The Hibiscus Heist by C L Bauer

Author:C L Bauer [Bauer, C L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cozy mystery
ISBN: 9781950903023
Publisher: Corrugated Sky Publishing, LLC
Published: 2019-09-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Dev was making a list in his head as he ran. He needed to ice down the beer, put the chili on, wake Lily when he got back and try to prepare for the insane squad. It was still when Dev returned to his house. He started the coffee and began the chili. He’d already prepped the ingredients yesterday while he waited for Lily. He’d actually been nervous waiting for her. What the heck was wrong with him? Deep down he knew the answer, but he just couldn’t admit it yet. She was unique; she could be the one. After numerous conversations with Alise and hundreds of questions from a brilliant child, his feelings were confirmed. If a little girl could figure out he was in love with Lily Schmidt, shouldn’t he be able to do the same?

The chili needed to simmer for hours. The guys would be over around eleven so they could begin cooking the rest of the food. Tomatoes, onions, and lettuce still needed to be chopped. The group would stop to watch the march on of both academies. Dev remembered those days clearly with the snow falling, the mass of cadets and midshipmen filing into the stadium. Years separated those cadet days. Deaths had separated friends. Today would be filled with memories, card playing if they were bored and storytelling, some true and some not so true.

The coffee was ready. As he poured himself a cup he heard the shower upstairs in his bathroom.

Dev grabbed his newspaper and a protein bar. He knew Lily wouldn’t be too long; she never took too long to get ready. The woman was very low maintenance. That was one of things he liked about her. He heard her coming down the stairs about twenty minutes later.

“Is this appropriate for the game?”

He looked around to see Lily’s attire. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a black and gold sweatshirt with an Army Black Knight featured. She had makeup on, but something else was very different.

“What the heck?”

Lily looked down at her shirt. What was wrong?

“I got the right team, I mean you weren’t a Navy SEAL, and you did go to West Point, so Army, right?”

He continued to stare at her. He tilted his head as he concentrated. Was it her hair? No, it was just a little longer. He hadn’t noticed last night that she’d added a few highlights and maybe covered a few grey strands. Maybe she was a few pounds thinner; her jeans fit well, but she was still curvy.

He shook his head and smiled. Stop analyzing, Dev. You know the answer, just admit it. “Lily, you have the correct team.” He couldn’t answer her. She looked comfortable in his house. She looked like she belonged; had always been there. “Honey, you look amazing.”

“Really? Funny man. Is that coffee I’m smelling?” She walked past him and into the kitchen, opening a cabinet to find a cup.

Why couldn’t she take a compliment seriously? Note to self, find out who hurt her and track them down.

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