Killer Deal Read Online Free Page A

feel, smell, and taste as he moves closer. But it’s also having those moments
when you’re too far away to say anything, when you can just appreciate the marvelous way he moves with that effortless, muscular gait, the way the sunlight catches little hints of auburn in his hair that fluorescent light ignores, how the blue in his eyes shines from a hundred yards away, and the way his head tilts to one side because he’s thinking about other things right up until the moment he opens his mouth and says:
    “Hey.”
    He kissed me gently and quickly. He keeps things muted in public, especially in front of his workplace. Even as he straightened back up, I could see his eyes moving over the passersby to check who might have been watching us.
    “Nice appetizer,” I said.
    “You want the main course, make a late reservation. I’m not finishing up any time soon.”
    “That’s too bad. We have some celebrating to do.”
    “What’s up?”
    “I need to talk to one of your fellow detectives.”
    “One thing at a time. Go back to the celebrating.”
    “That’s it. Eileen finally gave me a real assignment. I’m doing an article on Gwen Lincoln.”
    “What kind of article?”
    “An investigative piece.”
    “Define ‘investigative.’”
    “It’s supposed to be a profile on her new business, but I’m going to have to address Garth Henderson’s murder.”
    “Why?”
    “People still suspect her. Don’t they?”
    He pinched his bottom lip thoughtfully. “Haven’t been keeping track.”
    “Well, I’ll find out.”
    “What else are you going to find out?”
    “Whatever I can.”
    Kyle smiled gently and a little sadly. I figured he was thinking of how consuming his current case was, then adding on how much I was going to have to be working to
get this article done right, and figuring out what little time together that would leave us. “What makes you think Gwen Lincoln will talk to you?”
    “Her business partner brokered the deal.”
    “Yeah, I bet.”
    “Eileen assigned it to me. This is a huge step forward in her perception of what I can do for the magazine.”
    “That’s great.”
    He let go of his lip and I waited for his mouth to curl up into a congratulatory smile. But that didn’t happen. Instead, the man of my dreams chose that moment to say those three little words that can make your heart skip a beat, make you feel dizzy, and change a relationship forever. Three little words:
    “Don’t do it.”

Two
    DEAR MOLLY, I’M CRAZY ABOUT this guy and he’s crazy about me, but he’s not crazy about what I do. And I’m talking my job here, not some weird little habit or sexual idiosyncrasy. He has a really dangerous job and I support him in his work. Shouldn’t he do the same for me? My job isn’t nearly as dangerous as his—people shoot at him all the time and they only shoot at me occasionally—so am I out of line to want him to return the favor? Signed, Baby Got No Backup
    One of the great benefits of being an advice columnist is that everyone else’s problems are much easier to solve than your own. To a large extent, that’s because you’re only dealing with one fragment of their lives. Also, in writing to you, they tend to tip their hand about the heart of the problem, even if they haven’t recognized it as such yet. For instance, the letter that’s supposedly a complaint about having to shell out too much money for a ghastly bridesmaid’s dress that also refers to the bride-to-be as “that selfish, man-stealing slut” indicates there are other issues at play in that warm and loving friendship.
    That’s why, when I’m stressed, I write letters to myself in my head. It gives me a little perspective, so I can take a deep breath and figure out how on earth I got myself into this particular situation.

    After Kyle had told me not to do the article, I was at a loss. Not that I necessarily would’ve known the right thing to say had I seen his request coming, but since I was completely