Cat Burglar in Training (15 page)

Kahu stood at my side before I could shut the door. Hannah was right. The man was a gentleman. Instinct told me I had nothing to fear.

The Wheat Sheaf was packed to capacity. When Kahu opened the door for me, a low rumble of chatter greeted us, spliced with music from the jukebox and the rattle of a gaming machine paying out.

“Looks busy,” I said. “We’ll be lucky to get a table.”

“I booked one earlier,” Kahu said.

“Oh.”

We weaved through the crowd of locals standing at the bar, heading for the dining room. The Wheat Sheaf has always been a favorite of mine. Apart from the friendly locals, I loved the ambiance. Bric-a-brac lined shelves, ranging from a collection of Toby jugs to chamber pots and old books of varying sizes. Each shelf had a different theme. The pub was children-and pet-friendly during the day, and Amber loved to visit the beer garden for lunch on a Sunday. She invariably spent time petting every dog in attendance. We hadn’t visited much recently since we were on a strict budget.

“Nice pub.” His hand at my back, Kahu guided me to the dining room.

“Lady Eve! We haven’t seen you for a while,” Reg, the Wheat Sheaf owner, said.

“No. Amber can’t wait to visit again. She has chicken pox at present.”

“Aye. Seems to be going around.”

“This is my friend, Kahu Williams. We’re here for dinner.”

“Good enough.” Reg eyed Kahu in the way men measure strangers. “Pleased to meet you. Try the special. Roast beef with all the trimmings. Gravy. Yorkshire pudding. Can’t go wrong with the special.” He laughed, a booming sound that made everyone listening smile with him. “I’m hoping for roast beef myself tonight. Don’t suppose I should recommend it.”

“You have a great place here,” Kahu said.

“We like it. Enjoy your meals. Catch up with you later, Lady Eve.”

I smiled and nodded. No matter how many times I asked Reg to call me Eve, he stuck with the more formal Lady Eve. I think he liked the status of regulars with a title.

Kahu checked in with the dining-room hostess, and she escorted us to a table overlooking the river.

“I’m going with the roast beef,” Kahu said after he’d seated me and ordered a bottle of sparkling water and a glass of wine for himself.

“Fish and chips with salad,” I said, not bothering to check the menu. “It’s my favorite.” I glanced at his face, shadowed in the lowered lighting and candle glow. “Where do you live? I don’t know much about you.”

“I have a flat in Fulham. I don’t spend much time there with my work.”

“So there’s a lot of crime in London?”

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Enough to keep me busy.”

I cocked my head, curiosity prompting more questions. “How did you end up over here?”

“My stepbrother came over two years ago. He disappeared, and I promised my stepmother I’d do my best to find him.”

“Missing? Oh, no.” I recalled the conversation I’d overheard between Kahu and Richard Beauchamp. “Did you find him?”

“He turned up murdered.”

“Oh, Kahu. I’m so sorry.” I reached for his hand and covered it with mine.

“Yeah, it was rough on my parents. Ihaka was younger than me.”

“Is Ihaka a Maori name too?”

“
Eye-ha-car.
Yeah, a form of Isaac.” He sighed. “He was a bit of a rebel.”

“You mean he didn’t become a cop?” I teased, returning my hand to my lap.

“No, he tended to skirt the law,” Kahu said dryly.

“Oh.” Cripes, he looked disapproving. “Where do your parents live?”

“Wellington.”

Although I knew I should change the subject, nosiness wouldn’t let me. “How come you didn’t go back to New Zealand once your brother was found? Tell me to change the subject if I’m getting too personal.”

He smiled. “No problem. I promised my parents I’d do a little digging, try to discover what happened to Ihaka. It’s easier to do that if I’m working here. I signed a contract for two years.”

“Will you go back to New Zealand once your contract ends?” I held my breath, waiting for his answer.

“Early days yet,” he said. “I like it here. The work is challenging. And I’ve met a very sexy woman.”

“Right answer,” I said with a grin.

After the initial getting-to-know-you questions, our conversation flowed freely. I’d assumed I’d never feel relaxed with a man again. I was wrong. I even handed over my mobile phone number with barely a qualm, despite the obvious conflict of interests.

“I hate to rush you, Lady Eve, but we’re about to close,” the dining-room hostess said.

My gaze jerked from Kahu to travel the dining room. Where had everyone gone? I checked my watch, stunned to see it was almost eleven. The evening had passed so quickly I thought I’d blinked and missed it. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“No problem. Would you like coffee? There’s time for coffee before we close.”

“I’d like coffee,” Kahu said.

The hostess did a double take at his smile. Not that I blamed her. I was a little dazzled myself and heading down the path to a stronger emotion. The notion should have scared me silly, but I barely hesitated.

The drive home to Oakthorpe sped past in silence again. This time it was a comfortable one—until my thoughts turned to the concept of a good-night kiss. Would Kahu expect one? Did I want one?

Okay, I knew the answer to the second question. I’d feel cheated if I didn’t get a kiss. I wanted to taste him again, to learn if our last kiss and the resulting pitter-patter was an anomaly.

Kahu turned the saloon into the driveway and pulled to a stop by the house. The air vanished from the car interior, sucked away by anticipation. My tingle-meter leapt to the top of the scale when I risked a glance at him. The heat in his expression was a knock to my equilibrium, drowning me in both desire and confusion. He switched off the ignition, and the silence was a living thing. Kahu’s aftershave with its spicy undertones drew me closer. Like a magnet, I was helpless.

“I’ve thought about this all night.” Kahu’s right hand cupped my cheek while his lips curled in a sensual smile. Without warning, my skin felt ultra-sensitive. I shivered.

Our lips met. Parted. He nibbled his way down my neck, small bites that sent miniature earthquakes rippling across my skin. My heart jumped so hard I thought it might leap from my chest. My peripheral vision caught a flicker of light from the house.

The terrible trio. Watching our every move, no doubt, and muttering under their breaths about the necessity of using a cop to spring their trap in the first place.

“Fawkners will spin in their graves,” Father had said before Kahu arrived. The knowledge they were watching tempered my lust. But no way did I intend to leave Kahu without a decent kiss and a memory I could pull out and relive whenever Father decided to lecture me.

“Are we being watched?” Kahu asked in a voice full of lazy amusement. “Should we give them something worthy to look at?”

He didn’t wait for my reply, merely lowered his head and captured my lips with expertise that should have frightened me. But who was thinking? I was too busy assimilating taste, touch and smell. His hand threaded through my hair. A flicker of tongue across my lips made me gasp. My hand, which had somehow managed to undo several of Kahu’s shirt buttons, inserted itself inside the parted fabric. I felt the subtle rise and fall of Kahu’s chest as silent laughter played out. The taste of coffee and Kahu exploded on my senses. His thorough exploration sent ribbons of need curling through me. Suddenly, I wanted more—the sensation of naked skin sliding against naked skin. The freedom to explore masculine muscles.

For so long, I’d suppressed my sexual urges, keeping my heart wrapped tight.
Safe.
With a few kisses, Kahu ripped the protective cover away and made me want to live again.

He eased up on the kiss and feathered a trail of tiny nibbles across my cheek, making me squirm. “Will you go out with me again?”

“Yes.” Hard to tell anything from his voice, but I knew what I wanted. “Do you want to come in for coffee?”

“Not this time. I need to drive back to Fulham tonight.” He flashed a dazzling smile. “I’m not sure of my schedule. I’ll call you once I know.” The back of his hand smoothed across my cheek in a gesture of farewell, leaving a pleasant tingle in its wake.

I managed a nod, hastily removed my hands from Kahu’s chest and fumbled for the door handle. Embarrassment caught me without warning. Why didn’t I just throw myself at him and have done?

“Good night, Eve.”

“Night.” I made the top of the steps leading to the front door before I succumbed to temptation and peeked to see if Kahu was watching me. Yes! I lifted a hand and waved before turning to open the front door. It flew open before I had a chance to grasp the handle.

“Aw, man,” Ben said. “Look at the goofy grin on her face.”

“I knew this would happen. Females can’t keep their minds on the job when romance jumps into the equation.”

I gaped at Father. “You told me to go out with Kahu,” I said in a studied voice. “Mission accomplished.”

“We didn’t tell you to get up-close and friendly,” Father spouted in outrage.

“Let the girl inside.” Hannah used her elbows to clear the way for me.

The trio herded me subtly—one standing on each side and Hannah bringing up the rear. I guess someone had called a meeting and hadn’t bothered to inform me. In the kitchen, Ben pulled out a wooden chair and indicated I should take a seat.

Indignation ruffled my temper. “I’m not a prisoner to interrogate.”

Father took the seat opposite. “We want to know how things went.”

“We’re concerned about the plan.” Ben hovered over me.

“Quit treating Evie like a circus freak. I’ll make tea,” Hannah said.

“Are you going to tell us what happened?” Father’s brows drew together until they resembled a long furry caterpillar. “Did he ask you out again?”

My eyes narrowed. I wasn’t a teenager on her first date, but the male members of the trio weren’t going to give up until they received details.

“Enough.” Hannah punctuated her directive with a firm thump of the teapot on the tabletop. “Both of you are acting like policemen. Give Evie breathing space, and maybe she’ll quench your curiosity.”

She managed to button their lips, but their eyes demanded answers.

I caved as they intended. “We’re going out again, but I’m not sure when. Kahu is going to ring me.”

“Excellent.” Ben settled back in his chair. “How’s that tea coming along?”

“Humph,” Hannah snorted.

Father continued to frown. “You play the man just as we discussed. Don’t go girly and fall for him.”

Enough. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with them tonight. I’d enjoyed my evening, and the more time I spent with Kahu, the more I liked him. I stood abruptly, almost knocking over my chair. “It’s late. I’m going to bed.”

“But we want to go over our plan again,” Father said.

“Then do it without me.” I marched out of the kitchen, ignoring the flood of protests floating after me. I refused to let them sully my evening with a dissection.

“Amber, my wee croissant,” I said, early the next morning. “You can’t go to school yet.” When her bottom lip started to tremble, I skimmed my fingers across her ribs to make her giggle.

When the laughter eased, her small mouth tightened to a pout.
No need to search far to find where that came from
. My father looked like that when he didn’t get his way.

“I don’t wanna stay in bed,” Amber said, stamping her foot on the kitchen floor.

“You don’t have to stay in bed. If you’re good, Hannah might let you help her. I’m sure I heard her say it’s baking day.”

“That’s right.” Hannah stacked the last of the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and wiped her hands on a towel. “I might make gingerbread men to take to the senior-citizen club tonight or maybe fruit tarts like the ones in France.”

Amber cocked her head. “Apple tart?”

Tantrum averted. I ruffled Amber’s brown curls. “Grandfather and Ben might let you help pick peas for dinner.”

The phone rang, and I reached for it since I was closest. “Hello?”

“Put on the viscount.”

“Can I say who’s speaking?”

“None of your business, sweetheart. Just get him.”

I held the phone away from my ear and grimaced. “For you,” I said to Father, not bothering to lower my voice. “I don’t know who it is, but he needs to work on his manners.”

Father accepted the phone from me. “Oakthorpe.” He listened for a time and nodded while we watched with burning curiosity. Not one of Father’s brief responses gave us a clue. Finally, he hung up. “Yes!” Father pumped his fist in the air. “You’ll never guess.”

“Not unless you give us a clue,” Hannah said snidely.

“The man we met in the pub and talked to about the plants. He’s rung to let me know he has the plants I wanted.”

Interested in spite of myself, I stopped clearing the breakfast table. “How are you going to handle it?”

“Ah,” Father said. “We discussed it last night while you were out with the cop.”

“He has a name.”

Father ignored my snootiness, intent on getting to the point. “We’ll give him a call and ask him how to proceed. Get on the cop’s good side. Where’s his business card?”

Father’s mind was made up, no matter what I said, so I extracted it from my handbag and handed it over, but before Father could ring Kahu, my mobile rang.

“Hi, Seth!” I said. “What’s up?”

“Do you want to go to the ball at Hawkins House on Friday night?”

Bother. A scheduling conflict already. “Do you have time to meet me at Ye Olde Tea Shoppe? Say, around ten?” I named the local teashop because it was only a few minutes’ walk from the law firm where Seth worked.

“The terrible trio up to their tricks again?”

“You could say that,” I said, my tone cagey.

At ten prompt, I pushed open the wooden door to the village teashop, the tinkling of a bell announcing my arrival. I spotted Seth at a corner table.

“Good choice,” I said as I brushed a kiss over his ruddy cheek. “Too far away from the cash register for Mrs. Fletcher to eavesdrop on us.”

Seth snorted, his accompanying shoulder movement flopping his fringe over his forehead. “That didn’t stop her trying to interrogate me when I arrived.”

“I’ll get right to the—”

“Are you ready to order yet, Mr. Winthrop?”

Seth managed a polite smile. I was tempted to snarl. Mrs. Fletcher, the owner of Ye Olde Tea Shoppe, loved to gossip and spent hours indulging the passion. In fact, the terrible trio called the teashop Gossip Central instead of by its real name.

“Another few minutes please, Mrs. Fletcher.”

She bustled away but couldn’t resist a glance over her shoulder.

I leaned toward Seth. “You can almost hear her take notes.”

“Here.” Seth shoved a menu at me. “Pick something. I have to be back at the office in an hour.”

We ordered pinwheel sandwiches and scones, warm from the oven, along with a pot of English breakfast tea. The scones arrived with a bowl of homemade strawberry jam and clotted cream. I’ll say one thing for Mrs. Fletcher. The woman could cook up a storm and regularly took honors at the village fete.

“Now, what’s the problem?”

“I went out on a date with Kahu Williams last night,” I confessed in a rush.

Seth grinned. “I wondered how long it would take.”

“I wanted to tell you before anyone else did.”

“Too late. Mrs. Fletcher informed me before you arrived. Said she didn’t want me to get hurt and thought I should know.”

“No wonder she’s hovering.” I made no effort to hide my indignation.

Seth placed his half-eaten sandwich back on his plate and reached across the table to pat my arm. “Don’t worry. I knew you’d meet someone eventually. You’re so pretty, it was only a matter of time.”

I grabbed Seth’s hand and squeezed hard. “But what will you do now? I feel like I’m letting you down.”

Seth shrugged off my worries. “We’ll still be friends. I can’t see the problem.”

“Yes, of course we’re still friends.”

“I’ll make alternative plans for this weekend,” Seth said. “No problem.”

“I’m not sure if Kahu will ask me to go with him or if he’s working. He said things are busy at the moment, and he’s not sure of his schedule.”

“All right. I’ll leave it up to you. I don’t want to come between the two of you.”

“Thanks.” Wow. That was a relief, although I felt a trifle guilty since I hadn’t told the truth in its entirety. I’d managed without explaining why I was dangling after Kahu. Seth thought the attraction was a romantic one. It was my job to make sure Kahu, along with everyone else, thought the same. At least that’s what I tried telling myself.

I arrived back at Oakthorpe to find Kahu in residence. It appeared Father had acted with uncharacteristic speed, and the police jumped at the chance to capture the thief. I climbed from my Mini, my fingers crossed behind my back. Hope they caught the crooks and paid out the reward lickety-split. We needed the money yesterday. Beauchamp’s minions had stayed away so far even though we’d only made a partial payment, but I wasn’t holding my breath. The situation felt like a trap ready to spring.

“Good to see you, Eve.” Kahu kept his words simple, but one glance at his mischievous eyes told me he was thinking of our good-night kiss.

All at once, nerves stampeded through my stomach.
Keep it casual.
It was still early in the courtship process. Unfortunately, my heart didn’t pay a single bit of notice.

“Good morning,” I said.

“I’d hoped I’d see you. I wanted—”

“Are you going to stand there and make doe eyes at each other?” Father demanded. “Don’t you have some crooks to catch?”

“Father!” Wasn’t Father the one who’d forced this travesty on me? The one who’d insisted I consort with the enemy? I took Kahu’s arm. “We can talk in the garden.”

Kahu’s gaze drifted to my mouth. A subtle caress. Man, he pushed buttons I never knew I had without breaking a sweat. I was drifting into dangerous territory yet nothing I did seemed to halt the fall.

We walked around the corner of the ivy-clad house, and I led Kahu toward the rose beds, mainly because they weren’t visible from the kitchen. I caught sight of the terrible trio spying out the window when we ambled past. Yep, they were definitely treating us like the hottest show in town. Feeling quietly satisfied about besting them—okay, smug, I admit it—I savored the scent of the roses and enjoyed the novelty of walking with a handsome male.

Kahu slowed his steps. “Are we out of sight yet?”

Heat bloomed in my cheeks. “How did you know?”

“I’m a policeman.” He ran his fingers across my cheek, all the while looking at my mouth. “Remember, I’m paid to observe.”

A timely reminder to keep me focused on the job at hand. “They can’t see us here.”

Kahu stepped closer until his body heat seared my skin. His spicy aftershave teased me. “That’s good, because I want to kiss you so bad, I ache.”

I looked at him, startled by his directness. A mistake. His lips descended and claimed mine before I could do more than take a breath. My mind ceased its perpetual worry about right and wrong and the shades of gray in between to concentrate on the man. He tugged me off balance, and I landed against his chest, clutching his shoulders while his lips plundered mine. Tongues dueled. Tasted. Lingered to explore and savor. My nipples puckered to hard points against my lacy bra.

Astonished, I pulled away from Kahu. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

He had trouble dragging his attention from my lips, but luckily my brain engaged once we no were longer touching. This was a dangerous game I played.

“Do what?” he repeated.

“Ah, nothing.”

Kahu’s dark eyes crinkled at the corners. “Good.” Before I knew it, I was plastered against his chest in another lip-lock.

Hmm. Hands on skin. A shudder of pure desire shot to my belly. My fingers tightened on Kahu’s shoulders and drifted up to rest behind his neck. Things were moving at breakneck speed, and for once I had no inclination to slam on the brakes.

“Phone!”

I jerked away from Kahu so quickly I almost fell.

“Phone!” Father hollered. “Did you hear?”

“I heard you the first time,” I snapped, peeved at the rude interruption. Things had just been getting interesting. I glanced at Kahu and intercepted a wink.

“I’d better go. I’ll call you later.”

“That would be great.” Like a mannequin, I nodded, my thoughts still focused on my perplexing attraction to Kahu.

“Are you going to take the phone or not?” Father asked with a trace of impatience.

I whirled away from Kahu, ready to tear a strip off my father. It was then I noticed his pale face. Forcing a smile, I waved to Kahu and hurried to the kitchen. Father arrived not long after, and the terrible trio and I all stared at the phone, treating it like a mythical beast about to pounce.

Swallowing, I picked it up and covered the receiver. “Make sure Kahu’s left.”

Ben trotted off to undertake the assignment. Back seconds later, he nodded and the tension seeped from my shoulders. One less thing to worry about.

“Hello. Eve here,” I said in a pleasant voice.

“I don’t have all day,” a familiar voice snarled.

Vincent. “I’m very sorry,” I said. “I had the police here undertaking a local investigation. Did you want me to tell them
sorry, I have to go? I have goons waiting to speak to me on the phone?
”

“Lady, you have a smart mouth.”

“So I’ve been told,” I said, not sparing the snide tone.

Father tapped me on my shoulder and mimed something.

“What?” I mouthed, not understanding the frantic hand actions. Ben started up too—his version, no doubt, because they didn’t match.

“Your payment is incomplete.”

Tell me something I don’t know.
I considered saying that out loud, but I’d annoyed him enough already.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” I tried not to sound too meek or too condescending. It was a difficult assignment when I wanted to ream him out for frightening the terrible trio. “We paid what we could. I’d like to speak to the man in charge to discuss payment terms.”

“Who am I? Chopped liver?”

Cow dung
described him better but I didn’t voice that thought either.

“I’d like to speak to your boss,” I stated with quiet dignity. “The man to whom we owe the money.” I should have taken the time to speak with Beauchamp earlier when he’d wanted to talk to me. Now I’d have to hunt him down.

“He won’t be pleased. He pays me to deal with the likes of you.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Father whispered.

Ben was making frantic no-no movements with his hand along with slashing signs across his throat.

“Could I have a phone number to ring you back?”

“My boss told me to get the rest of the money, and that’s what I intend to do. No money, no commission. Simple as that. Lady, this is a business transaction. It’s nothing personal.”

“Nothing personal?” I shrieked down the phone. “You make threats against my daughter and say it’s nothing personal?”

“There’s no need to get screechy, lady.” Vincent rattled off his number. “If I don’t hear back from you in exactly fifteen minutes, I’ll take that to mean you don’t have the rest of the money. I’ll need to take steps to extract said payment. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.” I slapped the phone back in its cradle. I hoped it hurt his ears because he’d given me the mother of all headaches.

“Are you mad, implying you’ll go to the police?” Father hollered. “It’s bad enough having your cop around the place. We don’t want a whole herd of them prying into our private affairs.”

Hannah took one look at my face and hurried to the drawer where we keep odds and ends. She yanked out a packet of headache tablets, popped open the bubble pack and handed me two pills along with a glass of water.

I downed the tablets straightaway, inwardly admitting Father was right. We didn’t want close scrutiny from the law. “Thank you. Have you contacted Alistair today?” I didn’t have time for this drama. I wanted to study the index cards I’d stolen from the photographer.

“Yeah. No good news there. He can sell the goods today, but the price won’t be a good one. He has feelers out with another collector from the States. He seems to think we should wait a week or so and the chance of a better price.”

“Logical. If it wasn’t for the money due, we’d wait. Okay, this is the plan. I’ll ring back Vincent and say we can’t make the rest of the payment until next week.”

“That will make him happy,” Father said.

“I’m going to point out my new boyfriend is a cop who takes a dim view of his woman being harassed.”

“His woman,” Hannah said with delight. If she’d been younger, I’m sure she would have given a feminine squeak. “Oh, that is good news. The two of you look so right together. I can’t wait to have more children in the family.”

“Cut the— Children!” Father roared. “Are you stark raving mad? I thought we’d decided this was a ruse to get rid of our competition. Rumors are circulating in the village about the dagger already.”

“I told you that clinch looked way personal,” Ben said.