by Karen Booth
“I’m telling you that I didn’t steal any of the festival’s funds and I didn’t buy a condo in the Maldives.” Asher gave his head a vigorous shake. “I didn’t do this. Why won’t anyone believe me?”
Lani glared at Asher, unable to believe that five minutes ago, as she’d walked through the door leading to these jail cells, she’d been besieged by an attack of butterflies—butterflies!—at the thought of seeing him again. She braced her will against the pull of his striking good looks, broad shoulders and overwhelming masculine appeal and cursed the part of her that revisited the bliss of his hard body surging into hers and the peaceful aftermath snuggled against his big warm chest. The double-barreled shot of mind-blowing sex and tender romance had torn her defenses apart.
She’d spent the last five years putting her walls back up. Yet when it came to Asher Edmond, she always underestimated his charisma. Her throat clenched. She remained as woefully susceptible to him as ever. At least she hadn’t let on how her heart had leaped at her first glimpse of him. Or given any hint of how she’d rushed from a client meeting with the famous musician Kingston Blue, to this jail cell in Royal, Texas, breathless and giddy and all too aware that this new case would bring her into close proximity with Asher once again. Last time she’d almost ruined her life because of him. She must not be led astray again.
Recognizing that she was grinding her teeth, Lani unlocked her jaw with an effort. “If you didn’t do it, then who did?”
“I have no idea.”
His denials didn’t surprise her. Given the serious charges facing him, Asher would be a fool to admit wrongdoing. At least not until his lawyer had plea-bargained his sentence down for cooperating with the investigation.
“It would be good for you if the money was returned.” A pause. “I could help with that.” Kingston Blue wanted answers. She intended to get them.
“If you think I have a clue where the missing funds have gone, then you’re going to be disappointed.”
“When it comes to you,” she retorted without considering her words, “I’m used to being disappointed.”
For a second he looked stricken and Lani wished she’d guarded her tongue.
“What I mean is…” Rummaging through the ashes of their brief romantic fling to dig up all the old hurts and disappointments was not the way to get him to trust her. “Look, I’m here to do a job. I’m not here as your friend. We had a lot of fun that summer, but let’s not pretend that we ever intended on seeing each other again once we parted ways.”
Asher winced. “I’m sorry for how things ended between us.”
Lani scoured his expression to determine if he truly felt remorse or if he was merely spouting more of his pretty words. Fool me once…
“Don’t give it another thought.” She pressed her lips into a grim line. The man already thought too much of himself. Why give him an inkling that their breakup had bothered her at all? “I haven’t.”
That summer everyone had warned her about him. She should’ve listened, should’ve followed her initial gut instincts and steered clear. Especially after her parents voiced their disapproval of their relationship when Lani had started reconsidering whether she should head to graduate school as planned or take a gap year and spend the time with Asher. She’d been such an idiot to think he’d been at all serious about her.
“I know I was a bit of a tool back then,” Asher said as if she hadn’t brushed off their fling as inconsequential. “But those days are behind me. I’m not that guy anymore.”
His reputation said otherwise. He had an active love life, playing as fast and loose with women’s hearts as he had with the festival’s bank accounts. Every social media post featuring him should be captioned #heartbreaker.
“Forgive me if I have a hard time believing that given that you’re behind bars at the moment.”
“Like I said, I’m innocent.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I was set up.”
Don’t be taken in by his earnest denials. Lani steeled herself against the agony in his intense brown eyes, but couldn’t quell the sudden frantic pounding of her pulse. His silver tongue had drawn her in all those years ago and she’d almost given up her dreams to be with him. She just couldn’t allow a lapse in judgment to happen again.
“Do you have any evidence of being framed? Or a theory who might be involved?” When she spied the way his chiseled lips thinned in frustration, Lani nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
For a long moment they stared at each other and Lani couldn’t decide if she wanted him to be innocent or guilty. For his sake, the part of her that had once loved him hoped that he had been set up, but the heartbroken portion needed him to be a bad guy. Since they’d parted, she’d been telling herself that she was better off without him. Misery loomed if she stopped believing that.
“I guess that’s it then. Your mind is made up. There’s nothing more I can say to convince you.” He looked so despondent that Lani’s heart contracted in sympathy. “Well, it’s been really great catching up with you. Good luck with the investigation.”
Crap. Well, she’d done an outstanding job of alienating him before learning anything. “If you’re innocent, you could use…help.” She couldn’t bring herself to say my help. Sucking in a steadying breath, she tried again. “My client wants me to find the money…”
“Did my father hire you?” Asher looked hopeful. “He was very impressed by you back when we dated. In fact, his only criticism was why a woman with your brains and ambition would waste your time with me.”
“My client would prefer to remain anonymous.”
Which wasn’t true. Kingston Blue had given her no such instructions, but she was here to get information, not give it out.
The musician had agreed to perform at Soiree on the Bay and, like many people, he was out a lot of money thanks to Asher’s embezzlement. Kingston Blue had deep pockets and wasn’t in any desperate financial straits, unlike many of the vendors and attendees of the aborted festival, but he was a savvy businessman who didn’t take lightly to being swindled. He’d met the entire Edmond clan and was quite convinced that there was more to the story than Asher Edmond acting alone to defraud all the people who’d put money into the festival.
Lani had been surprised when a high-profile client like Kingston Blue had contacted her about the case, but it became clear right away that the singer had done his homework and knew all about her connection to Asher Edmond. Kingston also knew that their fling hadn’t ended amiably, at least not on Lani’s part.
Professional ethics prompted her to warn Kingston that her prejudice against Asher might affect her work, but the musician believed her familiarity with the family made her the perfect person to investigate them and find the money. After the first obvious leads had panned out, progress had stalled on discovering the bulk of the missing funds. The feds had stopped investigating other suspects once all the evidence solidly pointed at Asher.
Despite her misgivings, in the end, the outrageous retainer Kingston offered was too tempting to resist. Plus, a check in the win column would open the door to other prominent clients. This case was the gateway to turn her fledgling business into the most sought-after investigative firm in Dallas.
But first she had to find the money Asher had stolen and for that she needed his cooperation.
“Sure. Okay. I understand.” Asher raked his fingers through his short dark hair. “But when you see my dad, tell him I’ve learned my lesson. It would be great if he could bail me out now.”
Lani saw no reason to correct Asher’s assumption that his father had hired her. If he believed that Rusty wanted him to cooperate with her investigation, all the better.
“Let me go see what I can find out about that,” she said, suddenly eager to escape.
Asher stared at her intently, his gaze growing ever more piercing as the seconds ticked by. Heat flared beneath her skin at the in
tensity of his stare. His look wasn’t sexual in nature, yet she’d always been so aware of his body and keyed into his moods. She saw now how longing and relief mingled in his expression as he believed, perhaps for the first time since his arrest, that someone might be willing to stand in his corner and believe in him.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me.” She needed to find the money. He was her ticket to do that. “I’m on a case. I think you can help me with it. That’s all. Don’t read anything more into it.”
“Sure. Whatever you say.” His even, white teeth flashed in a relieved grin as she turned to go. “And, Lani…”
She hated the way her heart spasmed as she headed for the exit. The powerful lure of their shared history was a stronger temptation than she’d expected. But she couldn’t let herself be ensnared by her longing for him. He’d been bad for her back then, and he’d be even worse for her now.
“Yeah?” Standing before the door, waiting for the buzz that would indicate it was unlocked, she made the mistake of glancing Asher’s way.
A smile of genuine delight lit up his brown eyes and softened his lips into sensual curves. “Seeing you again is the best thing that’s happened to me in a long, long time.”
The buzz sounded. Without uttering another word, Lani yanked open the door with far more force than necessary and left. She collected her phone and keys from the deputy guarding the cells, and then she was run-walking through the police station and stepping out into the blistering hot August afternoon. She didn’t stop moving until she’d reached her SUV in the parking lot. Breath coming in ragged gasps, she bent forward and set her hands on her knees while the blood pounded in her ears.
As her pulse slowed, she unlocked her vehicle and slid behind the wheel. She couldn’t do this. Pulling out her phone, she began to scroll through her contacts in search of Kingston Blue’s name. To hell with the money or the boost to her reputation this case offered, working in close contact with Asher was going to mess with her emotions again.
“Lani,” Kingston’s smooth deep voice soothed her ragged nerves. “I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. Did you meet with Asher Edmond?”
“Yes.” She searched for a way to extract herself from the case without damaging her credibility. “He claims he’s innocent.”
“Do you think he is?”
Did she? “The evidence suggests he’s guilty.”
“But you know the guy. What’s your take?”
“It’s all a little too obvious.” Lani didn’t realize this fact had been bothering her until right now. “Asher isn’t stupid or naive. How could he possibly think he could get away with it?”
“So, you agree that there’s something more going on.”
“Maybe. I don’t make assumptions this early in a case.”
“Fair enough.” Despite Kingston’s neutral tone, his inflection reflected disappointment. “So what’s your next step?”
“Well, having Asher behind bars makes getting information from him about the festival bank accounts nearly impossible, and since the feds froze his assets and his family isn’t stepping forward to help, it doesn’t look like he can make bail.”
“If I put up the money to get him out, I’m counting on you to make sure he doesn’t run. That means he’s your responsibility twenty-four/seven.”
“That’s…”
Impossible. Outrageous. Too much to expect from her.
She couldn’t handle that much contact with Asher. There had to be another way. Yet even as she scrambled for a logical excuse to give Kingston, she knew there was only one answer.
“Doable.”
“Great, then get me the details so we can get his bail paid and let’s hope our boy can lead you to the missing money.”
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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ISBN-13: 9780369708144
Best Laid Wedding Plans
Copyright © 2021 by Karen Booth
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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