Love on the Vine

by Roxanne Smith

  Oliver was waiting in her room. He sat on the far side of the single king-sized bed, his hands clasped together in his lap, and a perfectly blank expression on his handsome face. She didn’t bother to ask how a detective got inside without her key. Probably flashed his badge at the receptionist. These small towns had some seriously lax security.

  Kay threw her ruined sneakers on the floor. “You found me.”

  “Yeah.” He smiled humorlessly. “Also solved a case and made an arrest. We still don’t know who’s behind the bigger scheme, but we put a serious dent in their operations.”

  “Oh, my God, really? That’s amazing! Was it Brendan? Did he confess?”

  Oliver pressed his lips together and studied Kay with an unnervingly direct gaze. “You’d know if you were there.”

  “Well, I wasn’t.” Her response was clipped.

  Oliver was angry. She’d known he would be.

  “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have left without letting someone know I was okay. I thought if the guys in lab coats saw me leave on my own, they could tell you I was fine.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “You think I’m mad because you left? I trust you to know what you’re about, Kay. I was worried, yeah. We all were. But we also all agreed you can handle yourself. Checking in would’ve been considerate of you, but that’s not why I’m mad. I’m mad because you came here. Because you saw Finn. Because you kept it from me, like there was a need for secrecy. We made a pact, remember? No lies.”

  He zeroed in on her motives with stunning clarity. Once again, she had to remind herself that he was a detective. She should’ve known keeping a secret from him would be next to impossible.

  “I didn’t lie,” she pointed out calmly. “This was personal. It didn’t have anything to do with you.”

  “If that’s true, you’d have let me know.” His green eyes were piercing. “And the fact is that I want this. Desperately. But I don’t want to be the next Finn. If you don’t think you can talk to me, then I have to put some space between us before this goes any further. I can’t keep falling unless I know you’re gonna catch me.”

  Kay let out a breathy laugh, but her nerves kicked into high gear. Somehow, this thing with Oliver had become very real, very fast, and if he let her go now...the thought squeezed the air from her lungs. She moved around the bed, flung her purse onto the quilt, and sat down next to Oliver. “You didn’t ask for full disclosure.”

  He offered her a grim smile. “Yeah, well, I need it, I guess. Me and you, Kay, we’re all or nothing. I need to be in on the tough calls.”

  “You were, remember? You made your feelings about me reaching out to Finn pretty clear. I did what I felt I had to do.”

  He shook his head, still staring at her. “You don’t get it, Kay. Forget my feelings. I don’t need your protection. I just need the truth. Always. You could’ve told me to go screw myself. If my options were fuck off or support you, I’d have had your back today, and Finn couldn’t have left you stranded in the middle of nowhere. I’d have been here, with you. Holding your hand or waiting in the car, whatever you wanted. Give me a chance before you decide I’m going to let you down.”

  Kay swallowed past a lump in her throat. “Why do you care so much?”

  His features finally softened, and a slight smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He raised a hand and ran his thumb along her chin, below her lips. “Because I’m in love with you. Crazy about every inch of you. Even if I didn’t want you giving Finn any ideas about a reunion, I can’t help but admire that you come at everything—your job, your ex, a pain in the ass assistant—head on. You’re fearless, and I love it. I love you.”

  She felt them before she understood them. Warm tears made slow tracks over the apples of her cheeks. She brushed them away, then reached for Oliver. She took his face into her hands and moved closer, practically into his lap. “I’m not fearless at all. For instance, this scares the hell out of me. Because I love you, too, and it happened so fast, I’m not sure when or how I fell.”

  He smiled, and Kay’s whole chest grew tight in a grip of fierce happiness. His arms circled her, and he kissed her. “Must’ve been something in the air.”

  Chapter 14

  The drive back to Little Rock the next morning was strange in the very best way. Oliver floated on a cloud, so new and delicate he was afraid to move lest it break apart and he fall to his doom. For now, he had one hand on the wheel, and the other gripped by Kay, who sat in the passenger seat and chewed over the final developments in the case. The captain had called and relayed events Oliver missed last night, after he’d handed the reins of the interrogations over to the captain so he could run off and rescue Kay.

  “Brit Lars. I never thought twice about the secretary,” she said quietly, gazing out the window.

  “No one ever does,” he agreed. “But it made sense. Throughout history, servants and waitstaff have made perfect spies. They could be counted on to need the money, and had free access to important people and places. If you could get one’s doorman or groomsman in your pocket, you were as good as a member of the household. What irks me is how I applied the reasoning to Brendan without also giving Brit the same scrutiny.”

  “Yeah, but she didn’t have top floor access.”

  “Only she did,” Oliver pointed out wryly, suffering the weight of disappointment all over again. He’d made a gross assumption, because he’d never personally seen Brit anywhere past the fourth floor. “She had access to every nook and cranny of that place, including digital accounts, calendars, e-mails, and messages.”

  “Right.” Kay clucked her tongue. “Explain to me again how Brendan isn’t in on it. He intercepted that e-mail from Pattie and left the salad at my desk. Can we prove he wasn’t working with Brit?”

  Oliver squeezed her hand. “I know the justice system annoys you, but he doesn’t have to prove his innocence. And for now, we’re unable to prove his guilt. He’s got an answer for everything. He claims Brit took possession of the salad he brought for you and offered to leave it on your desk. Could be she’s corroborating his story to keep him out of jail, if they were working together. Or it’s simply the truth. He was picked up on security feed in the parking garage, and the timing fits as well as anyone can assume. Everyone has been working so hard on the salon project, they’ve been glued to their work stations. No one was really paying attention to who came and went from your office.

  “Brendan has access to a wealth of information, thanks to Mr. Arnell’s insistence on taking the stairs. Without realizing they were being overheard, Merit and Easton discussed many things, including Easton’s utter certainty that his greenhouses were being used for illicit activity. Brendan claims he wanted to break the case himself. That meant inserting himself into a partnership with you, once he deduced you must be the inside investigator based on the e-mail Pattie sent Merit. He assumed I was merely following your instructions, since I’d never ventured to do anything so reckless before.”

  “Huh.”

  Oliver shrugged and shook his head. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the story himself. Brendan was cool as a cucumber, as difficult to read as they came. Besides that, he lawyered up, wrote his statement, and was released without sufficient evidence to hold him. Oliver couldn’t do much without being charged with harassment, and he couldn’t risk that kind of damaging mark ending up in their official file. When it came time to bring charges on everyone involved in the drug ring, they needed a squeaky-clean, airtight case.

  “Brendan is a big, fat question mark if I ever saw one. Amos told us about his pharmaceutical science degree, but Brendan claims he left the credentials off his résumé because the field of study was irrelevant to his position at Free Leaf Concepts.”

  Kay swung a perplexed gaze his way, which he caught from the corner of his eye. “Are you kidding me? You tracked down my ex-fiancé, dug up the reason our engagement went bust, but you guys didn’t know Brendan was a pharmaceutical major?
”

  Oliver’s jaw clamped. “Believe me, we asked ourselves the same question. Turns out, Molly knew but decided the info was irrelevant since he never pursued work in the field, and has no employment history with any pharmaceutical company. Brendan might be untouchable now, but if he’s got so much as a pinky toe involved in this thing, I’m going to find out. And I’m going to bring him down.”

  Kay was silent for a beat. “There’s something...a pattern of some kind. I know it’s there, but I can’t quite see it. Probably nothing.” She sighed. “What will happen to Pattie? Brit rolled on her like it was nothing?”

  “Gave her up instantly. It was Pattie’s idea to engineer the break in they had several months ago. They stole Tallulah’s plant to stage it as a robbery by a rival company. The purpose wasn’t to take something from Capital Acres, however, but to bring supplies in. Pattie’s plan had the added benefit of the company beefing up security afterward, which helped further protect their setup.”

  “What about their lab?” Kay demanded. Oliver smiled. She sounded like a real investigator. “If Amos isn’t part of their little dream team, then they have their own lab somewhere.”

  “Amos was intended to be a patsy. Almost worked, too. He was in an ideal position to attract suspicion.”

  “That’s another strange development. Something seems off, but I can’t put my finger on what.”

  Oliver shrugged. They were still working through the network of connections. “They wouldn’t want to consolidate their operation in one place. There’s a lab somewhere. Maybe we can get Brit to give up the location.”

  Kay hummed thoughtfully. “So, what now?”

  “Well, the latest batch of mushrooms has been taken as evidence. We severely crippled the supply line since we crashed Capital Acres immediately following Brit’s arrest. Found the plants you mentioned, with Amos’s help. He also identified our mystery flower, based on your vague description. African dream plant. Lab is testing it against our sample of the super shrooms now, but I’d bet my favorite socks they’ll get a match. Passing off the hallucinogenic plant they were splicing to create the super shrooms as a rare oriental decorative was relatively easy, and didn’t undergo any hard scrutiny from Rowan—the only person who might’ve identified it for what it was.”

  Kay groaned and threw her head back, bouncing it against the headrest. “African dream plant? Damn, I wasn’t even close! I have some serious homework to do. Amos was right, you know. He saw through my wannabe Neve act pretty easily. I’m in way over my head. I’m really glad he had nothing to do with any of this. I would’ve been screwed. I’m going to need him if I’m going to pull off this spa we’re working on.” Her free hand covered her eyes. “I’m scared to go back to Free Leaf. I trust Seraphina, but what did I leave her to work with? Two designers who can’t stop fighting long enough to get anything done, and a diva botanist. Do you think Easton would blame me if I asked the Sweetclover proprietors for an extension? Could anyone blame me, really?”

  Oliver waited until she stopped for breath to interrupt. “Actually, you’ve got a few surprises waiting for you back at the office. We should be there within the hour.”

  True to his best guess, they arrived a little over forty minutes later.

  The atmosphere on the fourth floor was one of somber industriousness. Heads down, hands busy, low murmurs passed between colleagues as if they were at a funeral. Oliver was dismayed by Kay’s troubled frown. Hopefully, Seraphina’s surprise would do something to right it.

  Kay managed a smile for her team as their heads popped up from the drafting table, one by one. They met her with slow grins of their own and a few exchanged glances.

  Only Amos was missing. He’d been given the day off after undergoing another round of vigorous questioning and a polygraph at the local precinct. Guillermo crossed his arms and pursed his lips, but glee was evident in his dark eyes. Even Jasper was there, a black marker in hand, hovering over their plans.

  Seraphina rushed over and gripped Kay’s hands excitedly. “You must be worried sick about Sweetclover. But I think you’ll be pleased with what your team has wrangled together in your absence.” She pulled Kay toward the drafting table.

  “Wrangled together?” Jasper repeated in a dry tone. “I’d say it was a more meticulous effort than that.”

  Kay gave him a quizzical stare. He shrugged. Seraphina stepped between them and dropped Kay’s hands to grip her shoulder. “Despite a rocky start, Jasper has been instrumental in helping me get up to speed. You’ve got a talented team, Kay.”

  She didn’t seem convinced. She still watched Jasper like a bird of prey deciding if he were a meal worth the effort. “Is that right?”

  It was Guillermo who spoke up. “Sí, mi amigo y yo, we come to an agreement.” He grinned and slapped Jasper on the back. “No bridge can’t be crossed over a few cervezas, no?”

  Jasper’s expression turned sheepish, and he ducked his head and said nothing.

  Seraphina’s smile widened. “Have a look for yourself.”

  With one last doubtful glance at Jasper, Kay turned her attention to the plans laid out on the table, illuminated by the affixed lamps.

  From where he stood on the other side, Oliver noted brightly painted green trees, a deep indigo wall with some kind of design, some trailing vines over pillars. He rocked back on his heels and watched Kay’s face unfold into a beatific blend of unabashed surprise and delight.

  “It’s exactly what I imagined,” she breathed, leaning in closer.

  “We’re lightyears ahead of schedule.” Seraphina beamed. “I kicked everyone into high gear. I wanted to give you something, and be sure you had plenty of time to make changes. You’ll have lots of time to tweak stuff before your next meeting with the Followills.”

  Kay didn’t seem to hear. Her gaze roamed over every corner of the carefully drawn plans, from the listed measurements to the sketched and inked panel of plants they intended to use. “Snapdragons and mango calla lilies. Oh, Sera, that’s brilliant! Just one purple wall?”

  Seraphina shrugged but her smile was indulgently self-satisfied. “Jasper’s idea. When we did the deep purple all over, it was too dark and heavy. So, I took your notes about the mosaic tiles, and applied the same idea, but with shiny glass pebbles. It’s the same color, but an altogether different vibe.”

  Jasper pointed to a thick line. “I thought of a feature wall, placed just so behind Tallulah’s tree. It’ll act as a kind of partition. Behind it is a perfect place to keep a coat and purse rack for clients. Or a wall of lockers, obviously a wood cabinet of some sort, not the tacky metal kind. We did a crosshatch design.”

  “And I know you were nervous about using orange for contrast,” Seraphina added, “but the orange-yellow flowers reminded me of the sunset Oliver described, and I mean, just look at it. The colors just—”

  “Pop,” Kay finished excitedly. “Like rock candy on the tip of your tongue.” Oliver didn’t think she even realized she was bouncing on the balls of her feet. “String lights here and here, almost forming a trellis. It’s magical. It’s wonderful, inviting, and special and different.” She clapped her hands, pinning each of her team members with a bright, infectious smile in turn. “You guys!” she gushed. Her smile pushed the boundaries of her cheeks. “It’s perfect. You did amazing. I’m floored.”

  Her team, including Seraphina, brimmed with the kind of pride that could only come from pleasing the person one wished most in the world to please.

  Oliver took in the scene with a slow inhale.

  This. This was Kay’s superpower, her strength. Neve had brass, and Seraphina had poise. But Kay lit up other people from the inside out, her giddy enthusiasm spreading out like a net and catching up anyone in her wake. It was a revelation to see how their faces reflected Kay’s utter excitement right back at her.

  “Kay Bing,” he said softly.

  She turned to face him. He didn’t notice until his cheeks finally grew t
ired that he’d been grinning like an idiot alongside them all. Kay’s hazel eyes were lit up like small fires, burning bright with her happiness.

  He took her into an embrace, as casually as if they’d been doing it a lifetime. “There you are. Finally, we meet.”

  * * * *

  Kay was awash with numerous feelings—pride, excitement, joy. Not to mention some annoyance, exasperation, and a smidge of sorrow. “But your wedding! It would’ve been beautiful, Neve. How could you do this? How could you rob me of being the most amazing maid of honor in the world? I had plans, you know. Fabulous plans.”

  Neve snorted. “Admit it, Kay. Trying to force your brain to imagine me in a wedding dress, doing all the traditional crap, makes your head hurt, doesn’t it? It makes my head hurt. This was the only way I was ever going to become a married woman, and we all know this is true.”

  Neve had a point. Almost impossible to picture Neve as a blushing bride. “I suppose. Still, I would’ve liked to have been there, even as a witness at the courthouse. Do you feel different, now that you’re Neve Kennicot?”

  “Actually, Duke and I are still discussing that small detail. We’ve already eloped, I don’t see why we shouldn’t throw tradition out the window completely. He should take my last name. I’m not really prepared to give it up.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “Why ever not?” Kay could tell from her tone she meant every word. “He makes a better Harper than I do a Kennicot. I’m only stating facts here.”

  Kay laughed. “Well, I wish you luck convincing Duke of your so-called facts. Listen, I better go. I just heard Oliver come in. He had to take an important call, and I’m asphyxiating on curiosity.”

  She greeted him in the kitchen, swung her arms around his neck. “What call was so important you had to take it outside?”