Perfect Partners?

So what happened? He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to probe. He sprayed olive oil into a sauté pan and waited for it to heat.

“At least I have a job that I love,” Mary-Beth continued, referring to her new teaching position at Columbia University. “Have you thought about what you want to do next?”

“I’m going to be a professional investigator. Like Magnum P.I.,” he joked, citing the old TV series that his sister had confessed to watching late at night when she’d been breast-feeding Justin.

Finally a smile cracked his sister’s face. “That sounds great, Nathan. As long as you skip the mustache.”

She rose from her chair, stretched and yawned. “Early start tomorrow. I’d better get some sleep.”

“G’ night, sis.” After she’d given him a hug, he turned back to his cooking, tossing the chopped vegetables and tofu into the hot oil.

Being treated like a criminal had definitely taken the fun out of life. Leaving the force had felt like his only option. But it had also marked the end of a lifelong dream. Since he’d been a young boy, he’d always wanted to be a cop. Now he needed another dream.

He still wanted to go after the bad guys. But from now on, he was going to pick the caliber of people he would work with.

People like Lindsay Fox.

Maybe she cut corners more than he liked, but she was bright and committed. Best of all, she wasn’t out for personal glory, didn’t take on cases just for some easy money. She cared about making the world a better place. She cared about justice.

Nathan added spices into the stir-fry and gave it a final toss before sitting down at the table. Eating straight from the pan, he thought about the glimpse into Lindsay’s life he’d had today.

When he’d seen her ad in the paper, he’d done his research. As well as checking out her clients and her business, he’d dug into her personal life. He knew that she was still single, that she ended most of her days at that greasy pub, knocking back several paralyzers before making her way to her apartment just one block from the office.

Though she was strikingly attractive, with pale blond hair, translucent skin and hauntingly beautiful blue eyes, she didn’t date much. It seemed her socializing, if you wanted to call it that, centered around the pub he’d visited tonight.

What kind of life was that for a woman who was just thirty years old? From personal experience, he knew the woman was passionate. So why wasn’t she involved with anyone?

Ghosts lay in her past, he was sure of that. If they ended up working together again—and he was pretty determined that they would—maybe he would finally find out.

A week later

BALANCING HER LEATHER CASE in one hand, and cell phone in the other, Lindsay dodged pedestrians, strollers and dogs, as she made her way down Columbus Street. She’d spent the morning on routine surveillance for an insurance claim, and was now heading back to the office, while attempting to return a call to her sister. Finally Meg’s assistant patched her through.

“Lindsay?”

“Hey, Meg. Busy day. You called?”

“Yeah, I have another job for you. It’s an out-of-town assignment, should take about a week. You interested in an all-expense-paid trip to Florida?”

Lindsay glanced up at the pewter-colored sky. “Florida sounds like heaven, but I’m too swamped to get away.”

“I thought you were hiring an extra investigator?”

“I’m trying. My most hopeful candidate was a university grad with work experience as a waiter. Smart kid, but I just don’t have the time to train someone from scratch.”

She purposefully didn’t mention Nathan. She hadn’t heard from him since that night at the pub and she was having second thoughts, and third thoughts, against working with him again.

Lindsay came to a street corner and checked for traffic before hurrying across.

“Look, I’m almost at the office,” she continued. “Can I call you back later when I have time to talk?”

“I’m in court the rest of the week. How about we catch up on the weekend?”

“Sounds good.” Lindsay snapped her phone shut, then rounded the corner to Seventy-ninth Street. Two minutes later she was back at the office. Nadine was typing madly, but paused to give her an update.

“The billings are on your desk to be signed, your phone messages are here—” she passed over a stack of paper “—and Nathan has moved into the office across from yours.”

With phone messages in hand, Lindsay was already striding toward her office, when the last part of Nadine’s statement sank in.

“Nathan has moved in?”

Nadine nodded. “Is that okay? He said it was okay.”

Lindsay pivoted, then charged into what should have been an empty office. Sure enough Nathan had made himself at home behind the sleek new desk. He was on the phone, but he smiled and waved at her to come in.

“What the hell is going on here?”

He motioned for her to be quiet. “I’m almost finished.”

“By all means, take your time,” she muttered as she stubbed her toe on a cardboard box sitting on the floor by the empty chair meant for clients. A tan-colored leather briefcase was on the floor beside it.

“Okay. That’s interesting. I’ll follow up right away,” Nathan promised the person on the other end of the line. Then he hung up.

He was wearing a white shirt today, emphasizing the golden tone of his skin, the rich mocha of his eyes. When he stood to greet her, the solid bulk of his thighs was clearly visible beneath the dark denim of his jeans.

“Hey, partner,” he said. “I wondered when you were going to come and welcome me.”

“Welcome you? Have you lost your mind?”

“I’m here for that one-month probation thing we talked about at the bar last week. If things go well—and I’m sure they will—when the month is over you’ll let me buy into the business as a full-fledged partner.”

“I remember talking about a one-month probation. But you know darned well we came to no agreement.”

He shrugged. “Look, if it doesn’t work we go our separate ways. Nothing lost on either side.” He gave her a moment to digest that, then added, “You’d better grab some paper and a pen. We have a meeting with Celia Burchard in about five minutes.”

CHAPTER THREE

LINDSAY STARED AT NATHAN good and hard, but he just smiled with the confidence of someone who knew they were holding a winning hand. She couldn’t deny that she was happy to see him here. She didn’t want to turn down another case like the one her sister had just offered her. Nathan was the best—if not the only—solution to her problem.

“This is pretty audacious,” she finally allowed. “Bordering on insane. But okay. You have a deal.”

She held out a hand and they shook on it. The second his skin touched hers, though, she was reminded of the one reason this might not be a good idea after all.

Well, it was too late for a change of heart. Nadine was at the door, introducing the new client.

Celia Burchard was an exceptionally pretty woman, in her midtwenties, dressed as if she’d just stepped off a beach in sundress and flip-flops, with only a cotton sweater to protect her from the October weather. Glossy hair spilled like honey over shoulders still tanned from the summer.

“Nathan, thank you for agreeing to help me.” Her gaze slid to Lindsay. “I’m sorry, you’re busy. Do you want me to wait out in the hall?”