Read Friends and Lovers Trilogy 02 - Charmed for Free Online Page A

pecan-brown. Nutty. Like her. “Why?” she asked, leaning closer and torturing him with a mouthwatering whiff of lemon. “Do you think there’s something creepy in there?”
    Not liking the way she made his pulse spike, he forced his gaze from hers. “Let’s find out.” Plucking a multi-tool from his inner jacket pocket, he flipped open a knife, sliced the packaging tape, and carefully opened the small box. Inside, nestled amidst bubble wrap, sat a sterling silver, scallop-shaped box.
    “A seashell,” she said. “Pretty. Not creepy.”
    Not yet anyway, Murphy thought. He inspected the decorative gift, noted a small metal crank on the underside. “A music box.” He flipped open the lid, and hooked the contents, lifting the strand from the box for their joint inspection. Murphy raised a lone brow at the pearl thong dangling from his fingertips.
    Lulu eased back and cleared her throat. “That’s not for me.”
    “How do you know? There’s no card.”
    “I don’t get jewelry.”
    “Technically, it’s not jewelry.” He passed her the intimate gift. “It’s a thong.”
    “Definitely not for me,” she repeated, cheeks flaming. She inspected what little there was of the ornamental lingerie. “This can’t be comfortable.”
    He stifled a grin as he set down the seashell and gave the packaging another look. “I don’t think it’s meant to be worn for long.”
    “It’s gotta be for Sofie.”
    “Why not Viviana?”
    “Our grandmother?”
    “Viv’s
your grandmother?”
    “Yes. Why?”
    “You call your grandmother by her first name?”
    “That’s the way she likes it. Grandma makes her feel old.”
    “Isn’t she?”
    “Old?” She snorted. “Only chronologically.”
    He recalled then that Viviana and Sofia shared the same last name. He glanced at Lulu’s left hand. No wedding band, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a husband. Maybe she was separated or divorced. Maybe the guy had yet to give up. His interest, he told himself, was purely professional. “Present from your significant other, maybe?”
    “I’m divorced,” she said shyly. “And I’m not seeing anyone. I’m …” she cleared her throat, tossed a carefree hand, “busy. Sofie, well, she’s …”
    He glanced from the thong to Lulu. “Social?”
    Red-faced, she nabbed the silver seashell, dropped the pearl thong back inside, and snapped the lid shut. “Listen, Murphy, I appreciate your,
Chaz’s,
concern, but this is ridiculous. If Sof was having trouble with one of her boyfriends, I mean, if one of them was getting, you know, obnoxious, she would have said something to me.” She set the music box on the table, stood, and motioned him to follow. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve had a long day and Sofie’s had an exhausting year. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave before she gets home. She has enough on her mind without having to contend with a delusional agent.”
    If anyone was delusional, Murphy thought, taking in Lulu’s pixie face and fairytale getup, it was this one. She seemed oblivious to her infectious charm. Incapable of believing there was a chance that
she,
and not her sister, had an admirer, she’d never believe that he’d been sent here to protect
her,
and not the, apparently, goddess-like Sofie. As Bogie’s message had been limited, he couldn’t even back his reason for being here with substantial facts.
    He glanced down at the music box. Maybe she was right. Maybe this gift was for her sister. But what if she was wrong? What if
this
was the Bogie connection? What if the princess had won an ardent stalker from his nefarious neck of the woods? The fact that Bogie hadn’t called yet meant that he was in deep. Which complicated matters. Not that Murphy was complaining. The more complex the case, the less time he had to sit around Charlie’s fighting an uncharacteristic bout of depression.
    Who could be depressed around Miss Sunshine?
He studied Lulu with a cocked eyebrow. He’d wanted