Free Body Movers 4 - 4 Bodies and a Funeral by Stephanie Bond Page A

his phone and peering inside. He looked
    every inch the successful investment broker, impeccably
    dressed, his blond hair cut in a sleek, precision style.
    Jack looked back to her. “Perfect timing.”
    “Peter and I have a dinner date,” she murmured, drawing
    the tie on her robe tighter.
    “Let me guess. Ashford is taking you to eat sushi?”
    She flapped her eyelashes. “Who’s jealous now?”
    “No comment.” He started toward the door, then turned
    back. “If you need another jump after the Ken dol drops
    you off, give me a call.” Jack grinned, then turned to go,
    leaving her shaking her head.
    Carlotta uncurled her toes and went to greet Peter.

    6
    Carlotta manufactured a wide smile to counter the frown
    on Peter’s face that appeared when Jack emerged from
    her house. The men exchanged wary looks and did an
    awkward dance as they passed on the narrow stoop. There
    wasn’t room enough for both of them.
    “Hi, Peter,” she said. “Come in.”
    “I know I’m early,” he said as he stepped over the
    threshold. “The receptionist at the firm told me about a
    disturbance at Neiman’s. I was worried about you.” He
    jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “The woman in the
    driveway said you had a dead battery?” Then he noticed
    what she was wearing and squinted. “What’s going on?”
    “Eva McCoy had a speaking event in the store today.”
    “The Olympic marathoner?”
    “Right. Some guy used a cake as a ruse to get close to her
    and I…” She lifted her arms. “I wound up in the cake.”
    He gave a little laugh. “I’d like to have seen that.”
    “It wasn’t pretty.”
    “That’s impossible,” he said, then sighed. “I guess
    superhero Jack Terry was on the scene?”
    She let the jab pass. “He and his new partner were at the
    store for security. When they found out I’d ridden the train
    to work because my car battery was dead, they offered to
    give me a ride home.”
    “Ah. So that woman is Jack’s new partner?”
    “Yes. Detective Maria Marquez.”
    He pursed his mouth. “Pretty lady.”
    Carlotta smiled and angled her head. “Are you
    interested?”
    “No, but I was hoping that Jack might be.” He gave her a
    pointed look, then his expression softened. “You’re
    rubbing your arm. Are you stil up to having dinner?”
    Her arm was aching, but on the heels of getting such good
    news about Wesley’s charges being downgraded, she felt
    happy and expansive. “Of course. I’l pop some Advil—it’l
    be fine.”
    “You probably want time to get ready. I can come back to
    pick you up later.”
    “No—stay.” She gestured to the shabby living room,
    suddenly noticing how yel owed the paint had become,
    how dingy the baseboards. She’d tried so hard to shield
    her dilapidated lifestyle from Peter—always meeting him
    at the door or in the driveway, withholding details about
    her and Wesley’s financial and legal problems as much as
    possible. But if they were going to date, he needed to
    know how she lived. “That is, if you don’t mind hanging
    out on the couch and watching a broken TV while I dry my
    hair and find something to wear.”
    “Sounds good to me.” He seemed so pleased by the
    modest offer that her heart gave a squeeze.
    “Give me twenty minutes,” she said, then dashed back to
    her bedroom where she leaned against the closed door
    and exhaled.
    She could do this. She needed to do this, to try to rekindle
    the feelings she once had for Peter, both to give her father
    a chance to prove his innocence, and to give her and Peter
    a chance to…test the waters. At the very least, she owed it
    to herself to investigate how she felt about Peter so she
    could move on.
    As she dried her hair and applied her makeup, Carlotta
    admitted to herself that her reluctance to get involved
    with Peter again might be rooted in fear that she’d fall for
    him again, and then after he’d exorcised his guilt over
    leaving her, he’d break her heart…again.
    Which, come