Read Online High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels - Free Book Online

beautiful, she’s smart, she’s a lot of fun. But she’s . . . all of you, actually . . . you’re just a little, I don’t know. Out there?”
    â€œOut there,” Saint Just repeated, calling on every bit of control he had in order to keep from laughing out loud at this poor, confused specimen.
    â€œYeah. Out there. I spend my days with wack jobs, Alex—and that’s just the guys I work with at the Homicide table, even before I get to the perps. I want to be . . . I want to be able to relax when I’m off duty and with a woman, you know? Maggie’s life is just too full of... craziness. Are you getting this?”
    â€œSome of it, yes, although I think I lost you for a few moments at wack job . I’m not certain, but I believe you mean she’s slightly crazy?”
    â€œNo, that’s not it. Wacky, you know? Her life is wacky. Offbeat—and that’s being kind, Alex. She’s just always in the middle of something, and it’s never normal somethings, like she lost her wallet or forgot to pay her electric bill. When Maggie says she has a problem, it usually means something fairly bizarro is going on and I’m either going to have to bail her out or rescue her from some lowlife.”
    â€œMaggie is fairly good at rescuing herself, and she always has me, you understand. So, if she isn’t crazy, are you saying Maggie is still a . . . wack job?”
    â€œYeah, all right. A wack job. A cute wack job, but a wack job.”
    â€œI see. And the rest of us? Sterling, for one.”
    Wendell considered this for a moment. “He calls you Saint Just because Maggie made up her Saint Just guy by describing you. And it’s not like he’s trying to be funny—he seems to mean it. You’re calling that normal?”
    â€œFor Sterling, yes. But this is interesting, really. Do you include Tabitha, Maggie’s agent, in this mix?”
    â€œScarf lady? Nah, she’s just blond.”
    One corner of Saint Just’s mouth began to twitch in amusement. “Oh, dear. I can see you’ve given this all some considerable thought, left -tenant. Who else? Ah, I know. Socks. And Bernice, of course. Your opinion, please?”
    Wendell shrugged. “Socks is okay. As for Bernie? You’re kidding, right? You really need an answer to that one?”
    â€œNo, I suppose not. And that leaves me. Am I a . . . wack job?”
    Wendell shook his head. “No. You’re freaking scary, that’s what you are. And I think Maggie likes you, even if she won’t admit it to herself. I’ve never come in first, you know?”
    â€œIndeed,” Saint Just said, taking another sip of coffee. “So you’re bowing out of the competition? I’d like us to be clear on that, my friend.”
    Pulling a fat brown wallet from his back pocket, Wendell said, “Hell, Alex, I was never in it. Not really. I think I knew that from the beginning. The only thing is, how’s Maggie going to feel about . . . well, about Christine?”
    Saint Just pondered this for a moment, but only for effect. “She’ll be surprised, certainly. I should let her down slowly, were I you.”
    â€œHow would I do that?”
    â€œBe her friend, left -tenant, as you’ve always been. Just nothing more. For instance, Maggie is concerned at the moment about a recently deceased gentleman. A fellow author, who purportedly put a period to his own existence five days ago, I believe it was. Now, if you were to assist her in gaining any additional information about this man, about his death, you understand, that would be the act of a friend. You do wish to continue the friendship, do you not?”
    â€œWell, yeah, of course. I like Maggie. So I keep it friendly. I just don’t ask her out to dinner anymore, or to the movies, right? Just platonic. I can do that.”
    â€œSplendid, Steve,” Saint Just drawled, reaching into his sports coat