Read Online Crossed Bones by Carolyn Haines - Free Book Online

whimper.
    "You're quite a dancer." It was an understatement. Bridge, for all of his upright posture, could move. In his life of privilege, he'd somewhere learned to salsa with just enough hip action to make a girl think of other activities.
    "Thanks. You're a good partner." He glanced over at me. It was the most intimate action he'd committed all night. Bridge Ladnier was a very careful man.
    "Will you be in Zinnia long?"
    "I'd planned to leave Sunday. Although I'll be doing a bit of work here in Zinnia, my base is in
Memphis
. But I think I'm going to change my plans." This time his glance lingered on me. "Will you have some free time in the next few days?"
    Bridge had mastered the art of making his intentions clear without applying pressure. It was a surefire lure to an independent woman. "I'll have some free time in the evenings."
    He reached across and touched my hand, gathering it into his. When we were dancing, I'd noticed how long his fingers were. He had the hands of a musician. Rather like Scott Hampton's.
    "Is something wrong?" he asked.
    He was acutely sensitive, too. "No. I was just thinking about tomorrow."
    We pulled up in front of Dahlia House. He got out, opened my door, and walked me to the front porch.
    "Tinkie was right about you."
    "Really?" I forced a smile. There was absolutely no telling what Tinkie had said about me.
    "She said you were smart and talented and entertaining. 'A rare speciman of Southern womanhood' is the way she phrased it."
    Relief swept over me. "It could have been a lot worse. Tinkie knows too many of my secrets."
    "She adores you, Sarah Booth. And I see why."
    Bridge was smooth. Another compliment, no pressure.
    He stepped closer to me and put his hands on my shoulders. "It was a lovely evening. I'd like to take you to dinner Friday night."
    My dance card was woefully empty, but I didn't want Bridge to know that. Coleman Peters tried to pop into my brain, but I firmly shut him out. "I'd like that."
    "Good. I'll pick you up at seven. I'll make it a surprise evening, but dress comfortably. Wear something that makes you feel like reclining on soft cushions in the glow of a dozen candles." He leaned down and brushed a kiss across my lips.
    I'd wondered for the past thirty minutes what it would feel like to kiss him. Pleasant. When I didn't pull back, he kissed me again, this time with more intimacy.
    His arms circled me, holding me firmly yet without pressure. I closed my eyes and gave myself to the wonderful sensation of being held in a man's arms, of kisses that hinted at passion but didn't demand.
    Lifting his lips from mine, he stepped slightly away from me, holding me long enough to make certain I'd regained my balance.
    "I think I'm going to owe Tinkie a lot," Bridge said as he brushed his fingertips along my jaw, lingering just a second on my chin. "Good night, Sarah Booth. And don't give up on Scott Hampton. He could be your ticket to a lot of publicity and that's how you'll get bigger, better cases in the future. I don't think you'll have any more trouble from the likes of Marshall Harrison."
    He walked back to the Jaguar and drove away. I leaned against the front wall of Dahlia House, feeling the summer heat baked into the old bricks.
    "Get in the house and get into that bed," Jitty ordered from the foyer.
    I opened the door and went in to find her sitting on the foot of the steps. Pink flowers decorated the baby-doll PJ set she wore, making her look all of about thirteen. I hadn't seen baby-doll pajamas since I was eight.
    "Cute," I said, stepping around her.
    "Honey, now that Bridge Ladnier is my kind of man. Smooth, charming--"
    "Rich," I interrupted. "Darn, I forgot to ask if he was shooting blanks."
    "The answer to that question is no."
    Jitty said it with such authority I hesitated. "How can you be so sure?"
    "First there's the name. He's carryin' the weight of a name that needs handin' down. Then there's the man. He knows that progeny is the only way to make sure of his