Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelley (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📗

pot, he reached into the cabinet for a cup, paused, then brought out another one.

“You haven’t shaved.”

“And your point is?”

“Most men look good with a slight stubble. Kind of Miami Vice sexy. A little rough around the edges.”

He poured two cups of coffee, handing her one. So, she thought he was sexy. He’d known she wanted him. Yep, she was hot for his bod. His morning was looking better and better.

She took a drink of her coffee and sighed, then looked up. “You’re different.”

“I like my coffee strong.”

“No, the coffee is fine.” She took hers to the small table and pulled out a chair. “I mean different as in the scruffy look.”

“Different?” He blew on his coffee and took a drink.

“Yeah, kind of like you just came off a hell of a bender. Your eyes are puffy, too. You definitely don’t have the Miami Vice thing going for you.”

It was all he could do to swallow what he had in his mouth. He glared at her as she casually opened the box and removed a doughnut, biting into it.

“Oh, these are really good. You should try one.”

“No, thank you.” He yanked out the chair across from her and made himself comfortable. His gaze slowly slid over her. “I guess you’re a morning person.” Yeah, he sounded sarcastic, and he didn’t give a damn.

And the more he watched her, the more he knew there was something about her that didn’t quite ring true. Her eyes looked tired—the kind of tired that makeup couldn’t cover up. He had a feeling she hadn’t slept any better than he had. Lumpy mattress? He’d almost bet her dreams hadn’t been X-rated.

She shrugged. “Sometimes I’m a morning person, sometimes I’m not. It just depends. I like to sleep in, especially in the winter.”

He reached inside the box and took a doughnut. He didn’t want to think about her snuggled down in the bed, the covers wrapped around her and her naked beneath them. All he wanted to do was drink his coffee, then shave. Although he might not, just in case his scruffy appearance irritated her. And once he was fully awake, he’d work on his next book. The Truth About Selena James: Nutcase.

“Good coffee.” She stood.

“Aren’t you supposed to fix the next pot?” he reminded her.

When she turned, her skirts swirled around her legs. Damn, she had nice legs.

“We made a deal,” she said. “If you shared your pot, I’d make the next one in return.”

Selena was driving him nuts.

“And?” he asked.

She nodded toward the box of doughnuts. “You inhaled three of the doughnuts. I figure we’re even.” She whirled back around and waltzed out of the room pretty as you please. His gaze dropped and didn’t rise until she was out of sight.

She had a nice twist in her walk.

Trent glanced toward the box. He’d eaten three doughnuts without even realizing it. Damn. He reached into the box and took the last one. If he left it, it would just get hard by morning—that made two of them. Hell, being hard was becoming a chronic condition when he was around her.

Sticking the pastry in his mouth, he carried his cup to the coffeepot and began fixing it again.

They were good doughnuts, though. Fresh.

As soon as the coffee was ready, he filled his cup and made his way back to his room, chewing the last bite. As he passed by the front door, something tugged at him. He went over and opened it.

The crisp morning air drew him outside to the porch. Although he wasn’t in the country, it almost felt like it. The old hotel was really secluded.

“Hey, there,” a friendly voice called out.

Trent turned. Matilda. He smiled. The woman reminded him of his great-aunt. At least pictures that he’d seen of her. She’d passed away before he was born.

“I hope you don’t mind.” She raised her hand to show him some blue flowers in her hand. “They grow over by the fence. Wild ones. I thought they would look nice on the kitchen table. You don’t care that I picked a few, do you?”

He smiled. “Take all you want.”

She beamed back at him. “My Hiram loves the pretty blue color.” She nodded toward the hotel. “Are you planning on opening the place?”

“We’ll only be here for a couple of weeks.”

Her smile drooped. “A shame. It would do the old hotel good if a young couple fixed it up and made it liveable again.” She tucked a loose strand of gray hair behind her ear.

He started to tell her they weren’t a couple, but she began to speak again.

“Oh, I think I hear Hiram. He’ll be wanting his breakfast. We’re having sausage gravy, and biscuits as big as your fists. My Hiram is skinny as a rail, but he sure can pack the food in.” She chuckled before disappearing around the corner.

Trent was still smiling as he went inside, that was, until he met Selena on the stairs.

“We should probably stick together most of the time. If Dixie or Wesley decide to appear, we’ll need to be together,” she said.

Spending more time in her company? Perfect. More fodder for his book.

“Okay.”

“Who were you talking to?” she asked.

“Our neighbor. She was stealing flowers.”

She cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms. It served only to stretch her shirt taut against her breasts and outline her nipples.

“And you didn’t have her arrested?”

“Nah, I was afraid they might take you away with her and then you’d claim I’d cheated or something.” He stopped on the staircase when he drew even with her.

“What do you mean by that?”

He let his gaze slide over her. “You really should wear a bra. That top doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Unless you’re trying to seduce me, that is. Is that what you’re doing? Seducing me into believing there are such things as ghosts?”

She drew in a deep breath.

He nodded toward her. “That’s exactly what I mean. Damned tempting. Keep it up and you might get your wish.” He continued up the