The Art of Stealing Kisses (Stealing Hearts Book 2) by Stella London Read Free Book Online Page B

the museum St. Clair took me to for our brown bag picnic. We even
walked past the painting that was taken. “I
wonder who would want to steal these pieces—what
for? There haven’t
been any black market sales reported, but there’ve
also been no ransom calls or letters, which would make the most sense
if the thieves aren’t
selling off the paintings…so
why would someone be hoarding all this art?”
    “We
have no idea, and that’s
the problem.” Paige
sighs. “There’s
no pattern to the thefts—no
time of day or MO similarities, the paintings themselves are all from
different time periods and artists and countries of origin, and he
hasn’t
left a shred of real evidence. It’s
baffling.”
    “Like
a puzzle.”
    “Except
this one seems unsolvable, and I am not going to become one of those
characters in a TV drama who gives up her life and her sanity—not
to mention her figure—to
stare at some case she can’t
crack.”
Paige grins.
    “But
don’t
you like the chase?” I
know she does, or she at least loves chasing all the men she sets her
eyes on.
    “Yeah,
I love the chase, but I also love to get the guy, too. Do you know
how awesome it is to catch a snooty investor filing a false claim, or
bust someone for fraud?”
Paige’s
eyes light up.
    I
laugh. “You’re
like insurance fraud Dirty Harry.”
    “Damn
straight!” She
grins. “But
this thief is just too good, and the cops aren’t
good enough. The leads are played out, the trail’s
going cold, and I’m
getting bored.” She
sips her tea. “I
wish they would give me something else to work on.”
    The
waiter brings our food and it smells delicious. I dig in as Paige
says, “You
know what’s
not boring?” I
groan. “That’s
right—you
bumping nasties with the hottie billionaire. Give me the scoop,
woman!”
    I
swallow a mouthful of heavenly hollandaise sauce. “There
isn’t
a lot to tell, really. I’ve
told him I want to keep things professional, and he’s
been respecting that.”
    “Professional
only? Please .”
Paige eyes me
with skepticism. “You
can suddenly be just coworkers? How’s
that working out for you?”
    “He’s
my boss, Paige. I want to earn his respect, not blow this opportunity
to advance my career.”
    “It’s
the blowing that helps you keep the job, girl,”
she jokes.
    “Haha.”
I roll my
eyes. “Seriously.
This matters to me. I want to do this right.”
I feel a
little like a stick in the mud, but Paige knows how hard I’ve
worked to get here, what hurdles I’ve
had to clear for this opportunity.
    “I
get it, Grace, I do.”
    I
take another sip of my tea, pleasantly surprised to find that I like
it, and have to keep from spitting it out when Paige says,
“But
dear God, that ass!”
    We
burst into giggles and it feels like the old days, like we’re
sitting in our pajamas eating popcorn and watching Netflix. “It
is definitely distracting,” I
admit. “I’m
trying to do a good job, stay focused on the work…but
I’ve
never met a man like him before.”
    “You
mean sexy, rich, and charming as all hell?”
    “Exactly!”
I think of
him encouraging my painting and telling me the passion will come
again, him getting me to my apartment when jet-lag knocked me out.
“And
sweet and kind and generous…”
    “Uh,
oh,” Paige
says, reaching across the table to press the back of her hand against
my forehead. “Someone’s
got it bad.”
    I
swat her hand away. “It’s
not a fever. It’s
an inappropriate crush. Remember that Anthropology TA you dated?”
    “Carl.”
She makes a
grossed out face and I laugh.
    “Carl!”
    “It
was three dates,” she
says.
    I
grimace. “His
feet left black marks on our carpet.”
    She
points at me. “What
about Roman?”
    “Oh,
God,” I
say, covering my face with my hands, ashamed.
    “Didn’t
he ask to have a threesome on your first date?”
    “Yeah,
with you.”
    Paige
laughs. “That’s
right!”
    “He
was so surprised I said no.” We
both crack up and