BILLIONAIRE ANGEL (Point St. Claire, where true love finds a way) Read Free Page A

How about inviting wives and girlfriends in for the evening? Make it a party with partners.”
    “The Lodge is men only, remember?”
    “Aside from some staff,” Margo pointed out.
    And some amateur intruders , he thought.
    He lifted the replica, took aim. Margo’s next question broke his concentration again.
    “Jax, can I ask you something?”
    He lowered the gun and sent over an encouraging smile that might have been a little tight. “Shoot.”
    “Do you enjoy running this place?”
    “Why?”
    She eyed the fake firearm as if to say, You need to ask?
    He twirled the trigger around a finger, Old West style. “You know this is something I do to unwind, like some people throw darts. Play poker.” Heading over, he grinned knowingly. “Do crosswords.”
    “Difference is I have never solved puzzles for a living. It’s not, you know…a part of me.”
    He dropped the replica back in the drawer. “I don’t want my former life back, if that’s what you mean.” Casing sleazy haunts. Catching cheating spouses. Putting people’s lives at risk.
    He shut the drawer firmly. “That’s all in the past.”
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to rake up bad memories.” Margo knew about, what had become known as, ‘the incident’. Hell, the whole of Maine knew. “It’s just, sometimes…” Biting her lip, she pushed to her feet, tried to smile. “Forget I spoke.”
    Margo was prudent. Mindful ...unlike Belinda Slade who, it seemed, rushed in where angels might fear to tread.
    He felt for her, but when he’d shown Belinda the door, he’d warned her not to come back. It sucked when justice wasn’t served. Made a man want to take the law into his own hands.
    Take it, and ring it by the neck.
    Still, he hoped she left well enough alone. No one wanted to tick off an ex judge like Garfield, including the Portland police department it would seem. And, seriously, the chances of reclaiming that ruby ring were close to zip. She ought to concentrate on the here and now.
    Jax eyed the figures waiting on his desk and dragged in his chair.
    “We’ll talk about the anniversary invitations another time,” Margo said, heading for the door. “Why don’t you have the rest of the day off? I’ll take care of things here.”
    “I have work to do.”
    “Bet you’d rather be working on your renovations.” Margo had seen some early images when he’d first moved in. “Huge job. I don’t know why you don’t bite the bullet and get some professionals in.”
    He grinned. “Now where’s the fun in that?”
    She stopped by the door. “You’ll have to invite me around sometime to check it out.”
    Everything about Margo was pristine. Never a hair, or word, or intention, out of place. “Can’t picture you as a fan of sawdust and half-repaired bathrooms.”
    As she headed out, he heard her faint reply.
    “You’d be surprised at what I like.”

Chapter 3
    But you said you’d help.
    A couple of questions is all.
    Monday was Jax’s day off. Renovation time. Best part of the week.
    But, try as he might, he couldn’t shake off memories of his conversation with Belinda Slade. The passion in her eyes. The determination in her voice.
    Unfortunately, the way she was headed, Belinda would get nowhere with the case of the missing heirloom ring. She was on the back foot as far as experience was concerned. There were steps to take when conducting an investigation.
    As well as steps to avoid.
    After his third cup of coffee ( a man could never have too much good caffeine ), Jax gave in and made a call. While he waited for that contact to phone back, he dived into his latest renovation project, an idea that promised a truly personal touch.
    The previous week he’d plotted out a pattern for a stained glass sign. Each segment was coded and numbered then cut to be used as a stencil. Now, he placed a stencil on some glass then carefully scored around the outline. Using a special pair of pliers, he applied just enough pressure at one end, then the