Celestial Bodies Read Online Free PDF Page A

when he came downstairs and found Diana poring over the accounts.
    “You’re awfully eager to get me out of the shop, aren’t you?” she snapped.
    Nick sighed. “Forget I mentioned it.”
    Diana regarded him speculatively. He met her look with disarming candor. He had incredible eyes, she acknowledged silently. Richly fringed with long, black lashes, they were the color of the Caribbean Sea, bright and arresting against the healthy bronzed tone of his skin. Maybe—just maybe—he really did want to change his life and learn about astrology, the tarot, and herbal tea. Maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt.
    She licked her lips, intending to say something conciliatory, and saw his gaze drop to her mouth, his lashes veiling those expressive eyes. Forbidden heat, so recently banished, seeped into Diana’s body again. She couldn’t ignore his nearness, his muscular strength, the fine smooth warmth of his skin. The unbidden thought came to her that for this man, she wanted to be soft and welcoming.
    “Maybe I will take some time off this afternoon,” Diana said. She obviously needed a break. What was she thinking?
    “Good idea,” he murmured. “Why don’t you show me what you want me to do while you’re out?”
    Diana nodded, feeling her throat constrict. Her mind was a blank. What should he do while she was out? She swallowed and moved past him. He followed her toward the back of the store.
    “If it doesn’t get too busy,” she said, trying to force some briskness into her tone, “you could update our mailing list, dust the shelves back here, or check the expiration dates on the tofu packages.”
    “Okay. I noticed a couple of lights are flickering back here. I’ll have a look at them, too.”
    “Do you know anything about electricity?” She and Felix had nearly set fire to the building the one time they had tried to fiddle with the ancient electrical system.
    “I know a little something.”  
    It was with reprehensible reluctance that Diana picked up her purse and her list of errands and left the shop. She had hired Nick specifically so that she could have time to herself. But now that she was free to leave, she wanted to stay. With him. What an idiot she was.
     

     
    Nick took a long, shaky breath as he watched Diana leave the House of Ishtar. The business’s namesake, a pure black cat, glowered at him from her usual perch on top of a pile of books in one corner. The cat detested him. Like the shop’s owner.
    He was hurt. Animals usually adored him. Women usually liked him, too. But then, nothing at the House of Ishtar was usual.
    Of all the bizarre cases to get mixed up in, he thought, as he started looking through the accounts ledger. In three days he hadn’t been able to figure out if Felix Stewart was the cleverest con man in New Orleans, or just the most peculiar guy he had ever met. Diana was suspicious, hot-tempered, and openly opposed to his presence. He had seen a couple of the other job applicants his first day at the shop, and he was offended that she could find him objectionable by comparison to the competition. Which meant he had to wonder if she objected to him because she and Felix had something to hide.
    This was the first moment he’d had alone to start investigating. Until now, Diana had been breathing down his neck, watching him like a hawk and making him work like a slave. When she wasn’t on his back, Felix would corner him and mumble cryptic phrases or press astrology manuals into his hands. It was taking every ounce of self-discipline he had not to tell them they were both nuts.
    That wasn’t the only thing he needed self-discipline for, he realized uneasily as he browsed through the accounts. Despite her suspicious nature and quick temper, Diana Stewart was more than a little appealing. He had tried to distract her earlier, but had wound up so distracted himself that he’d momentarily forgotten his reasons for being here.
    She was as supple and graceful as a