Page 30 of Betting on Lizzie

She’d had dinner with more men than she could count, but Ben was different. More mature than most guys she dated, which tracked since she met most of her boyfriends at the bar. And even though Ben was technically the enemy. Even though he thought she was capable of arson or in cahoots with someone trying to cheat the insurance company, she felt something for him. Respect maybe? Or admiration. For the way he’d sacrificed his life for his daughter. Then again, she couldn’t rule out good old-fashioned lust. She shoved aside the mushy feelings. She couldn’t be attracted to someone who thought so poorly of her. Could she?

Charlie was waiting to greet her when she entered her condo.

“Hey, boy. You miss me?” She scratched him between the ears, which was easy since his head hit her at mid-thigh. “You’re my main man, aren’t you, boy?”

After making sure Charlie had food in his bowl, she opened the notebook where she’d been compiling potential suspects. Clearing her name was top priority right now. She needed that insurance settlement ASAP. She wasn’t sure this list would help—she really couldn’t think of anyone she’d pissed off so badly that they’d want to hurt her, but sometimes you never knew.

Before going to bed, she texted Maya. Not cool, bro. Not cool.

CHAPTER TEN

Ben didn’t know why he’d suggested they meet. He could have easily received her list via email and called her for any follow-up questions. He kept telling himself meeting her for coffee wasn’t a date. Of course it wasn’t. She was his main suspect. Dating her, or thinking of her in any way that wasn’t completely professional, was out of the question.

A little before ten, he arrived at the coffee shop and ordered a cup. He felt a group of three men in the corner eyeballing him as he looked for an out-of-the-way table. When he made eye contact with one of them, the man called out.

“Hey! You the fire guy who’s harassing Lizzie Parker?”

Ben walked to their table. “Harassing?”

“No way Lizzie’s involved with the fire at The Drop,” one of the other men said.

“Okay,” Ben said. “And what makes you so sure of that?”

“Known the Parkers for years,” the third man chimed in. “All of ’em’s good people.”

Hm. They knew Lizzie and her family, huh? Might as well poke around for some information.

“Oh, yeah. You vouching for Lizzie then?” The three nodded in unison. “Any idea who might want to harm her or her business?”

They seemed to shift gears, interested in his train of thought now that it didn’t involve accusing Lizzie.

“We’ll have to think about that,” the bald one said, stroking his chin. “But we know just about everyone in this town and most people’s business. We should be able to come up with something.”

“That’s not us braggin’,” one said. “Just sayin’ we kill a great deal of time here and stumble upon a lot of information.”

As Ben was about to reply, an older woman with light pink hair glided in. The three men shifted in their seats, sat up straighter, and muttered for him to scram. Ben chuckled, sat a few tables over, sipped his coffee, and watched.

The pink-haired woman hugged another woman who’d come out from the back. Ben did a double take when he realized it was Lizzie but with blond hair. She must have gone home and dyed it straight after dinner last night. Or done it first thing this morning. He got up to greet her. But as he approached, another Lizzie rushed through the door, letting in a burst of cold air.

The dark-haired Lizzie noticed him looking from woman to woman and recognized his confusion.

“Didn’t know I had a twin?” she said with a smug smile.

A twin? How had he missed that? “Uh, no. That doesn’t usually come up in a background check,” he said, wiping the surprise off his face. “I’ll wait over there.” He pointed to the table he’d claimed.

He returned to his seat and watched as she interacted animatedly with her sister before greeting the trio of men. The older woman had joined them, and he overheard Lizzie call her Nana. She picked up the coffee she’d ordered, worked her way over to him, and sat.

“You’ve got quite a fan club over there.” Ben jerked his chin toward the group in the corner.

“The Three Musketeers,” she said. “And my grandma. What’d they say?”

“More or less threatened to kick my ass if I kept ‘harassing’ you?”

She laughed. “Sounds about right. They’re old but feisty. You better watch your back.” She handed him a long list of names and phone numbers. A couple had asterisks next to them.

“These more likely than the others?” he asked, pointing to the starred names.

“Honestly, I had a hard time coming up with anyone. I don’t feel like I’ve ever left a relationship on bad terms. The stars are former employees.”

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