Read Texan Undercover (Romantic Suspense) for Free Online Page B

private eye to leave.
    On the far side of the cafe, Dillon sat at
one of the computers. He looked up and stared at Claire for a long
second, then turned his attention back to the monitor. She had the
feeling he wanted to ignore this attraction between them just as
much as she did. And that was good, wasn't it?
    Claire ordered her usual tofu salad and
raspberry tea, intending to eat in her office. She spotted Natalie
at one of the tables with Frank Winslowe and decided to join
them.
    "Hey, girl," Natalie said. "Sit down. Take a
load off."
    "Thanks, I will." Claire slid into a chair
opposite them. Frank sat in front of the computer with Natalie
close by. "How're you doing, Frank?" Claire asked. "Glad you're
back. Natalie's glad you're back." She winked at her friend.
    Color crept into Frank's cheeks. He blinked
rapidly behind his steel-rimmed glasses, glanced at Natalie, then
back at the monitor. "I'm pleased to be back."
    "How was Colorado?" Claire squeezed lemon
juice over her salad, added pepper and dug in.
    "Freezing," he said. "Actually, below
freezing taking into account the wind chill factor."
    "Did you get a chance to hit the slopes?"
Claire asked.
    Frank blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
    "She means did you ski?" Natalie plucked a
lettuce leaf from Claire's bowl and popped it in her mouth.
    "No, I don't ski. I was in Boulder, examining
artifacts with a few colleagues." He jotted notes on a legal pad
next to the computer.
    "What are you working on, Frank?" Claire
sipped her tea.
    Natalie answered for him. "It has something
to do with compiling data for his research. He's been working on it
for months. I think it's connected with his doctoral dissertation.
Right, Frank?"
    "Hmm?" He stuck the pencil behind his ear and
continued tapping on the keyboard.
    Claire finished her salad, smiling to
herself. She could understand why Natalie liked Frank. He was
attractive in an intellectual, nerdy kind of way. And that vague,
absent-mindedness was sort of cute.
    "Where are you two going on your date?" she
asked. Her friend seemed happy sitting next to Frank. No
complications in Nat's love life. She grabbed what she wanted and
ran with it. Or him, as the case may be.
    Unlike herself. Claire glanced across the
cafe. Dillon had moved to another computer. Tracing the hacker, no
doubt. She wondered how she was going to handle the sexual
attraction between them. Ignore it. That's what she was going to
do.
    "Frank's taking me to a protest rally at the
capitol." Natalie's blue eyes twinkled.
    "Oh? What kind of protest?" Claire knew Nat
didn't care one way or another about politics or current issues.
But Frank was an environmentalist. He could talk for hours about
the ozone layer and acid rain. When he wasn't absorbed in his
doctorate studies, that is.
    "Depletion of the rain forests," Frank said,
not looking up from the monitor.
    "I can hardly wait." Natalie grinned at
Claire.
    "It should be an enlightening experience for
you." Frank jotted more notes, oblivious to the sarcasm in Nat's
voice.
    "Yeah, real enlightening. Frank, I need to
get back to work. Tootles." She fluttered her fingers in front of
his face.
    He frowned and looked at her. "Tootles?"
    "Good bye. See you later. Adios." Natalie
stood. Claire did, too.
    Frank pushed his glasses up the bridge of his
nose. "Good bye, then. I look forward to seeing you later in the
week."
    Natalie snagged Claire's arm and hauled her
away. "Isn't he the cutest thing?" she whispered in her ear.
    "Mmm. Not your usual type though."
    "I'm in the mood for something different,"
Natalie said with a sigh.
    "You make him sound like an appetizer or
dessert."
    "Yum yum." Natalie licked her lips.
    "Natalie!"
    "Claire!"
    They both laughed as they walked down the
hall to Claire's office.
    "What were you and Mr. Macho doing behind
closed doors this morning?" Natalie asked.
    "I wish you wouldn't call him that."
    "Okay. How about Mr. Leave-me-alone,
I've-got-a-job-to-do?"
    Claire sat at her desk. "He rejected