Love and Mistletoe Read Online Free PDF

troublemaker. As in most areas of his life, Brian preferred not to stand out.
    He pulled his laptop out of his bag and placed it on the fold-up desk now stretched across his legs. Typing lecture notes made a pleasant change from scribbling witness statements, that was for sure. He peered around the packed lecture hall. Who knew forensic psychology was such a popular subject?
    After three years of taking distance courses, he was officially enrolled as a part-time student at University College Cork. He fairly glowed with pride. He’d never paid much attention to his schoolwork when he was a kid, doing well enough to pass all his exams and meet the grades required to join the police force but not excelling at any particular subject. Once he’d completed the initial three years of grunt work on the force, he’d realized he was qualified to do little else and was unlikely to rise beyond the basic rank of
garda
. So he’d applied for an Open University course and worked his arse off, squeezing in time to study around long hours on the job. To his surprise, he’d done well. At Seán’s urging, he’d applied to University College Cork to complete his degree and was now enrolled as a part-time student. Two weeks into the semester, he was enjoying every second of his studies.
    He shifted in his seat and fingered his collar absently. The casual jeans and shirt made him feel strange. He was so used to wearing his police uniform that he felt naked in civvies.
    On the podium, the professor had found the correct cable. The first presentation slides flashed onto the screen. While the professor was clearing his throat to commence his lecture, the door to the hall creaked open. Brian glanced up from his laptop. And his jaw dropped.
    In strutted a familiar form clad in a low-cut canary-yellow top and tight leather miniskirt. Her progress in her high heels could be described as tottering at best. Their eyes met, hers widening a fraction before her face split into a foxy grin. To his horror, she made a beeline for him. Batting improbably long mascaraed eyelashes, she plonked herself onto the empty seat next to his. “Hello, Garda Glenn. Fancy seeing you here.”
    “What the f—” He swallowed hard. “What are
you
doing here?”
    Sharon’s grin stretched wider, flashing pearly white teeth. “Same as you, I’d imagine. I need more credits to complete my psychology degree. This course was on my list of electives. What degree are you going for?”
    “Criminology,” he muttered.
    “Apt, given your job. How come you’re taking this course? I thought it was reserved for final-year students.”
    “I
am
a final-year student. I’ve spent the past couple of years taking OU courses.”
    “So that’s why you were ordering mysterious books from Bridie.”
    “Yeah. She gives me a better discount than the campus bookshop.”
    “I’ll bet she does.” Sharon’s voice was laced with laughter. “Is this is your first on-campus course?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Must be quite a change. I almost didn’t recognize you out of uniform.” She tugged at his shirt playfully, sending a jolt of lust zigzagging to his groin.
    He removed her hand from his chest and placed it firmly on her fold-up desk, ignoring the mischievous twinkle in her eye. “You’re late starting this course. Did you switch classes?”
    Her smile faltered. “No. I had… stuff to sort out after my mother died. Today is my first day back at uni.” A look of raw emotion flitted across her face before the shutters slammed shut and the trademark cheeky grin was back in place.
    “If you want to read over my lecture notes, I can e-mail them to you.”
    She leaned close, and her warm breath tickled his neck. “Are you looking for an excuse to get my e-mail address? Naughty, Garda Glenn.”
    “Settle down, everyone,” boomed the professor before beginning his lecture.
    For the first fifteen minutes, Brian was hyperaware of Sharon’s presence in the seat beside him. Her sweet