Proposals and Poison Read online

  His words pierced the armor I had built up around my heart. Luke did care about me. I knew that, but I found every reason to doubt the authenticity of his feelings.

  Luke stepped forward and put his arms around me, and I let him pull me into a hug, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I’m not trying to get into any trouble,” I said. “I promise I haven’t tried any investigating work until this morning. I found some text messages from Lily that I wanted to ask him about.”

  “But what are your plans now that you’ve talked to Tim?” Luke asked. His breath near my ear sent sparks up my spine.

  I tilted my head to look at him and carefully crossed my fingers, which were behind his back. “Three weddings, a possible family reunion, and an appointment with you tomorrow.”

  Luke studied me, as if he could see how I’d dodged his question. He narrowed his eyes slightly and then shrugged, stepping back from the embrace. “What was the appointment for again? One of your friends?”

  “It’s for one of my brides,” I said. I liked the way Luke’s arms wrapped around my waist so easily, and maybe I wished he hadn’t let go so soon. Turning my thoughts back to safer territory, I told Luke a little about Jessie and her son. “Jessie’s fiancé is in some trouble with Lost Trails Construction. I thought I’d come along with you to meet him, since I haven’t had the chance yet.”

  “Well, hopefully I can give him some information that might help,” Luke said. “I don’t think we’ll have enough time in the morning. Do you mind going later? I’ll be done with court at three tomorrow.”

  “Great! I’ll pick you up at the courthouse.”

  Luke laced his fingers through mine. “Promise me you’ll be a good girl.”

  “Always.” I knew what he wanted me to say—that I wouldn’t even think about Lily’s murder case or how Tim was innocent or what I might be able to find to prove his innocence, or ... But I was never a very good liar, so I just smiled.

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  Every time I thought about Luke, my mouth warmed like I was eating his spicy enchiladas. We’d covered new relationship territory yesterday at his house, and I couldn’t wait to see him again. My insides were lit up like a Christmas tree—the kind with twinkling lights. All morning long he kept visiting my thoughts, and I may have imagined more than once what it would feel like to kiss him.

  “Adri, are you going to tell me why you’re smiling like it’s your birthday?” Lorea asked, startling me from my Luke fantasies.

  I recovered and widened my smile. “I’m glad you’re back from lunch. I have four cartons of color swatches, pictures, and layouts I need to go through before our next appointment.”

  Lorea frowned. “Gidariaren esklabo,” she grumbled in Basque. “I don’t see anything wrong with the old color swatch booklets.”

  “You know how it is. New season, fresh colors. The brides want the latest and greatest patterns and selections and it’s our job to give it to them. And quit calling me a slave driver. It’s Monday.”

  “Hmm, maybe I have too many alterations to help you right now. Unless . . .” Lorea’s eyes danced with mischief. Nothing got by her. She noticed my moods and was always there to cheer me up, tease, laugh, or swear in her native tongue. I was surprised she couldn’t read Luke all over my face, but maybe she was being cautious and letting me dish on our favorite lawyer. One way or another, Lorea would find out.

  “All right,” I huffed. “Luke and I are sort of moving past the ‘just friends’ phase.”

  Lorea squealed and clapped her hands. “I knew it! You have that dreamy look in your eyes—not that I’ve seen it this clearly before.”

  “Oh, pshaw.” I leaned over to open a box. “I’ve fully admitted that I like Luke. He’s a good guy, but he’s also a big pain.”

  “He’s not so much of a tontua anymore. I kind of like him, too.”

  I rolled my eyes because for a while Lorea definitely thought Luke was stupid, among other things. “The only reason you can see anything here—” I waved my hand in front of my face. “—is because it’s a mirror image of you.”

  Lorea laughed. “I think you’re right. And yes, I just said that.”

  “Really?” Now it was my turn to squeal. “You and Tony are getting serious?”

  Lorea tilted her head to the side with a shy smile. “Well, we’re talking about things, and everything is perfect when I’m with him. I’m kind of a wreck because I think about him all day.”

  I nodded. She’d just described me, but Luke and I hadn’t even kissed yet. There’d been so many ups and downs in our friendship that I was kept on the edge of my seat, wondering what might happen next.

  “What’s that look?” Lorea asked. “That’s not dreamland. What are you worried about?”

  I looked down at my hands, clasping the new swatch binder that had just arrived. “I’m scared he’s going to push me away again. Every time he’s opened a door for me, he ends up pushing me out the back door a few days later. What if he never recovers from losing Dana?”

  “Oh, girl,” Lorea said. “He won’t, not really, but that’s why he’s a keeper. When he loves someone, he does it with his whole heart. And I bet he’s pretty scared to put a piece of himself out there again.”

  I rolled my tongue over my teeth, trying to think how to phrase my next question. Finally I blurted out, “Do you love Tony?”

  Lorea’s eyes brightened. “Yep, and it’s a pretty fantastic feeling.”

  I hugged her, barely maintaining a cheer for my friend who had once been nearly as cynical about romance as Luke. “It’s happening! I couldn’t have picked a better guy. Tony is rock solid.”

  Lorea hugged me back. “Thank you.”

  We both busied ourselves with unpacking boxes and sorting materials while old-fashioned love songs played over the sound system of my little bridal shop.

  Luke was waiting for me at the courthouse when I pulled up, and my stomach flipped like an Olympic gymnast. I put a hand across my middle and told myself to settle down.

  “Hey, thanks for the ride,” Luke said as he hopped in the passenger side of my SUV. “How’s your day been?”

  “Nothing too exciting. Just a regular Monday, sorting the new color styles and patterns for the next wedding season. What about you?”

  “Oh, you know. Two divorces, one prenup, and a will.” He leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. “All in a day’s work.”

  I fought down the urge to reach over and touch the shadow of stubble on his cheek. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and his hair was tousled. “You tired?”

  He cracked open one eye. “This custody case with Rose and Javier is kind of wearing me down.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “Anything you can talk about?”

  “It’s just ...” He paused. “I feel so bad for that little girl. Both sides lose in this case. There is no winner.”

  My heart melted, and any doubts I’d had from earlier fled the scene. Luke was rock solid too, and I wanted him the way Lorea wanted Tony. I mentally shook myself from my high-speed train of thoughts. “I can’t imagine how that would be. The poor little girl.” I reached my hand over and placed it on top of Luke’s.

  He grabbed onto it and laced our fingers together. The summer sun bounced off the silver edges of Luke’s glasses. I felt like one of those sunbeams, bursting with light every time he touched me. Luke sighed, and I made myself breathe normally, which was hard because he smelled so dang good—like hiking in secret meadows up the canyon.

  Maybe the heat was getting to me. I kicked the air conditioner up another notch.

  Lu
ke opened his eyes. “Would you rather have a normal day, or a day with someone like the bridezilla?”

  I laughed. “I’ll take paperwork over Sylvia any day of the year.” Luke still liked to tease me about one of my almost-brides, an almost celebrity (if you counted the daytime soap opera that was canceled) and almost turned-criminal client who was now a reality TV star, Sylvia Rockfort.

  “Me too,” Luke said.

  “But sometimes it’s nice to have an ordinary day. Today was a great day, because Lorea confessed that she and Tony are getting serious.”

  “I know.”

  “What do you mean, you know?”

  Luke chuckled and held up his other hand. “You know, you can just tell when people are neck-deep in it. Tony mentioned something that made me think that’s where he was headed.”

  “Neck-deep, huh?” I chose not to take offense at his comment, for once.

  “I’m happy for them. They make a great couple.”

  I softened. “Me, too. I really never thought I’d see Lorea like this—she’s acting like all the brides she used to make fun of.”

  That brought another smile from Luke. “Any bets on when the big day will be?”

  “Hmm. Maybe they’ll surprise us, but I think Lorea won’t want to drag things out. Once she puts her mind to something, she wants to get it done.”

  “Sounds like someone I know.” Luke raised his eyebrows up and down. “No wonder you two are best friends.”

  I nodded, thinking of that term. Best friends. It had been a few years since I’d been called anyone’s best friend—ever since Briette died. Driving down the sunny street from Hailey, it struck me that the sharp pain surrounding Briette’s murder was gone. There would always be sort of a dull ache, but I realized that I’d been holding myself back from friendships and relationships because of the hurt. My shoulders relaxed, and I took a deep breath.

  “Quarter for your thoughts?” Luke asked. “’Cause it looks like you have more than a penny’s worth going on.”

  I gave his hand a squeeze. “Just thinking that I’m doing better lately, here.” I moved my other hand from the steering wheel and motioned to my heart.

  “Me too.” Luke’s voice was soft. I let the moment roll over me, content to ride with Luke’s quiet companionship.

  We drove over to Bellevue, a skip on the map next to Hailey, to meet Jessie’s fiancé, Drago, at one of his work sites. When we pulled up to the stacks of tile, a man raised his head at our approach, and my heart seized in my chest. “Wait, that’s him.” I grabbed Luke’s arm and pointed at the man in front of us. “That’s the guy with the rifle.”

  “Who has a rifle?” Luke jerked his head forward.

  The man looked over at us, and I dropped my hand. “Not right now. The guy at the consignment shop who was shooting a rifle,” I said.

  “Are you sure it’s the same guy?”

  “Yes.” If my head wasn’t sure, my pounding heart recognized the short, stocky man with dark brown hair that I’d described to the police. I peeked out the windshield, but the man had walked away. “Should we call the police?”

  “I don’t know. Looks like he’s working, and I don’t see any guns,” Luke said. “Maybe we should ask Drago who he is.”

  I let out a disjointed breath. “Okay, you lead the way.”

  Luke hopped out of my car and hurried around to help me out. I appreciated his chivalry, especially at the moment, because my heart was hammering like a steel drum and it wasn’t playing a calypso tune. Luke took my hand, and we walked toward the office building.

  Another man rounded the building, and I stopped walking, yanking on Luke’s hand. The man was short with a barrel chest and huge biceps, and he looked almost identical to the mystery gunman sorting tile. The only difference was his neatly trimmed mustache and goatee.

  “Hello. Are you Adri, the wedding lady?” He spoke with a foreign accent.

  “Yes, hello.” I extended my hand. “Adri Pyper, and this is Luke Stetson, my attorney friend.”

  “Drago Kovacevic.” He shook my hand and Luke’s. “Thank you for helping me.” The edge to his words reminded me again of German, or maybe Russian, but I remembered now that Jessie said Drago was from Croatia.

  The man by the tile hollered something at Drago in another language, and he answered and shrugged his shoulders. Luke and I looked at each other, and I swallowed hard. “Uh, so how do you know that man?”

  Drago chuckled, shouted something at the man, and motioned for him to come toward us. My hands were sweating, but I didn’t want to let go of Luke as the man approached us.

  “This is my brother, Borislav,” Drago said, patting the man’s shoulder. “You can call him Boris. His English is a little rusty. He emigrated here only six months ago from Croatia.”

  My eyes widened. “Your brother?”

  “Sure, sure,” Drago said. Boris started to say something, drawing his attention. “Give me a minute.” Drago said it like “me-noot” and held up one finger.

  My phone was like a hot brick in my pocket, urging me to call Tony and tell him about the man in front of me. Drago spoke in a different language, most likely Croatian, to Boris, and motioned to the boxes of tile behind us. I recognized the sounds as those that Boris had spoken that day in the parking lot. Boris said something, looked at me, cocked his head, and began speaking rapidly.

  Drago shook his head, pointed at me, and said something else. His voice took on a tone that indicated Boris was in big trouble. He waved both of his hands, and Boris stepped closer and lowered his voice. Drago turned to me with a desperate look in his eyes. “Boris says he saw you last week in town when he was shooting magpies. I just told him that he can’t shoot his gun near businesses or in the city limits. He said he’s really sorry if he scared you.”

  “Oh,” was all I could think to say.

  “Did you report him to the police?” Drago asked.

  I cringed, and my voice came out in a squeak. “Yes.”

  Drago lifted his head to the sky and muttered something in Croatian.

  “I’m sorry. He didn’t look like he was hunting birds. He looked disturbed.”

  “Well, he is my younger brother.” Drago pointed to Boris and rattled off something else in Croatian. Boris said something back and waved at me.

  Drago shook his head. “He says that he’s really very sorry, but magpies are dirty birds.” Drago motioned to Boris and said something else. Boris smiled at Luke and me, then returned to his job of unpacking boxes. He looked harmless today. Not like some crazed gunman that had grown to a dangerous threat in my nightmares over the past week.

  Drago watched him for a moment. “It’s been tough on him. Everything’s different: the culture, the land, the laws. He keeps making mistakes, but he’s a good kid.” Drago studied him with a look reserved especially for younger brothers. “Could you explain to the police what you found out?”

  “Yes,” I said. “But I’m sure they’ll probably give him a citation, since he did fire the gun next to the store.”

  Drago put his head in his hands. “This doesn’t help my case.”

  Luke cleared his throat. “You’re right, it doesn’t, but Adri has a detective friend that might be able to keep things quiet.”

  I glanced at Boris and then made eye contact with Drago. “I’ll call Tony and tell him what you told me. They’ll come and ask Boris questions, and I’m sure they’ll be firm, but fair.”

  “Thank you. You’re very kind to help my family.” Drago rolled back his shoulders. “But I have not made the mistake that Lost Trails says I have.” His voice took on an edge, and his accent became more pronounced as he spoke. “They think that because I’m not native that I’m stupid. But I see things. Whoever took the money wants me to take the blame.”

  Drago continued to tell us about the accusations against him and the evidence that pointed at him for the financial chaos in the accounting department.

  “You’re right,” Luke said. “I think you were fr
amed. There’s too much evidence against you that was too easily found. Don’t let anyone threaten you into taking a plea bargain. As long as you plead not guilty, no matter what happens, there is the possibility of appeals.”

  “Do you think they’ll arrest him?” I couldn’t keep the tone of disbelief out of my voice.

  Luke rubbed his hand over his chin. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they show up today.”

  Drago stiffened, but then heaved a sigh. “I should have been more careful.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Lily tried to warn me.” He glanced around to be sure no one could hear. “She said that things weren’t adding up right and I needed to check all of my ledgers, but I’ve been so busy.”

  Luke arched an eyebrow in my direction. “Did she give any idea as to who might be causing the problems?”

  “No, and I asked her about it, but she said she couldn’t say until she did some more checking.” Drago shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. “I worried when I heard Lily had died, and then when people started saying it was murder . . . well, I wondered if it had something to do with what was going on here.”

  Drago’s words hung in the air. Luke’s eyes widened, and so did mine. “Have you told the police any of this?” I asked.

  “No. I didn’t have anything, you know, facts about what she said.”

  Luke studied Drago for a moment. “What about texts? Did she send you anything that could prove she thought you were innocent?”

  Drago shook his head. “Nope. It was just when I took some paperwork into the office. Lily never texted me.”

  “I still think you should talk to the police and tell them what you told us,” I said.

  “Yes, it would help their investigation into Lily’s death as well as give them something to look into regarding your innocence in the embezzlement claims,” Luke added.