Read Online Too Charming by Kathryn Freeman - Free Book Online

he’d been a police detective, too. No doubt when it came to their opinion of defence lawyers it was like father, like daughter.
    As he was thanking them graciously for the invitation to dinner, he felt a small hand tugging at his elbow and looked down to find Sally smiling shyly up at him.
    ‘This is Dizzy,’ she told him, holding up a motley looking dog with dark brown eyes and a lopsided face.
    ‘Pleased to meet you, Dizzy,’ he replied gravely, picking up a black paw and shaking it.
    The dog looked nonplussed, but Sally laughed.
    ‘Would you like to see the pictures I’ve drawn?’ she asked, her voice slightly hesitant.
    Out of the corner of his eye, Scott was aware of Megan watching, a tense look on her face.
    ‘Absolutely.’ Scott grinned at Sally. ‘That’s exactly why I’ve come. Why don’t you bring them down here so we can all take a look?’
    He was equally aware of Megan letting out a deep sigh of relief. What, had she really thought he’d ignore her daughter now he’d got his foot over the threshold?
    ‘So, Scott, I understand from Sally that you’re a dab hand at drawing,’ Dotty mentioned as they sat in the warm, cosy living room a few minutes later, admiring Sally’s artwork.
    ‘Well, I …’
    ‘He’s really good,’ Sally interrupted. ‘Good enough to blow …’
    ‘Thanks, Sally,’ Scott cut in quickly. No way was he going to have that boast repeated again, and certainly not in front of Megan’s parents.
    ‘Where did you learn to draw?’ This question came from Megan, who was watching him carefully, as if deciding whether to like him or not. Boy did she look good today. He wasn’t sure whether he fancied her more in the casual skinny jeans and turquoise blue T-shirt she was wearing now, or the smart skirt and sexy heels she wore to court. Then again, the Lycra leggings she’d had on in the gym scored highly in his book, too.
    With an effort he tore his gaze away from her and concentrated on the question. ‘I didn’t learn, as such. It’s just something I did a lot of as a child.’ Which was a time he didn’t want to revisit. Not any part after the age of seven.
    ‘Really?’ Megan arched a perfect dark brow in surprise. ‘I can’t picture you as a boy, drawing. You seem more the outdoors type. Playing football. Chasing the girls.’
    Refusing the offer of another drink from Stanley, Scott sat back on the armchair and forced himself to smile, pushing the bad memories firmly back where they belonged. In a padlocked box in a dim corner of his mind, never to be let out. ‘I did quite a bit of football and girl chasing, too, but I liked to draw. It …’ he trailed off, irritated that he’d almost said what he’d been thinking: that doodling had been a welcome distraction; a comforting world of his own that he could disappear into. ‘The girls seemed to love it,’ he said instead. It was at least partially true, as he’d later discovered.
    ‘Are your parents still around?’ Stanley asked, his eyes watchful. Scott found he could easily imagine what it must have been like to be questioned by Detective Taylor senior. Clinically methodical, picking apart answers like a micro-surgeon until he had the full picture.
    Luckily, this was a question he’d expected. One he’d already worked out a reply for. ‘My father died a while ago, but my mother’s still alive. She lives with me from time to time, in between holidaying and visiting friends.’ It sounded believable. Like she was having the time of her life. If only she was. If only he knew where the hell she’d disappeared off to this time. Or when she was going to bother coming back.
    ‘How nice. Where is she now?’
    Scott paused fractionally. ‘No doubt somewhere warmer and sunnier than here.’
    Megan was watching Scott as he answered her father’s questions. He was an expert at not giving away information he didn’t want others to know, but she was a detective, trained to look at body language; the slightest