Tease Me Read online

What are you doing for, oh, say, the next forty or fifty years? was the response that leaped immediately to his mind. It jolted him right out of his love-struck, hormone-driven stupor.

  Whoa. Slow way down here, Morgan. Changing your life in order to open up your options is one thing, but you don’t want to go falling in love with the first person under seventy-five you lay your eyes on.

  She smiled at him.

  Do you?

  No, you don’t, he answered emphatically. He was there to help Lillian solve a mystery, not find a wife. Hell, he didn’t even know where he was going to live two weeks from now. He had plenty of whats and wheres to sort out in his life before he started thinking about the who he might share it with.

  He quickly pulled himself together. “Can you get me a good deal on some of those shrimp?”

  Her mouth dropped open, but she quickly snapped it shut. “Shrimp?”

  Tucker stepped past her and scanned the array of shellfish with the interest of a man who hadn’t eaten in a month. She turned and looked with him, as if by doing so she’d figure out what the sudden fascination was.

  “I missed lunch,” he explained, not caring how lame he sounded. So he’d lost his mind there for a few hours, it wasn’t the end of the world. “These look good. I heard you haggling with Sam and figured you might be able to get him to cut me a deal.”

  A loud thump brought both their heads up. White-wrapped packages covered one end of the counter. Sam stood behind the counter, eyeing them both with unconcealed interest.

  “A deal on what?” Sam said, eyes gleaming. He turned to Lainey. “And you stay out of this.”

  Tucker left Sam’s fish market ten minutes later with a very good price on a pound of medium tiger shrimp. He’d left behind a woman who, despite his better judgment, fascinated the hell out of him, and a very nosy shopkeeper who he’d bet was popular in a town full of ladies whose favorite pastime was probably gossip. He sighed. Hell, Sam would probably have them married with three kids by sundown.

  Tucker paused at the curb. He was certain that that thought should bother him more than it did. He had also left without getting a shred of information about Lillian’s mystery. And his only contact? The woman he’d just forced himself to walk away from without a backward glance.

  That capped it. He was definitely going to strangle Lillian. An easy job, she’d said. A couple of weeks, she’d said. It’ll be like a vacation, she’d said. His first day as a detective, and he was already hopelessly entangled. For a man who’d just simplified his life, this didn’t bode well.

  “At least you got a good deal on lunch,” he muttered as he crossed the street to his rental car. A raw lunch, he thought as he tossed the bag onto the passenger seat. Maybe he could get the kitchen at the hotel to steam them for him. Right after his chat with Aunt Lillian.

  Lainey almost tripped over Ida’s cane going through the back door of the café. The mesh bag of navel oranges wobbled precariously on top of the heavy cardboard box filled with dry ice and seafood that Sam had packed for her. She struggled to get through the door, barely making it to the counter.

  “Well, it’s about time,” Irma said from her perch on the stool by the swinging doors that led to the front of the café.

  “Now, Irma,” Ida said, her voice pinpointing her whereabouts on the metal chair by the back door.

  With a grunt, Lainey heaved the box onto the counter, then wiped her hair from her forehead as she turned around to face the twins. “Ladies,” she greeted them. “Mr. Max,” she added, nodding to the small dog peeking from Irma’s bag in a play for time. “Why aren’t you up front enjoying your coffee and pie?” As if she didn’t know. She’d stalled as long as she could, wasting time she didn’t have in the hopes that they’d have given up by now. She should have known better. Wasn’t dealing with Tucker—twice—enough of a trial for one day?

  She faced their determined expressions. Apparently not.

  “Any more pie, and I’ll have to go back to Bunny Macafee’s Senior Stomp aerobics class,” Irma groused. “Lord, I hate that woman. And someone ought to tell her it’s downright disgusting to see someone her age strapped into spandex.”

  “I believe you did,” Ida offered. “Right before she kicked you out of the class for insubordination.”

  Irma harrumphed. “Should have been a drill sergeant. I’m amazed someone hasn’t dropped dead in there from a heart attack.”

  “Her classes aren’t that strenuous,” Ida said.

  “I was talking about saccharine overload.” She turned to Lainey, who was struggling not to laugh. “Have you heard the woman? Sounds like the sugarplum fairy on helium.”

  Lainey had met Bunny. She was a casual friend of Minerva’s and a client of Lillian’s who occasionally dropped in at the café. And in this case Lainey agreed with Irma. The woman was a high-strung, Minnie Mouse sound-alike, a born-again fitness nut who never missed an opportunity to lecture Lainey on the evils of fat grams. She all but claimed Minerva was killing the population of Sunset Shores by not modifying her menu. Aunt Minerva had long since tuned her out, but Lainey hadn’t been in town a month when Bunny had swooped down on her like a vulture on fresh roadkill. Bless Minerva’s kind heart, but Lainey didn’t know how she put up with the woman.

  “I’ve heard her,” Lainey told Irma. “And I’m in complete agreement with you. Although I have to give her one thing.”

  “What?” the twins asked simultaneously.

  “She looks better in a leotard than I do.”

  Irma snorted. “That’s only because she dragged the name of Lillian’s plastic surgeon out of her. I’m surprised he hasn’t retired on her bills alone.”

  “Now, Irma, really,” chided Ida.

  “Well, at least Lillian admits that’s why her fanny doesn’t hang to her knees.”

  “I thought she got herself a personal trainer? That wrestler person, Sven the Avenger or something.”

  “Sven the Destroyer,” Irma corrected, making Lainey stifle a snort despite her irritation. “And even he can only halt the vagaries of time for so long, Ida.”

  “Ladies,” Lainey interjected, then immediately regretted it when they both turned their attention back to her.

  “And speaking of Lillian,” Irma said, drilling her with a sharp gaze. “How did your appointment go?”

  Lainey folded her arms and leaned back against the counter. “First, tell me exactly why you sent me there without mentioning that the new Helga was a man.”

  To her credit Irma didn’t even blink. “Because someone had to give him a test drive, and we figured you’d think we were meddling old women if we told you Lillian’s masseuse was a man.”

  She didn’t want to hurt their feelings. Despite Irma’s brusque attitude, she knew Irma really cared about her. “I thought we all agreed after Charlie that you two wouldn’t interfere in my love life again.”

  “Did I say anything about your love life?” Irma retorted. “I just wanted to know if he was any good.” She leaned closer, her faded gray eyes sparkling. “So was he?”

  Ida leaned forward. “Did he ask you out, dear?”

  “He’s unmarried,” Irma added.

  Ida nodded, her eyes twinkling too. “And a real hunk.”

  Lainey sighed. The gentle route was obviously not working. “I don’t care if he’s an unmarried hunk. I’m not interested in dating right now.”

  “Where is he taking you?” Ida scooted her chair forward. Even Mr. Max was sitting up with his ears perked at full attention.

  “Who said he asked me out? I didn’t—”

  “For heaven’s sake, I hope you didn’t say yes right away,” Irma said flatly. “It’s not as if you have any competition around here. Don’t be too eager, or he’ll think you’re easy.”

  “Irma!” Ida pressed her hand to her chest.

  Irma sniffed. “Just looking out for our Madelaine, Ida. If she’d have been more careful with Charlie, she’d have probably—”

  “Ended up exactly h
ow I did,” Lainey said. “And I only went out with him on your sterling recommendations and so your feelings wouldn’t be hurt.”

  Both of their expressions immediately fell, leaving Lainey feeling as if she’d just kicked Mr. Max.

  She sighed. “Listen, I appreciate that you care about me, I really do. But—”

  “Don’t let one bad apple sour you on the rest of the bunch,” Ida said, jumping right back into it.

  “Two bad apples,” Irma said. “Remember her louse of a husband. And who knows how many before that.”

  “Irma, for heaven’s sake, don’t remind the dear girl of her failures.”

  “My failures?” Lainey said. She stopped abruptly and took a slow, deep breath. She should have known better than to fall for their pouts. After eighty years of practice, the sisters knew all the tricks and weren’t the least bit afraid to use as many of them as they deemed necessary. Once decided on a course of action, nothing short of death would deviate them from their path. And she was almost convinced the sisters were immortal.

  She had to find some way to end this right now. She’d made many bad choices in her life, number one on the list being her ex-husband, Conrad. She’d married him for all the wrong reasons, and in the end her impulsive choice had hurt them both. It had taken a lot of teeth gnashing for her to include her ex-mother-in-law in the category of innocent bystander, but two years and a thousand miles had made it a bit easier to be gracious. When she’d decided to stay in Florida, Lainey had also decided it was time to grow up and set some serious goals and guidelines for her life.

  Then Charlie had come along, another prime example of Lainey making bad choices for the wrong reasons. But it had been a worthy lesson.

  She took a breath and faced the sisters. “I appreciate your wanting to see me happy, really I do,” she said earnestly. “But trust me, right now I’m happiest just being on my own. I highly recommend Tucker for his masseur skills, but as for anything else, I’m not interested. I’m serious about this and would appreciate it if you two would help me out. Okay?”

  They both nodded, then made their good-byes, but Lainey didn’t believe for a second that her little speech had convinced them to end their interference. But it didn’t really matter, because her little speech had convinced her. Tucker had been a fun, harmless diversion. She’d consider her appointment that morning her last impulsive fling. But that was the beginning and the end of it. She was even proud of herself for recognizing it as such and not allowing his charm to flatter her into beginning any sort of relationship. She didn’t need diversions in her life right now, particularly charming male ones, no matter how temporary.

  Pleased with herself, she turned back to her purchases and began unpacking the seafood. Yes, she did have more important things to concentrate on than ex-bodyguard masseurs with heart-attack hands and knee-melting smiles.

  Something was up with Minerva. A frown pulled at her mouth and concern wrinkled her forehead. Lainey didn’t know exactly what and Minnie wasn’t talking about it, at least not to her. She admitted that her aunt’s silence hurt a bit, but it worried her more. Especially when she’d spied Damian Winters in town. Her conversation with him had been equally unrevealing.

  She sighed a bit as she snugged memories of Tucker away in a back corner of her mind—for a final impulsive fling, he’d certainly been a worthy choice, one she’d enjoy recalling from time to time—but now she had to focus on life’s important matters. Charming men weren’t on that list, but her aunt Minerva topped it. She was all the family Lainey had left. One way or another, she had to find out exactly what her aunt was up to.

  FOUR

  Tucker reluctantly pushed through the door of the café. His talk with Lillian the previous afternoon hadn’t gone exactly as planned. But then, when it came to Aunt Lillian, things rarely did.

  He breathed a small sigh of relief when he spied an older woman, presumably Minerva, behind the counter. Maybe the gods would smile on him and Lainey would be off catering something.

  Lillian had ignored his arguments for discontinuing his new occupation and, with her typical buzzard-eye style, zeroed in on his comments about Lainey. She was convinced that Lainey was his key to solving the mystery, and nothing he had said could deter her. He’d also perceived a healthy dose of matchmaking fervor underscoring her plans, which he hadn’t even attempted to fight. It would only have made her more determined. A frightening thought. As it was, he considered himself lucky that he’d gotten out of there by agreeing to drop by the café for lunch and a hoped-for chat with Lainey over coffee. Tucker wasn’t sure what he hoped for, but a quick exit from Florida was looking really good at this point.

  “Well, hello,” Minerva greeted him warmly. She was short and pleasantly soft in a way that spoke well of her cooking skills. Her dark hair, only mildly scattered with gray, was pulled back into a voluminous bun, and she wore a plain blue dress with a white apron tied over it. She welcomed him with a smile as she finished arranging slices of cake on an old-fashioned pedestal tray. There was a brush of flour on her cheek and a smear of what looked like chocolate frosting on the bib of her apron.

  A far cry from Aunt Lillian, Tucker thought. Minerva looked like the quintessential grandmother. The kind of woman who probably fed strays. The kind of woman who’d likely believe even a half-decently told sad-luck story. The kind of woman who could get suckered into a scam because she was too kindhearted to see lies instead of truth.

  He hadn’t really known what to expect. Lillian’s stories over the past few years hadn’t left a permanent memory in his mental file. He realized now, that since Minerva was Lillian’s closest friend, he’d been expecting someone more like … well, like Aunt Lillian. One look told him this was a true case of opposites attracting. It didn’t take any detective work to see why Lillian was so concerned. Minerva was a senior sucker waiting to be duped.

  Tucker didn’t know whether to groan at the additional helping of guilt or give Minerva a comforting hug and tell her he’d take care of everything. The urge to do both was equally strong. He settled for finding a spot at the counter and asking for coffee.

  “Black?” she asked kindly. “Or do you like it sweet?”

  Her eyes were brown, he noticed, unlike her niece’s. He recalled with disturbing clarity green eyes with flecks of gold. Cat eyes. “Black is fine,” he said, blinking away thoughts of Lainey.

  Minerva studied him for a second longer, but her twinkling eyes didn’t reveal anything other than warm hospitality.

  And what else would they show? he asked himself disgustedly. That she can see one thought of her niece had you almost squirming on your stool? He glanced down a bit too quickly as she slid the heavy, white ceramic mug in front of him. No use taking chances. One interfering busybody was enough. Minerva might look like a kindhearted granny, but Tucker had no doubt there was more than one matchmaking bone in her body. She had an unmarried niece. Meddling came with the territory.

  “You must be Tucker,” she said as she wiped down the counter. “I was wondering if you would pay us a visit.”

  Warily, he glanced up at her, but her expression was completely guileless. “I only started working for her yesterday.” He should have waited until the café was busier. He was its only customer now. He swore his stool grew increasingly warmer under Minerva’s steady regard.

  “And I suspect you’re already busy,” she said easily. “At least if Lainey is to be believed. She says you’ll make the ladies around here forget all about Helga.”

  Lainey had talked to her about him? With a determined mental shove, he pushed aside any questions he might have been tempted to ask. “I’m flattered to hear that.” He smiled. A sip of coffee warmed him further. He could handle this.

  Minerva paused in front of him. “You’ll pardon me for saying this, but if you’re half as good with your hands as you are to look at, I imagine you’ll be booked up solid by the end of the week.”

  Tucker barely kept from choking on his coffee. He n
ow knew exactly why Minerva and Lillian were close friends. “I’m, uh …” He paused to clear his throat. Her eyes sparkled so innocently, but Tucker was beginning to reevaluate who the gullible one was there. He’d spent years making sure the wrong people didn’t get to those he was in charge of protecting, honing his observational and character-judgment skills to a keen edge. He rarely misjudged someone. In this instance his blind spot was probably caused by wishful thinking. “I’m only helping Lillian out temporarily.”

  “So I hear.” She patted his hand. “But I give even odds that if you start booking them in, Lillian will find a way to keep you.”

  “At least you gave me a fighting chance,” he said dryly.

  She topped off his coffee. “Oh, I imagine if anyone could give Lillian a good run, it would be you.”

  Tucker took another sip as he let that comment sink in. Her tone had been warmly sincere. So what was she implying? He already realized that Minerva was far sharper than her homemade-pie personality let on, but did she know who he really was?

  “I have no idea what Lainey said about me that would give you that idea.” He gave her his best charming grin. “But I’ll take it as a vote of confidence.”

  She smiled back, her eyes as guilelessly merry as ever. Tucker braced himself.

  “Not to sound critical, but Lainey hasn’t always been the best judge of character when it comes to men. After the Charlie fiasco, she decided—wisely, if you ask me—to step back and examine her mistakes and figure out what keeps getting her in trouble. I told her she needs to spend more time thinking things through. Jackrabbits have more patience than our Lainey. Of course, she managed to resist you—though heaven knows why she picked now to put my advice to the test.” She gave him a once-over that made him squirm on his stool, then sighed and shook her head. “I love her dearly, but the girl has no sense of timing.”

  Tucker wasn’t completely sure, but he thought he’d just been flattered. Not that it mattered. He was there to get Minerva out of whatever trouble she’d gotten into, not to impress her or her niece on his suitability as a potential mate.