Free No Hiding Behind the Potted Palms! A Dance with Danger Mystery #7 by Sara M. Barton Page A

are we going to do about those two?”
    “Well, we’re going to go
home, we’re going to have our own version of wild, crazy monkey
love, and in the morning, we’re going to find out exactly who owns
that condo and where the money came from to pay for it.”
     

Chapter Nine --
     
    I woke up in Bosco’s bed the
next morning, a little after seven. As I gazed around his bedroom,
I took in all the details. The walls were a platinum grey, the trim
white. There was a dresser in wenge wood, with very clean lines,
with shiny nickel hardware. The bedside chests were simple open
boxes in a warmer wood tone, but with similar lines. A pair of
matching lamps that had rectangular lime green shades above
textured nickel bases sat on top. Covering the window was a set of
wide-slat white wood blinds that seemed to blend into the woodwork.
Bosco had a large landscape print of the Hudson River framed above
the dresser in an aluminum gallery frame, even though the artist
was of a much earlier era. There was another small print of a
summer day on a lake, framed in black, on the wall leading to the
master bath. The only mirror in the room was hung above a narrow
chest of drawers that echoed the style of the dresser. As I got up
to head out to the kitchen, I realized just how different Bosco’s
style was from what we had chosen for our home over the years of
our marriage. This was not a traditional place. Everything was
clean, unfettered, uncomplicated, easy on the eye. And yet, there
was also warmth, in the art prints – the woodsy scenes, the colors
of the water. It was all spare and yet rich. It was comfortable,
but strong. And for the life of me, I couldn’t understand how the
man I had been married to all those years did it. I had expected to
miss our house. I had thought moving in with Bosco was going to
make me miserable. But when I looked around this bedroom, I
couldn’t think of anything I wanted to change. Oh, I might add
things, including more color, but I wouldn’t have taken anything
away. It was like I was seeing him with new, fresh eyes.
    “Morning, sunshine.” He
patted me on the fanny as he passed by, turning to look at me.
“Something wrong?”
    “I just realized there’s
more to you than meets the eye.”
    “In what way?” He toweled
off and pulled on a pair of blue boxers.
    “Did you do all this
yourself?” I waved my hand around the room.
    “Yes. Why? Did you want to
change it? I’m afraid there’s no money for new furniture, at least
for a while.”
    “Actually,” I smiled, “I
like it the way it is.”
    “You do?” Bosco had a look
of utter surprise on his face.
    “I do. I approve. I just
didn’t know you had it in you.”
    “Funny. Neither did I. It
took me six months to pick everything out.” I heard pride in his
voice as he surveyed the room. “It was a matter of figuring out
what I wanted, and that took some time. Hey, you’d better get a
move on if you don’t want to be late for work.”
    “I’m going to work today? I
thought we were going to investigate Ralph,” I replied.
    “No, babe. I’m going to do
that. You’re going to convince Ralph you have no idea what a
bastard he really is by showing up for work. And while you’re
there, you’re going to give a performance worthy of Meryl Streep,
as the dedicated, hard-working assistant producer. Do you know why
you’re going to do that?” He took my face in his hands and tilted
my head back, so that I had to look him in the eye. “Because after
we take care of Ralph, you’re still going to be at Dynamic
Productions. You will have a business to run and employees to
manage, so don’t blow it. Think of the future.”
    “Right,” I nodded. It was
true. We owned nearly half of that company, and I couldn’t afford
to screw it up.
    “Don’t forget,” he pointed
out as he kissed my forehead, “that Ralph and Gloria still think
their relationship is a secret. That’s probably a real thrill for
the pair of them.”
    As I headed