miss fortune mystery (ff) - my sinful valentine

• Chapter One
  
• Chapter Two
  
• Chapter Three
  
• Chapter Four
  
• Chapter Five
  
• Chapter Six
  
• Chapter Seven
  

Text copyright ©2015 by the Author.

This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Jana DeLeon. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements of The Miss Fortune Series remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Jana DeLeon, or their affiliates or licensors.

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  My Sinful Valentine

By Anna Snow

Chapter One

I was sitting beside Carter on a stool in Francine’s Café when it happened.

Celia Arceneaux waddled up behind us and made her presence known. By the expression on her face, I knew she was feeling her snarky, sarcastic self.

“And I supposed you’ll be taking Valentine’s Day off, Deputy? She sniffed indelicately.

Carter glanced at me, sat down his fork, then turned toward Celia and smiled. I continued sipping my sweet tea and figured that I’d let Carter handle this one. He could handle people better than I could. I wasn’t really what you would call a, “people person”.

“I’m never really off duty around here, but to answer your question, yes. I’ll be away from the station tomorrow night.”

“Hmm.” She glanced in my direction.

I ignored her to the best of my ability but it was near impossible to ignore Celia, especially once she got started. Celia was a thorn in everyone’s side. She liked to get under everyone’s skin, especially the skin my best friends Ida Bell, Gertie, and myself.

I think she penciled it in on her daily agenda.

“Spending the evening with this one, I suppose.” She hiked a thumb in my general direction. “Although I can’t see why.”

“Now that’s enough Celia. There’s no need for insults.” Carter defended me, but instead filling me with that frilly little fuzzy feeling most women get when a man defends their honor, it had quite the opposite effect.

“I bet she isn’t even feeding you dinner like a real woman would.”

Now, I’ll admit that I’m not the most domestic woman on the planet, and that is a
serious
understatement, so dinner at Francine’s wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for me.

Carter and I had been seeing each other for a little while and often met at Francine’s after his shift for dinner.

Carter, and the best chicken fried steak with gravy in the world?

It was a win-win situation for me.

“Lord knows she isn’t real girlfriend material. Just look at her.” Celia continued.

I glanced down at my dark blue t-shirt and jeans. I knew I didn’t look my best, but I didn’t look like a gutter rat either. Her insults started to grate on my nerves and I twisted on my stool to face her.

“Is there a reason you stopped by other than to insult me, Celia? Because I have better things to do right now than to listen to your nonsense.”

She shrugged. “Just saying hi to Carter, and maybe help nudge him in the right direction.”

“And what direction would that be?” I asked, setting my glass down on the bar.

She shrugged her rounded shoulder, her suitcase-sized white purse swinging from her wrinkled hand. “All I’m saying is that there are plenty of women in this town who’d be better suited for him. Women who can cook and clean, and get dressed up from time to time. Women more…
feminine
.” She crinkled her nose.

Now, normally I let Celia’s insults roll off my back but this time, something inside of me snapped. Maybe it was just an off day for me, maybe Celia was being extra obnoxious, or maybe it was because she was running me down in front of Carter. Whatever it was, she had flipped my switch. I wanted to pummel her, but as much as I wanted to smack her I knew that I couldn’t. That act was completely unacceptable because not only was she the mayor of Sinful (We still hadn’t figured that one out.) she was as old as sin itself.

Instead, I heard myself say, “Who say’s I can’t cook? I’m just as feminine as the next woman.”

The truth was, I could barely cook toast without setting the toaster of fire. If it hadn’t been for my friend Ally and Francine’s Café, I would have starved by now.

I almost choked on the words when they flew past my lips but they were out there and there was nothing I could do to take them back now.

Celia latched onto them like a dog on a bone.

“So you
are
cooking for Carter tomorrow night?”

Everything was suddenly in slow motion around me as I heard myself reply, “Yes. Yes I am. We’re having Valentine’s Day dinner at my place.”

Carter’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head and I heard him struggle not to choke on his coffee. I cast him a sideways glance hoping he’d keep his comments to himself. He knew I couldn’t cook, all of Sinful had figured out by now that I was no domestic goddess, but the way Celia was talking me down to Carter stirred me up something fierce.

“Well,” she smiled in a way I could only describe as evil. “I hope the fire department is ready. Looks like they’ll have quite the job on their hands. Be sure you call one of your minions and have them get a cot ready for your impending stay.”

I’d had enough.

“Listen you old—,”

Carter hopped off of his stool, grasped my elbow, and pulled me off of my stool alongside him.

“We should be going. Goodbye, Celia.”

He brushed past her and led me out of Francine’s before I could let my mouth get me into any more trouble than it already had.

We walked down the sidewalk toward my house in silence and all the while I was wondering what in the heck I’d been thinking. This was the first Valentine’s Day I’d spent with a man, and I’d already ruined it before it started.

As we reached the edge of my driveway Carter grasped my hand. “I thought you knew better than to let Celia get under your skin?”

“Was it that obvious?”

I glanced up and found him smiling down at me with the teasing sparkle I’d grown to appreciate glowing in his eyes. I couldn’t help but to smile in return.

“You told the woman you could cook.”