The Wages of Cin (Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

asked.
    “Please,” I said, trying not to let my nerves show.
    We walked over to the lot.  He stopped when he found his large paneled van blocked in.
    “My car’s unblocked over there. Why don’t we use it?”  I pointed out the BMW.
    “I’m dreaming.  Not only am I in the company of a beautiful woman, but one with a bimmer too.”
    “Sidney, would you like to drive it?”
    “Ah, no, you see, I’m very distracted right now, and I might crash it.”
    “Alright, but you’re going to have to give me directions, ’cause I have no idea where we’re going.”
    He nodded and followed me to the car.
    My blue topaz baby wasn’t new, but it’d been very well cared for.  I loved the car; I loved driving the car; and I loved the looks I got from other drivers when I drove it.  I guess it’s more than a car to me.
    Sidney opened the door for me before moving quickly around the car and getting in.
    “Top up or down?” I asked.
    He turned and looked at me so quickly.  I think he thought I said something else.  I pointed up to the ceiling.
    “Down, I want to leave this place in style and let all the losers see who I’m leaving with,” he said and secured his seatbelt.
    I laughed.  This guy was either good for my ego or half-blind.  Either way, Sidney Stoneridge had made me feel beautiful.  It was difficult to talk with the top down, but Sidney shouted directions, and soon we were pulling into the lot of an Intracoastal Waterway floating restaurant called the Crab Shack.
    “The place is kind of a dive, but the food and service are great,” he said, opening my car door.  I stood up and tried to unknot my windblown curls.  “Let me,” he said.
    I stood still, and he worked from the back around to my face.  He unwound a curl and pushed it behind my ear.  I looked at him, his face inches from mine.  Butterflies invaded my stomach.  He leaned in, and I received a tender kiss on my lips.  I responded and kissed him back.  He pulled away, and I opened my eyes.
    “Whoa,” he said.  “Do you always tip your hairdressers like this?”
    “Makes me quite popular at the salon,” I said to lighten the mood.
    “Cin, I feel like a teenager,” he admitted.  “I had rehearsed all these clever things to say, and right now, all I can think is how good that kiss felt.”
    “I think it rates in the top ten of the all-time best kisses.”
    “I’m moving up the charts, cool.”  He grabbed my hand.  “Come on, let’s get crabs.  Wait, no…”
    “I like crab,” I said, rescuing him from explaining the STD faux pas.
    “Sidney,” the cute blonde hostess greeted my date.  “We have your table ready.”
    “Vicki, this is Cin Fin-Lathen, my date.  Cin, this is my cousin Vicki. She owns this floating piece of crap.”
    “You’re lucky I’m letting you on the Shack after last time,” Vicki said, collecting two menus.
    “Sounds like a good story,” I said, following the bouncy blonde.
    “The poor dear was in the middle of his first round of chemo, and well, he lost his meal during the lunch rush,” she sympathized.  “But you didn’t have to say ‘watch the shrimp’ on your way out, mister,” she said, turning around and placing a manicured nail on Sidney’s chest.
    Sidney held up his hands.  “Guilty.  I promise you, I will keep my dinner down, but I can’t speak for Cin here.”
    “I have great digestion,” I said quickly, avoiding Vicki’s scrutiny.
    She nodded and pulled out a chair at a table, at which I noticed extra care had been taken to make it look special.  Sidney’s cousin was doing her part to make his first date with me as good as she could make it.
    She handed me a menu, but I declined.  “I think I’ll let you make that decision for me.”
    She asked, “Any allergies?”
    “None.”
    “Good.”
    “I’ll take a menu,” Sidney said.
    “You know the menu forwards and backwards,” she pointed out.
    “Still, I think I need something to hold on to,” he