Page 15 of Conrad

“So we’re going with that?”

“Absolutely.” He took the keys. Because not even he could voice the truth.

But he couldn’t help but glance one last time at the bright lights of the mansion as he pulled out of the lot and into the cold night.

* * *

She hadn’t hated the charity event.

For once. For the first time, really, in longer than she could remember.

Penelope sat at the massive granite counter of her parents’ expansive kitchen overlooking the frozen lake, a spoon in her granola and yogurt, stirring. Stirring. Stirring.

“Okay, give, Pep. Who was that hottie you were dancing with?”

She looked over to the door where her sister Tia walked into the room. She blinked and gathered herself away from the moment in the shadowed parking lot. Away from Conrad’s beautiful blue eyes clouded with hurt—maybehurt, although she could be dreaming that part up—after her words“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Tia raised an eyebrow and set down her coffee mug to pour more from the French press on the counter. Clearly big sis had already been up for hours despite their late-night return from the party. Penelope had opted to overnight at her parents’ lakeshore home in Wayzata instead of driving home to her uptown bungalow.

Of course, Tia looked perfectly put together. Aside from her dark hair, pulled back in a sleek bun, Tia wore an ivory velour leisure suit, gold earrings, and a pair of fluffy UGG slippers. No wonder Edward had fallen for her.

Tia glanced at Penelope’s pajama bottoms and oversized maroon University of Minnesota T-shirt and raised an eyebrow.

Hey, she wasn’t the event planner, the foundation head, the beauty and brains of the Pepper family philanthropy, thank you.

Just a murder podcaster trying to find justice. One men’s bathroom at a time.

Her mouth tweaked at the memory of Conrad holding the door open.“Now or never.”

Shoot,it might have beenneverif it weren’t for him.

“Pep. The guy. Give.” Tia had poured the coffee and now slid onto a chair at the black-and-white granite island. Reached for one of the fresh blueberry muffins that Greta had made before leaving for the grocery store.

“You’ve never met Conrad Kingston?” Penelope kept her voice casual. “Plays center for the Blue Ox. They call him King Con.”

Tia broke apart the muffin onto a napkin. “Oh, I know what they call him.” She winked. “Just wanted to make sure you did. But what I want to know ishowyou know Mr. June.”

Right.Poor man—he’d looked like he’d wanted to bolt when Tia had introduced him. He might have relaxed a little, however, when Tia read off Penelope’s winning bid.

“He was in the wedding I was in last month.”

“ Boo Hoo Kingston’s wedding.”

“I think they’re just calling her Boo,” Penelope said.

Tia took a bite of the muffin. “Sorry. Habit. And I forget that you two are friends. I saw the pictures inPeople. Beautiful wedding.”

Penelope nodded. No need for Tia to know about the three days that Penelope had spent hiding from a killer, right? She’d just alert security, and suddenly Franco would be following her home to sit in her driveway, and “Pep” would be right back to her high-school days when everyone knew she came with security checks and babysitters.

“So you met Conrad at the wedding?”

“Briefly. We’re just friends.”

“Mm-hmm.” Tia took a sip of coffee, set it down. “Not the way you two were slow dancing.”

“Oh, good grief, it was a slow dance. Nothing more.”

Tia took another bite of muffin. “You might want to rethink that. He’s a doll. All that scruffy, long blond hair, the hockey beard, and those eyes—” She put her wrist to her forehead. “Swoon.”

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