Read Online Family Case of Murder by Vanessa Gray Bartal - Free Book Online Page A

yawn.
    Chuck took a sip of the soda, grimaced, and set it down. “I like Riley a lot better than the last one he was engaged to. What was her name? The busty one with the red hair, the one Emeril Lagasse didn’t like.”
    “Lacy,” Lacy supplied.
    “Lacy,” Chuck repeated glancing at her at the exact moment he realized his mistake. “Oh, right, I forgot.” His gaze dropped to her chest and lingered until Jason cleared his throat and took a step forward.
    “Sorry,” Robert mouthed from across the room, but Lacy could tell he was trying not to laugh. She crossed her arms over her midsection and resisted the urge to go take a shower. It was one thing to know you were curvaceous and quite another to have a creepy older man point it out. To add insult to injury, she had never actually met the man. She saw him for exactly five seconds before the monkey bit her, certainly not enough time for him to form an opinion on her character. Though if the lingering look he had given her bosom was any indication, character probably wasn’t the asset that interested him most.
    “I think we’re ready to turn in,” Jason announced. He grabbed Lacy’s hand and led her from the room. When they were in the hallway, he turned, probably to commiserate, but stopped short when he realized Riley was following.
    “We haven’t had a chance to talk,” Riley explained. “Plus I need that necklace you promised.”
    “Right,” Lacy said. Jason started to walk again, only with Riley beside them the air felt stilted and full of tension.
    Jason deposited the two women in front of Lacy’s room, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “I’m just a bathroom away. Call if you need me. Night, Red,” he whispered.
    “Night,” she said, staring at his retreating backside until he disappeared into his room. She frowned when she realized Riley was doing the same thing. She turned and led the way into her room. There was a glimmer of hope that if she gave Riley the necklace, she might leave right away. But when she fished the necklace out of her bag and dropped it into her sister’s hand, Riley sank onto the bed, crossing her legs as if settling in for a long chat.
    “Is that a Stella McCartney you’re wearing?” Riley asked.
    Lacy looked down at her designer dress. “Yes.”
    Riley’s gaze fell on Lacy’s still-open closet as she began doing a mental calculation of how much the occupying clothes must cost, to say nothing of the shoes. Lacy closed the closet door, but it was too late.
    “Did you rob a bank, Lacy? Last I heard, you weren’t employed.”
    This was where things became awkward because Riley got her information from their mother, and Lacy hadn’t told her mother about her inheritance because there was no way to do that without revealing the fact that she had been adopted. And if Lacy told Riley, then Riley would immediately call their mother and blab, probably as soon as she stepped outside the door.
    “Riley, it’s been a long day. I don’t really want to talk fashion.” Hint, hint, get out of my room.
    “So, Jason Cantor,” Riley said, and Lacy bit back a groan. If there was one thing she wanted to talk about less than her inheritance, it was Jason. “Did he give you that ring?” Her eyes fell to the ruby on Lacy’s right hand.
    “How did you know?” Lacy asked.
    “I saw him glance at it with one of those self-satisfied smiles men get when they feel they’ve accomplished something. Which means he’s the one pursuing you. I did not see that coming.”
    “Neither did I,” Lacy said. She sank into a chair beside the dresser.
    “So, what gives?”
    In good conscience, Lacy could no longer give her standard “We’re friends” reply, especially not after this weekend. Something was shifting between them. But there was still Tosh, stuck at home with poor Mrs. Rae.   “I don’t know,” she replied at last. “Have you ever had amazing chemistry with someone, despite the fact that, on paper, you shouldn’t work at