Read Tara Holloway 01 - Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure for Free Online

our orders. A cabernet for Alicia, merlot with a cherry for me. Brett also ordered the merlot. Hmm. I wondered what else we might have in common. Unsatisfied lust, perhaps?
    Brett handed the bartender a twenty to cover our drinks, slipping a couple of extra bucks into the tip jar. We took our drinks and stepped aside, finding an open spot near a display of yellow hibiscus.
    I sipped my merlot. “Do you work here at the Arboretum?”
    “Not exactly. Our firm was hired to do some projects here this spring. I’m a landscape architect for Wakefield Designs.”
    That explained the calluses.
    “Wakefield Designs?” Alicia repeated. “The sponsor?”
    He nodded.
    “How generous,” I said.
    “Yeah, not really. Mr. Wakefield knows these events attract a wealthy crowd. He figured tonight would be a chance to drum up business for the firm. I’m supposed to be schmoozing. By chance, do either of you manage a hotel that needs new landscaping? Maybe own a shopping mall or an airport?” He put his wineglass to his mouth.
    “Sorry, no,” I said. “All I’ve got is a ten-foot-square patch of grass.”
    “And a bush,” Alicia added, “in dire need of pruning.”
    Brett choked on his wine, coughing to clear his throat.
    I shot my friend a pointed look. “Are you referring to the evergreen shrub in my front yard?”
    “Of course.” Alicia raised a palm, all sweetness and innocence. “What else would I be talking about?”
    Brett watched me, a grin playing about his mouth, amusement in his eyes. Not only was he good-looking and nicely built, but he also had a sense of humor. Maybe I should let him prune my bush. I suspected he’d have just the tool to get the job done.
    “Are we keeping you?” I asked.
    “No.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I’m all schmoozed out. Besides, I’ve already landed a new client.” Brett angled his head discreetly to indicate the couple he’d been speaking to earlier. “That’s Stan Shelton, the president of First Dallas Bank.”
    First Dallas? Wasn’t that the bank I’d read about in the paper earlier? I cut my eyes to Shelton. He looked perfectly respectable. Then again, it was hard not to look respectable in a tuxedo.
    “Stan and his wife asked me to design the landscaping for a property they acquired on Cedar Creek Lake.”
    Ever notice how rich people don’t buy things? They acquire them.
    “Sounds great.”
    “The best part about it,” Brett said, “is that they’re giving me free rein. They didn’t specify the style or anything, just a budget.”
    “So you get to surprise them?”
    “Essentially. Of course, they’ll want to approve the plans before we put in anything permanent, but I’ll get a lot of creative freedom.”
    My job offers a lot of creative freedom, too. For instance, when restraining an unruly suspect, I get to decide whether to use a full or half nelson.
    Alicia glanced around, waving her cocktail napkin in the general direction of the bulb garden. “I’m going to take another look at those pink things.”
    I knew she had no interest in the “pink things,” she just wanted to give me the chance to hook up with a nice guy. It had been a while.
    She wandered away, leaving me and Brett alone. He gestured toward the double doors leading out to a patio, raising an eyebrow in question. I nodded, gladly surrendering to the sweet destiny that brought the two of us to that same spot, on the same night, at the same time.
    Brett led me outside onto a flagstone terrace where we spent a few minutes in quiet conversation among the magnolias, enjoying our wine, lingering in the fresh winter chill. When he noticed me shiver, he slipped out of his tux jacket and draped it over my shoulders. The fabric was still warm from his body heat, the collar bearing his crisp, clean deodorant-soap scent. I shrugged deeper into it. Mmm.
    Brett was just as intoxicating as the merlot. As a gardening buff and a single female, I was impressed not only by his extensive knowledge