The Law of Desire. Gwyneth Bolton

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ about it as she watched her clothes spin around and around at the Laundromat.

      She’d been in Paterson for almost two months. The McKnight twins had a nice way of being protective and still allowing her to have her space. At first, one of them was constantly at her side. However, it became harder and harder for them to pull that off with their work schedules. The only jobs the twins could get with their records were temporary construction jobs and kitchen jobs washing dishes in restaurants. She could tell they were really trying to turn their lives around. And she felt sad that her brother hadn’t been able to do the same thing before he died.

      As much as she adored the McKnight twins, she was glad for the time she had to herself away from their tiny apartment and their big-brothers-always-hovering routine. Even if she had to take the time at the Laundromat, at least she had it.

      “Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette I can borrow, would you?”

      Minerva looked up to see a petite, fair-skinned woman with beautiful wavy black hair streaked with strands of gray pulled into a ponytail that hung down her back. A bright red scrunchie held the ponytail and her front tooth was chipped. She looked like she might have had a hard life at one time, but the gleam in her eyes hinted that nothing had stolen her joy. For some reason the woman made Minerva think of her own deceased mother.

      “Sorry, ma’am, I don’t smoke.” Minerva smiled at the woman. She seems nice enough.

      “Ma’am? Girl, please, I’m too fresh and too cool to be anybody’s ma’am. My name is Carla by the way.” She grinned and sat down next to Minerva. “It’s good you don’t smoke. It’s a nasty habit. I quit smoking myself. But every now and then, I need a cigarette.” She glanced over at a tall, handsome man with salt-and-pepper hair putting clothes in the machine. “This old man I got decided we aren’t smoking any more at all and won’t let me have an occasional cigarette. You believe that?” Carla rolled her eyes playfully and shrugged.

      Minerva laughed. “My name is Minnie.” For some reason she couldn’t imagine anyone trying to tell this woman what to do.

      “Girl, these men will try your patience for real.” Carla let out an exasperated sigh.

      “You gonna just sit over there while I do all the work?” The tall, handsome man called over as he placed the coins in the machine.

      “I like watching you work.” Carla winked at her man.

      He shook his head as he smiled.

      Minerva laughed at the antics between the older couple and again she felt a pang of sadness. She tried to call up the visual image of her own parents. It was getting harder and harder to remember.

      “Hello, Carla. Minnie.” A deep voice pulled her away from her memories.

      Her heart started beating double time in her chest at the sound of his masculine baritone. She looked up to find Detective Lawrence Hightower walking into the Laundromat. Since he was not carrying any clothes and looked like he was on duty, she had the feeling the good detective wasn’t there to wash a load.

      “Hey! If it isn’t my second favorite Hightower cop.” Carla laughed. “Hey, Gerald, you better watch out. The po-po is here.”

      “You know him?” Minerva spared a caustic glance at the detective before turning to Carla.

      “He’s my son-in-law Jason’s brother. He’s cool people. A little too moody and he-man for my tastes, but he a’right.”

      Lawrence frowned as he stared at them and rubbed his jaw in contemplation.

      “Awww…don’t be mad, Hightower. You know I’m too much woman for ya anyway.” Carla laughed.

      “Do you know this woman, Carla?” Lawrence eyed Minerva suspiciously as he asked the question.

      “Who, Minnie? Yes, this is my new girl.” Carla glanced from Lawrence to Minerva. “Why you asking?”

      “How well do you know her, Carla?” Lawrence leaned against the washer and folded his arms across his chest.

      “Is there a problem over here?” Gerald walked over and stood in front of Lawrence. “How’re you doing, Lawrence?”

      Minerva’s dryer stopped and she got up to get her clothes out. No way was she going to sit there and listen while the annoying Hightower cop talked about her as if she wasn’t right there in front of him.

      Jerk!

      She emptied out her dryer and rolled her laundry cart to the back table to start folding, while mentally calling Lawrence Hightower every kind of idiot she could think of. Was the man so determined to arrest her for something, anything? Was he willing to provoke her until she slapped him upside the head to get her on assaulting a police officer? That must have been his plan.

      As she placed her folded laundry in the big red sack she’d purchased for transport, she wished the sheets and blankets would hurry up and finish drying. She didn’t bother going back up front because she could still hear Hightower’s voice. She looked up when she heard him saying goodbye to Carla and Gerald. Rather than head out the door, the detective was making his way to the back.

      She leaned against the table and he came and stood right in front of her. He was close enough for her to get a nice whiff of his cologne. It was one of those fresh, clean, masculine scents. The kind that made a woman think of getting swept away on an ocean. It could knock a girl off her feet if she wasn’t careful, that was for sure.

      Minerva inhaled and immediately regretted it.

      She didn’t bother saying hello. She moved her eyes from his hard-edged handsome face to the rock-solid wall of muscle that made up his chest.

      “Why’d you walk away, Minnie? Did my appearance throw a wrench in your plans to try and sell your wares to Carla?”

      “Go to hell.”

      “She says she knows you and you’re her girl. But she got awfully quiet when I mentioned your relationship with known drug dealers.”

      She pursed her lips.

      “How long are you planning to stay in Paterson, Minnie?”

      “Why? You planning on throwing me a party, Officer?” She slanted her left eye and licked her lips, leaning over slightly so the little bit of cleavage she had made its presence known.

      She could tell he was gritting his teeth by the pull in his jaw. His lip twitched and his eyes lost their typical suspicious stare. She licked her lips again before rolling her eyes.

      “You need to stop harassing me, Detective Hightower. People might get the wrong idea and think you like me or something.”

      There was a pause before his lips curled into a snarl. “Anyone in their right mind would know you are certainly not my type of woman. I like them taller, shapelier and, most important, crime-free.”

      She felt a pain slice through her heart. No way should she have felt anything akin to hurt because the idiot cop had basically rejected her. She didn’t want him to want her. She wanted him to leave her the hell alone. She gave him a once-over and noticed the considerable bulge in his pants. She might not have a lot of experience with men, but СКАЧАТЬ