Page 10 of The Perfect Appearance

He grunted and offered a reluctant nod, though she noticed that he pointedly did not pull his hand away from hers. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, then rested her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, she felt very sleepy. Within seconds, she was napping.

CHAPTER FIVE

Kat Gentry could feel her stomach tie itself in a tight knot.

There was simply too much to do. As she looked around the mess of an office that was headquarters for her detective agency, Gentry Investigations, she wondered if she could ever get it tidy enough for another client to come in.

Mitch certainly couldn’t help. Her long-distance boyfriend, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Mitch Connor, was leaving today to return to his day job after spending the weekend with her. He’d come down late Friday night to help her after she was in a case-connected car accident and because of Ash Pierce’s escape from custody.

He’d essentially been her personal bodyguard until the one Jessie had hired for her arrived later today. He was well suited to the task. Ajovial, mountainous, sandy-haired specimen of a man, he looked like a football lineman, even without the pads. Only he carried a gun and a strong desire to keep Kat safe.

Whoever her newly hired protector was, the guy wasn’t going to be happy when he learned that Kat didn’t plan on just staying at her place with the doors locked and the shades pulled down. Her days of being scared of what Ash Pierce might do to her were over. Besides, she was working a case, although not one with a conventional client. Whoever was being assigned to protect her would just have to deal with it.

“I think I have to head out,” Mitch said, standing beside the backpack he’d stuffed with supplies before driving down on Friday night. “They’re expecting me in Big Bear by 3 p.m. If I don’t leave soon, I’ll be late.”

“I get it,” Kat said, walking over to hug her colossus of a boyfriend. “And I’m sorry that you can’t go back to Lake Arrowhead right now. It’s my fault.”

He shrugged dismissively even though he couldn’t deny the truth. The reason he couldn’t go back to the mountain town where he lived and worked as a sheriff’s deputy was because Ash Pierce knew all about it. There was real chance that she might go there to harm him as a means of getting payback against Kat. So he’d been assigned to a ski town forty-five minutes east and would be borrowing the free bedroom of a fellow deputy. It wasn’t ideal.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “To be honest, I’m near my wit’s end with my bosses anyway. They made it really hard for me to take care of you when you were recovering. My supervisor religiously tracked every minute of leave I took. And now they say that if I don’t report to this new gig ASAP, my job could be in danger. I wouldn’t describe them as ‘understanding.’”

“So what are you thinking of doing?” Kat asked.

“I’ve been toying with the idea of relocating to the greater Los Angeles area,” he replied with a grin. “But I’d need a good reason.”

Kat smiled back.

“Well, maybe you’ll find one,” she teased.

“Maybe I already have,” he said.

Suddenly, he broke off the hug. She thought she’d done something wrong. But then, without a word, he dropped down to one knee. It took Kat a moment to comprehend what was going on. But when he started reaching into his front pocket, she felt her mouth go dry and her heart start to slam against her chest.

“What are you—?”

“This isn’t where or how I wanted to do this, but I don’t know the next time I’ll get a chance,” he said, “and the truth is that I can’t wait any longer.”

“Oh my god,” Kat muttered as her stomach did a complete somersault.

“Katherine Margaret Gentry,” he began, looking up at her with nervous but hopeful eyes, “will you marry me?”

Kat stared down at him, stunned. She saw his eyes veer more from hopeful to nervous and realized that even though she’d answered the question in her head, she had yet to let him in on it.

“Yes,” she said quickly, “of course, yes.”

He broke out into another wide grin and slid the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

“Stand up so I can kiss you, you big lug,” she instructed.

He did as she asked, though to be level with her, he had to bend down considerably. Several seconds of kissing began to morph into something more physical, and Mitch was just lifting her up onto her desk when there was a loud knock at the office door.

Kat heard herself sigh in frustration. Mitch smiled patiently.

“To be continued?” he asked.

“You better believe it,” she replied before hopping off the desk. “Unless you think I can send this dude away for a few minutes?”

“Considering it’s probably your new bodyguard, maybe that’s not the best move,” Mitch said as he re-buckled his belt.

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