“Please tell me you were at least reasonably polite about it.”
“I know how to do my job,” he repeated slowly for her benefit. “I was as polite as I could be. She should just be damned glad I didn’t throw something at her.”
Still rubbing her temple with one hand, Kinley waved off her brother with the other. “Just go back to work. Maybe she’ll stay away for a while now.”
“She’d better.”
Just as Logan turned and stalked away, Bonnie rushed in from the kitchen. “Kinley, I can’t find those place-card holders Eva wanted to use tonight. You did pick them up, right?”
“Yes, of course I did. I put them… Oh, crap.” She had a sudden, vividly detailed mental picture of the box of holders. Sitting on the coffee table in her living room. “I left them at home. I’ll have to run and get them.”
Bonnie glanced at her watch. “You have about an hour and forty-five minutes before the meeting with the prospective clients. You might as well have lunch while you’re out, then be back in time for the meeting. Rhoda and I will make sure everything is ready in here for the caterer.”
Automatically checking the time on her phone, Kinley nodded. “Yes, that will work. Is there anything else you need me to pick up for you while I’m out?”
“A couple of things. I’ll text them to you. Perhaps Dan would like to ride along with you?” Bonnie suggested, her tone guileless.
“I’m sure Dan can find something more fun to do than join me running errands,” Kinley prevaricated.
He smiled blandly at her. “Actually, I’d love to join you. Besides,” he added in a conspiratorial tone, “I’m afraid Mrs. Sossaman might return while you’re gone. There’s really nothing left for me to interview her about.”
“I’ll try to keep her busy if she does return,” Bonnie volunteered. “It’s my turn, I suppose.”
“Just keep her away from Logan.”
Bonnie laughed. “I’ll certainly try.”
Kinley glanced at Dan then. “You’re sure you want to come with me?”
“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation.
Trying to ignore the little ripple of reaction to his deep voice, she turned and spoke rather too brusquely, aware that she sounded a bit more like her brother than she would have liked. “Well, let’s go then. I have a lot to do today.”
Dan chuckled and fell into step behind her.
Chapter Six
Kinley’s tidy rental house was located on the outskirts of Radford, just a twenty minute drive from the inn in good weather. A simple, white frame one story, it featured a covered stoop on which she’d placed a planter filled with spring flowers, plain black shutters and an open carport.
Rather than pulling all the way into the carport and entering through the kitchen, as she usually did, she parked in the drive and ushered Dan in through the front door. It seemed only polite to invite him in rather than expect him to wait in the car while she retrieved the things Bonnie had requested.
With the landlord’s permission, she had painted the inside walls a rich cadet blue with bright white trim. She’d polished the wood floors to a warm gleam. The doorways were arched, and a white brick, gas log fireplace was the focal point of the small living room. She had three bedrooms, one of which she used as a home office, two baths, a tiny dining room and a sunny kitchen with new appliances and granite countertops. She’d furnished simply with light colors and clean lines to make the best use of her limited space. She didn’t intend to stay here forever, but it had been a very comfortable home for her for the past couple of years—not that she spent all that much time here.
“Nice,” Dan said with a look around.
“Thanks.” She shook her head as she walked to the coffee table on which sat a large box. “There’s the box I forgot. Can’t believe I walked out without it this morning. I usually go through a mental checklist to make sure I have everything I’m supposed to take with me.”
“Maybe you had something else on your mind this morning.”
She glanced around to find that he stood very close to her, and that he was studying her with a quirked eyebrow and a half smile. With that particular expression and his longish dark hair breeze-tossed around his face, those jewel-blue eyes gleaming in his tanned face, he looked like the quintessential bad boy—almost impossible to resist, regardless of her better judgment.
“Or someone,” she agreed slowly.
The other side of his mouth twitched, tilting up into a full smile. “Eva Sossaman?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Very funny.”
He brushed his lips over that little wrinkle before saying, “There’s something about you, Kinley Carmichael, that makes it very hard for me to remember that I’m supposed to be working. I’ve never been the strictly business type, as any of my former employers could tell you, but I swear I don’t usually forget I’m on assignment every time a pretty woman frowns at me.”