Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) by Kristen Painter Read Free Book Online Page A

cheese and a box of wheat crackers. I figured I could put the cheese and crackers out for an appetizer.
    Biking had made me sweaty (the fact that it was August in Georgia was also a contributing factor), so I went to shower and freshen up.
    As I was about to strip down and jump into the hot water, Spider strolled in. “Spider hungry.”
    “I’m about to get naked here.”
    “What’s naked?”
    “You know…nothing but skin covering you. Er, fur.”
    “Is Spider naked?”
    “Uh…sort of.” I wasn’t mentally prepared to have this conversation with my cat. “What did you want again?”
    He let out a loud yowl. “Hungry.”
    “All right, let’s go fix that.” I walked to the little spot at the end of the kitchen counter where his feeding station was set up to see what he needed. The velvet Elvis really did snazz it up. Spider’s dry food bowl was pretty full, but he’d eaten through the bits in the middle so that the bottom of the bowl was visible. I gave it a little shake to redistribute the kibble.
    He trotted over and looked inside. “Thanks.” Then he started eating.
    I rolled my eyes and went to take my shower, fairly certain that Spider’s ability to talk hadn’t made him any smarter. His little cat brain seemed to process things the same way as before. And he clearly didn’t care what I was wearing, or not wearing.
    I shut the bathroom door anyway. No reason to scar him for life.
    The shower was five minutes, tops. When I was done, I chose my outfit to be casual and comfy, but not anything that seemed date-like or flirty. So khaki shorts (another new purchase) and a light blue flowered tank top that matched the highlights in my hair.
    Cooper would be here in forty-five minutes. If he arrived on time, which he rarely did. Cooper was almost always early.
    I put it into overdrive. I got the ground beef cooked and added it to a pot with the sauce to warm. Then I wrapped the bread in foil and put it in the oven on low to do the same thing. That done, I set the table. Nothing fancy. Just dishes, silverware, napkins and sprinkle cheese. Along with my new salt and pepper shakers, of course.
    Lastly, I started a big pot of salted water on medium so that as soon as he showed up, I could crank the heat to high, get it boiling and dump the pasta in.
    With all that done, I took a quick second to check that my makeup hadn’t melted off. The house smelled like an Italian dream, I looked good (casual and cute but not like I was trying too hard), my apartment looked good, and I felt relatively confident that tonight wasn’t going to lead to kissing.
    Cooper knocked as I left the bathroom. I opened the door. “Hey, you’re early. So, right on time.”
    He smiled and handed me a bottle of red wine and a large bouquet of mixed flowers. “I hope I’m not too early. I stood on the sidewalk for five minutes.”
    “Thanks for the wine and flowers.” I moved out of the way so he could come in. “But you shouldn’t have stood out there. You should have come up. We’re friends, Coop. No need to be so formal.” Maybe I was stressing that point too much, but it couldn’t hurt.
    “I guess. Smells great in here.” He looked around. “And the stuff you bought today really looks good.”
    “Thanks.” I put the wine on the counter and looked for something to put the flowers in. I had a vase leftover from some flowers my parents had sent when I’d gotten bumped on the head trying to rescue one of the store’s kidnapped elves.
    I pulled that out, filled it with water halfway and stuck the flowers in. They were gorgeous, but I felt a little bad that Cooper had spent money on them and the wine when this dinner was supposed to be about me thanking him.
    It was almost like he thought it was a date.
    I heard a pop and turned to see Cooper had uncorked the wine.
    “Do you have glasses?” he asked. “I think it breathes better if you pour it in advance.”
    I hadn’t planned on drinking tonight. I had work in the