Read Tymber Dalton for Free Online

her studying them.
    “You guys are new in town, aren’t you?”
    Allan sensed Ben tense next to him, so he took over. “Yeah. Looking to move here. Just got into town and trying to find an apartment.”
    The woman’s face brightened even more as she laughed. “Goddess bless me, that spell worked even faster than I thought it would.” She darted from behind the counter over to a bulletin board, where she unpinned a pink index card from it and brought it back to them. Handing it to Allan, she said, “Go see Libbie Addams. She owns the bakery. I think she closed early today, but if you go around back, I know she’s there. Just knock on the door.” She pointed out the window and across the square to a bakery where It’s a Sweet Life was painted on one window in bright pink and turquoise letters. “I’ll get your orders.”
    Allan knew from the look on Ben’s face that he was forcing back a dubious frown. He pulled the card from Allan’s hand and studied it.
    “Hmph.”
    “Is that a good hmph ?” Allan quietly asked.
    Ben glared at him. “We’ll check it out.” When the clerk brought them their order and rang them up, Ben held up the card. “What do you know about this woman?”
    Allan tried to step on Ben’s foot to warn him to knock it off, but Ben shifted to the right, away from him.
    “Oh, Libbie’s a real sweetheart. In fact, we buy all our pastries and stuff fresh from her every day.” The woman’s playful smile turned into a sunburst of a grin. “And I know for a fact that she’s single.”
    Allan felt his face heat for a reason he couldn’t fathom. Before he could respond, Ben took their change and grumbled, “Thanks, but we’re gay.”
    The clerk slowly nodded, but the sly smile never left her face. She winked at Allan. “Uh-huh. If you say so, guys. I don’t question people, but I have a feeling you’ll be a good fit for Libbie.”
    Allan wanted to say something else, but Ben grabbed one of the coffees and danishes, put them in Allan’s hand, and spun him around toward the door before grabbing his own stuff. “Thanks. We appreciate the lead.”
    Outside, Allan quickened his pace to match Ben’s. “‘We appreciate the lead?’ Nice work, Columbo. Like that didn’t make you sound like a cop.”

Chapter Four
     
    By noon, the apartment swap had begun. The excess furniture and boxes had been removed from upstairs and hauled over to Grover’s. As the delicious smell of Grover’s portable barbecue outside the back door mixed with the aromas from the bakery, everyone’s stomachs started growling. Libbie went ahead and shut the bakery down two hours earlier than her normal Saturday closing time and posted a note on the door apologizing for the early closure. They all sat in the shade of the two-car carport behind the building, where the outside stairs ended and keeping the lower back door sheltered from weather. Normally she parked her car there, but for today it was out of the way at the far edge of the asphalt behind the building.
    As she ripped into the brisket Grover had cooked to perfection, she forgot her momentary guilt over closing early. “This is delicious,” she said. “I’m telling you, you should sell this.”
    He laughed. “Naw, that’d be too much like work. I have fun in the bakery with you. I’ve learned a lot about baking. This is going to stay for fun, too.”
    When two men walked around the corner and headed their way, Libbie felt her heart race. The same height, a little over six feet tall, even from a distance she could see they both had gorgeous blue eyes. One was blond under his baseball cap, the other had dark brown hair, neatly trimmed.
    Down, girl , she told her libido.
    When Grover stood to intercept the men, she sensed his sons tensing, waiting. In school, she’d never been overtly picked on, because the Johnson boys and girls treated her like a sister.
    And no one messed with one of their own.
    But when the two strangers showed Grover the pink index