    Romeo’s steady gaze drilled into me. He raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that even a word?’
    I feigned a sudden interest in my fingernails.
    ‘You can’t avoid it forever, darling.’
    ‘You practically live here anyway, when you’re not working on special operations. Why do we need to make it so…official?’
    ‘I like official.’ Romeo turned the nuzzling into feathery, light kisses that were designed to make me cave in. Just when it was starting to get interesting, my mobile rang. I groaned, slipping out of Romeo’s grasp to answer.
    ‘Foxy, why haven’t you put those bugs in yet?’ Brad’s