Pretty In Pink Read Online Free PDF Page A

up.
    “Hey!” Charlie said.
    “Oh, really? Do tell.” Sarah laughed.
She looked way too interested in his mood for Charlie’s taste.
    “There’s nothing to tell,” he said,
going into the kitchen. He looked around, nothing in the world resembled a tool
box. “Hammer?” he asked Sarah.
    “Hammer?”
    “He always walks hard when he’s mad,”
Clarice piped in.
    “Are you mad?” Sarah asked, eyes wide.
    “No. I am not mad. Hammer?”
    “The hammer’s in the cookie jar.”
Kimber came up behind her friend. She eyes the butcher’s paper.“Lovely Santa’s
village ladies. Charlie’s going to help me with the gutter. It’s frozen and
pulling away.”
    “There’s your monster,” Clarice said.
    “I’ll be damned,” Sarah said.
    Kimber nudged her friend. “Sarah,
language.”
    “I've heard worse,” Clarice said.
    Charlie laughed. “In the cookie jar. Of
course. Where else would you keep a hammer?”
    He stomped back upstairs, not angry
with Kimber, but with himself. He shouldn’t have kissed her. Shit, he shouldn’t
have wanted to kiss her. Priscilla had just smashed his heart to bits.
For no damn good reason. And…
    “Are you angry with me?” she asked
from the doorway.
    “Of course not. No. Why?” But he
leaned out the window to put space between them. Being in the room with her was
a bit too much.
    “You seem mad.”
    “At me.” He banged against the rogue
nails to secure the gutter.
    “What did you do?” she asked softly. The
hammering mangled her words, but he heard her.
    “Nothing. I kissed you and I shouldn't
have.”
    “It’s . I really don’t—”
    But Charlie barreled on, drowning her
out, wanting to explain. “I just ended something. Okay, that’s a lie. It was ended.
And things are insane. My sister and Clarice buying a house, Christmas, snow,
and now my partner wants to come back.” Bang, bang, bang. Carl had been
one of the men Priscilla has cheated with. Carl, his own goddamn partner. She’d
left him for a different guy, and Carl had slithered off to Florida. Charlie
had started to rebuild his life without the woman he’d assumed would be his
life forever and without a partner he considered a brother.
    Charlie reeled himself in and stared
at Kimber. Everything was a mess and he wasn't being fair to her. His life
consisted of babysitting, overdue errands, nursing his broken heart and now he
had to deal with old wounds. Plus, he had a new partner, Terry. He’d grown fond
of and accustomed to Terry. She was a tall blonde who could kick ass, take
names, and get a perp in cuffs before you could blink. And he didn’t think he
had the emotional fortitude to work with Carl just yet, if ever. He half feared
shooting him. Accidentally, mind you, but the subconscious…what a tricky thing.
    Kimber blinked and looked almost like
she would cry. Which broke his heart.  There was something about his new
neighbor that made him want to protect her. And make her safe. He’d damn near
broken his own neck getting over here to help her because as soon as she had
described her problem, he’d known the answer. And he was so happy to be able to
help, even though he didn’t want to be. He shouldn’t care at all. Not this
soon. Hell, the next decade would be too soon.
    “That does sound stressful,” she interrupted
his thoughts. Bright red spots of embarrassment, or anger, or maybe just cold
stood out on her pale cheeks. She twirled one finger in her dark brown hair and
she looked like a living doll.
    “So, I’m all kinds of confused. And
this time of year doesn’t help, does it?”
    “No.” she shook her head, taking a
step back.
    “I apologize if I freaked you out. Or
was out of line. I’m just sorry I kissed you,” he said. He hadn’t wanted to
upset her. It had been rude of him, but the urge had been so swift and all
consuming, he’d been powerless to rein himself in before he acted. Now she
blinked furiously. Charlie took a step toward her and reached for her arm,