Wild About The Bodyguard Read Online Free PDF Page B

with his oxygen levels, too.
And her lips looked almost too plump, in a completely natural,
annoyingly kissable way.
    He wasn’t here
to get into her pants. Still, he was attracted to this woman, and
maybe more than he’d first thought, which was saying
something.
    Dragging
himself back, Chase moved to stand over by the counter. They needed
to talk about the case.
    “ Ten years
ago, before or after the break-in,” he said, “do you remember
anyone asking questions, hanging around, acting in a suspicious
manner?”
    “ That
dialogue is so authentic ,” she murmured like she
was filing it away for future reference. She followed him across.
“I remember the police asked us that same question. There wasn’t
anything.”
    “ Even
something small that, looking back, didn’t fit quite
right.”
    “ I wasn’t
functioning too well at the time. It hadn’t been long
since…”
    Her gaze
drifted to the end of the counter and another photo, a family shot
this time—a woman and two teenage girls. He remembered: Samantha’s
mom had passed away not long before that theft .
    He softened
his tone. “Have you spoken to your sister about seeing that ring on
the net?”
    Sammy nodded.
“Being the oldest, Ann felt responsible back then. But she’s
married now. Has a great life. She doesn’t want to dwell on the
past. You know, drag up painful memories.”
    “ You two have
a good relationship?”
    “ Sure. But
we’re different. She likes jazz and Tolstoy. I’m into rap and
vampires. True not Diaries . When I was a kid, she seemed to have all the right answers
to all the hard questions.” Sammy raised her coffee, sipped and
then asked, “Do you have sisters? Brothers?”
    Looking around
the room, he replied automatically. “Not brothers, exactly.
Cousins. Taylor and Leo.”
    “ Do you know
a light came to your eyes when you said their names?”
    He studied her
grin. Was she serious?
    She went on.
“I pictured you looking back and smiling at all the stuff you’d
done together.”
    “ I guess
actresses have vivid imaginations.”
    “ It’s
just...I feel like that sometimes when I look back. And I bet
you’re the oldest, too.” Her eyes laughed. “The bossy
one.”
    “ I’m not so
bossy.” More...instructional.
    “ Do you still
see each other?”
    “ We hang out
when we can.”
    “ For a beer,”
she surmised. “At the baseball?”
    Running a
hand through his hair, Chase coughed out a laugh. “Did you pay
someone to sneak a look at my file?” That was his deal.
    “ Show me a
guy who doesn’t drink beer. And, seriously, who’s not a Giants
fan?”
    “ You like
baseball?”
    “ Sure. Can’t
remember the last game I went to though.”
    He could
imagine her enjoying a hot dog while rooting for Buster to slam a
home run. Taylor and Leo would like her, too. She had a natural
spark, a definite zing that made a guy want to gravitate and get
involved—to a point where Chase felt the words sitting right there
on the tip of his tongue.
    Wanna go catch
a game with me sometime?
    Which wasn’t
what this meeting was about. They were meant to be digging deeper,
trying to discover what and who was behind that theft a decade
ago.
    He set his cup
down on the counter.
    “ You weren’t
seeing anyone at the time?” he asked.
    “ I was seeing
a boy. Nothing serious.”
    “ How serious
can you get at fifteen?”
    “ Ever heard
of Romeo and Juliet?”
    He
grinned. Smartass . “I’m familiar with it, yes.”
    “ Juliet was
just shy of her fourteenth birthday. Teenage love can be as strong
as any.” She nudged her chin at him. “You must have had a girl
hanging off your every word in high school. Kicking her heels and
punching her pom-poms every time you scored a
touchdown.”
    “ Taylor was
the football jock. I was into—” Pulling himself up, Chase thrust
back his shoulders. “We need to focus, Samantha.”
    “ Sammy,” she
said. “Friends call me Sammy.”
    He got back
on track— again .
“So, you were