Poisoned in Cherry Hills (Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 3) Read Free

Lucy before spinning back around. He hunched closer and adopted Kat’s same conspiratorial tone. “What were they arguing about?”
    “Men.”
    He grinned. “There just aren’t enough of us to go around, huh?”
    Kat made a face. “According to Imogene, they’ve been fighting over guys for years.”
    “In that case, maybe they’ll put on another performance before the night is over.”
    Kat certainly hoped not, but, judging from the way Andrew’s eyes had lit up, he wasn’t opposed to personally witnessing a catfight any more than the other males in attendance. She would have expected better from a member of the Cherry Hills Police Department. Hadn’t he seen enough scuffles during his ten years on the force to have grown tired of them by now?
    Andrew set one hand on Kat’s knee. “You look nice, by the way.”
    The heat from his palm shot up her leg and zipped through every cell in her body like an electric current. All thoughts of Lucy and Heidi dissipated into the air surrounding them. “Thank you.” She took in his crisp gray, button-down shirt and black slacks. “So do you.”
    “You didn’t see me an hour ago. I could have arrived a little earlier, but felt compelled to shower and change so nobody would mistake me for one of your homeless dogs.”
    “You looked that bad, huh?”
    He smirked. “I refuse to answer that.”
    “What happened to you anyway?”
    Andrew pulled his hand away and reached for the iced tea in front of him. “I got held up at work.”
    Kat adjusted her dress. Her knee was still tingling where Andrew had rested his hand. “Anything serious?”
    “Nah, just some paperwork related to a case we closed recently. Chief wanted my final report filed by the end of the day.”
    “He sounds like a real slave driver.”
    Andrew laughed. “Not really. He basically just didn’t want to be held liable when the pile of papers on my desk finally toppled over and ended up suffocating one of the other officers.”
    The sound of Andrew’s amusement was infectious, and Kat couldn’t prevent her own giggle from escaping.
    Andrew looked her up and down, his penetrating blue eyes sending a little tremor through her body. “If I had known how amazing you look, I would have pulled the fire alarm so Chief would have no choice but to let me leave early.”
    The compliment caused Kat to blush. She slipped her hands into her lap, resisting the temptation to push back a lock of sandy hair that had fallen over Andrew’s forehead.
    Andrew coughed and surveyed the room. “Did you order already?”
    Kat nodded, eyeing one of the servers distributing entrées. “You missed the soup and salad, but I told them to bring you a main course.”
    “What did you choose for me?”
    “The cassava with sofrito.”
    “Sounds good.”
    The corners of her mouth twitched. “You have no idea what that is, do you?”
    “Nope,” he agreed cheerfully. “But I’ll find out when it gets here.”
    She laughed. It still amazed her that she hadn’t devoted much thought to Andrew during the past fifteen years. After they’d graduated from high school and parted ways, she supposed she was so anxious to get out of Cherry Hills that she hadn’t considered what she might be leaving behind in the process. Since her return to town a month ago, she hadn’t been able to think about anything but what a good catch her old childhood friend was.
    She only wished she knew whether her feelings were mutual.
    “Hey,” Lucy piped up from Andrew’s other side. “You’re a cop, aren’t you?”
    “That’s me.” Andrew held out his hand. “Andrew Milhone.”
    “Lucy.” She scooted closer to him as they shook hands. “Tell me, Andrew Milhone, why isn’t it illegal when a tramp steals another woman’s boyfriend?”
    Kat stilled when she caught sight of the coy smile that Lucy flashed at Andrew. Was she hitting on him? What had happened to her being sick of men?
    “Probably a matter of budget constraints.” Andrew