Perfect Partners?. C.J. Carmichael

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СКАЧАТЬ the red ones. He won’t drink his milk, he wants apple juice.” She sighed. “Sometimes I wish…”

      She didn’t finish, but he could guess what she was longing for. She still hadn’t told him why she and her ex-husband, Logan, had broken up, but it was clear that she—and her son—missed the guy.

      “So where were you out so late? Did you have a date?”

      He snorted. “Right.” Since the shooting he hadn’t been in the mood for dating, or even hanging out with friends. Most of his buddies were on the force, anyway. And right now, all he wanted was distance from them.

      “What they did to you wasn’t right, but you can’t be bitter, Nathan. The bullet wounds have healed…you need to let the mental wounds heal, too. Start living your life, again, having fun.”

      Nathan nodded, as if he agreed. But as close as he was to his sister, he’d never expect her to understand. Their dad had been a hero. A real, genuine hero. All his life, Nathan had wanted to live up to that standard. And what had happened?

      His name had been maligned in the headlines of the very paper that had once lauded his father as a hero. Columns that had praised his old man for sacrificing his life to save a stranger had accused Nathan of being a bigot and a coward, shooting without cause based on the color of a kid’s skin.

      He pulled ingredients from the fridge and began chopping. “You’re a fine one to talk about fun. When’s the last time you went on a date?” His sister was a pretty woman and she’d moved out of her husband’s house six months ago. It was time she started living her life again, too.

      “It’s different for me. I have Justin.”

      “He’s a great kid, but you need more.”

      “Eventually I will,” she agreed. “It’s still too soon for me. Logan and I were together for six years.”

      So what happened? He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to probe. He sprayed olive oil into a sauté pan and waited for it to heat.

      “At least I have a job that I love,” Mary-Beth continued, referring to her new teaching position at Columbia University. “Have you thought about what you want to do next?”

      “I’m going to be a professional investigator. Like Magnum P.I.,” he joked, citing the old TV series that his sister had confessed to watching late at night when she’d been breast-feeding Justin.

      Finally a smile cracked his sister’s face. “That sounds great, Nathan. As long as you skip the mustache.”

      She rose from her chair, stretched and yawned. “Early start tomorrow. I’d better get some sleep.”

      “G’ night, sis.” After she’d given him a hug, he turned back to his cooking, tossing the chopped vegetables and tofu into the hot oil.

      Being treated like a criminal had definitely taken the fun out of life. Leaving the force had felt like his only option. But it had also marked the end of a lifelong dream. Since he’d been a young boy, he’d always wanted to be a cop. Now he needed another dream.

      He still wanted to go after the bad guys. But from now on, he was going to pick the caliber of people he would work with.

      People like Lindsay Fox.

      Maybe she cut corners more than he liked, but she was bright and committed. Best of all, she wasn’t out for personal glory, didn’t take on cases just for some easy money. She cared about making the world a better place. She cared about justice.

      Nathan added spices into the stir-fry and gave it a final toss before sitting down at the table. Eating straight from the pan, he thought about the glimpse into Lindsay’s life he’d had today.

      When he’d seen her ad in the paper, he’d done his research. As well as checking out her clients and her business, he’d dug into her personal life. He knew that she was still single, that she ended most of her days at that greasy pub, knocking back several paralyzers before making her way to her apartment just one block from the office.

      Though she was strikingly attractive, with pale blond hair, translucent skin and hauntingly beautiful blue eyes, she didn’t date much. It seemed her socializing, if you wanted to call it that, centered around the pub he’d visited tonight.

      What kind of life was that for a woman who was just thirty years old? From personal experience, he knew the woman was passionate. So why wasn’t she involved with anyone?

      Ghosts lay in her past, he was sure of that. If they ended up working together again—and he was pretty determined that they would—maybe he would finally find out.

      A week later

      BALANCING HER LEATHER CASE in one hand, and cell phone in the other, Lindsay dodged pedestrians, strollers and dogs, as she made her way down Columbus Street. She’d spent the morning on routine surveillance for an insurance claim, and was now heading back to the office, while attempting to return a call to her sister. Finally Meg’s assistant patched her through.

      “Lindsay?”

      “Hey, Meg. Busy day. You called?”

      “Yeah, I have another job for you. It’s an out-of-town assignment, should take about a week. You interested in an all-expense-paid trip to Florida?”

      Lindsay glanced up at the pewter-colored sky. “Florida sounds like heaven, but I’m too swamped to get away.”

      “I thought you were hiring an extra investigator?”

      “I’m trying. My most hopeful candidate was a university grad with work experience as a waiter. Smart kid, but I just don’t have the time to train someone from scratch.”

      She purposefully didn’t mention Nathan. She hadn’t heard from him since that night at the pub and she was having second thoughts, and third thoughts, against working with him again.

      Lindsay came to a street corner and checked for traffic before hurrying across.

      “Look, I’m almost at the office,” she continued. “Can I call you back later when I have time to talk?”

      “I’m in court the rest of the week. How about we catch up on the weekend?”

      “Sounds good.” Lindsay snapped her phone shut, then rounded the corner to Seventy-ninth Street. Two minutes later she was back at the office. Nadine was typing madly, but paused to give her an update.

      “The billings are on your desk to be signed, your phone messages are here—” she passed over a stack of paper “—and Nathan has moved into the office across from yours.”

      With phone messages in hand, Lindsay was already striding toward her office, when the last part of Nadine’s statement sank in.

      “Nathan has moved in?”

      Nadine nodded. “Is that okay? He said it was okay.”

      Lindsay pivoted, then charged into what should have been an empty office. Sure enough Nathan had made himself at home behind the sleek new desk. He was on the phone, but he smiled and waved at her to come in.

      “What СКАЧАТЬ