Read Online Dangerously Dark by Colette London - Free Book Online

only one of us had actually spent the night here last night, and you know it.
    I was too busy boggling over Tomasz’s casual statement to register anything else at first. Were he and Janel a twosome? Muddle + Spade was his place. If Janel had stayed at the bar last night, that definitely suggested they were an item.
    And Janel had had the nerve to call Declan a “slut” a few minutes ago. It looked as though she got around herself.
    A second later, Tomasz’s warmth touched me. So did his left thigh. My thoughts scattered like chocolate jimmies on an ice-cream sundae. Maybe I was tipsy, but I knew what had to be done.
    Reluctantly but responsibly, I slid away, moving a fraction closer to the wall. This was practically an improvised wake for Declan. I had to show some respect. Now wasn’t the time to get all hot and bothered over a soulful bartender with perfectly groomed beard stubble and an excess of personal magnetism. No matter how much I wanted to. And I did want to. After all, I wasn’t in mourning for Declan. I was just sad that he’d been lost so tragically. And suspiciously. I was more than ripe for distraction in the form of one Tomasz Berk. Starting now.
    Have I mentioned I have a knack for procrastination?
    It’s possible that my ninja-level ability to stall on necessary tasks was working overtime just then. Because I was supposed to be getting ready to lead the Chocolate After Dark tour in a couple of days. It would have been sensible to leave Muddle + Spade and start preparing my tour guide patter. Or, given my concerns over encountering another potential crime scene, it might have been smart to investigate more diligently.
    Say, by cornering Lauren Greene and questioning her.
    Ogling Tomasz was a lot more fun, though. It was too bad he was (maybe) spoken for. I liked his shoulder-length bohemian hair. His oceanic blue eyes. And his knack for caretaking, too.
    He must have noticed things were getting tense between me and Janel. So he’d whipped up some drinks and intervened.
    Not that I minded. That chocolate porter was delicious.
    He eyed us both with bonhomie. “What are we talking about?”
    â€œDeclan,” I said loudly, to be heard over the crowd.
    â€œYou and your excellent timing,” Janel wisecracked at the same time. She raised her shrub (containing fruity drinking vinegar spiked with spirits, in case you’ve never tried one) and nodded. “You’re going to go broke spoiling us all, Berk.”
    Aha. No wonder Tomasz was well-liked in the neighborhood, if today’s largesse was any indication of the kind of man he was. Everyone liked the guy who picked up the tab. I’d leaned on that shortcut myself a time or two, especially in the early days of my inheritance. I couldn’t fault Tomasz for treating us.
    Or Janel for appreciating the gesture. I didn’t think she was wearing patched-up jeans with her piglet T-shirt as a fashion statement. I thought she was too thrifty to give up clothing that still (technically) functioned. I’ve been there.
    Not recently, but still. I understood her position.
    However (and more interestingly), Janel’s use of that man-to-man nickname (Berk, the same as Austin had used) didn’t sound romantic to me. It didn’t sound like a pet name lovers would use, for instance. I felt more uncertain about them than ever. Seeing Tomasz and Janel together didn’t enlighten me, either.
    Her up-front demeanor didn’t change. She didn’t go all flirty and giggly, the way some women did when a man entered the picture. But maybe Janel was just too down-to-earth for that?
    Tomasz nudged his knee almost imperceptibly closer to mine. That move was no accident. Neither was the way his gaze touched me. “It feels good to be generous,” he said with a shrug. “I like treating everyone. Here at Cartorama, we’re a family.”
    I scooted another inch farther away and distracted