Snoops in the City (A Romantic Comedy) Read Online Free PDF

nervousness, she hit the button that automatically lowered the window. He leaned down so that his face was only a foot or so from hers.
    His photographic image didn’t do the flesh-and-blood item justice. His hair was a more interesting shade of brown, his eyes a richer blue and his mouth was to kiss for. Really, the man had a ridiculously sensuous mouth. His upper lip bowed in the center and his lower lip was plump and lush.
    She tore her gaze from his mouth before her own started salivating. She reminded herself she'd never been a sucker for a handsome face, even if it did contain a killer mouth, and forced herself to concentrate on getting out of her predicament.
    “May I help you?” she asked good-naturedly, the way she used to at the bar before she'd been fired.
    “You'll want this,” he said in a voice so low and rich it could have belonged to a late-night disc jockey. He handed her a piece of thick white card stock.
    She automatically took it, turning it over to see embossed printing and a flowery script her nerves prevented her from reading.
    “It’s an invitation to Mayor Black’s party,” he supplied. “It's a thank you for participating in the golf tournament. The directions to her place are on the back.”
    She examined the card more closely, discovering that it was indeed a party invitation. She felt her brows knit. She
    couldn’t think clearly. Not with him so close. It wasn’t yet full dark but felt that way with him positioned by the window, blocking what little light remained of the day.
    “I don’t understand why you gave me this,” she said.
    “That’s where I’m going.”
    Tori's heart hammered but she concentrated on sounding blasé. “Why would I care where you're going?”
    His dark eyebrows, which were of an ideal shape and thickness, rose.
    “I’m being considerate,” he said. “You're not very good at following. Sooner or later, you were going to lose me.”
    That could be true, but he didn't have to rub it in. Couldn't he see that she was trying here?
    “What makes you think I would have lost you?” she asked indignantly. He cocked an eyebrow. Whoops. “I mean, why would I be following you?”
    “You can explain at the party. No reason we shouldn't go together since we're both headed to the same place."
    Her mouth gaped open. This was bad. Very, very bad. Private detectives did not attend parties on the muscular arms of their subjects.
    “I can't go with you," she protested. "We're strangers."
    "Then maybe you should tell me your name."
    “Tori Whitley,” she said before it occurred to her that she should have exercised her right to remain silent. Or at least used an alias.
    “I'm Grady Palmer, but you already knew that."
    Even if her denial hadn't stuck in her throat, she doubted he'd believe it. He'd gotten six feet from her car when he called over his shoulder, "I'll see you at the party. If you lose me, you have the directions.”

CH A PTER FIVE
     
    Tori spent the drive to Mayor Honoria Black's house trying to dream up a legitimate excuse for following Grady Palmer. She came up with a big blank.
    Okay, then. An excuse might not be the way to go. Outright denial sounded like a better strategy.
    "Me, follow you?" She placed her hand on her breastbone and affected a fluttering laugh. "You're sadly mistaken, sir."
    Like that would work , she thought with a roll of her eyes.
    She hadn't come up with anything better when cars parked on the street and in the circular driveway of a sprawling contemporary alerted her they'd arrived at their destination.
    Located in a pricey enclave of homes that hugged the Intracoastal Waterway, the Mediterranean-style house had a multi-level stucco exterior in pale coral and a barrel-tile roof in a slightly darker shade.
    Dramatic ground-level spotlights highlighted the forty-foot-tall palm trees in the front yard and shone on the covered, double-door entry. Every arched window was illuminated from within, attesting to a party going